February 19, 2010 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: Finally!…The children missed one another so much; it was great fun watching them reconnect! It made for an exciting day! We do miss our playground. Hopefully, the snow will melt quickly. We are trying to wrap up Letter J early this week, so that we can have fun with the Letter N on Wednesday. The Valentine’s Day celebration on Wednesday was so much fun. We want to thank Shannon Allen and Holly Reid for hostessing the party. Thanks also to Cherrie Shackelford for our Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt! We appreciate our parents and the effort that they make to provide such fun events. On Tuesday…The children enjoyed the big book “Today is Monday,” by Eric Carle, while we talked about reading “left to right.” ‘Big books’ are more expensive to purchase for the classroom, but they are so useful in illustrating left to right reading, showing letters in words, and sounding out words with the children. They love big books! The story helped us in our study of the days of the week. We also read our Alpha Tales story Jaguar’s Jungleberry Jamboree…filled with all sorts of “J” sounds! We said goodbye to the Letter J Box! Inside playtime worked out well; the children could not get enough of spending time together! We worked on our Callirobics for upper and lower case ‘j.’ We read Jubal’s Wish, by Audrey Wood; a story about a little frog who wishes for adventure…not for himself, but for his friends. The children loved the illustrations! The children also completed the Letter J page for their alphabet binders. Later, the children decorated bags for their Valentine deliveries. On Wednesday…Natalie brought in the Letter Box for ‘N,’ and she received a “round of applause” from the class! Ruth brought a beautiful book about birds that she and her sister, Rachel, created with the help of Nanna. We had a real “show and tell” morning! We read an informational book titled Owls, a Weekly Reader Science book. The children have learned new vocabulary words…nocturnal, prey, talons, owlets. Then it was off to Art class with Mrs. Schacht where the children drew (with instructions) beautiful owls. These were placed in a binder which is on display in the lobby. We will be studying owls during the remainder of this week and next. I have ordered a video about barn owls that is absolutely wonderful; I hope it will be here by next week! We completed our “snow buddies” this morning; each child counted his or her snowbuddy parts on a tally sheet. They are so cute that we displayed them in the lobby; they will come home soon. In computer class, Mrs. Brooks read Birds by Kevin Henkes. The children created their own favorite bird from the book on the computer. On Thursday…Early morning gym class! Taylor brought in a letter box for the Letter N, also. (Another round of applause for Taylor!) We read “Noisy Newt,” our alphabet coloring story. The children practiced writing numerals 1-10; I am keeping these sheets until conferences. Those who were able to finish their writing practice, colored some of the pages of “Noisy Newt.” We had a brief “quiz” on the birds that we have studied. Today we were visited by a flock of red-winged black birds. They are rather large birds with a brilliant streak of red on their very black wings; the streak is visible when they take off from the ground! This created a lot of excitement! We are also ‘home’ to at least five pairs of mourning doves who visit regularly. Mrs. Brooks dropped in to read The Napping House, by Audrey Wood. This is another favorite of ours; two by Audrey Wood this week! The children had to color the characters from the story; then glue them on construction paper (sequentially) according to the events in the book. They had fun with the activity, and finished quickly. We put them to work again as they completed the numeral six activity sheets provided! They could not stop working…we decided to stop only for lunch! On Friday…We began our day with painting! The children are creating owls that will be used in an adventure next week. The bodies are being painted today; feathers, wings, talons, beaks, eyes, and imagination will be added next week before we go “owling.” We talked about the emotions, ‘surprise and fear,’ as part of our “Second Step” program. The children then enjoyed Music class with Mrs. Reynolds. Even though February 12 has come and gone, we still celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday so that the children can receive some introductory information about one of America’s greatest presidents. Today we read Scholastic’s Abraham Lincoln, and the children worked in a student booklet that tells a little about Lincoln’s life. I hope you will enjoy sitting with your child to read through the booklet, and talking with your child about the contributions of this great president. George Washington will have a turn on Monday! These two American icons are part of our Social Studies curriculum. Linens will not come home today. They have been barely used! I have a feeling that we are going to have a snow-free week next week, so we will wait until next Friday to send them home. Two children will take home letter boxes today…Samantha and Emme will return on Monday with boxes full of Letter P items! Have fun hunting! I am looking forward to seeing parents next week during Parent/Teacher conferences. If you have received your conference time and it is does not fit with your schedule, please call Mrs. Pitts to change the time. We will work around your time frame. Also, please remember that Wednesday morning, the same day as conferences, the children will have a half day of school, 8:30-11:30 a.m. This is a snow make-up day. Buses will run; no lunch will be served. Enjoy your weekend…keep your fingers crossed that we will bask in sunshine! Mrs. Ryan |
January 29, 2010 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: It has been a fun-filled and interesting week; plans are well underway for our March mini-mester, “The Rivers Around Us.” While the mini-mester special events are taking place during the three-day, school-wide dates (March 29-April 1), we will begin studying rivers long before that time. As mentioned in my previous letter (*see the website), we are looking for parents, grandparents, and friends who have a special relationship with our neighboring rivers…the Rappahannock, the Mattaponi, the Potomac, and the Pamunkey. This relationship might be job oriented or pleasure oriented; we are looking for individuals who may have something of importance to share with Pre-K 5 as we begin our study in late February and March. Let me hear from you! On Monday… Cameron brought the letter box for Q…and, a special item that her grandmother made! Cameron brought in a beautiful Noah’s Ark quilt made for her by her grandmother. It is so beautiful and so special; it even helped Cameron fall asleep Monday afternoon! The children enjoyed early morning gym class. We then read our Alpha Tales story “The Quiet Quail.” Every student returned their library book, so every child in the class received a new pencil. It was day of celebration! Mrs. Schacht was so proud! Mrs. Ryan brought in a favorite lap