Theme 6 ~ Growing Up Healthy!

Dear Families,

Because there is nothing more important than your child’s well-being, our next theme is all about “Growing Up Healthy.” Children will learn about nutritious eating, exercise, and other positive ways of taking care of themselves. We will also learn what to do in case of an emergency.

Health and safety begin in the home, so please help your child by supporting what our class will be learning.

• Make and discuss healthy food choices during mealtime and when shopping for groceries or eating away from home.

• Cook with your child to teach him/her about the ingredients in foods.

• Review family safety procedures, especially what to do in case of a fire and how to exit the home.

• Teach child-appropriate safety guidelines to use at home, such as never turning on the stove or lighting a match.

• Help your child memorize his or her home address and phone number.

Children must develop self-awareness at a young age in order to be healthy for life. It is one of our year-long goals, but will be a special focus during this theme. Help your child develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime!

Literacy Tip

Teach your child how to read/recognize exit and other emergency signs and symbols.

Connecting School to Home

Tap into the activities your child will be doing during this theme, such as making a self-portrait, to help your child become aware of personal characteristics, strengths, and limitations.

Help your child explore his/her five senses in and around your home.  For example, smell food cooking, look out the window together, taste new foods, listen to music, or feel different fabrics.

Take a Field Trip!

Go Grocery Shopping ~ Have your child vote on a favorite healthy snack to prepare.  Make a list of ingredients that you will need and take a trip to the local grocery store so children can purchase the ingredients. While you are there, walk through the store and ask children to identify the healthy foods they see.

Big Day for Pre-K Book Suggestions

Noisy City Day by Sara Anderson

Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis

Favorite Foods: Colors and Shapes by ticktock Media, Ltd.

Max Cleans Up by Rosemary Wells

Sleep Is for Everyone by Paul Showers

Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore

Strega Nona's Harvest by Tomie de Paola

From the Garden: A Counting Book About Growing Food by Michael Dahl

No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety for Kids by Jean E. Pendziwol

You Are Healthy by Todd Snow

How Do You Know?: A Book About the Five Senses by Lisa Jayne

Alphabites by Charles Reasoner

An Alphabet Salad by Sarah L. Schuette

painting with dots

 Here is a peek at our Imagine It, Make It activities!

We used our imagination each day to think of things we wanted to create!  We created games, art, and pretended in dramatic play!  Our favorite activity was the "not a box"...we played in a large box and it was something  different for everyone...a swimming pool,  a bathtub, a rocketship, a boat, an airplane and even an ice cream truck!

Sorting shapes (straight lines or curved lines)

Welcome to our restuarant!

Roll it and count it!

I think my doggie wants some pasta!

Painting with dots.

I'm serving you tea!

Sand play with tubes and treasures!

What can we build with tubes?

What can you see?

Hey!  Look at us!

Robot arms!!

Look what I can build!

I wonder which building material  will work for a house?  Straw? Sticks? or Bricks?

Rub a dub, dub, six friends in a tub!

Theme 5 ~ Imagine It, Make It!

Dear Families,

“Imagine It, Make It” is the title of our new theme, which is an exploration of imagination and creativity. Children will share their feelings and ideas through art, dance, dramatic play, building, and music—all of which are important aspects of your child’s development.

Here are a few ideas you can use to encourage art appreciation and creative expression at home.

• Listen to different types of music with your child and talk about how the music makes both of you feel.

• Set up a large pad of drawing paper with crayons, markers, chalk or paint so your child can create artwork. You can also use brown paper sacks from the grocery store for children to draw on.

• Help your child make up imaginative “Once upon a time” stories.

• Hang up a sheet for a stage curtain and have your child put on a play with friends or siblings.

We will also encourage children to take initiative during the theme. This will help them develop the life skill of being willing and eager to try new things. Sing, move, draw, paint, build, and make music with your child!

Literacy Tip

Literacy Tip In the early stages of learning how to write, your child will draw scribbles and symbols instead of writing letters and words. Ask your child to tell you what the scribbles and symbols mean.

Connecting School to Home

Children will be making patterns in math with two different colors, shapes, or objects. Identifying patterns is important for many areas of the curriculum, including the creative arts.

