Thursday

This morning was our big trip to Taubman to see the performance of "Frog & Toad". The play was amazing and the children never took their eyes off of the wonderful cast. Ask your child about their favorite part. I took pictures and hope to get them loaded on here soon (sometimes Blogger can be picky). Our half day friends both stayed and enjoyed lunch with us today. The children had a wonderful time talking about the play during lunch. We then had a peaceful rest time. The children were worn out from all of the excitement this morning.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day as well. In the morning, Lynn came to read to us. She read The Gingerbread Man retold by Jim Aylesworth. We then had fruit break and Music class with Kim. Afterwards, Lynn came back and we made cookies. I was so excited to get the chance to do a cooking activity with the children! Having two adults in the room for cooking activities is a must, so scheduling that has been a bit of a challenge for me this year. We had planned on decorating our cookies, but as usual, there is never enough time in the day! I will send the cookies home with the children today so they can still enjoy them. We then talked a little about the Boston Tea Party. Yesterday was the Anniversary of the historical event and we thought we'd celebrate too. I brought in different types of tea - with the help of Tulie (thanks, Tulie!) - but we didn't have time for an actual tea tasting. We will do this in January!

I hope everyone is working on their elf hats!! I've only received one so far. I can't wait to see the rest! Our Holiday party is tomorrow from 10:30-11:45am. Thanks again to The Medinas and Rita Patel for coming in the help. The children will be making food items during the party. They will make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a fruit kabob to enjoy during lunch. Please do pack your child a fruit break and a couple of items to accompany their sandwich and kabob. We will provide juice. Thanks! :)

Reminders for this week:

• Don't forget to make an elf hat with your child! Please be creative!! They will wear this hat on Friday as they travel around for our Holiday party. You can buy a hat at the dollar store and glue felt or paper elf ears to the sides. Add as much glitter and sparkle as you'd like.
• P.O.P. is collecting money for the 3 angels they've selected off of the angel tree through Friday. ANY donations you can give are much appreciated!! Pennies add up, so clean out your couch cushions and cup holders in your car. It has been wonderful to watch the children as they put their money in to help others in need.
• Hats and mittens/gloves collections will end on Friday. Thank you to everyone for sending in something. Some little boy or girl will be so grateful. 
• Frog & Toad performance is this Thursday. PLEASE BE ON TIME. We must leave as soon as we can for seats at the theater. They are on a first come, first served basis and we must get seats in front so our little ones can see. Thanks!
• Friday is our Holiday party. 10:30-11:45am. Thank you in advance to Jeff & Michelle Richer and Rita Patel for coming in and helping. I appreciate it!
• Quick Notes came out today. Click HERE to read today's issue.

AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!! :)

Wednesday

What a busy day we've had! This morning started off with Holly reading two stories to us during our Literacy time. She read Annie and the Wild Animals and Gingerbread Baby, both written and illustrated by Jan Brett. We then had fruit break and recess just before our Early Learner music class with Kim. Then, we went to Tulie's class for a special holiday activity. I read The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes by Linda Glaser and Nancy Cote. This story is about a family who is gathering together to celebrate Hanukkah and eat latkes. Throughout the story, a little girl named Rachel is send next door to borrow ingredients. She asks the neighbor each time she goes over to come celebrate with them, but she denies her invitation. Later in the story, the neighbor finally gives in and has Rachel and her family over to celebrate Hanukkah.

We had a couple different stations going on in the room - one of them, the children worked with Tulie in adding ingredients to our mixing bowl to make the latkes. I've put a copy of the recipe in each child's folder today. The recipe we used is from the book we read, and worked out great! The other station in the room was a beading station to make Hanukkah bracelets. Several of the students have managed to keep them on throughout the afternoon! We then had recess and lunch. Today was pizza day - many students also had packed lunch and chose to eat the pizza. Thus, many of their packed foods will return home this afternoon. We had a great day and will continue more Hanukkah celebrations tomorrow with our buddies. 

Thanks again to everyone for sending in hats and/or mittens for our Mitten Tree. It is getting so full we can barely see the lights on it! I appreciate everything you do!!!

Today sure has flown by! We started the morning with our morning meeting and fruit break. Our buddies came to our room and got us to walk over to Hollins. At Hollins, we watched the Jack Tales Players do a show that involved stories and music from the Appalachian Mountains area. They were all so wonderfully talented. The children were mesmerized and filled with excitement. We then came back and had a "make-up session" of music class that we missed yesterday.


Please continue to send in any plastic lids. They can be from any container! Lotion, water bottles, ketchup, vitamins, etc. will do :)

Thanks to everyone who has sent in hats and mittens/gloves for our mitten tree! It is filling up quickly!

Thanks again to everyone who has sent in money for the angel tree fundraiser. This is such a great way to show the children the gift of giving! Every penny counts.

Monday

Let me first thank everyone for showing up at B&N Saturday. I'm told the children did a marvelous job and I couldn't be prouder. As I sat in my Bedford home, I watched the sleet fall and the ice freeze. I really appreciate everyone who made it. Thank you for supporting our magnificent school! I, like you, was very disappointed B&N didn't have my book list available. The manager has sent me a note of apology and will print out my list. I 'm not leaving anything to chance and have copied the list for you from my computer. The fund raiser goes on all week and you can go back to the store, call in an order to the store and they'll get it out for you or go online and order books. Just be sure to mention our school and either give them the code (449884) or your vouchers. 


Tomorrow (12/8) we walk to Hollins to watch the Jack Tales Players from Ferrum College. Please remember to put your child in warm clothing and coat. Their walking pace isn't really fast enough to get their bodies warm so we have to rely on their clothing.


We began our study of Hanukkah today. I showed them a menorah and briefly talked about the Maccabees and the miracle of the oil lasting eight days instead of one. We then read a wonderful Hanukkah book about a ninety-seven year old woman who mistakes a bear for her rabbi and feeds him potato latkes. It's called  The Chanukkah Guest and is by Eric A. Kimmel. We also read (or sang) I Have a Little Dreidel by Maxie Baum and talked about the different meanings on the dreidel. I hope to make potato latkes with the children this week and play the dreidel game. We made Star of David decorations and have another we will make later in the week. Kim Mucha was out sick today, so during our regular music time, we watched Elmo's World - Happy Holidays! and the children loved it. It is a movie about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas. This movie was a wonderful extension of our studies of December holidays and traditions. Ask your child who Dorothy was and what gift Santa suggested Elmo get her!