quilt, and one that her grandmother had made, also! The children snuggled under the quilt and felt its warmth. Each child worked on his letter Q for his alphabet binder. On Tuesday…We read a silly alphabet story titled “Quacky Quackers!” It was filled with words that begin with the letter Q. Each child took their coloring story home to color, because we had to do some clock math on our Boom Chicka Rock clocks! The children are getting the hang of moving the short hand to indicate the hours on the clock. They also fed their mice some new cereal to work on some one-to-one comparisons. They did get to eat the cereal; “Cookie Crisp” seems to be more popular than “Honey Nut Cheerios!” The clocks come home today; put them on the refrigerator so that you talk about time with your child. We read a wonderfully illustrated storybook, The Quilt by Ann Jonas. The story is about a little girl’s imaginative dream after a new quilt is placed on her bed. Once the story was completed, the children had an opportunity to make their own “quilts” using precut scraps of fabric to be glued in a design of their choosing. It was fun watching them choose from so many fabric designs. They really enjoyed this activity. They also colored a self portrait on a “quilt” square. These squares were made into a friendship quilt which is hanging in the hallway near our room. On Wednesday…We began our Second Step Violence Prevention program with the children. We will be concentrating on this program each Wednesday morning for the next 7-8 weeks. The children were introduced to “Impulsive Puppy” (he teaches the children how to listen!) and “Be Calm Bunny,” two of the puppets that go with the curriculum of the program. We talked about observing feelings on the faces of children, and how we can identify those feelings. Today, everyone described ‘happiness,’ and recounted a time when they had felt extremely happy. Next morning, we will work on identifying sadness and how we react to it. This is a very special program that produces excellent discussion and role playing. The children enjoyed art class with Mrs. Schacht; they painted blue jays using a pre-traced pattern with step-by-step directions. In class, we read the conclusion of Counting is for the Birds by Frank Mazzola, Jr. The book is filled with colorful birds to identify as they fly to a feeder being watched by a cat! It is a perfect companion to our bird unit. The children then colored a Dark-eyed Junco and a California Quail for their bird books. They are still counting the birds that come to our feeder each day. We sincerely thank William for bringing in some great bird seed to attract our finches! During computer class (I did not forget today!), Mrs. Brooks had the children counting owls and placing them in trees! They loved it. On Thursday…So sad to say that three children are absent…the coughing is getting worse. It will be a challenge to keep everyone well. The children enjoyed early morning gym class with Mrs. Watts. We read a very funny book about a duck who destroyed his home trying to catch an ant…Henry’s Awful Mistake by Robert Quackenbush. Yes, that is the author’s name! That is why I chose the book! We have a rule in this class during Q week…”Q never goes anywhere without his little buddy u!” We worked on printing some lower case letters in our Callirobics books. We read excerpts from Animals that Hibernate by Phyllis J. Perry. The children colored their own books about hibernating animals. On the covers of their books, they drew a mother black bear and three cubs…just waking up from hibernation. I covered the children with a second quilt made by my grandmother! On Friday…We read The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau. This is a “fairytale-like” story that teaches about greed, kindness, and redemption. That’s a lot to pack into one story, but it is an excellent one. The story is about being kind to those who have so little, and how one king learned to recognize his own greed. It is a wonderful story that beautifully illustrates its message. The children enjoyed their music class with Mrs. Reynolds this morning. I covered the children with a third quilt made by my grandmother! We read Round Robin by Jack Kent. The children then colored robins for their bird books. Those students finishing early completed challenge work on number 5. We celebrated the birthdays of William and Samantha by having a treat after lunch! We always try to finish the day (the last 10-15 minutes with a good book…we read Tommie dePaola’s The Quilt Story. Linens come home today! Mrs. Howeth has asked me to inform you that she has posted pictures on her photography website… picturethisphotographybydawn.com … and you may access our classroom pictures there. The site is password protected; the password is “ryan”. Pictures will be posted here until she gets the Shutterfly site up and running. Gavin Klear joins us on Monday, February 1! We are so excited to receive a new student, and the children are equally happy! Please welcome the Klear family when you have an opportunity. Davis Ball has the letter box for J due on Monday! Enjoy your wintry, snow white weekend, and take heart in the fact that your name is not Quackenbush! I think only an author can make that work! Mrs. Ryan |
January 21, 2010 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: We had some very tired children returning to school on Tuesday, but they seem to have bounced back! We’ve enjoyed a busy and productive week filled with fun! Our bird feeders are filled with black-oil sunflower seeds, wild song bird seed, and thistle seed for the thousands of goldfinches that will visit us. On Wednesday, the children saw three pairs of Morning Doves and one female cardinal. We kept looking for the male, but he was nowhere to be seen. The children were so excited as they added these birds to their graph. The Aylett grounds are home to many species of birds, and we never know what we are going to see from day to day. Goldfinches, Cardinals, Juncos, woodpeckers, an occasional bluebird, and crows are common; but, we have seen the Tufted Titmouse, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, and even a Killdeer. Wild turkeys graze across the road, and every now and then an eagle feasts on carrion along Powcan Road. This is a veritable oasis for wild birds! On Monday… Holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. On Tuesday…I wanted the children to think back on the winter scene surrounding our Christmas holiday, so we read Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant. The illustrations in the book are so beautiful, and it gave everyone a chance to think back about the traditions and events that led to Christmas Day. The children then drew a scene which depicted winter in the country with snow, blue sky, evergreen trees, and bare trees. The project involves drawing and painting, so they will finish on Thursday. We next read Boom Chicka Rock by John Archambault, a crazy story about mice that rock around the clock! The children colored their mice for the clocks that we will be making. We will do some beginning exercises with telling time, understanding the hands on the clock, and feeding our mice!