Set aside time for imaginative play with your child, for example, play school, doctor’s office, or grocery store together using simple props.

Big Day for Pre-K Book Suggestions

Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson

Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson

It's Picture Day Today! by Megan McDonald

A Day with No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch

All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle

Shape Space by Cathryn Falwell

The Toolbox by Anne Rockwell

Farmer Dillo Shapes Things Up by Jesse Adams

Yesterday I Had the Blues by Jeron Ashford Frame

The Squiggle by Carole Lexa Shaefer

The Big Blue Spot by Peter Holwitz

Patrick Paints a Picture by Saviour Pirotta

All About Sound by Lisa Trumbauer

Museum ABC or My First ABC by The NY Metropolitan Museum of Art

Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood

Here are a few photo of the children learning all about animals!

Exploring bugs!

Building animal habitats at the block center!

Habitat building, coopeating, sharing, and taking turns!

Check out this habitat!

Reading animal books in our cozy cave!

Ayah's habitat is amazing!

I'm making a bug!

So proud of our awesome animal habitat!

Theme 4 ~ Awesome Animals!

Dear Families,

This month we will start our new unit “Awesome Animals!”  Children love animals so our new theme is an excellent way to help them learn about the characteristics of different kinds of animals, animal homes, and animal life cycles, which are all important concepts in science.

There are many things you and your child can do together to explore the world of animals.

• Start with your own pet, if you have one, to teach your child about pet needs and pet care.

• Talk about the animals you see around your home. Observe what they look like, where they live, what they eat, and how they move.

• Teach safety rules for being around animals.

• Identify the animals you see in books and on the computer and television so your child will learn animal names.

In this theme, we will also focus on developing the ability to pay attention. Encourage children to increase their attention by spending time focusing on the natural world together. This will be many children’s favorite theme, so talk with them every day about what they are doing and learning. Teach your child to be kind to animals!

Literacy Tip

Use nonfiction books with realistic illustrations and photographs to show your child that some books give us information. Point out the special features in nonfiction books, such as the table of contents and photo captions.

Connecting School to Home

Your child is learning how to put animals and objects with the same characteristics into groups, which is an important skill in both science and math.

Home/School Connections

Borrow picture books from your library about all kinds of animals, including pets, farm animals, and wild animals. Help your child name the animals.

Talk with your child about why both animals and people need homes, and what makes a good home for different kinds of animal.

Take a walk with your child in a park or your backyard, examining any insects you come across. Bring along a magnifier to get a closer look.

Big Day for Pre-K - Book Suggestions

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm by Joy Cowley

Oodles of Animals by Lois Ehlert

In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming

Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose

Way Down in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck

Animal Antics from 1 to 10 by David Wojtowycz

The Animal Boogie by Debbie Harter

When I'm Big by Sam McBratney

Under One Rock by Anthony D. Fredricks

The Best Book of Bugs by Claire Llewellyn

Zoopa: An Animal Alphabet by Gianna Marino

Theme 3 ~ Our Community

Dear Families,

Next week our class is beginning a new theme on “Our Community.” We will be exploring ideas about places in the community, people in the community, transportation, and taking care of the environment!

The goal of this theme is to have children develop responsibility in their daily lives while learning good citizenship.  Here are some ways you can show community involvement and teach responsibility at home.

• Take your child to community places and events, such as story hour at the public library or a high school sporting event.

• Talk about community workers, such as crossing guards and store clerks, and how to be respectful of them.

• Point out community resources that are part of your daily life, such as trash collection, mail delivery, bus service, and so on.

• Teach your child how to “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!”

• Give your child the responsibility of a daily job. This theme strives to make children responsible for their actions, now and in the future.

The concepts and life skills they learn will be invaluable. Make “going green” a family activity!

Our Community Literacy Tip

Reading signs in and around the community is an important part of developing literacy. Help your child read community and street signs, store signs, signs outside and inside buildings, and signs posted in store windows.

School/Home Connection

Connecting School to Home In science, we will learn that objects can be made from paper, metal, and glass. Help your child identify the materials to help you sort items for recycling.

Hello families!

I wanted to send along a few photos of what the children have been doing over the last 6 weeks!

Enjoy!