Thursday

This morning we started off with Ashlynn's show and share, which was a Cinderella doll. We then read The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen. We then worked on a project making mittens to go on our mitten tree, set up at our cubbies. Please remember to bring in new child-sized mittens (or hats) for the Mitten Tree. All donations will go to the Rescue Mission. 


During our buddy time today, we made snowmen. Although they weren't made of real snow, the children were very creative with them! I will hang them up in our room tomorrow for display. Be sure to stop in with your child and ask them to show theirs to you. 

Please remember to make an elf hat for the holiday workshop that we will be having on the 18th. We will also need 2 or 3 parents to help us for the Holiday Workshop. Please let me know if you can help.

On the 17th, we will be going downtown to see Frog and Toad at the Roanoke Childrens' Theater at the Taubman Museum. If you are able and willing to help us transport 3 or more students to the play, that would be great! Please let me know.

This Saturday at the Valley View Barnes and Noble book fair, our class will be singing at 11:00 in the children's department. Please bring your child to sing and don't forget your vouchers and your shopping list!

{F.Y.I.}

{F.Y.I.}
A couple things to make note of on your calendars this month:


Tomorrow morning(12/3), we will be reading The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen. It is a sweet story about an old lady who makes mittens for children who don't have mittens of their own. This month, we will have our own Mitten Tree in our room. Please allow your children to bring in a pair of new, child-sized mittens (and/or hats) to hang on our tree. On the last day of school before break, Tulie will take all of the mittens and hats to the Rescue Mission. The children will make mitten-shaped drawings to decorate our tree with. As they bring in new mittens for the Rescue Mission, they'll replace their drawing with the new mittens.


On the 18th (the last day of school before break), we will be having a Santa Workshop in our three EL rooms. The children will be the elves as they make Christmas crafts, foods, and decorations.Please help them play the part by making an elf hat at home to wear on this day. You can make them out of paper, out of fabric, out of anything; be creative! Please send the hats in by Thursday the 17th. We will also need two or three parent helpers from each room to help out with the various work stations. Please let me know if you can help. We have the projects planned already, we just need parents to help.


We (the Early Learners) also have a couple of plays in the works for this month. Keep an eye out for more details to come. :)

Annual Book Fair

Get your holiday shopping list together.

It's time for our annual book fair!

This year's book fair will again take place at Barnes and Noble Valley View Mall and begins

Saturday, December 5. We have planned a variety of events for both Saturday and Sunday, but your

voucher is good for the entire week, until Friday, December 11. Our events will include a variety of

musical performances, stories, a special reading with middle school teacher Jennifer Hollingsworth-

Austin of her book-in-progress, and a story time on Sunday afternoon. Please see the performance

schedule below for specific events and times.

Also, on Saturday and Sunday only, you can enter to win our contest! Tracy Morris of Forever

Today Photography is giving away a family photo session and CD of the shoot. To enter, simply visit

Barnes and Noble that weekend and drop your name into our bowl. Winners will be contacted the

following week and announced in Quick Notes.

Most teachers have shared wish lists with B&N. The process has changed for this year. In the

children's section of the store, there will be a stand with individual tags for books that identify the

teacher's name and desired book or item. When you choose a tag, please find the item in the store or

ask a B&N bookseller for help. If the book is not in stock, you can simply take the tag to the register

and pay for the item. If it is in stock, you can leave the item at the checkout. All books will be

delivered to Community School.

Our school receives a percentage of all purchases that use our Community School code. This

includes books, magazines, greeting cards, CD's, DVD's, games, toys and stationery, as well as

purchases made in the cafe, including drinks and snacks, mugs, bulk coffee and teas, and whole

cheesecakes. You can use your Barnes and Noble membership card for your discount and shop with

gift cards. Community School can earn up to 20% of all purchases. While we will not receive credit for

any online purchases, the voucher and school code can be used nationwide, so please forward your

vouchers and share our school code (449884) with your friends and family across the country. Our

best tool in raising money through the book fair is sharing our event with as many people as possible.

With everyone's support, we can make this year's book fair our biggest yet!

Performance Schedule for the Book Fair at Barnes and Noble

Please let me know if you are unable to attend.

Saturday, December 5

10:00 a.m. – Upper Elementary (Kim and Betsy) sings folk songs and silly songs.

10:30 a.m. – Lower Elementary (Beth) performs two special stories.

11:00 a.m. – Early Learners (Katlyn, Ruth Ann, and Tulie) share songs.

11:30 a.m. – Middle Elementary (Katie and Lena) present a sculpture garden.

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. – Middle School Choir and Show Choir perform. Also, skits by Seminarians and Bolivians.

1:30 p.m. – Piano Duets with Joe Hart and Kim Mucha.

5:00 p.m. – Jennifer Hollingsworth-Austin shares excerpts from her book in progress, “Scared for Life.”

Sunday, December 6

3:00 p.m. – Special Story Time with Katrina

Thursday, December 10

12:30 p.m. – MS Choir and Show perform, along with piano selections from choir members.

GET YOUR VOUCHERS HERE!!!

I was shocked to see no one brought in turkey sandwiches for lunch! I hope everyone had a wonderful break. Thank you to everyone who came to the Thanksgiving Luncheon and Art Show. It was great to see you all there with your child.

This morning I switched out our books from Thanksgiving books to Winter books. In December, we'll learn all about different holidays celebrated during this month. If you and your family have a tradition in your home for a holiday, please let me know! We'd love to have you come in and teach us about your tradition. Your tradition can be anything from celebrating Hanukkah to my family's simple tradition - hiding a pickle ornament on the tree. Another tradition in my family is making cookies together. If you and your family do this during the holidays, please feel free to come in and make cookies with us! ;) We have a very diverse class and would love for our class to not only get to know one another better, but also learn about their classmates' culture.

This morning we worked on a journal page. I read If you Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff. We then talked about where we'd take a mouse if we had one of our own. The children had wonderful stories to tell! Some of them would take their mouse to school, while others would treat them to an ice cream stop or a shopping spree.

Please remember to change out your child's spare clothes if you haven't already done so. Many children have tank tops and shorts for their spare clothes still.