On Wednesday…We talked about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions toward the acquisition of equal rights for all individuals. We read a little biography of his life that was age appropriate; the children had thoughtful questions. The conversation was good! During art class, the children completed their paintings of “perching” birds. These paintings are hanging in the hallway near our classroom. The children began graphing the birds that we see at our window; each child gets to add information to the graph when they see a particular bird. We read Two Blue Jays by Anne Rockwell, a detailed description of parent blue jays building their nest together and raising their young. It is a very interesting book, and the children really enjoyed it. We all went out to see the new ACDS Bus 17 so that we could rave about it—a very exciting, but brief experience! After welcoming the new bus, the children colored their blue jay illustrations for “My Book About Birds.” We were so engaged in what we were doing that I completely forgot about going to Computer Class at 11:40 a.m. We were most apologetic to Mrs. Brooks; I promised the children I would not forget again. On Thursday…Early morning Gym! After our gathering time and work in our new calendar/weather binders, the children listened as we went over Christmas in the Country again. We paid particular attention to new vocabulary words. We completed our ‘winter scenes’ by drawing/painting the barren tree on our pictures.Some children drew their trees; others painted. These scenes have turned out to be wonderful; it’s one of those pieces of artwork that you might consider framing! The children began practicing in their lower case Callirobics workbook. This will be an early morning activity that the children can do one-on-one with teacher supervision. I emphasize again; this is just practice! We used our clocks today after re-reading Boom Chicka Rock. I think they had more fun listening today than on Tuesday! Using the long and short hand of their clocks, they changed the time (hourly) to demonstrate bedtime, rising time, breakfast, go to school time…etc. They moved the hands of their clocks to coincide with the designated time. We then fed the mice some “Cookie Crisp;” you can’t have hungry mice running around behind your kitchen clock! This was a counting activity; the Cookie Crisp was saved until all lunch had been eaten! On Friday…The children worked on the upper case letters K and R in their Callirobics workbook. They always have fun with practice; they used fine tipped markers to help with easy gliding. It takes the tension out of writing practice. The children attended Music Class for the first time since our Christmas break. It is unfortunate that we missed two Fridays, because those are Music days! We’re back on schedule now! We read Counting is for the Birds by Frank Mazzola, Jr. This is a great book for counting and learning about different birds! The children colored the American Goldfinch for their books today. Those children who finished early worked on a bird’s nest counting activity. Cameron will take the letter box home today for the letter Q on Monday, January 25. We are so excited to announce that we will have a new student joining our class on February 1. His name is Gavin Klear, and his family has just moved to the area. Linens will not travel home until next Friday. Have a wonderful, dry, and warm weekend…if you possibly can! This sounds like a cuddle up in your snuggy weekend to me! Mrs. Ryan |
January 19, 2010 Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: I am writing to let you know of some upcoming events that will require your attention. On February 24, ACDS will be closed to students so that parents may attend Parent/Teacher conferences from Noon until 6:00 p.m. If you have a preference for a particular time on this day, please let me know so that I may advise Mrs. Taylor for her appointment letters. If you can only meet during an early morning time slot, I can arrange to meet with you early in the morning on another day. I am anxious to work with you so that we can make something fit your schedule! Just contact me by writing a note or speaking to me at school; I see many of you when you come to bring or drop off children for school. I would also like to remind you of a League meeting that will be held on Thursday evening, January 28, at 7:00 p.m. This is a called meeting and not originally on the calendar. SOME ADVANCE NOTIFICATION!! Aylett Country Day School will participate in a mini-mester program titled “Understanding Our Rivers,” March 29-April 1, 2010. The entire student body will be studying the most important rivers around us…the Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, the Potomac, and the Pamunkey. We will begin incorporating the study of rivers in our curriculum in early March. The focus of our study will be to understand the river as a source of food, a source of transportation, and as a source of recreation. We will study the environmental impact of pollutants and how we can be pro-active in protecting our rivers. This will be geared to our children’s age level. Field trips will be planned and special activities will take place. One particular field trip that has to do with understanding the importance of the forest as a buffer against erosion will occur in May. It is a traditional field trip that we take in correlation with our Chesapeake Bay unit of study. Hopefully, the children will be able to make connections with this trip and what we will have learned during mini-mester. We are very excited about this mini-mester and hope to expose your children to many new experiences! As parents, you are an important resource in the planning of any school-wide program. Many of you have connections to the rivers