May 2012
In the past two weeks, the oldest students in PreK 103 have taken research trips to local shoe stores; Payless Shoe Store and Hawley Lane Shoe store. They had a chance to see the layout, the jobs and the different kind of shoes sold to customers in both stores. We are now eager to put the “workings of a shoe store” into practice in our very own classroom shoe store. One important fact we learned about “just right” shoes… “If you do not have room in your shoes for your feet, they will be squashed and hurt.” The” Fashion Club Shoe Store” will be open to parent and kindergarten customers on Wednesday, May 30th and Thursday, May 31st. Thank you to generous SBS families for sending gently used shoes for us to use in our shoe store. Many of the shoes that have been collected will be passed forward to a local charity providing services to families in need.
April 2012
The PreK 103 Nursery Rhyme Dinner Theatre was a great evening celebration! Family and friends gathered to enjoy the children’s performance of our class favorites; Three Little Kittens, Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole, Hey, Diddle Diddle and Over in the Meadow. It is always a memorable event!
We need your help for our upcoming class shoe study! We will need a shoe inventory for a working “shoe store” within our classroom. It is spring cleaning time, so if you find gently used shoes that are no longer worn we will gladly accept them. Shoes of different sizes and styles are all welcome (i.e. fancy shoes, work shoes, sport shoes, dance shoes and “grandma’s treasures”). Also, we would like donations of shoe boxes and shoe catalogs that we can use for various projects.
In the past, this study has been a wonderful opportunity for our young citizens to participate in a community service project where they showed kindness to others. At the end of our study, your donations of gently used shoes will be passed on to the Norwalk Emergency Shelter Outreach program where they will be greatly appreciated. These much wanted donations can be dropped off in PreK Room 103 from now until May 25th.
March 2012
PreK 103 has been learning about homes in recent weeks. We have explored how homes are similar and how they are different. Each child has created their own representation of their home inside and out...these homes are currently on display on our bulletin board. To answer questions about the jobs involved in home construction we have a few class parents visiting us to share their expertise. This week we will learn about the work and tools of an electrician and painter. Parent visitors are always a great highlight to our days, now with the addition of cool tools it doesn't get any better!
February 2012
This week Prek 103 held a Class Family Breakfast to celebrate our families. The children along with their parent or teacher shared their family collages with their class community. The family collages are amazing! The children did a wonderful job sharing the collages they created with their families. Each one clearly shows the family pride in their heritage, interests and time spent together.
January 2012
Our class is currently learning about all the ways in which our families are the same and different. In sharing about their individual families, the children have noticed the differences in each other’s family size and family members that live with one another. Our families range in size of two members to eight members. We have noticed that a family size of four is the most common in our class community.
One of the highlights to our family study is to have family visitors come in to cook a family recipe, share a story or craft project. In the past week, parents have joined us to cook delicious foods from India -pakora, Mexico-tortillas and Colombia- arepas, and of course, the All -American favorites of macaroni ‘n cheese and chocolate chip cookies. The children also enjoyed having a class parent visit to read The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. We look forward to the many upcoming visits…each one is a new experience for us to share together then revisit again and again. With great anticipation, the children check our morning message to see who will visit that day.
December 2011
During the month of December, our class has been focusing on things we notice about ourselves and each other during the Self Study. We have discovered many ways that we are the same as well as what makes us different and unique. The younger 3s/4s have brought in special treasures to share what is important to them, then proudly displayed in the “Me Museum” for the week. The older 4s/5s are creating photo timelines to show how much they have grown since their birth. This study has included many literacy and art projects for the children to express their own personal style and personality. These amazing works will be shared for all to see on our class bulletin boards…please to stop by for a look! In the spirit of tradition, we are enjoying our traditional baking of a gingerbread house and gingerbread families. The children always have a great time decorating their delicious creations with sweet treats. These goodies will be sent home with the children to share with their families over the many home days.
November 2011 In the past month, our class has enjoyed 2 outdoor field trips to enjoy the seasonal changes of autumn. Our first trip was to Jones Family farm where we enjoyed a hayride to tour the many fields overlooking the White Hills of Shelton. Farmer Jones and Mrs. Jones welcomed the children to their pumpkin farm and showed us the many different pumpkins and squash that are harvested at this time of year. We roasted the butternut squash back in the classroom with some brown sugar and butter…it was so yummy! The second trip was for an outdoor hike through the trails at Cranbury Park here in Norwalk. We noticed many seasonal changes as well as discovered where some living creatures make there home. A striped salamander was a great find! We used our sense of sight, smell and hearing during this nature experience…it is amazing what can be heard in the woods when you stop and pause to listen. It was a challenge but we managed to freeze for 3 minutes…enough time to hear turkey vultures, different bird calls, squirrels, and of course, the playful dogs.
October 2011
Last week the children held a butterfly release parade and breakfast celebration with parent guests. We sent 22 of our 25 monarch butterflies off on their journey south to warmer places. We are hoping they will make it all the way to Mexico. Before saying goodbye to these marvelous creatures, we shared some special wishes for them:“We wish that you find other monarch butterflies to fly with.”, “We hope you find a place to rest.”, “We hope you have sunny days.” , “We wish the butterflies to be safe.”, “ We hope you have fun and don’t get hurt.”, “We say goodbye.” ,“Butterflies fly a lot, just fly to Mexico!”
The last 3 monarchs emerged from their chrysalises over the weekend so they were released this week. We hope they catch up to their “brothers and sisters” along the way. Please stop by our class bulletin board to see the beautiful mural created with the help of our art teacher, Ms. Gizzo. This mural highlights the amazing life cycle of the monarch butterfly and its habitat.
September 2011
Although we are only in our 2nd full week of school, the children in PreK 103 are adjusting well to their new classroom and making new friends. The older friends are stepping up to be real big, caring helpers! We have so much fun exploring and learning with new materials. We are excited about the start of our annual Monarch Butterfly Study. Last week Monarch butterfly eggs arrived on live milkweed plants from Rose Franklin’s Butterfly Farm. Now that the eggs have hatched, we are curiously watching the teeny, tiny caterpillars munch on the milkweed leaves. They are so tiny and hide so well in the leaves that it is hard for us to count how many there are. Some friends think we may have as many as 100 or just 4 or 16. As the caterpillars grow we will have a better chance of getting the exact count. We will be sure to keep you updated on these amazing natural creatures. This has been a great start to our PreK 103 year!