*A couple of students came in without a sheet or blanket today. No worries! They used extra sheets, so I'll continue with those sheets through the week. However, do send in their blankets tomorrow. I know it is hard to remember things after a long weekend!! :)

Happy Friday everyone! It sure is amazing how happy the sun shining makes the children. We started this morning off with our morning meeting and Anna Grace's show and share. We then enjoyed an early fruit break and headed to Spanish class. Afterwards, we made some turkeys out of our hands. We'll hang them in our room until Tuesday, and I'll send them home then. 

Sleep items will not be sent home today. I'll send them home on Tuesday as well.

Also on Tuesday, November 24th, our class along with many others we will have a Special Reading Day. We will spend extra time reading and enjoying books on this day. We would like for this to be a cozy day so please send your child in their favorite pajamas (we WILL still play outside!). They will have special time throughout the day where they can get their blanket from rest time and snuggle up with a book. We will also have books read to us by older elementary students. Half day students are encouraged to bring in a small baby blanket or towel to snuggle up with, however, full day students already have blankets here and will use those. Let me know if you have any questions!

Please refer to my previous posts about the Thanksgiving Luncheon and Art Show. It is coming up next Wednesday! :)

Please be sure to check out Quick Notes for this week. Information about the Barnes and Noble book fair is provided. Vouchers for Barnes and Noble purchases are attached. Be sure to tell your friends and family about the vouchers; using them will help raise money for our school. Thanks! :)

Have a great weekend and I'll see you all next week. :)

Thursday

This week has really flown by! We've been working hard on our art projects for the art show next week. We'll be completely finished tomorrow. I hope you've all marked our Thanksgiving Luncheon and Art Show on your calendars. It is next Wednesday, the 25th. Bring your child to school like always, and we'll eat our Friendship Mix that we're making on Monday for Fruit Break, followed by our walk over to the Hollins campus. We'll start walking over at 11:00am. The children's art work will be on display from 11-1pm. Lunch is from 12-1pm. Dismissal is at 1:00pm FROM THE HOLLINS CAMPUS. Each of our early learner families is asked to bring in one main dish and one side dish to feed 10-12 hungry people. In addition, Community School is asking for your help with a food drive for the food bank in Roanoke. We are requesting that each family bring in 2 non-perishable items for this food drive collection. Thank you for your help and support!

Items needed for Friendship Mix must be brought in by Monday, November 23rd. We're making it Monday morning and eating it on Wednesday. Your child does not need to bring their bag, folder, or lunch box on Wednesday, Nov. 25th.


Items needed:
Charlie - 1 cup of raisins
Tallulah - 2 cups of goldfish crackers (or something similar)
Ashlynn T. - 2 cups of pretzels
Ashlynn C. - 1 cup of Craisins (or another dried cranberry)
Anna Grace - 1 cup of chocolate chips
Jahanvi - 2 cups of chex cereal
Alessandra - 1 cup of dried apples
Andy - 1 cup of pistachios

Please let me know as soon as possible if you're unable to bring in your child's item for the Friendship Mix.

Thanks for all you do!!

Friday

We had Spanish class this morning after fruit break. We then worked on our art projects for the Thanksgiving Luncheon and Art Show. Some of the children began painting today. We continued this work until time for recess. After recess we had a picnic lunch with Ruth Ann's class. A few of our friends ate with their buddies from Betsy's class instead.

Community School is hosting a Spanish Festival on Tuesday, December 1st (wow - we're already talking about December?!?). During this festival, parents are absolutely welcome to join us and learn with us about 12 different Spanish-speaking countries. Parents are also welcome to stay for lunch - El Rodeo is on the menu for this day! The lunch is 2 tacos, rice, chips, and salsa for $5.00 each. What a steal! Your child will still need a fruit break and a drink for lunch. Forms for the lunch are being sent home today and Monday for half-day students. Please return your lunch form and money to me no later than Wednesday, Nov. 25th. Checks can be made payable to Community School, and cash is always accepted. Please let me know if you have any questions. :) Gracias!

Scholastic books were finally delivered today! If you made an order, your child's books are in their bag. The checks will be mailed off this weekend, so make sure you've recorded the amount in your check register - let me know if you can't remember the amount and I can look it up for you.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you all on Monday!

Wednesday

This morning we had just enough time to do our morning meeting and Tallulah's show and share before Lynn came in to read to us. Tallulah brought in a classic Winnie The Pooh book by A.A. Milne and I read part of the first chapter to them. They seemed to be captivated with it even though it didn't have pictures! Lynn then came in for Autumn who is still quite ill. Lynn is a teaching assistant here at CS and also works in the After School Program. Lynn read Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss and Where Once There Was A Wood by Denise Fleming. Afterwards we had fruit break and were off to our joint Early Learners music class with Kim. The children got to sing the pizza song and the germ song to a few visitors here for our Open House. After music, we had time for science. We explored different things with magnets, sand, and rice. The children seem to get really engaged in our science time. We had lunch and quiet rest as usual. Today was pizza day so some children may not have eaten everything in their lunchbox.

Our annual all-school Thanksgiving Luncheon will soon be here. It is held at Hollin's College where we have an art show from 11:00-1:00 and lunch from noon-1:00 on Wednesday, November 25th. *PLEASE let me know ahead of time if you know your child/your family will not be able to attend. I will walk the children over to Hollins in the morning. Knowing not to expect someone will be very helpful!* The children's art work is displayed on the second floor of the Moody Center and we eat on the first floor. Early Learner families are asked to bring 1 entree and 1 side dish to feed 10-12 hungry people and 2 nonperishable food items for the Salvation Army food drive. We dismiss from the Moody Center at Hollins at 1:00. Check out the flyer here for more information! PLEASE let me know if you can't prepare/bring food for the luncheon and/or food drive. I will help you any way I can. This is a spectacular, traditional event at Community School and an especially proud day for your child. We really want each family to be able to attend if possible!

Reminder - As the cooler weather creeps in, consider switching out your child's spare change of clothes. Many of them have more Summer appropriate clothing as a backup. You can simply send in a long pair of pants and a long sleeved shirt with your child and I'll switch them out for you.

Tuesday

I wish I had more to tell you, but I haven't really seen the children much today! We did start our morning off with Anna Grace's show and share. She brought in a stuffed animal that sings a song in Russian. The children loved making it sing and dancing with it! We then read a few pages from Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig. We're going to read a few pages out of it a day and do an activity with it when we're finished. We then had fruit break followed by recess. We then were off to drama, spanish, and music class. The children seem to really be enjoying their enrichment classes.