around us; you may have acquaintances or friends who would be good resource persons to share information with our teachers and student body. You may have ideas for guest speakers or you, yourself, may wish to contribute directly to the program. Please share with me any information you might have that would benefit us in the planning of our mini-mester. One of the reasons that our last mini-mester (“Our Native American Neighbors” 2009) was so successful was due to the fantastic participation of our Aylett parents. Let me know if you wish to help in any way. I hope you will mark April 1 on your calendar as the day you will attend the culminating event on our final mini-mester day. This is a half-day of school, and we plan to share in a school-wide event to which our parents and community friends will be invited. We won’t want you to miss it! SAVE THE DATES!! January 28—League Meeting 7:00 p.m. February 12-15 –ACDS Winter Weekend February 18 –Admissions Open House (League Meeting 7:00 p.m.) February 24 –Parent/Teacher Conferences--12:00 Noon - 6:00 p.m. March 12 --Noon Dismissal (ACDS Spring Break through 3/21; School reopens on March 22) March 20 - April 1 -- ACDS Mini-mester "Understanding our Rivers" Thank you so much for your thoughtful consideration in all that I have included in this letter. Hope it was not too overwhelming! This letter will be posted on our website! Sincerely, Wanda Ryan |
January 15, 2010 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: This has been a busy and productive week…filled with surprises! Ruth brought in the letter box for the Letter R, even though she didn’t have the actual ‘box’! That’s dedication to task! Although we experienced some bitter cold, the children were actually happy to get outside. They never once complained! On Monday…It’s Letter R week! Ruth had so much fun showing all of the children items from her letter box! We read Rosie Rabbit’s Radish, our Alpha Tales story for the week. We also began keeping records in our new “Calendar/Weather Binders;” the children are so excited about this new job they have to complete. They have to trace the number of today’s date; color in the graph block for the appropriate weather; and write today’s date (i.e. 1-11-10). This record keeping takes place on the floor (blue rug) as we are completing our morning jobs. Their binders serve as a mini-desk, and they feel so grown up! We will be adding additional work sheets as the year progresses. At the end of each month, we will send home the sheets from the binder before beginning a new month. The children enjoyed gym with Mrs. Watts; and library time with Mrs. Schacht. The children worked on the letter R page for their alphabet binders. On Tuesday…On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we sometimes have the help of Mrs. Amanda Brooks for a half an hour or so. She is gaining Pre-school teaching experience as she helps with teaching activities. Each child had to pull a ‘mystery’ vocabulary word out of a bag, and describe what that word means. These vocabulary words were from our story The Mitten. The children took the animals which had been colored on Thursday, and carefully inserted them into their “mittens” as Mrs. Brooks re-read the story. (Each child had their own mitten!) When we got to the part about the bear’s sneeze…well, you can imagine what happened! Ask your child to tell you all about how we read The Mitten on Tuesday. We also read our alphabet coloring story “Racing Raccoon;” the children colored briefly in their books. We decided to learn as much as we could about raccoons, so we read some information about them and discussed what we had learned. The children made a raccoon puppet with a little bio on the back!I thought it was particularly interesting that we need to be more careful about the raccoon roundworm than rabies! On Wednesday… The children went to art class a little early, due to the arrival of special guests later. They had a wonderful time painting ‘branches’ for their perching birds. They also painted beautiful birds which are on display in the hallway near our room. At 9:30 a.m., Mrs. Cheryl Nuckols, Ruth’s grandmother, brought in some of her dearest pets…all of whom had names that begin with the letter R! There was Roland the Golden Retriever, Rufus the Rooster, and Roy the Rabbit. The children had the most wonderful time. (I hope all of you received my note at the end of that day!) We have such generous and thoughtful parents and grandparents…we can never thank you enough! We read Cardinals, a Nature book, and discussed the habits and characteristics of male and female cardinals. The children colored their first birds for “My Book About Birds”! (We emphasize very particular and careful coloring, as this is the first way that you distinguish one bird from another.) This was a very exciting day! The children enjoyed computer class with Mrs. Brooks; she has made a special folder for each child which houses their work from class. They will get to bring this home at the end of the year. On Thursday…Hurray! It’s warmer today! We had a visitor today; Gavin Klear will be enrolling in our class beginning in February. He will be a wonderful addition to our students, and the children just loved him. We prepared some “Rabbit Refreshers,” a pear and cottage cheese delight that your children loved. Well, nearly everyone! The ‘Letter R’ recipe is coming home! It is a healthy and fun snack to prepare and to eat. We read another of Jan Brett’s books, The Hat. I wanted to make a math activity sheet that would correspond with the book, but as I noted in your Thursday letter, I will be making some changes in the worksheet. Each of the children worked very diligently on their activity; it was more time consuming than I had thought it would be. Linens come home today.
