pre-k Family Newsletter October 31, 2012

 Pre-K Family Newsletter       October 31, 2012    

    

This is the last week of our Family Theme in class. The kids have done a nice job taking on roles and for the most part, staying in them, during our center time.  Here's a group working on the car engine in "the garage"....

I hope you have enjoyed discussing the “play plans” that come home with your student once a week. The kids should be able to tell you about the picture they drew, which center they went to, and “who” they were. Look for details beyond the stick figures, beginning to emerge in their work. Many are working on their messages, so re-reading that part together, would be much appreciated. In our pre-k world we draw a line for every word in our messages, so you can also anticipate kids “reading” their lines to you. Mrs. Peavey and I write the words in, but eventually you will see your kids start to write initial sounds and more on the lines. A very exciting time!

Our centers will begin to transform into Restaurants next week, and we will start pretending to be cooks, dishwashers, customers, etc. The kids will help decide which restaurants will be in our centers – usually local favorites are chosen. After that, we may request to borrow props from home that support these cuisines, so stand by!

Some important November dates to keep in mind:

Tuesday, November 6^th – no school. It’s a professional development day for RSU1 teachers.

November 20, 21, 22 – no pre-k this week for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, November 20^th is when we will hold Parent Conferences for our class. Sign up times will be posted soon.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bridgman and Mrs. Peavey

P.S. Halloween Day with your kids was wonderful - thanks for sharing them with us!

November Dates to Remember

Please be aware of the following dates for November:

NOVEMBER 6TH-NO SCHOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY

NOVEMBER 20TH- NO SCHOOL FOR PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES

NOVEMBER 21ST & 22ND -NO SCHOOL FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

October 23, 2012

This week, we will be doing a required baseline assessment test with all the pre-k kids. It's called the CPAA, which stands for Children's Progress Academic Assessment. It's done on our school computers and takes about 15 minutes. We'll be having a sub on Wednesday to help out in the class with Mrs. Peavey, while I take students, about 3 at a time, to the computer lab in Dike-Newell. From observing past years' kids, I predict they will think it's fun. We'll be reviewing the results of this snapshot of your child at our parent teacher conferences, which are on November 20th.

Mrs. Bridgman

Family Newsletter 10-15-12

                                                                                                 

                                                                                October 15, 2012

Pre-K Family Newsletter

We are continuing to play in our Family-themed centers (the living room, the laundry room, the bathroom, the bedroom, the garage and the kitchen.) Your kids will most likely be able to tell you which center they played in that day, and who they pretended to be. It would be great if you could ask your child more about that part of their day. Something like, “And what does the grandmother do?” (if they said they were the grandmother), or “What does a little brother say when he is in the kitchen?” There may be a decipherable connection between the play plans your child brings home, and what he or she tells you about … Well, okay, some of us are just starting to draw recognizable stick figures and details, so the connections may not be overly apparent yet!

Thanks to Mrs. Peavey’s technical expertise, our Pre-K blog is up and running. You may find it by going to the Dike-Newell website, clicking on “Classroom Links”, then “Pre-K”, then “Mrs. Bridgman”. I hope to post classroom news, and an occasional picture of the kids doing fun stuff (no names will be used.) My list from the office shows that no one has denied permission to use their child’s picture on this school site. If I am in error about this, kindly let me know, and we will happily follow your wishes.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bridgman and Mrs. Peavey

Thanks!

We will be doing a leaf rubbing project this week. 

First Grade Buddies

Today, we had our first visit from Mrs. Kennedy's first grade class. They will visit us each Thursday around 11:30 and do special activities with us. The kids have been paired with a buddy and are working on learning each other's names and becoming friends.

Family Newsletter 10-2-12

Pre-K Family Newsletter                                                              October 2, 2012

Last week, the kids started choosing the centers/"rooms of the house" that they want to play in. They chose a colored clothespin and then went to that color center. The basic goal is to have them self-regulate enough to stay in that center, playing, for twenty minutes or so.  (For example, they clip the blue clothespin to their clothing to remind them (and the adults) they should be playing in the blue center/literacy center/living room.) The higher goal is to have them play a legitimate role in that center, like the mom or the dad or the cousin, etc., and have some pretend actions that would dovetail with that role. A bit of angst appears at this stage, because there are only four pins per center, so depending on where one's name is on the rotating list of who goes first, one may or may not get one's first choice. 

Stand by to hear, "I didn't get to go to the _________ (room of the house) today!" But know the list will rotate predictably, and this is actually another deliberate part of the curriculum. Kids will be bringing “play plans” home on a regular basis soon. This will be a picture, eventually some writing, done in colored marker that represents your child doing something at a center. Please ask them about the plan, what they are doing in the picture and who they are pretending to be.

We’ll be doing some leaf rubbings soon. If you and your child could collect 5-6 leaves to send in for this activity, that would be great.

Thanks for signing your kids out as requested at noon time.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bridgman and Mrs. Peavey

 

 

 

October Calendar

October 9 – Bath Fire Department Assembly – 9:00-9:15 in the gym

October 9 – PTA @ F/M – 6:30 p.m.

October 19 – Last Collection Day for Box Tops Challenge #1!

October 23 – Picture Day