Tomorrow begins the first day of our Fall Open House. For those of you who may not be sure of what Open House is, it is a time for prospective families come to our school for a more personal tour. They will pop into our room to get a feel for how our day and schedule flow.

Thanks so much to Tallulah's family and Anna Grace's family for sending in spoons!!! We greatly appreciate it.

I hope to send out another F.Y.I. soon to give everyone more details about the Thanksgiving Luncheon this month along with other topics of interest pertaining to our classroom. Be on the lookout!

Wednesday

I guess they all missed their friends yesterday, because the children came in this morning roaring and ready to go!  We had our morning meeting followed by Jahanvi's show and share. She brought in a Disney Princess book with twelve princess stories inside. The children had magic in their eyes as I read the story of Aladdin. Soon thereafter, Pattie came in to read to us. Autumn has been quite ill for a few weeks and Pattie has been her substitute. Pattie read Thanksgiving Mice! by Bethany Roberts and Doug Cushman, Clifford's First Autumn, by Norman Bridwell, and Happy Thanksgiving, Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories. After being an awesome audience for Pattie, we washed up for fruit break, followed by our Fruit Break Recess.

Our class went to Music with Kim along with Tulie's and Ruth Ann's classes for our Early Learner Music class. They learned a song about germs, be sure to ask your child to sing it to you! When arriving back at the room, I had a new activity the children have never done before. To strengthen their fine motor muscles and control, I had  play rocks (much like ones you find in beta fish bowls), an ice tray, and tweezers (a kid-friendly kind) sat up at the tables. The children were to fill up their ice trays with the rocks using only the tweezers - no fingers allowed. They all did awesome! We'll continue to do things like this when we have extra time between activities. We then scooted out for recess followed by Lunch-A-Month. Today's LAM was a hotdog, chips, jello, and lemonade. Several children decided to take their chips home and eat something out of their lunchbox instead. We had a wonderful, peaceful afternoon.


REMINDER:

• Conferences tomorrow, November 5th:
• 3:30 pm - ANDY W.
• 4:00 pm - TALLULAH W.
• 5:30 pm - ASHLYNN T.

See you all tomorrow!

Monday

We've had an awesome past couple of school days! Friday was full of excitement as the children got dressed in their Halloween costumes. Thanks again to Rita Patel for coming in to help us get dressed. We then marched outside and gathered for our Halloween Parade. Our class, along with all of the other elementary classes, had a parade around campus to show off our awesome costumes. After the parade and a couple photo shoots (be sure to check out our Halloween Fun album) we gathered back in the room for a special treat from Michi. Michi and the Bolivian students served us apple cider and doughnut holes. We then began our Halloween Party. The children rotated through activities in our room, Tulie's room, and Ruth Ann's room. In our room, we made Halloween cards and iced homemade pumpkin muffins with cinnamon cream cheese icing. Yum! Only one child didn't like the pumpkin muffins, so I guess one out of twenty-six isn't too bad! :) While in Tulie's room, the children played a spooky, yet fun version of musical chairs. Ask your child how they played. In Ruth Ann's room, the children beaded a bracelet with Halloween beads and assembled a jack-o-lantern. After recess we had a picnic in Ruth Ann's and Tulie's rooms.

Good thing we're at the beginning of the month because morning meeting had to be quick today! We went to Emilie's room in middle school for a puppet show on energy this morning. We learned about different types of natural energy and how to preserve it. Emilie's class did an excellent job and had all of the children captivated by their voices and beautiful puppets. We then had fruit break and fruit break recess before heading to Kim's class for Music. Ask your child what instrument they got to play today.

SEE YOU AT CONFERENCES TOMORROW!

Note:

• Please check out the post below to double-check your conference time. Keep in mind that your child should come with you to their conference. Their conference is their time to shine and show you what we have been working on! 
• Our playdough maker for the month of November is Ashlynn C. You can bring it in anytime this week!
• We're in need of plastic spoons!!! We've run out and need more. If you can send some in that would be awesome! Many of our classmates use them with their lunch. We also use them during food activities. Thanks in advance.

Updated Conference Schedule

UPDATED Conference Schedule

TUESDAY, November 3rd, 2009

8:30 am – Ashlynn C.

10:30 am – Jahanvi P.

11:00 am – Alessandra M.

2:00 pm – Charlie B.

2:30 pm – Anna Grace A.

THURSDAY, November 5th, 2009

3:30 pm – Andy W.

4:00 pm – Tallulah W.

Halloween Festivities

We are not planning to ask parents to help us with our room parties because we feel you have already been so helpful with Fall Festival and today and Conferences are next week. We are grateful for your gift of time but your bosses may not feel the same. Our party activities will be within our three rooms and easily handled by staff. We will take pictures and post them later.


At around 10:00 tomorrow morning,  the children will have a costume parade and then go to the Early Learner rooms for more fun. Since our children will have an off-schedule morning (having Spanish for only a short while) I ask that your child's costume be easy enough for them to put on themselves (I will of course help them button, snap, etc.) and that they wear tennis shoes instead of costume shoes. They will be in motion so please consider this when deciding on whether they will wear a mask. I cannot do hair or put on makeup in this short of a time but hats are not a problem. 


Please let me know if you have any questions!!! :)

Busy Week

We have been on the go all week! Monday was our fabulous trip to Jeter Farm. The children had such a wonderful time petting and feeding the animals. There were pigs, calves, goats and sheep. Ask your child if they can remember the calves' names. One was Oreo, and the other was Snowflake. Look through our pictures and see if you can figure out which is which! The children also got to go on a hayride to the corn maze. We were lead to a look out tower and then to the pumpkin patch. Each child picked out their own pumpkin to bring home. We then headed back and washed up for lunch and had a picnic. The children seemed to love being there among all of their friends. Thanks again to all of the parents who were able to come and share this day with us. If you took pictures and are willing to share them with us please let me know and I can give you a cd to burn them or we can hook your camera up to our computer one afternoon to transfer the pictures. Thanks!!

Yesterday was exciting to the children because they got to meet our Bolivian Exchange Students while in their specials. The Bolivian Exchange students will be here for 6 weeks. They are all middle school aged, so they are considered more of the "big kids". They are all very sweet and loving children who can't wait to learn alongside your child.

This morning, Pattie was substituting for Autumn again and came in and read to our group. She read four different books to our class, but I only caught the title of two. She read By the Light of the Halloween Moon by Caroline Stutson and Trick or Treat Little Critter by Gina Mayer and Mercer Mayer and two others I didn't catch the title of. We were an awesome audience for Pattie. We then had our Early Learner Music class with Kim.