Friday…School closed for students: However, teachers and staff will be hard at work! We will be having departmental meetings; and a concentrated, collaborative effort toward the planning of our all-school March mini-mester. We hope to get a great deal accomplished toward the planning of this mini-mester, which runs from March 29- April 1. There will be a culminating activity on Thursday morning, and you will be invited! Much more information will be coming home to you in February when plans for our mini-mester are finalized. We made a slight adjustment to our Letter Box schedule…Cameron will be bringing the Letter Box for the letter Q on Monday, January 25. We have some catching up to do for the letter K and R. We will use this week to get everyone up to date. Mrs. Howeth would like for all parents who would like to view our class pictures to email her at
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She will email you the Shutterfly site so that you can view or order class pictures. The pictures from our “animals that begin with the letter R day” are fabulous! Have a wonderful, relaxing four-day weekend! We will all return refreshed and ready to roll! Mrs. Ryan |
January 8, 2010 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: We were so happy to see your children on January 4! There was so much chatter about what Santa brought…we couldn’t listen fast enough! We welcomed Mrs. Howeth back on Thursday, January 7; her family members are on the mend! Regardless of this deep freeze weather, we have been playing outside, if only for fifteen minutes at a time. The children have not complained, and they love being outside. When noses and cheeks start turning pink, we head inside! Thank you for sending the appropriate mittens, hats and coats to school. On Monday…Lots of excitement and hugs today! We began our Monday with the Letter K…”Kangaroo Kazoo” (our Alpha Tales story). The children were anxious and happy to spend time in the gym with Mrs. Watts. The children enjoyed library time with Mrs. Schacht; we were missing some library books, but most turned up on Tuesday! Returning a library book, and getting a new one in its place, teaches responsibility; the children are always so excited to get a new book. We worked on the Letter K page for our alphabet binders…these binders are really filling up! Mrs. Broaddus was our helper today. On Tuesday…It was a good morning to sing and dance…we needed to wake the children up! We read “Kicky Kangaroo,” our alphabet coloring story. Later in the morning we read a wonderful, sixty-six–year-old book, Katy No Pockets by Emmy Payne. After the story, I put on my pocket apron and the children found items that begin with the letter K in each pocket. Each child practiced the letter K sound before returning the item to the pocket. The children worked on a “kangaroo” activity which required them to place pictures of K words in the kangaroo’s pocket. Some children worked on a challenge activity, then we all played a little number Bingo! Mrs. Spoor was our helper today. (We are happy to report that Natalie and Samantha are now five day students…we are delighted!) On Wednesday…This week marks the beginning of our “Backyard Birds” unit of study. Each student will make an informational booklet…My Book About Birds (which we will begin today!) This morning we read part of The Bird Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta. The children were enthralled! We think they are ready for a new challenge! Each Monday, Wednesday or Friday, we will add a new bird to our book. We learn about the bird’s characteristics, habits, and habitat; we even listen to bird calls. Today, we also worked on practicing the numeral 4, our math challenge for the day. The children enjoyed creating a “Pointalism” project in Art class. Using Q-tips, they created a painting of a snowman in a snowstorm. They really had fun creating their art work, even though the concept of ‘pointalism’ may have been difficult to understand! We read a portion of Birds We Know by Margaret Friskey. The children then made the covers for their books by cutting out and gluing shapes to form birds. They had such fun creating their ‘perching birds.’ Computer class is held from 11:40 to 12:00 Noon. They always enjoy their time with Mrs. Brooks. Mrs. Broaddus was our helper today. On Thursday…Early morning gym with Mrs. Watts! We read Koala Lou by Mem Fox, a story about a little koala bear who competes in the Bush Olympics so that she can earn a hug from her mother. (Koala Lou’s mother has become very busy with the other baby koalas; Koala Lou is afraid she is not loved as she used to be.) An interesting conversation ensued about the upcoming Winter Olympic Games; I hope you will share some of this experience with your children. Mem Fox is a wonderful author; feel free to read any of her children’s books! The children had to complete a challenge activity which involved practicing the number four. We read The Mitten by Jan Brett, which is filled with new and exciting vocabulary words, not to mention a great story. The children are actually making the ‘mitten’ filled with all of the animals from the story. They will re-tell the story on Tuesday, and use all of the animals which they have colored. It should be great fun! On Friday…What a surprise!! Hope you enjoyed the snow! On Monday, January 11, we will begin working in our “Weather Binders” to make our calendar and weather time a little more challenging and enjoyable. Thank you to all of our parents who helped to purchase these binders. Every morning the children will trace the date on a calendar, color in a graph to record the weather for that day, and write the day’s date. We will gradually add more activity sheets in the weeks to come. We may overlap some work with the letter K with the letter R next week due to our snow day. To make our “Backyard Birds” unit more exciting, we have placed feeders outside our classroom windows, and will begin feeding our own ACDS birds. We will keep a graph of the kinds and numbers of birds that we watch coming to our three feeders. This is always a very entertaining unit of study for the children. If there is anyone out there who would like to donate wild bird seed or thistle seed, please know that we accept contributions happily! Linens will not come home this week due to our unexpected snow day. They will be sent home on either Wednesday or Thursday, Jan. 13 or 14. Next Friday, January 15, is a teacher workday, so our week will be short. Monday, January 18, is a school holiday honoring Martin Luther King. May I suggest that Natasha and Ruth both bring in items for the letter box on Monday using just a plastic bag. We will transfer items to the letter box when they arrive. Naturally, this suggestion is only relevant if parents receive their newsletter on the ACDS website before the weekend is up! Have a wonderful and warm weekend…the days are actually getting longer…we can dream of Spring! Mrs. Ryan |
