March 2012

This month we will focus on weather, rainbows, butterflies, ladybugs, and St. Patrick’s Day. We will plant some seeds, make several different crafts about rainbows, and get ready for our butterfly unit that we will start after spring break.

Reading
We will focus on sequencing. We will talk about the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Also we will talk about conflict and conflict resolution (what was the problem and how was it solved).

Math
- We will review money and start our time unit.
- We are still practicing counting by 10.

Other
- We will continue to learn to tie shoes.
- Every Friday we will have a science experiment and record our results in our science journals.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

February

Valentine Parties
At our Valentine parties we will play games, decorate a Valentine box, and distribute Valentine cards. Please have your child bring one Valentine for each student (including themselves). Have your child sign his/her name on the back of the Valentine, but do not address them. It can be frustrating for the children to write, read and match up all the names. There will be a sign-up sheet available for those that would like to contribute items for our party. Please feel free to contact me if you have a special item you would like to send for the party.

Reading
We are focusing on the parts of a story. Good questions to ask when you read with your child are:
- Who was in the story?
- Where did the story take place?
- What was the problem in the story?
- How was the problem solved?
- How did the character feel at the beginning/end of the story?
It’s also a good idea to ask your child what he/she predicts will happen in the story before you read. Then check afterward to see if their prediction came true. Happy Reading!

Math
- This month we will start our money and time unit.
- We are still practicing counting by 10. I would like each child in the Pre-K class to bring in 10 items on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Other
- We will also start to learn to tie shoes.
- We are going on a Field Trip to a dentist office
- We have a special guest music teacher that will be coming once a month to teach a fun music class.

Registration Time

Rachel’s Preschool
2012 – 2013 Registration

I have pre-registration for current students and family members from Jan. 5 to Jan. 19. Registration for anyone else will start Jan. 20.

Classes:
There is non-refundable $30 registration/supply fee for every child that registers for a class.

Three year old class:
• Child must be three years old before Oct. 1, 2012
• Child must be potty trained
• Class is every Tuesday and Thursday (except holidays) from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Class will start Tuesday, Sep. 4, 2012
• Monthly tuition is a flat rate of $65 a month

Four year old class/Pre-K class:
• Child must be four years old before Oct. 1, 2011
• Class is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (except holidays) from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Class will start Wednesday, Sep. 5, 2012
• Monthly tuition is a flat rate of $85 a month

Please ask me for registration forms if you are interested.

Thank you!!
Rachel

December

Rachel’s Preschool
December 2011

In the month of December we will learn the letters L, M, and N. We will do some activities about winter, snow, and Christmas.

In math the children will be learning to count by 10’s. We’ve also been working on patterns, simple addition, and simple subtraction.

In science we will be talking about snowflakes and how they are made and what they look like magnified. We will talk a little about the water cycle.

In reading we will continue to talk about sequencing, conflict, and conflict resolution (the problem and how it is solved). A great at home activity would be to ask your child (after you’ve read a book together) to tell you what happened in the beginning of the book, what happened in the middle, and at the end.

This month we will also have a Christmas party. At the party we will have a gift exchange, don't forget to bring a $5 gift. We will also be decorating Gingerbread boy and girl cookies, reading some Christmas stories and drinking some hot chocolate.

Now is a great time to start saving rectangular boxes (kleenex boxes, or shoe boxes) for Valentine Card Boxes that we will make in February.

Thank you for all you do!!
Ms. Rachel

P.S. School will start back on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 after the Holiday Break (this is different than what it says on your Holiday Schedule).

Families

We learned about different types of families. We discussed each of our own families and sang several family songs.

We continued to discuss "A" and went on a hunt for the color "red".

We did some number recognition, 1 through 5, and sorted and counted items.

We read the book "You're Just What I Need"

The children then drew pictures of their families and we made them into necklaces.

All About Me

We spent the day learning that we are all special in our own way. Everybody is different and unique. Children drew pictures of themselves while looking in mirrors. We then talked about different feelings and did a Weekly Reader about feelings. We also read some books, "Different Shades of People" and "What are You so Grumpy About".

We sang some fun songs, "If You're Happy and You Know It", and "If You Chance to Meet a Frown".

We learned the letter "A" and watched a 3 minute video on "A". We sang the "Alligator" song. The children loved the song so much that we actually sang it a few times and acted it out.

Welcome Back to School!

We've started back to school and all the students are so excited to learn and play.

We started out learning all about each other. All of the students brought an "All About Me" bag filled with fun items to help us learn about each student. They enjoyed sharing their items and learning about each other.

We also talked about some projects we will be doing at school this year and read a fun story called "The Kissing Hand" about a little raccoon that was nervous to start school. We made raccoon masks and learned that raccoons are nocturnal. We sang a fun raccoon song.

Raccoon sleeps in the hollow tree
While the sun shines on you and me
Sleep raccoon, sleep raccoon
Warm and cozily

We finished our first day of school by making a kissing hand art project for the parents.