Reading Contest!

Dear Parents,

April 20-26 is "National Turn off the T.V. and READ week", and to celebrate we are having a contest!  During the entire month, whenever you read a book to your child, help them place a check on their preschool calendar.  Remember to put a check for each book you read.  At the end of the month, I'll have you return the calendars, and we'll tally up the totals.  Whichever class from Parkside Preschool reads the most books will get a special reward!

I feel strongly about this cause.  Our society puts too much time, energy, and effort into watching TV and not enough into strengthening our families!  Kidshealth.org reports that "The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming."  That's a pretty big goal, but I think we could all improve just a littel :).  This month, I challenge you to make the extra effort to read when your kids are bored instead of turning on the TV.

Let's make the effort to spend more time reading, exercising, learning, playing, and bonding, and less time zoning out in front of the television!

Thanks!!

Miss Penny

If you have a minutes this week, check out these sites about TV and kids:

http://www.tvturnoff.org/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html

http://children.webmd.com/news/20070904/too-much-tv-may-hamper-kids-attention

http://www.childrentoday.com/resources/articles/settvlimits.htm

Updates

We had a little mix-up between my calendar and Monique's, so instead of weather on Tuesday we had our Music day, which was a big hit!!  The kids loved listening to all different types of music and then interpreting it for us.  Each child was given a chance to say how each song made them feel, or what they thought of when they heard it.  The responses were funny at times, but also really quite insightful.  Classical music received several comments like "I feel sad," or "This music is like my two dead grandpas."  We listened to some traditional Mexican music, which made one child say "I feel the jiggles in me.  I need to dance right now!"  The favorite song of the day, however, was The Phamtom of the Opera.  Who knew?  

The kids loved it, and insisted that we listen to the "witch song" while we were coloring our letter puppets (strangely named Ugly Ugboo).   Afterward, we learned about musical instruments and, of course, danced while using our classroom instruments, as well as the shakers we made as a class.  Sorry we didn't get any time to deocrate them!!  

Thursday, March 26

I thought I'd post about our hygiene day today, so you weren't confused about the "cleanliness chart."  We spent a good part of the day talking about habits that keep us healthy, clean, and happy.  Talk with your kids about how to dress appropriately for the weather, how being sick makes them feel, what to do when you need to cough (use your elbow!), how to properly wash their hands (sing the ABC song, washing all around, in between, and on top), wash their faces, and brush their teeth.  We also talked about eating healthy and fresh foods--stay away from anything that looks like it might be moldy!  We also talked about how they are able to independently take care of their own hygiene.  If Mom is too busy to wash your face, for example, you could do it yourself.  They also got to practice combing their own hair (Sorry, Moms!) and washing their hands.  We also talked about how to properly brush teeth (two whole minutes!  We did a pretend practice so they could see how long it actually takes).

The "Cleanliness chart" is just to empower your child and encourage them to take responsibility for their own hygiene.  I don't need it back.  We talked about washing faces if your family doesn't do daily bathtubs.  Please help your children remember this, but give them some free reign as they practice taking care of themselves.

At the end of class, we made comb kazoos with wax paper and the combs your child received.  One rousing song of "Twinkle, Twinkle" later, the kids were itching their "buzzy lips."  Music makes us happy!!!

Our classroom's new favorite book:

We've actually read it two days in a row now. I got lots of funny comments on it, but my favorite was "That is the Beast.  Where is Belle?"

Finally, a new post!

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!  I know this is a terrible excuse, but I just completely forgot to post the second Feb. and first March posts!  So, here's a quick update of a whole month's worth of fun:  (These are not at all in order :).

We'll begin with our Treehouse Museum Field trip!  We were so glad to see our friends that were able to come.  We had lots of fun watching as some of our preschool friends got to put on a play with puppets, and of course playing all around the museum.  Play is a child's work!! Through play, your preschooler is learning to make plans, develop strategies, and problem solvign skills.  I'm sorry I couldn't get pictures of everyone in our class.  They were everywhere!!

Also,  Happy Birthday, Deakin!!  We were all excited for Deakin's birthday leader day.  Thanks for the yummy basketball cupcakes, Mom!

Spring

We were also able to go on a "spring hunt" looking for signs of spring.  Take a look at what we found!

We found all sorts of bugs as we dug up Miss Monique's garden!  We saw earthworms, centipedes, flies, potato bugs, and even centipede eggs!  They were all still a little sleepy, but they woke up when we started searching.  We talked all about how everything is blooming and growing.  We found buds, blossoms, weeds, and even some birds flying home from their winter homes.

 

Winter Spring

Valentine's Day!

Here are some pictures I forgot to post from our V-day party:

Transportation Day:

We learned all about things that GO!  Thanks to one of our preschool dads, each child was able to make their very own self-moving vehicle :).  We finished off the day by having a race on the driveway.  Big thanks to Camille's dad!!

Ogden Nature Center Field trip:

We had so much fun at the Nature Center!  We learned new songs, saw all sorts of animals, had a yummy snack, and made a fun craft.  Some of the animals we saw were:  a snake, a tarantula, all sorts of birds of prey, even a deer!