December 11, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: This week has flown by! We have finally reached the date for the Nutcracker performance, and everyone is so excited. The children have really enjoyed watching the movie (twenty minutes here and there). We still might watch the conclusion on Monday. Time is running short, and we may be busy putting finishing touches on special Christmas ornaments next week! We are looking forward to our Christmas concert with William’s father and grandfather. Many of you may know that due to William’s illness on Monday, we postponed their musical presentation until Monday, December 14, 10:00 a.m. We wouldn’t want William to miss his grandfather and father performing together! On Monday…We read “Fifi Ferret’s Flute,” our Alpha Tales story for the Letter F. The children used their “witch’s fingers” to find items that begin with the letter F throughout the room. (You will have to ask them what those are!) They enjoyed gym class with Mrs. Watts. We read Four Famished Foxes plus Fosdyke by Pamela Edwards. This is a fabulous story about four foxes who steal into the farmyard at 4:45 a.m.—alliteration at its finest! The children really enjoyed this funny story. Today was library day and just about everyone remembered his book. We worked on our letter F for our alphabet binders, also. We introduced a new fun activity today—a cash register complete with money to spend. The line formed immediately to be a cashier and anxious purchasers! On Tuesday…We read “Friendly Frog,” an alphabet coloring story. The children follow along looking at their pages while a teacher reads the story filled with words that begin with our weekly letter. The stories may sound silly, but the repetition of letter sounds is invaluable listening practice. We always ask questions about the story that we have read. We worked on a special activity…”The Christmas Tree Activity Book.” Some of the children completed their books; others will continue to work and finish for fun at home. I’m beginning to hear Christmas wishes…..We read The Mouse Before Christmas by Machael Garland . On Wednesday… We read additional pages from The Nutcracker by Deborah Hautzig. The children then colored a nutcracker for the cover of a special book that they are making. Hopefully, this book will be completed by next Wednesday! We watched a portion of “The Nutcracker” movie, and I was really surprised by how attentive and full of wonder the children were while watching. We made our “macaroni Christmas trees” that will be coming home for your Christmas tree! The children were excited to head back to the computer lab today for fun with Mrs. Brooks. On Thursday…Early morning gym…always an exciting way to start the morning! After morning gathering time, we read Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni. There was some discussion about how just being satisfied with who or what we are is probably the best course of action! The children had to create a fish bowl in which they placed pictures of things that begin with the letter F. I hope they played their ‘slide presentation’ for you. It was cold, but they loved playing outside! We read Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, which is a wonderful book to illustrate sharing and helping others to feel a part of the group. We did a little role-playing to emphasize the lesson learned. The children created their own ‘rainbow fish’ and received a special shimmering scale to remember the story. No nap time today…too busy having fun!
On Friday…We got some work done in our special Nutcracker book, but soon had to ready ourselves for the bus ride. We left this morning at approximately 9:30 a.m. What a wonderful experience for us all! We look forward to this date every year…I will write a note about our experience when I return, but this newsletter has to go to press early! We watched The Berenstain Bear’s Find a Christmas Tree when we returned from the ballet. Linens will come home for you on Wednesday, December 16. I know that our hostesses will plan a wonderful lunch and party next Wednesday. If you think that your child might be particular about lunch, please send in a little something extra just in case they are not happy with what is served. This will be the last newsletter that you receive before Christmas. I am looking forward to the family-filled activities that will be ongoing at my house, and I know that your home will be filled with excitement, also. I remember those late night Christmas Eves when I never thought that I would make it to bed. I also remember those 6:00 a.m. Christmas mornings when I propped my eyelids open with toothpicks and dared my husband to take pictures of me during the Christmas frenzy! I remember helping my sister-in-law put a bicycle together at about 2:00 a.m. on a Christmas eve, because her husband was flying missions in Viet Nam. Let’s keep our military personnel, those active and wounded, in our hearts this Christmas. Your children were so excited to create Christmas cards for the soldiers at Walter Reed, and some to send to my friend’s son in Iraq. I was so proud of them. May your days be filled with child-like fantasy…that’s the best kind to have! I hope you all have a wonderful, safe, and healthy holiday! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! Love, Mrs. Ryan |
December 4, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday; I was very busy myself and enjoyed my family so much. Grandparent’s Day was a wonderful beginning to our break! Thank you all so much for coming to be with us on that day. The children never fail to perform a minor miracle; I never know exactly how things will happen on stage, so that’s a bonus! They were all so cute in the play, but my favorite part of the morning was when they sang “One By One.” Mrs. Howeth and I insist that each class sings that song. What we heard later were reports that older children (even in Middle School) were singing and ‘signing’ along with Pre-K 5. That’s pretty special! On Tuesday…Taylor was so excited to show us the Letter L box. The children took turns using our “witch fingers” to go around the room to point to things that begin with the letter L. We read “Looney Lion,” our alphabet coloring story. We made “lions” to eat by using bagels, soy butter, raisins, and string licorice. They really tried to like their creations, but they were not a hit! (Note for next year!) I won’t be sending home the instructions; these children really don’t like getting soy butter on their hands! On Wednesday…It was great to have everyone back at school today; Taylor got to show her letter box again! We read our Alpha Tales story The Lamb Who Loved to Laugh, learning all sorts of letter L words. The children made Advent garlands in Art class. Each day they will remove one section of the garland to count down the days until Christmas. We are constructing a new bulletin board which will consist of Santa’s sleigh and eleven reindeer; each child painted a reindeer for the sleigh. The only problem is that everyone wants to be Rudolph! No