We've been having a hard time keeping all of our things organized during lunchtime. We all came up with a plan to make place mats for our lunch and fruit break (this way, our half-day students also get to make and use them). We colored our place mats with our "fancy markers", or as I call them, our dot markers. They all turned out very beautiful! The children loved using different colors and watching them blend together to make another color. I am going to laminate them so the children can use them at the table. They will keep all of their food together on their place mat.

We've also been working on some things for conferences next week. Please be aware that your child is expected to come to conferences with you! This is their time to shine and show you all of the wonderful things they have been working on so far this year.

Friday

We had a very busy and productive morning! We started off brainstorming about things we find in nature. These ideas are important for an art project coming up soon. I couldn't believe how many different and creative things they came up with. We then enjoyed an early fruit break so we could go to Spanish. Elena drove to D.C. today to pick up our Bolivian Exchange Students, so we had Bernie for Spanish. Bernie is a parent at CS and was Elena's substitute last year for 6 weeks while she was in Boliva with our CS students.With Bernie, they turned pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and made paper bag puppets. Their puppets will come home today, but not their jack-o-lanterns, you'll receive those at conferences.

After Spanish class, the children came in for a story. I read Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever by Don Freeman and Lisa McCue. At the beginning of this story, Corduroy goes to the pumpkin patch with his friends. Since we'll be going on Monday, we did a journal page after the story was over about what we think we might see at the pumpkin patch when we go.

Then we worked a little more on our chart of real things and make-believe things. We had a great end to our school week!


DON'T FORGET!!!! We're going to Jeter Farm on Monday!! Unless you're driving your child, we will need their labeled car seat dropped off with them in the morning. THANKS!

Thursday

We're still discussing what is real and what is make-believe. The children have really gotten into it and will frequently point out things that are real and things that are make believe that they see in books on their own. Thus, we began our math workshop this morning discussing our graph and more things we can add to both columns.
After fruit break and recess, Betsy's class came down to our room to spend time with their buddies. We began a project of making spooky spiders with our buddies. We'll finish next time.


Please let me know if you will be driving your child to the pumpkin patch on Monday and joining us. I need to know so we can make appropriate seating arrangements. We have all of the parent drivers we need, but you're more than welcome to come along and spend the morning with your child at Jeter Farm. :)

Tuesday

Going out in the mornings seems to be a big hit - the children are having a blast getting to see their friends and play for a few extra minutes. We will continue to go out each morning unless it is too cold out. 


This morning after calendar, weather, and attendance, we finished reading our poems from our book  A Little Bit Scary, by Gill Davies and Gill Guile. We continued to talk about real vs. make-believe. We started a group graph (one that we all work on together) to graph real things and make-believe things. We're mainly focusing on the pictures that go along with our poems, so our graph includes things like spiders, monsters, bath tubs, tooth brushes, beds, people, skeletons, etc. Ask your child what things we included on our graph.


Soon thereafter we headed off to two enrichment classes(Julie was not here today), Music and Spanish. We then headed out to recess where we heard the bell ring a bit early. Middle School has been working hard to weigh the trash output of Community School and encourage us to recycle more. A lot about their study can be found on www.350.org. We then celebrated today's trash-free lunch by eating with Ruth Ann's class. Thank you to everyone who made the extra effort to pack a trash-free lunch for their child! We'll continue to celebrate trash-free lunch all week, but encourage you to reduce the amount of trash we produce all year long.


Be sure to check Quick Notes today. Our first conference schedule is attached. Click here to look up your time!!

Monday

          We started this morning outside, playing with all of their friends. The children seemed to like going out. We're going to try it for a while and see how it goes. Please remember on chilly mornings to send your child with a hat and gloves. If you need help getting these items for your child, please let me know. In addition to their hat and gloves, be sure to also send them with a heavy coat or layers. Layers work well for this time of year - as the day warms up they can get rid of a layer.
          We had music this morning, followed by some spooky, silly rhyming poems. A couple of the children started talking about rhyming words, so I thought it was a great opportunity to read poems from our Halloween book, A Little Bit Scary, by Gill Davies and Gill Guile. We talked about real things vs. make-believe. We determined that monsters, vampires and werewolves are make-believe. However, the children decided that bats, bones, and candy are real. 

Pictures have been posted of our Fall Festival On-Campus activities. 

Reminder: Our trip to Jeter Farm has been postponed to next Monday, October 26th.  
      

Thursday

We had an awesome and exciting morning! Thanks to all of our parents who came to help out. We really appreciate your time! The children had a blast and couldn't narrow down the morning to their favorite part - they loved it all! I've been working very hard to get pictures uploaded, so hopefully they will be on here by later this afternoon. :)

Reminders:

• NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!
• Sleep items are coming home today - please send them back on Monday.
• New Pumpkin Patch Date: Mon., October 26th. Let me know if you can help transport. :)

Wednesday

Monday

A cloudy morning quickly got brighter when we celebrated Tallulah's birthday. Tallulah brought in a wonderful fruit tray, fruit dip, and skewers. What else would we make but fruit kabobs?!? They were awesome, filled with cantalope, honeydew, strawberries, and grapes. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to talk to the children about patterns. We then made a chart of who liked what fruits. The number of children who liked cantalope surprised me, but maybe thats because I'm not a fan of it myself!

We're getting all geared up for the pumpkin patch and our on-campus festival, please let me know if you have any questions! :)

Thursday

Quick post today: This morning we worked in Math Workshop Centers. We used magnet shapes to create our own patterns and sorted colored tiles into different bowls. We also had buddies this morning. During buddies, we went on a quick walk with our buddy from Betsy's class and collected leaves. We took our leaves back to the classroom and created leaf people, sea monsters, puppies, and carnival workers. They're awesome and will be on display for the next few days. Please stop by and give them a look!


REMINDERS:

• Scholastic Book Orders were due today. Please be sure to place your online order by midnight tonight(10/8). If you simply forgot to send in the form, please email me (katlync@communityschool.net) and let me know so I don't submit the final order. THANKS!
• Fall Festival money MUST be turned in by tomorrow, Oct. 9th. Thanks again!

Wednesday

Autumn, our Literacy Specialist came to our room this morning and read The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons and The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll. The children did a great job listening and foreshadowing what was going to happen next in the books. We had music with Kim after fruit break. When the children returned from music class, we read a classic Nursery Rhyme called If All The World Were Apple Pie.

