Tools of the Mind
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Visit to the Dike Newell School Library
Mrs. Hernandez invited Pre-K to visit the school library today. Dike Newell School PTA generously paid for a new book for each student, and we had a great selection to choose from. The kids were very well behaved during our visit, too. Here we are back in our classroom with our new books.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Stone Soup
Dear Families,
To celebrate this feasting time of year with a literacy connection, Pre-K will be making Stone Soup tomorrow. If you are able to send along a vegetable to add to the soup, or can stay for a few minutes at drop-off time tomorrow morning, and peel and chop vegetables with the kids, we'd appreciate it. We'll be assembling the soup on Tuesday and feasting at snack time (10 ish) on Wednesday. You are welcome to join us then as well - please give me a heads up, if you think you can come).
Thank you!
Mrs. Bridgman
Tuesday update ... Many, many thanks to the families who sent in vegetables and/or were willingly conscripted into peeling and chopping vegetables with the kids this morning.
To celebrate this feasting time of year with a literacy connection, Pre-K will be making Stone Soup tomorrow. If you are able to send along a vegetable to add to the soup, or can stay for a few minutes at drop-off time tomorrow morning, and peel and chop vegetables with the kids, we'd appreciate it. We'll be assembling the soup on Tuesday and feasting at snack time (10 ish) on Wednesday. You are welcome to join us then as well - please give me a heads up, if you think you can come).
Thank you!
Mrs. Bridgman
Tuesday update ... Many, many thanks to the families who sent in vegetables and/or were willingly conscripted into peeling and chopping vegetables with the kids this morning.
At 11:30, we gathered around the tables with each student having an ingredient of the soup in front of them. We reread Stone Soup and assembled the soup as we read.
The soup is bubbling away on the stove as I post this tonight ... It smells wonderful. We'll serve it (minus the round gray stone) at snack time on Wednesday, around 10. Student families are welcome to join us!
Wednesday update:
Many kids tried Stone Soup today. Two asked for seconds... We had several parents join us for the "feast". Thanks for the multifaceted assistance to make this celebration happen. Soup from a stone, fancy that!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Upcoming dates
Dear Families,
Several upcoming dates to keep in mind ...
November 11th, Veteren's Day - No preschool.
Parent Teacher conferences for pre-k will be on Thursday, November 20th. We'll have a sign up sheet for the 20 minute time slots next week.
There is no preschool on November 25, 26 or 27th (Thanksgiving week).
Our dramatic play theme of "Family" will end this week. Next week we'll choose and play in our regular centers, and also include some theme building and prop making for our next play theme, "Restaurants."
Your kids are doing a nice job with their play plans. Those are the half sheets of paper that come home with a self drawn picture of the student pretending to be a family member (like a mom or the brother or the aunt or grandfather.) Planning on how one will play, then following through with that plan is a step down the road to the all important self-regulation which is a major focus of our curriculum. It would be great if you'd ask your student to tell you about the picture and what center they chose that day. There may be student drawn lines that indicate spaces for words of their message, and some beginning sounds of words on those lines for some (all kids eventually), as well as teacher written words that indicate the student's message.
We've enjoyed family volunteers in our classroom lately. Joining us any day during dramatic play time (usually 9 to 9:30 ish), or on Tuesday and Thursdays from 11:30 to 12 ish for creative art and story time, is helpful. Or give us a heads up for other times you wish to come.
Thanks for helping us make preschool a great place!
Mrs. Bridgman
Several upcoming dates to keep in mind ...
November 11th, Veteren's Day - No preschool.
Parent Teacher conferences for pre-k will be on Thursday, November 20th. We'll have a sign up sheet for the 20 minute time slots next week.
There is no preschool on November 25, 26 or 27th (Thanksgiving week).
Our dramatic play theme of "Family" will end this week. Next week we'll choose and play in our regular centers, and also include some theme building and prop making for our next play theme, "Restaurants."
Your kids are doing a nice job with their play plans. Those are the half sheets of paper that come home with a self drawn picture of the student pretending to be a family member (like a mom or the brother or the aunt or grandfather.) Planning on how one will play, then following through with that plan is a step down the road to the all important self-regulation which is a major focus of our curriculum. It would be great if you'd ask your student to tell you about the picture and what center they chose that day. There may be student drawn lines that indicate spaces for words of their message, and some beginning sounds of words on those lines for some (all kids eventually), as well as teacher written words that indicate the student's message.
We've enjoyed family volunteers in our classroom lately. Joining us any day during dramatic play time (usually 9 to 9:30 ish), or on Tuesday and Thursdays from 11:30 to 12 ish for creative art and story time, is helpful. Or give us a heads up for other times you wish to come.