problem! The children also worked on their Letter L for their alphabet binders. We read the real story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The children also enjoyed computer class and more fun with “Kid’s Pics.” On Thursday…Early morning gym! The children listened to “Merry Christmas Curious George,” a CD and accompanying book. The children had to follow instructions coloring a turkey by number. Those who finished their turkey, completed “Pumpkin Pie Time,” a counting activity. After outside play time, the children listened to The Bear Wakes Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson. Their activity consisted of creating a ‘lair’ for the bear and his animal friends. New vocabulary words were “lair, badger, raven, mole, wren, and gopher.” They loved the story and had fun with their activity. On Friday…The children began their morning by coloring Christmas greeting cards for soldiers stationed in Iraq. These cards will be shared by my friend’s son who is serving in Iraq. I have written a message that will go in each card. The children began working right away…practicing two letters in their Callirobics workbook. Last Friday, they were practicing for the play during Music time…today, they enjoyed Music once again! Today is much colder than Thursday, but the children still went outside to play. Please remember to send warm jackets, mittens, and hats during these colder weather patterns. The children finished their reindeer by adding eyes, a sash with bells, red noses, and black hooves! We began reading The Nutcracker by Deborah Hautzig; we will be reading it in installments. We watched a few minutes of the actual movie The Nutcracker, to give the children a little idea of what we will be seeing next Friday. Remember: We go outside EVERY day! Do we have your winter change of clothes here at school? Also remember that the money for our field trip is due on Monday, December 7. We are so excited to welcome Mr. Tal Ambrose and his father, Reverend Ambrose, to our school on Monday. They will be leading us in an audience participation, Christmas music extravaganza! We are scheduled for 10:00 a.m.! Stockings for the Salvation Army donations project are due on December 11. If you have any questions about what to put in the stockings, just give us a call at school. We said goodbye to the Letter L today; John has the letter box for F for Monday, December 7. We have so much to do before December 17…I just wish there was more time! The children are excited about our classroom Christmas tree and all of our upcoming projects. It is really fun to watch their excitement grow each day. Have a lovely weekend…a slushy, snowy Saturday?! We’ll see! Mrs. Ryan |
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November 20, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: The excitement is building every day…only four more days until Grandparent’s Day! We hope you are getting excited right along with us. The children have been practicing their performance…today was the first time in the gym on the actual stage. It’s a rough in places, but they always seem to come through on the day of the performance! Keep your fingers crossed! On Monday…I thoroughly enjoyed my conference in Richmond; learned lots of new ideas for teaching! The children read “When Tilly Turtle Came to Tea,” their Alpha Tales story for the letter T. Emme brought in the letter box for T, and did a great job teaching the children about what she had in her box. The children enjoyed picking out their favorite selections from the book fair (wish lists) and also enjoyed gym class. They did practice their little skit and the music they will be singing on Grandparent’s Day. The children worked on the letter T for their alphabet binders. On Tuesday…Mrs. Spoor joined us today, in Mrs. Howeth’s absence. Cameron and Taylor brought in their family trees; they did a wonderful job teaching us about their ‘relatives’ (we’re learning that the word ‘relatives’ means family members!). We read “Tricky Turkey,” our alphabet coloring book. Silas also brought in a really interesting and strange looking, spiny ball. Turns out that it is a chestnut! He also brought in a branch of crepe myrtle tree with its seed pods attached. If you find anything interesting that you think Pre-K 5 should talk about, please feel free to send it in. The children love looking at new and interesting things in nature. We read A Turkey for Thanksgiving, by Eve Bunting. It is a very funny story that the children thoroughly enjoyed. The children worked on a graphing activity titled “Flashy Feathers.” We did this as a group activity, and they seemed to understand the concept of graphing very well. We will be doing something like this for each new season of celebration. All of the children in Pre-K 5 have drawn a picture and written a message on a card for recovering soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. This was a joint project with the middle school—they wrote the poem inside; we decorated the outside! On Wednesday…More beautiful family trees came to school! I am taking pictures of the children as they “teach” about their families; they are having so much fun. The ‘family trees’ are then hung in the hallway of our foyer entrance so that teachers, staff, and students can enjoy them. For my former students and parents, it has been so much fun, because they can remember so long ago when they, too, created a family tree! The children completed a page about Woodland Indians for their Native American Indian book. We were so fortunate to enjoy beautiful outside play time. We held a practice for Grandparent’s Day…we’re getting better! The children enjoyed making canoes in Art class today. We will be using them later as we continue our storytelling. I read an Indian story to the children which uses pictographs only…they had to guess what some of the pictures represented before I began reading. They enjoyed this so much. There will be a special story (and pictograph alphabet) in the Indian book that they will bring home on Grandparent’s Day. Computer class was so much fun for the children; they created colorful turkeys on the Kid Pics program. On Thursday…We were so busy today…painting caruncles (wattles) on our turkeys… attaching their eyes and beaks! (feathers and feet come tomorrow!) These are the most unusual and breathtaking turkeys you will ever want to see! We did some “Turkey Math” with our turkey handprints from last week. We ‘fed the turkeys some delicious Cheerios…eight pieces of cereal, take away four (by eating!) = four! We continued doing math problems with our turkeys for at least fifteen minutes, and I don’t think they wanted to stop! I’m going to let them feed their turkeys again on Tuesday. We read one of my favorite books The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. It’s all about the trip and visit of a group of family members who left Virginia to travel over unfamiliar roads and mountains to get to their relatives! After our book, the children worked on a