If All The World Were Apple Pie

If all the world were apple pie,

And all the sea were ink,

And all the trees were bread and cheese,

What would we have to drink?

We then colored a picture of the world as an apple pie and drew trees made of bread and cheese. I then asked the children to think of what they would have to drink if they couldn't have water. Responses I got were : cranberry juice, apple juice, orange juice, cran-raspberry juice, and chocolate milk. These were great responses! I then wrote the children's words at the bottom of their picture. They're hanging up for everyone to see, so come in and take a look!

REMINDERS:

• I still need Fall Festival money from several people. The fee is $10.00 and can be sent in in your child's folder. You can either send in cash or a check made out to Community School. I must have the money no later than Friday, Oct. 9th. We have to buy supplies and can't without the money first! Thanks so much.
• SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS ARE DUE TOMORROW, OCT. 8TH. 

Friday

We still have a small group! I hope our sick little ones are feeling better by Tuesday. We did our morning meeting followed by some literacy work. We played a game where we found letters all around our room. I was surprised how many they found. Naturally, one would assume the large letters down at their eye-level would be found first. Not this group! They were spotting small letters on cards and notes hanging up by my computer desk. They did awesome! In total, the group found 57 letters in our room. We also had Spanish this morning with Elena and our Seminar buddies. 

We now have enough drivers for Jeter Farm. You may certainly still come with us and enjoy this day with your child. You can pay your admission upon arrival to the farm. 

Please don't forget to send in your child's $10.00 fee for Fall Festival. We are buying all of our supplies next week and need that money to do so. The $10.00 goes towards your child's admission ticket for Jeter Farm and all supplies needed for our on-campus Festival. I need the money by Tuesday, October 6th. THANK YOU!

Please return sleep items on Tuesday! Have a wonderful weekend and remember : NO SCHOOL MONDAY, OCT. 5TH.

Thursday

We had such a small group today! Several of our students were out, leaving us with only four. The five of us took time during Math Workshop to talk about shapes. We learned about three shapes today: square, triangle, and rectangle. We counted all of their sides and corners. We also discussed how they are different and how they are alike. After we talked about them, we hunted in the room for those three shapes. We discovered we don't have many triangles, but there are a lot of rectangles and squares. Charlie discovered that if you turn a rectangle up on it's side, it looks like a door. We then picked our favorite a shape out of a pile and colored it with as many colors as we could find. They're beautiful and hanging up on our door.
After MWS we had fruit break and recess. We then went to Betsy's room for buddies. We talked about nature and things you find in nature. We went walking around campus looking for examples of all kinds of nature. When we went back to Betsy's room, we drew pictures of the nature we found. The children found great examples of nature. Some examples were : frog, walnut, leaves, bush, bird, tree, clovers, sap, and grass.
During science exploration, we tested out sinking vs. floating objects as a group. The children predicted what they thought would happen to the object when they put it in the water and then they tested it out. After everyone got to guess a couple times, I had them go around the room to find something they wanted to test. The objects tested were : a feather, a Scooby Doo toy, a little fire hydrant, and a cotton ball. These were all excellent choices. Ask your child what their object was and what happened when they put it in the water. After we tested our selected objects, we journaled about what happened. The children drew a picture of their object either floating or sinking and dictated their words while I wrote them under their picture.

We had a small group, but it was a great day!

Wednesday

This morning we had the pleasure of listening to three different stories read by Pattie, our Elementary Teaching Assistant. On Wednesdays, our Literacy Specialist, Autumn, will come in and read to our class. However, today Autumn was out so Pattie filled in for her. Pattie read Bring in the Pumpkins by Dahlov Ipcar, Froggy's Halloween by Jonathan London, and Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. I was very proud of our class. They were great listeners for Pattie.

We also had our Early Learners music class with Kim this morning. I heard the children singing a song about jellybeans, so ask them about it! We also continued a center for letter recognition and fine motor control. The children are doing a fantastic job putting beans on the letters of their name.

For now, I have put a small hold on our Show & Share. We have the possibility of welcoming a new student into our room. I would like to include our new student on our October calendar, but am waiting on the official word to do so. We will most likely start back our usual Show & Share on Tuesday, Oct. 6th. I should have a calendar to you by the end of the week.

Fall Festival F.Y.I.'s have been sent home! Please check your child's folder for this VERY important newsletter! For your convenience, I have also posted it at the bottom of our blog, so scroll down and take a look! Please read it over and let me know if you have any questions.

Tuesday

Tuesdays are always lonely for me - the children have all three enrichment classes! We did start our morning with our morning meeting. The class is getting really good at recognizing their names when we do attendance. Soon enough they will recognize their friends' names too. Later in the year, I will have attendance stars with their first and last names. We then had math workshop. I'm working on spatial relationships with the children. I'm using a lot of words like "in between", "under", "beside", "over", etc. We finished a little bit sooner than planned for, so we looked at books and put puzzles together before washing up for fruit break. Drama, Spanish, and Music quickly followed along with recess and lunch. Before we knew it, it was time for quiet rest and dismissal. We had a great day!

• Quick Notes came out today. Be sure to check out these important dates. Can't remember how to get to them on the school's web page? Click our link on the right hand side of our blog that says "Click For Quick Notes".

• Scholastic Book Orders were sent home today. Please let me know if you have questions. This is a great way to get affordable books for you and your child to enjoy.

• October's Show & Share Calendar will come home tomorrow.

• Details on Fall Festival will come home tomorrow. Please send in $10 to me by Tuesday, October 6th. This money will cover the cost of our events. More details will come tomorrow.

Monday

We had a bit of a mixed-up Monday today. We did a quick morning meeting and began our literacy workshop. We will soon be starting our cooking/food activities on Mondays. We continued our work on our names by gluing beans on our letters. We then went to have our pictures taken. Our class did a wonderful job of being quiet and waiting our turn. We were the first group, so the photographer waited to work out lighting and whatnot with our children. After they had their photo taken, they got to choose something out of the photographer's treasure box. Some of them picked bracelets, while others got bats and frogs. Many of them were lost on the playground that followed right after pictures, but some of you may see an extra little toy come home today. It is theirs to keep. :) We then had music class with Kim followed by a little later than usual fruit break. We then worked on puzzles and looked at books for a few minutes before heading out for recess. We had a great day!

