Group Meeting: We learned a new rhyme to help us learn our classmates names. I would hold up a letter card. If a child's name began with that letter, we put their name into the rhyme. Everyone had a turn to tell us the first letter in their name.
Story: We read Quinito, Day and Night. In this story, Quinito tells us about his family. He describes characteristics of each member and what they like to do. He also tells us what he likes to do.
Large Group: We learned a new song called "Tap, Tap". We use big lines from our Handwriting Without Tears program to do the motions with the song. Both morning and afternoon class liked this song and asked to sing it again. However, we wanted time to go outdoors, so we will have to do it again next week. (While we were outside in the afternoon, the sprinklers came on! Everyone got a few sprinkles on them. It felt good.)
Snack: We had blueberry bagels and cream cheese with juice.
Please check your child's backpack daily for notes and projects. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
A Nice First Day!
We enjoyed being together as a class today. I think we are off to a good start. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me.
Group Meeting: I read the nursery rhyme "The Three Little Kittens". To refresh your memory, it's about 3 kittens that have lost their mittens. I told the children that perhaps they should have put their names on their mittens. Then they would be easily found. At preschool, we need to put names on our belongings, art work, and papers so that they don't get lost. I told them that if they couldn't print their names yet, that we would help them. We also talked about putting things in cubbies right away so that they wouldn't get lost.
Story: We read the story Love is a Family. In this story, a little girl is worried about taking her mother to the Family Fun Night at school because she thinks it's unusual to have just a mom in her family. However, when she gets to school, she finds that there are many kinds of families. Some like hers and others that are different. Some of the children shared how many people are in their family.
Large Group: Zoey and Matt are two puppet friends that I use to teach the children procedures at school. Today, they helped us learn about sitting on the rug. Zoey and Matt told the children that they needed to find one leaf to sit on and to stay in that spot until the activity was over. We also learned about the calendar and weather chart. We will use the calendar to keep track of our days and special events at school. I do not use it to teach the days of the week or time. Time concepts are difficult for many 4 year old children to comprehend.
We learned an active song called "Bounce Around" which involves lots of gross motor skills.
Snacks: Our snack for today was Teddy Grahams and apple juice.
Your child learned a lot today. We introduce our routine and procedures slowly. We don't want to overwhelm them all at once. I thought it was a great day!
Group Meeting: I read the nursery rhyme "The Three Little Kittens". To refresh your memory, it's about 3 kittens that have lost their mittens. I told the children that perhaps they should have put their names on their mittens. Then they would be easily found. At preschool, we need to put names on our belongings, art work, and papers so that they don't get lost. I told them that if they couldn't print their names yet, that we would help them. We also talked about putting things in cubbies right away so that they wouldn't get lost.
Story: We read the story Love is a Family. In this story, a little girl is worried about taking her mother to the Family Fun Night at school because she thinks it's unusual to have just a mom in her family. However, when she gets to school, she finds that there are many kinds of families. Some like hers and others that are different. Some of the children shared how many people are in their family.
Large Group: Zoey and Matt are two puppet friends that I use to teach the children procedures at school. Today, they helped us learn about sitting on the rug. Zoey and Matt told the children that they needed to find one leaf to sit on and to stay in that spot until the activity was over. We also learned about the calendar and weather chart. We will use the calendar to keep track of our days and special events at school. I do not use it to teach the days of the week or time. Time concepts are difficult for many 4 year old children to comprehend.
We learned an active song called "Bounce Around" which involves lots of gross motor skills.
Snacks: Our snack for today was Teddy Grahams and apple juice.
Your child learned a lot today. We introduce our routine and procedures slowly. We don't want to overwhelm them all at once. I thought it was a great day!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Welcome to School
I really enjoyed our Welcome to School Day. I hope that the children did, too. I want to thank all of the parents and grandparents for coming to be with the children. It gets the school year off to a good start.
Group Meeting: We talked about the importance of learning each other's names. We recited the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" and agreed that Humpty is an unusual time. We used a real egg to see what would happen if Humpty fell off of the wall. If you were not here to see it, ask you child to tell you what happened.
Story: Our story for today was A Pocket for Corduroy. Corduroy is a Teddy Bear that belongs to Lisa. When Lisa takes Corduroy to the laundromat, he gets lost while searching for a pocket to put on his overalls. Lisa has to leave the laundromat without him. She returns on the next day and finds him in a laundry basket. When she learns that Corduroy was looking for a pocket, she sews one onto his overalls and then puts a name card in the pocket so that he would not get lost again.
We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow for our first full day!
Group Meeting: We talked about the importance of learning each other's names. We recited the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" and agreed that Humpty is an unusual time. We used a real egg to see what would happen if Humpty fell off of the wall. If you were not here to see it, ask you child to tell you what happened.
Story: Our story for today was A Pocket for Corduroy. Corduroy is a Teddy Bear that belongs to Lisa. When Lisa takes Corduroy to the laundromat, he gets lost while searching for a pocket to put on his overalls. Lisa has to leave the laundromat without him. She returns on the next day and finds him in a laundry basket. When she learns that Corduroy was looking for a pocket, she sews one onto his overalls and then puts a name card in the pocket so that he would not get lost again.