February

Happy Birthday to Kimberley!! (Sorry this has taken so long!!)

We celebrated Kimberley's B-day clear back in January, but better late than never :).

We had so much fun with her very sticky and delicious cupcakes. Thanks, Mom!!

Okay, so since our last post we've had 2 different parties--plus lots of fun!

Chinese New Year: Gung hay fat choy!! (Happy New Year!)

Sadly, I forgot my camera on the day of our Chinese New Year Party. We had so much fun, and Miss Monique had the classroom decked out with lots so fun decorations--even a giant dragon!! We played games, learned all about another country and custom and made colored lanterns. Each child should have come home with either their name, or the word boy or girl in Chinese calligraphy (some names don't translate). We talked all about different languages and traditions. We even practiced saying "happy new year" in mandarin chinese.

Flat Stanley returns!!

We had so much fun on our Flat Stanley Show and Tell day! It was a blast. Each of the kids each got so excited to open their envelope (or box!) up and tell us about their friends or family. We even had some family send back things for us to do as a class. We got some beef jerky, die cut valentine decorations, laminated money, a book to read, some suckers . . . even some sand from a favorite playground. Stanley seems to have gone everywhere! He went to people's work places, school, the gym, a football game, a sand park, bowling, to the grocery store, and even to a party. Thanks to all friends, family, and parents who participated. It was a hit!

Valentine's Week:

We were able to spend two whole days getting ready for Valentine's Day. We really enjoyed learning about the color pink and making our crafts. I was really impressed with how well the kids did with their lacing pockets! Looks like they've got lots of support at home :). The highlight of the week was passing out the valentines. Thank you so much for participating! And thanks for all of you who sent me special treats. YUM!

The Pink Song:

(sung to the tune of Do you know the muffin man?)

Do you know on summer days

I love to drink pink lemonade

I sit and rest there in the shade

with my pink lemonade

While I jump and skip and run

I like to chew pink bubblegum

Blowing bubbles is such fun

with my pink bubblegum

Substitute: I hear that all of the kids did really well on the day that I was not there. You have wonderful, versatile, and resilient kids!

Okay, here are the curriculum items we've been working on:

Letters N-Q. Ask your kids about the sounds that each letter makes and help them recognize it in everyday situations. Today we learned about "Quacky Quacker," which the children found hilarious.

Numbers 12-14: Help your kids do actions as they count, so they don't miss any numbers. (Especially after they get to 11).

Miss Robin: We've had Miss Robin come twice since our last post. We've now learned all the way through the letter M. I'm always surprised with how well the kids retain this, but it doesn't help to practice at home, too. Here's a refresher:

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

1. Transportation day! One of our preschool dad's is helping us work up a really, really, really fun surprise!
2. Dental Health! Get ready to learn about cavities, brushing, and flossing.
3. Nature Center Field Trip: This field trip is $3 per participating child, which includes a snack and supplies. We will be meeting at the Ogden Nature center (966 W. 12th street) a few minutes before 1:00 on Thursday, Feb. 26.
   

Happy Birthday, Judd!

We've had so much fun lately, it has hardly felt like school :). I've summed it all up here below.

We've also actually been learning during all this fun :). Ask your kids about Merry Mouse, Martin Luther King Jr., numbers 10 and 11 and the Mine-o-saur. We learned all about a Dinosaur adventure today, and the dinosaurs without manners! There was Tattlachodon, Pokeysaurus, Butt-in Bronto, Yellingdactyl, and the wonderful Happyosaurus. The kids ate it up! We read a book called The Mine-o-saur by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallan which I would highly recommend. It pictures a bully, but also shows his point of view.

Sledding Day: Hot Cocoa and Trail Mix. Yum!

We've spent quite a few days outside lately. The kids absolutely LOVED the sledding day, and did not want to quit when it was time. Thank you for remembering to send all of their snow clothes. The snow was getting pretty soggy when we were there, so snowpants were a must!

We were sad that one of our friends was too sick to come :(. She was sorely missed (as in every 30 seconds--everyone kept asking about her!).

The Sweets Candy Factory fieldtrip was a big hit! I was very impressed that you all made it, and on time even! (I was not as wonderful as all of you when we went last year). We had a lot of fun, even though we were separated. A big thank you to everyone who waited patiently. It was great to see so many dads there as well! Because we had to check our bags, I did not get any pictures of the people who came in after the movie started :(.

Making Ice Cream and Ice Experiments :

Friends we've been missing!

We've had a lot of fun since my last post! We are so so happy to have our friend Candace back, and we missed Kimberley for a few weeks, too. The kids are so excited to have everyone together again.

FLAT STANLEY REMINDER:

If you haven't had a chance to send your Flat Stanley, please do it TODAY!! We have asked your friends to return them to us by Jan. 29th. We will be using the returned Flat Stanleys for our Show and Tell on the 2nd of Feb, so if someone doesn't get theirs back in time, they will feel sad.