REMINDER:

• Tomorrow we will have sibling photos taken ONLY if you have called Connie and put your children on the list. Please call the school (540)560-5036 and put your children on the list for sibling photos. The photographer will not take photos of children not on the list. Rain date for sibling photos is September 30th.

Friday

Happy Friday! We welcomed a visitor into our room this morning. Andy came to visit with us for a little while this morning and I was so proud of how nice and kind the children were to him. They were very helpful and sweet. We took a few extra minutes to play in our room before starting our morning meeting. We then read the story Boomer Goes To School by Constance W. McGeorge. This is a cute story about a boy who takes his dog to school for show and share. The story is told from the dog's perspective instead of the little boy's. We then scooted off to Spanish with Elena and our Seminar buddies. When we came back we worked on literacy by gluing beans in the shape of the letters that make our names. This is a great fine motor and letter recognition activity. We also did a bit of science. We discovered the different ways and speeds that different objects move in mediums like rice, sand, water, and air. We discovered that a toy car doesn't move as quickly in sand as it does in water. We also discovered that it is harder to push a rock in sand than it is in the air. After we cleaned up from our explorations, we had an indoor recess. The children were mainly interested in our dress up area. I tucked the photo below in every child's folder today. The children were so proud of how they dressed up that they wanted their picture taken (I never say no to a photo op!). It was a great day!

REMINDER:

• Sleep items are coming home today, please bring them back on Monday. Thanks!!

Getting All Dressed Up! 9/25/09

Thursday

What a busy Thursday! This morning started off with our morning meeting, but a bit later than usual for we had a few friends we were waiting on to join us. We then took the time to do Alessandra's show and share. She brought in a wonderful feather that she found on the beach. The children were amazed by it so we had a mini science lesson to learn about birds and why their feathers are important. The children used words like "soft", "long", and "black" to describe the feather. Because of our late start and a longer than usual show and share, we read a quick story from our Treasury for Four-Year-Olds and washed up for fruit break. After fruit break and fruit break recess our buddies from Betsy's class came to our room. To get to know each other better, we traced each other's hands and wrote something we learned about them on each finger. Betsy's class was very willing to help their little buddies trace their hands and write on their traced fingers for them. They then colored them together and cut their hands out. I've put them up for display on our window. Before recess, we had a few minutes to play together in our room with our floor toys.

Wednesday

This morning we started with our morning meeting. We then had Tallulah's show and share and listened to Greg & Steve's "Going on a Bear Hunt" and acted out the parts. We then had a special guest in our room. Holly came in and read two books to us. The first book was Piggies by Audrey Wood. The second story was Whose Garden is it? by Mary Ann Hoberman and Jane Dyer. The children were a great audience for Holly! We then had Early Learner music with Kim and played with toys in the room. While in our classroom, the children are working on sharing and using kind words. We've talked a lot about how the tone of our voice and our facial expression can change and alter what we're trying to tell someone. If you all could support this at home, that would be a great help! Thank you for everything you do!

REMINDER: Don't forget to check out this week's Quick Notes! Each week's Quick Notes have important dates and information.

Click HERE to view this week's.

Tuesday

Tuesdays are a bit lonely for me, for the children have all three enrichment classes. We started this morning with our morning meeting and then switched to math workshop. The children rotated through two sorting centers. While at one, they sorted tiles by color and at the other center, made creations out of blocks using only one color at a time. They also rotated through a "sink or float" center, where they hypothesized if they thought the object would sink or float. A few of the objects were : cork, mini pine cones, a sea shell, paper clips, stones, rubber stamps, and a small ball. Most of them were surprised the cork floated! Soon afterwards we had fruit break. We then had Drama with Julie, Spanish with Elena, and Music with Kim. Throw in another recess, lunch and quiet rest and you've got the rest of our Tuesday!

Monday

This morning we had just enough time to finish our Name Skits before the rain kicked in. We did fantastic! If you were unable to make it, we performed with Ruth Ann's and Tulie's classes. The three class names are “Wynken”, “Blynken”, and “Nod”. Together, as the Early Learners, we're “The Wooden Shoe”. We were a great audience as we watched the other classes perform. After Name Skits, we washed up for fruit break and had Music class with Kim. Kim reported that we all had our singing voices on and did a great job in class. As I was approaching the Music room, I could hear the children singing “The Pizza Song”. If your child has not yet serenaded you with this fabulous song, you must ask them to sing it for you. It has a very funny surprise ending. After Music class I read the children some stories from A Treasury For Four-Year-Olds. We then had recess followed by lunch and quiet rest.

Note: I've stuck a playdough recipe in each child's folder with a note for which month you're to bring it in. Not many parents signed up at Gatherings last week, so I just plugged volunteers where I needed them. Please let me know if there is a conflict with your given month. Playdough is to be sent in at the beginning of your assigned month for the children to play with all month long! Don't be scared to get creative with your dough. This is a wonderful activity you can do with your child at home!

Friday

Happy Friday! The rain sure did put a bummer on our name skits this morning, but we managed to pull of a pretty successful and happy day. We had a quick morning meeting followed by our fruit break. We have fruit break a little early on Fridays because of Spanish. We then went to Spanish class to meet our seminar buddies. We will have Spanish class with the seminar class every Friday. The seminar students will help Elena teach our class Spanish. A lot of children at this age tend to be afraid of the "big kids" - hopefully having buddies with both Betsy's class and seminar will help them with this.

We finished up an art project we started earlier this week. It has to do with our class name. Our masterpieces are hanging up on our closet doors inside the classroom for display. Be sure to check them out when you stop by. We then spent some time in the classroom using different manipulatives. "Playing" in our classroom really helps the children learn social skills and vocabulary. They also must work together when there are only a few different things available to play with. This means there may be two or three children using the same toys if I only have two centers open. The children must talk to each other and figure out what sharing is really all about.

On Fridays, the children can eat lunch in a different classroom. The children can go to another room and other children can come in to our room and eat. Today was a mixture of both. Several of the middle and upper elementary children came in to our room and most children with siblings at Community School in our class went to eat with their sibling.

After lunch, we listened to classic nursery rhymes on CD as we had quiet rest. Most children were sleeping in 5 minutes! They're worn out from all of their hard work and play at school. Have a great weekend and I'll see you all on Monday morning! :)

REMINDERS:

• Class name skits have been postponed to MONDAY, 9/21 @ 9:30am. Please come join us!
• Sleep items are being sent home today! Please return them on Monday.

