Info on Favorite Educational and Family Websites

I believe a little information about the website links on this blog might make them more useful.



1. My-Moondrops website has a great link under "Cool Free Stuff." Click on "Tracing Paper" to create letters/words/names your child can trace. I use this link to create traceable forms of each child's name for writing practice.



2. Northpole.com has lots of fun activities for the holidays. Yes, they are recently behind us, but it's still one of my favorite websites! You may wish to visit this sight for fun mazes, dot-to-dots, cookie recipes and so forth.



3. Homemakeretc. is a great website for moms created by my sister-in-law, Julie. Visit this sight for finance tips, cleaning tips, recipes and more!

October News

Dear Parents,

We had a great time learning through Adventures in Outer Space. All of our recent pictures come from projects related to this theme and we hope you enjoy them!

I am excited to announce a new addition to our preschool. (Not my baby - though I'll be excited to announce that, too!) Afton Parker is four years old and joined our preschool on October 2. We are delighted to have her and her family as part of our program. If you haven't had a chance yet, you may wish to introduce yourself to her mom, Sarah.

Halloween Costume Parade and Parent Program

Please remember to join us for a special Halloween celebration on Thursday, October 30 at 10:35 a.m. I would like everyone seated by 10:40 - ready for the program to start. The students will show off their costumes, sing Halloween songs, and share a treat with you. Bring other family members or friends, if you like, and your cameras, too - it should be lots of spooky fun!

Your child is welcome to wear their costume during the entire preschool session on this day. If you are not planning on sending a costume with your child, please give me a call. Finally, please do not send masks.

Thank you,

Mrs. Stratton

Papier-Mache Planets

This seemed to be a favorite activity with the students. Among the four of them, they created Venus, Uranus, Earth, and an undecided. :) Debbie, my good friend and our regular volunteer, provided a much needed extra set of hands on this day.

Marble Sun Paintings - Messy but fun!

McKenna and Cameron, shaking up sunshine! The kids did the shaking while the marbles did the painting.

Kathleen and Hannah - hoping their suns dry before preschool is over!

September's Evolving Artwork Poster

The students did a great job filling September's Evolving Artwork Poster. Among other things, you may have noticed the letters C and D, the number 2, sponge painted stars, suns, and planets, and many, many squares.

The Little Astronauts Preparing the Rocket Ship

In preparation for our "trip to the moon," the students painted a rocket ship. They surprised me toward the end when everyone decided to pile into the rocket and paint from the inside out. In their tight quarters they managed to paint more than just the rocket ship!

Evolving Class Artwork

Here is the Evolving Class Artwork poster that we have been working on most mornings. This ongoing project serves several purposes. First, it builds community by providing a teamwork experience for the students. Second it develops fine motor skills as students are drawing, cutting, gluing, or painting. Finally, it provides another venue for reinforcing our preschool curriculum. For example, this month our poster sports the letters A and B, the #1, the color blue, and lots of circles.

We encourage you to take a look at the poster when you see it hanging outside. Your child can tell you about their unique contribution and what we are learning in class.

Curriculum Corner

Numbers: Each day offers several natural opportunities for us to practice counting. In addition, this month the numbers 3 and 4 will receive special attention.



Alphabet Letters & Sounds: I am delighted with how well our new students are learning the Zoo Phonics animal characters and their sounds. Although it may be awhile before they fully connect them with the letters of the alphabet, this program provides a good phonics foundation. Also, we will focus particularly on the letters E, F, G, and H.



Shapes & Colors: This month we will learn the basic properties of a square and observe the many squares and the color yellow in our environment.



Personal Responsibility: 1. Waiting our turn to speak
2. Sitting on the mat properly



Good Citizen Skills: 1. Friendship - including everyone





Advanced Curriculum: The above skills represents the curriculum found in most standard preschools and will continue to be the foundation of our learning. However, as I observe students mastering the basics, I strive to challenge them. During Learning Stations I have the opportunity to work with individual students at their level. Currently, we are doing some work with basic word building(CVC -consonant, vowel, consonant) and this month we will focus on the "at" and "et" word families. (ie- cat, hat, mat and bet, jet, wet)