Thanks for helping us make preschool a great place!
Mrs. Bridgman
Friday, October 10, 2014
Enjoying fruit snacks, cookie dough exploration, and painting with cinnamon enhanced paint!
Hi Families,
Our school receives grant money that provides free fruit or veggies at snack time for us. Your kids are welcome to bring their own snack and/or partake in this as well. Most of the kids enjoyed the orange wedges one day this past week!
With our dramatic play theme being "family" at the moment, partaking in elements of baking by playing with molasses cookie dough (as if it were play dough) seemed appropriate and engaging. We read the favorite kid's book,"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," rolled dough into balls and other shapes, placed them on cookie sheets, and had baked molasses cookies and milk for snack the following day. (No need to read this sentence aloud to your student, but you might be reassured to know we used different cookie dough when we baked the ones for eating ...)
Also on the following slide show are a few pictures of the kids painting a paper plate for an apple shape, using cinnamon enhanced red paint. They really enjoyed this activity, and painted up to the very last minute of preschool time that morning.
Our school receives grant money that provides free fruit or veggies at snack time for us. Your kids are welcome to bring their own snack and/or partake in this as well. Most of the kids enjoyed the orange wedges one day this past week!
With our dramatic play theme being "family" at the moment, partaking in elements of baking by playing with molasses cookie dough (as if it were play dough) seemed appropriate and engaging. We read the favorite kid's book,"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," rolled dough into balls and other shapes, placed them on cookie sheets, and had baked molasses cookies and milk for snack the following day. (No need to read this sentence aloud to your student, but you might be reassured to know we used different cookie dough when we baked the ones for eating ...)
Also on the following slide show are a few pictures of the kids painting a paper plate for an apple shape, using cinnamon enhanced red paint. They really enjoyed this activity, and painted up to the very last minute of preschool time that morning.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Dramatic Play - Family Theme
The curriculum we use in pre-k at Dike Newell School is called Tools of the Mind. There is a link that connects you to their informational website on the right side of this page.
An important part of the curriculum is dramatic play. Taking on pretend roles helps develop self regulation in kids in a really fun and engaging way. Our first dramatic play theme is "family" which kids inherently know a lot about. Our traditional centers (art, math, literacy, science, blocks, kitchen) have had an overlay of elements and props that have "transformed" them (well, you have to use some imagination ...) into rooms in a house. (The art center has become the laundry room, the block center has become the garage, literacy has become the livingroom, etc.) The kids have been picking centers to play in and have started pretending to be family members in these rooms.The following is a slideshow of your kids taking on beginning roles of the mom, dad, the brother, sister, aunt, grandparent, cousin, etc.
An important part of the curriculum is dramatic play. Taking on pretend roles helps develop self regulation in kids in a really fun and engaging way. Our first dramatic play theme is "family" which kids inherently know a lot about. Our traditional centers (art, math, literacy, science, blocks, kitchen) have had an overlay of elements and props that have "transformed" them (well, you have to use some imagination ...) into rooms in a house. (The art center has become the laundry room, the block center has become the garage, literacy has become the livingroom, etc.) The kids have been picking centers to play in and have started pretending to be family members in these rooms.The following is a slideshow of your kids taking on beginning roles of the mom, dad, the brother, sister, aunt, grandparent, cousin, etc.
Exploring centers in preschool
Hi Families!
Here's a slideshow from our beginning weeks of preschool, showing kids exploring the materials in our traditional centers ... Art, Literacy, Kitchen, Math, Blocks and Science.
Here's a slideshow from our beginning weeks of preschool, showing kids exploring the materials in our traditional centers ... Art, Literacy, Kitchen, Math, Blocks and Science.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
More Pre-K particulars about drop off time...
The office has requested that I restate the procedure for morning drop off of pre-k students ...
The procedure for pre-k drop off is to park or walk to the large side parking lot, and enter through the covered side door between 8:15 and 8:30. The front of the school is a bus drop off zone only, at the beginning and end of school. Do not park there. If you come to school after 8:30, you will need to walk to the front of the building and get buzzed in through the door near the office. Stop by the office to say your child has arrived. Pre-k families will escort their students to the pre-k classroom.
Thanks a bunch for following our procedures to help keep kids safe.
Mrs. Bridgman
The procedure for pre-k drop off is to park or walk to the large side parking lot, and enter through the covered side door between 8:15 and 8:30. The front of the school is a bus drop off zone only, at the beginning and end of school. Do not park there. If you come to school after 8:30, you will need to walk to the front of the building and get buzzed in through the door near the office. Stop by the office to say your child has arrived. Pre-k families will escort their students to the pre-k classroom.
Thanks a bunch for following our procedures to help keep kids safe.
Mrs. Bridgman
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