The Pre-K Post: January 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

RoxStars!!!

These little scholars are all smiles for demonstrating good character! Way to go....keep up the good work! We can't wait for the next character assembly!

Six cheers for Ashleigh, Aden, Adam, Christian, Ellie and Carmelo!
Hip Hip Hooray (x6)!!!!

Reminder!

This Wednesday, January 27th is an Early Release day with dismissal at 1:10!

Thanks for visiting The Pre-K Post! Please come back soon! :)

We loved listening to the story The Mitten by Jan Brett! The Mitten is about a little boy,Nikki, who loses a mitten made by his grandma, Baba. While his mitten is missing, some animals find their way into the mitten to cozy up! After reading The Mitten, we focused on recalling the characters and retelling the story. A great story with a happy ending! :)

Click Here! to listen to The Mitten at home! Ask your child to retell the story!

Recalling the characters and retelling the story using animals and mittens!

Practicing using words such as: First, second, third, fourth, etc.

Working as a group to retell the story!

Retelling the story using wordless readers with Ms. Nelly (look out for these in the take home folders)!

Playing with animals in the "snow"!

iPads were giving us some trouble today, so up in the house to play! :)

So much fun with one read aloud! We hope you enjoy the story as much at home! Remember to read to your Pre-K RoxStar every day!!! We LOVE reading!

Happy Birthday Jasmin!

We hope all of your wishes come true!!! Thanks for the delicious cupcakes! xoxo Pre-K :)

Weather Report!

On Friday, we predicted if it was going to snow on Saturday (see above)!

Our prediction as a class was spot on for a snowy Saturday! I hope you had a fun and cozy day in the snow!
Looks like we have some meteorologists in the making! :)

Monday, January 18, 2016

I Have A Dream....

On Friday, we learned about Martin Luther King. We read about MLK and watched a short video. Martin Luther King had a dream or wish and it was for everyone to be friends and get along. That was the important lesson we learned in Pre-K! We read "It's Okay to Be Different" by Todd Parr (LOVE his books) and made "I Have A Dream" hats.

A scholastic magazine we read together about MLK. My favorite page was
"They May Look Different but They Are Friends!"
Such an important lesson! :)

Do you have the letter h in your name?

I love Pocket Charts! There are many many ways to use pocket charts and this is just one fun activity below! The title is "Do you have the letter Hh in your name?" This title is laminated, so the letter can be swapped out as a new letter is introduced. See how many Pre-K students have the letter h in their name!

Bonus...get to have these cute faces up on my pocket chart! :)

Thanks for visiting The Pre-K Post! Please come back soon!!!

New Centers!

Raz Kids on iPads!

Practicing cutting and making collages! Making our fingers stronger!

"Snow" aka Styrofoam packing peanuts with animals in the sensory table.

Doing some Math and building in the house!

Making snowmen from the letters in our name! Practicing putting the letters in our name in order and identifying them!

Winter is here!

Before reading a non-fiction Winter book, we made a long list "What we know about Winter".

We each graphed our favorite winter activity (building a snowman, ice skating, skiing and sledding).
Although we were fans of all winter activities, building a snowman had the most!

We worked very hard at making Winter tree snow scenes. Each student painted their own tree and chose one tool to make snowflakes. Some of the tools included bubble wrap, sponges and q-tips. Then, we attached what each student liked to do in the winter. For example: "I like to catch snowflakes on my tongue in the Winter. I like to drink hot cocoa in the Winter. I like to have a snowball fight in the Winter."

Reading our Scholastic magazines about Winter. Prior to each getting our own magazine, we read it together on the Promethean Board.

Wearing our "I Have A Dream" headbands! :)

Happy Birthday, Rosie!

Happy Birthday to this special 5 year old! We hope your year is filled with so much fun! Thank you for the yummy cupcakes! xoxo Love, Pre-K :)

A for apple. a, a, a

We love Dr. Jean! Dr. Jean has many fun and educational songs! As we are learning our letter/letter sounds through a multisensory approach, we love to incorporate music. Here, we are listening to Dr. Jean's alphabet song "Alphardy" while we point to each letter in the alphabet.

So far, we have formally introduced letters: c o a d g m l h

Next up: letters t and i

Listen to "Alphardy" at home for a fun way to practice letters and letter sounds!

Click below and enjoy! Happy Singing! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTeUONxZYAs

Writing Journals and Turn and Talk!

We have introduced a couple of new things in Pre-K! Now, each student has their very own writing journal as we continue to prepare for Kindergarten! In our writing journals, students are encouraged to draw pictures including details using different colors, draw people including all body parts, write their name, practice drawing shapes, letters, numbers or really anything at all! We were super excited about our journals and our new seats!!! This is a great activity to do at home, as well. All you need is a blank notebook and some markers, crayons or color pencils!

If you're wondering, "What is Turn and Talk?", it is a language strategy that involves student interaction by sharing ideas and thinking with another student! After a read aloud or discussion when the students are eagerly raising their hand to share their thoughts, it's a perfect time for a "Turn and Talk". This way, every students gets to share! We learned that when we "Turn and Talk", we sit knees to knees, shoulders to shoulders and eyes to eyes with a partner sitting next to us, just as you see below. The pair now knows they have their partne's full attention and are ready to listen! Then, we take turns sharing our ideas and thoughts AND being a good listener! We did an excellent job practicing this skill for the first time and will have many more opportunities to practice! Kindergarten....we are getting ready for you!!!

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

iPads!!!!

Pre-K has iPads and we are excited!!! We have incorporated iPads into our centers. Currently, we are using Raz Kids on the iPads to listen to stories. Raz Kids information was explained and sent home at parent teacher conferences. It is such a great reading resource, and I hope your "Pre-Kindergartener" is enjoying it at home! This program is used in Kindergarten, as well. Please let me know if you have any questions about logging into Raz Kids at home. It can be accessed on an ipad, tablet or computer. Remember to read with your child every day! Your child will benefit from even just a few minutes a day! :)

Below is the link to Raz Kids.

https://www.kidsa-z.com/main/Login

(Log in: Kbarford1)