Thursday

Today we got to spend time with our Buddies from Betsy's class(8-10 year-olds) for the first time. Each child was paired with one or two children from Betsy's class. The children in Betsy's class read to their Buddy in our class. They had a great time and made some new friends! We will continue this every Thursday.

We also took some time this morning to practice for their name skit. Name skits are tomorrow(Friday, 9/18) morning @ 10:30am on the blacktop right outside our classroom. All parents are welcome to come! We will perform first and it will take less than 5 minutes. If you can sneak away from work long enough, please do! Our class name goes together with Tulie's and Ruth Ann's, but that is the only hint you're getting other than wooden shoe. Can't figure it out? Come tomorrow to find out!

Your children may seem extra tired or cranky by the end of this week. This is completely normal and expected for children this age while adjusting to such a different routine. Their sleeping patterns will adjust soon! Many of them are napping long and hard during quiet rest. This must be the result of a busy, fun day.

Wednesday

First of all, thank you to everyone who came out for Gatherings last night! I hope you found it helpful and informational. Please let me know if any questions arise. If you were unable to attend last night, I need volunteers to make play-dough for several different months. I have copies of three different recipes so you can make it at home(much cheaper), or it can be store bought. I need volunteers for the following months : November, December, January, February, March, April, and May. 1 volunteer per month is needed. This is a one-time sign up, bringing the play-dough in at the beginning of the month you sign up for. Please let me know what month works for you, first come first serve!

The past couple days have been busy ones for sure! It seems like on Tuesdays I hardly get to see the children. We worked in literacy centers in the morning until time for drama, spanish, and music. We had just enough time to look at some books before time to go outside for recess.

Today, we started our morning with our morning meeting and calendar routine. During this routine, we talk about the weather, the season, the month, the days of the week, and practice counting by counting to today's date. We also do attendance to help the children recognize their own name as well as their friends'. Lastly, we go over our schedule for the day. We then worked in different centers while I finished up some assessments. The children are very excited to show me what they know. The children rotated through a building center, a sensory center, and a puzzle center while I worked one-on-one with the child being assessed.

We then had fruit break and celebrated Ashlynn's birthday. Thanks again for bringing in the yummy mini cupcakes and juice! After fruit break, we went to "the castle" (the big white house) and up to the 3rd floor for our early learner music class. Ask your child to sing "the pizza song" to you. It is a very funny song that has a surprise ending. We then came back to our room and worked on some yoga moves. Today was the first day I have introduced it, and a few were reluctant to try right away. Charlie told them how fun it was and showed us three different poses. He showed us "Happy Baby", "One-legged downward dog", and "The flip". I'm also new to yoga and am not quite sure if "the flip" was a yoga pose or a cool trick, but all of the children joined in and had a great time. Recess and lunch followed.

*Please remember on pizza and Lunch-A-Month days to still pack your child a fruit break. On pizza days they will need a fruit break and a drink. Drinks are provided with Lunch-A-Month.

Monday

What an awesome morning we had! We started our day with our Hollins University student employee, Jessica. Jessica will be helping out in our room on Monday mornings. She also works in our After School Program on campus. We read a poem (I can't tell you which one yet, its a surprise!) that we will tell you more about on Friday morning during our class name skits. Jessica then helped us with an art activity that went along with our poem. We then had music class with Kim. The children are telling me they listened to some music from China, but I haven't confirmed it quite yet - be sure to ask your child what they did with Kim today.

When we came back from music, we observed our plants in our "greenhouse". We have a mini "greenhouse" set up in our room with six different plants on it. We looked at them all and talked about what made them different and how they were alike. Then we drew our own pictures of the plants. We finished up a bit sooner than expected so I read "Henny-Penny" out of our book A Treasury for Four-Year-Olds. The children love the illustrations in this book. They were an awesome audience for me while reading.

We had another fire drill today- this time at the end of recess! We were all already outside so the children had to scramble and find me to line up. They did a great job! :)

Several of you have already been emailing me with your thoughts and questions. This is wonderful - don't hesitate to email me!

Friday

Today we welcomed Anna Grace to our classroom. The children were so kind and friendly to her. I explained to them how proud I was of them.

During our morning meeting, we each get a chance to share something with the class. We also do our "circle time" activities during this time. We go over the month, days of the week, weather, season, and do our attendance. They're really catching on to it! We then spent some time using different manipulatives in the room while I assessed children one at a time. I will continue to do these next week. I assess them to see what they know and what they don't so I can set goals for each child academically.

We had Spanish class this morning with Elena. The children are already learning their colors in Spanish! I was impressed when they came back and told me some of the colors they have learned. Ask your child how to say "red" in Spanish (rojo, pronounced ro-ho) and "blue" (azul).

When we came back, we had a special presentation by the Seminarians. The Seminar class is the oldest of our middle school. They put on a puppet show for the early learners to teach them about our playground rules and playground safety. Our class was a fantastic audience! Ask your child what sticks are for (sticks are for building) and what they should do if someone gets hurt (go get a teacher).

We then read out of a collection of stories called "A Treasury for Four Year Olds". This book contains beautiful illustrations for fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Today I read "Three Billy Goats Gruff", "The Fast and Flashy Fish", and "Ug-Ug-Ugly".

Everyone fell asleep very quickly today during quiet rest! It has been a long week for many of them and I'm sure they'll need lots of rest this weekend. See you all on Monday! :)

Thursday

What a fantastic start to our school year! We've had a busy past couple of days, but we have learned so many new things. We have spent a lot of time exploring our classroom and the things in it. We have already met our specials teachers and had all three of those classes. We had drama, music, and spanish on Tuesday. Yesterday, we had a joint music class with Ruth Ann and Tulie's classes. Kim, the music teacher, wanted to give it a try and they did great! We will continue to have this combined music class each week.

Today was special. Today is Mia's third birthday! We celebrated by having a sweet treat after fruit break. Special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Camp for bringing in cupcakes, juice, and balloons for Mia's birthday! Everyone had a great time. We also had the excitement this morning of our first fire drill. Our class did wonderful. We will continue to have these once a week for the month of September.

Thank you to everyone who has brought in supplies. We will use them all up for sure! A couple children still do not have a crib sheet to sleep on. Please bring them in as soon as possible. On that note, all of your child's sleeping items will be sent home tomorrow, Friday, to be washed. Please send them back Monday. :)