We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow for our first full day!
Monday, August 19, 2013
It's getting exciting!
Hello!
The teachers at Redeemer are busy getting everything ready for preschool to begin. Today, we made plans for all of the activities that we are going to do once school starts. Then, we began to decorate the preschool by putting up bulletin boards and pictures. Tonight, the carpet cleaning company is cleaning the carpet so that we can get all of the toys out and into their places. The window washer has been here to wash windows and tomorrow night the cleaning lady will come to do the final touches. All of this means that we will be starting school soon! That's exciting to me. I like how everything looks new. It means that its time for children to come and explore and learn. Very soon we will be ready to start the school year. We know that you will be ready, too!
Mrs. Christiansen
The teachers at Redeemer are busy getting everything ready for preschool to begin. Today, we made plans for all of the activities that we are going to do once school starts. Then, we began to decorate the preschool by putting up bulletin boards and pictures. Tonight, the carpet cleaning company is cleaning the carpet so that we can get all of the toys out and into their places. The window washer has been here to wash windows and tomorrow night the cleaning lady will come to do the final touches. All of this means that we will be starting school soon! That's exciting to me. I like how everything looks new. It means that its time for children to come and explore and learn. Very soon we will be ready to start the school year. We know that you will be ready, too!
Mrs. Christiansen
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Home Visits
Hello!
I'm sorry that I didn't get my blog post finished yesterday. I have been busy trying to keep up with home visits and just getting things ready at preschool.
Mrs. Hoogheem and I have been traveling all over Davenport, Bettendorf, and LeClaire visiting with children and their parents. We have had a great time getting to meet everyone. We want to thank all of you for taking the time to visit with us, even though they are short visits. I know that it will be helpful on the first day of school. If we haven't been to your home yet, we will be soon. If I haven't been able to reach you to arrange a time, we will connect at the Parent Orientation. The home visits do not have to be completed until the end of the school year. We choose to do them now for two reasons. First of all, we have the time. Secondly, we like to be able to make a connection before school begins.
So, thanks again for all of your time!
Mrs. Christiansen
I'm sorry that I didn't get my blog post finished yesterday. I have been busy trying to keep up with home visits and just getting things ready at preschool.
Mrs. Hoogheem and I have been traveling all over Davenport, Bettendorf, and LeClaire visiting with children and their parents. We have had a great time getting to meet everyone. We want to thank all of you for taking the time to visit with us, even though they are short visits. I know that it will be helpful on the first day of school. If we haven't been to your home yet, we will be soon. If I haven't been able to reach you to arrange a time, we will connect at the Parent Orientation. The home visits do not have to be completed until the end of the school year. We choose to do them now for two reasons. First of all, we have the time. Secondly, we like to be able to make a connection before school begins.
So, thanks again for all of your time!
Mrs. Christiansen
Monday, August 5, 2013
Something New
Hello!
As you may know, I wear glasses. I have been wearing glasses since I was in the 5th grade. That's a long time. A few weeks ago, I accidentally dropped my glasses on the ceramic tile floor at my home. They cracked. I could still see out of them, but I thought they looked silly when I put them on. So, I had to get new glasses. I really didn't want to get new glasses. I liked my old ones, and I knew that I would probably not be able to find a pair just like them. I did pick out a new pair of glasses. They are not like my old ones, but I am getting used to them. In fact, I kind of like them.
Pretty soon, we will be starting preschool. I know that this might be something new for you. Even if you were at Redeemer for preschool last year, you didn't have me for a teacher. So, some things are going to be different and new for everyone. I hope that you will be willing to try something new. I know that if you do, you are going to like it. Just like I like my new glasses.
This week, I am going to start home visits. I am hoping that I will be able to get you know you a little better by having a little time to talk to you. Maybe you can tell me about your family or what you like to play with at home. I'll see you soon!
Mrs. Christiansen
As you may know, I wear glasses. I have been wearing glasses since I was in the 5th grade. That's a long time. A few weeks ago, I accidentally dropped my glasses on the ceramic tile floor at my home. They cracked. I could still see out of them, but I thought they looked silly when I put them on. So, I had to get new glasses. I really didn't want to get new glasses. I liked my old ones, and I knew that I would probably not be able to find a pair just like them. I did pick out a new pair of glasses. They are not like my old ones, but I am getting used to them. In fact, I kind of like them.
Pretty soon, we will be starting preschool. I know that this might be something new for you. Even if you were at Redeemer for preschool last year, you didn't have me for a teacher. So, some things are going to be different and new for everyone. I hope that you will be willing to try something new. I know that if you do, you are going to like it. Just like I like my new glasses.
This week, I am going to start home visits. I am hoping that I will be able to get you know you a little better by having a little time to talk to you. Maybe you can tell me about your family or what you like to play with at home. I'll see you soon!
Mrs. Christiansen
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