10/18 Classroom Update

Maternity Leave Information: Baby Boy Billmeier's due date is quickly approaching as it is Wednesday, November 6th! I plan on working right up until he decides to officially make his appearance. While I am on maternity leave, Ms. Bonnie Brandstadt will be my long-term substitute teacher in the AM 3's class and Ms. Heather Krajewski will be my long-term substitute in the PM 5's class. Ms. Rebecca, Ms. Sandra, and Ms. Lauren will continue to teach alongside Bonnie in the AM class, and Ms. Emily and Ms. Rachel will be alternately assisting Ms. Heather in the afternoon. If you need to contact Ms. Bonnie or Ms. Heather while I am out on maternity leave, they will have access to my email at kbillmei@egrps.org or you can contact Ms. Jackie in the office and she will pass your message along! I will miss being with our preschoolers while on maternity leave for 12 weeks, but I can't wait to see how they continue to grow in my absence! It is so great to know that they will be in great hands!

This week, we explored our five senses and how they help us learn about the world! We engaged in various centers and activities to test our sense of sight, hearing, vision, taste, smell, and touch. We also learned about the letter T. Here are some picture highlights from our week in preschool:

We explored various vision tools like microscopes, prisms, flashlights, kaleidoscopes, and magnifying glasses!

We learned the Mat Man song and built Mat Man together! You can listen to the Mat Man song here.

We practiced our fine motor skills by putting stickers on different types of lines and the letter T!

 We turned the letter T into turkeys for our alphabet books!

We read the Dr. Seuss classic Horton Hears a Who and discussed how it's important to treat everyone with respect regardless of size and differences! We painted our own Horton protecting the town of Who-ville on the clover!

We sang the Mat Man song and practiced drawing a person with all the parts of Mat Man!

We sorted things we use our different senses for. This proved to be a tricky task as we realized that often we use multiple senses when doing things!

During snack time, we tasted things that were sour (lemon), bitter (semi-sweet chocolate chips), sweet (marshmallows), and salty (chex mix/sun chips).

Next week, we are going to read the classic story The Three Little Pigs and learn about story elements! We will act out the story, read different versions of the classic tale, and practice retelling stories with a beginning, middle, and end! 

Important Dates/Reminders:

Scholastic Book Orders: This week, I sent home Scholastic book orders in your child's folder. October book orders are due by Monday, October 28th. You can order books online by completing the steps below. There is also a larger selection of books online to choose from. You may also turn in your paper order and payment to me and I will input and mail in your order for you.

1. Go to the Scholastic Reading Club Website here.
2. Click Connect to your Teacher and enter our class activation code: PJFBX.
3. Then click to order from this month's flyer. Our default flyer is the "Early Childhood" flyer; however, you may order from any of the flyers. You can view more details about each book and add them to your cart by clicking on them in the flyer. 
4. After selecting your items, click on the cart to create an account or sign-in to your existing account in order to check-out. October orders need to be placed by Monday, October 28th.

3's Class Book: We made a book in class called Children, Children, Who do you see? to help us learn each other's names. Each child will have a turn to bring it home to read it with someone at home. When it is your child's turn, please read it with your child and return it back to class the following class day. 

Preschool Fall Field Trip: Our fall field trip is to Schwallier's Country Basket on Tuesday, October 29th. The morning class should plan on arriving at Schwallier's at 9:15 am for a 9:30 am tour, and the afternoon class should plan on arriving at 12:15 pm for a 12:30 pm tour. If you have not yet let me know whether or not your child is attending or there is a change in plans, please send me to confirm whether or not your child will be attending at kbillmei@egrps.org.

Pictures/ Picture Day Make-ups: This week, I sent home your child's picture day proofs. You can order pictures online or on the phone using the provided school and personal codes on your proof. Picture retakes/make-ups will be taken on Wednesday, October 30th. Please let me know if you would like your child's picture retaken and return their proof form to school by the 30th.

Halloween Parade & Parties: Join us for a Halloween Party on Thursday, October 31 from either 10:30-11:15 am for the AM class or 2:15-3:00 pm for the PM class. Costumes are encouraged :) Please meet in the gym at 10:30 am or  2:15 pm for our Halloween parade, followed by a party full of Halloween fun in the classroom afterwards!

• If you would like to help out with the AM 3's/ECSE Class party, please sign up here.
• If you would like to help out with the PM 5's Class party, please sign up here.

*This blog features information for both the T/Th 3's class and the PM 5's class. Information pertaining only to the 3's class will be in blue, and information pertaining only to the 5's class will be in red. General information for both classes will be in black/grey.

Have a great weekend!