project which required them to match certain Thanksgiving foods with their origins. They enjoyed this; it’s in their folders! On Friday…Samantha and William brought in their family trees; we had so much fun as they taught us about their family members. These babies are so cute! We held our first Grandparent’s Day practice in the gym on stage…what a great time we had! We are wrapping up some unfinished projects and surprises for Grandparent’s Day…can’t tell you any more than that! We read our Native American Indian story “How the Turkey Got Its Many Colored Feathers.” The children then proceeded to work on some “Pottery Geometry” for their Indian books. We are doing our best to learn as much as we can about the Native Americans who lived in the Eastern woodlands. The children cannot wait to hear what is next. Linens will not come home to you until Monday or Tuesday. We said goodbye to the letter T; Taylor will have the letter box for L due on December 1. Just a quick mention…we do not exchange gifts in Pre-K 5 for Christmas. Hostesses for the Christmas party are Ayron Pitts and Kelly Gwathmey—just a reminder. Have a terrific, time managed, trouble-free, thermometer-free, tremendously fun weekend! Don’t start feeling holiday stress…if you want my suggestion list for how to reduce stress during the holiday season, I will be glad to share it with you. Just send me a note, and it’s yours! Mrs. Ryan |
November 13, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: The water is getting deeper around us, but we are still having fun! This has been an interesting weather week. We are grateful for Monday’s sunshine, and will try not to take it for granted again! We were glad to have Ruth back on Wednesday; she brought in a wonderful letter box for G. Both she and William did a great job! I hope all is going well with the family trees…I had hoped that this would be a fun project for you and your child. I hope it has not become stressful! We are so excited to see the very first family tree; if you finish early, send it on in! We hope you received a copy of your child’s lines for the little play we are working on; just go over the lines every now and then—at the dinner table is fun! On Monday…The children enjoyed gym class with Mrs. Watts. We read “Gorilla Be Good,” our Alpha Tales book for the letter G. The children really enjoy these stories. We were fortunate to have a wonderful time playing outside! The children enjoyed library time, even though Mrs. Schacht was absent. They worked on their alphabet page for the letter G, coloring everything from gorillas to guitars. We also had a little time to color our Grandparent’s Day invitations. I hope that you and your family will have an opportunity to attend this wonderful event. On Tuesday…The children finished coloring their invitations for Grandparent’s Day. We did a little singing and dancing! We read “Goofy Ghost,” our alphabet coloring book story. Those little stories do come home with the children so that you can read them also. The repetition of the letter sounds is fun and good practice for your child. We also painted some ‘turkey hands’ so that the children can use them in a math lesson one week from today. We read Look Whooo’s Counting by Susie MacDonald. The children then completed a math/counting activity which involved constructing a sunflower. The challenge activity was a numeral 3 activity sheet. On Wednesday…The children participated in a school-wide “Follow the Flag” ceremony to honor our military men and women. Students from the middle school came to our door to collect us; we walked silently to the gym, where we gathered around the American flag. Once all of the students were in place, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance together. Mrs. Haynes spoke briefly; the children all filed out of the gym in complete silence. It was a very moving ceremony. (Your children did not utter one word…except during the Pledge!) I was very proud of Pre-K 5 and I let them know it. The children worked on the letter G in their Callirobics workbook. They had a wonderful time in Art class painting the turkeys which we will use in the Grandparent’s Day play. These turkeys are spectacular! We read a special story Bright Eyes and Soft Step by Suzanne Tate, a nature author. (We use her series of books when we study the Chesapeake Bay in April.) This story is about two Native American Indian children who see the tall ships for the first time. There is an activity that accompanies this book which we will have to complete on Friday…we just ran out of time today! The children learned to “draw” with the computer paint brush during their computer class today. They had so much fun doing this! On Thursday…Early morning gym class! Thank goodness for inside gym! We feel as if we are about to float away! The children listened to one more story that has to do with the four seasons…Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens by Louise Borden. They then completed their booklet about the “Seasons of the Tree.” Today’s addition was the ‘summer tree;’ it didn’t feel too much like summer today! The children really did a wonderful job. We read an “edited” version of The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh, which is another version of the Plymouth Thanksgiving story. We worked on everyone’s ship project today; the children (and I) are making replicas of the Mayflower. Everyone in the T/Th class had theirs put together today. (M,W,F children will complete their ships on Friday.) The children then completed an activity where they had to determine what items would be packed aboard the Mayflower for the trip to the new America. These items were then tucked into an envelope and stowed on board their ships. They also drew a picture of what an Indian “yihaken” ( yi-ha-ken…type of longhouse) might have looked like, along side their idea of a Pilgrim house. They were really paying attention! On Friday…This morning bright and early, we held a practice for the Grandparent’s Day play…”What Shall We Eat for Thanksgiving Dinner?” We always like to have a little run through on the days that we have everyone in class!We also read One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessy, just for fun! The children practiced their songs for Grandparent’s Day during Music class with Mrs. Reynolds. After inside playtime, we passed the ‘story stick’ to ask questions about our book Bright Eyes, Soft Step. The children had an opportunity to complete the activity which accompanys this book. Those students finishing early were able to start coloring their Native American Indian man and woman puppets. We will be concentrating on learning about Indian life from now until Thanksgiving!We said “goodbye” to the letter G; Emme will have the letter box for T next week! Excitement is building as we ready our children for the Grandparent’s Day activities…We have so many fun activities that we love for the children to participate in during the month of November. We will be passing the story stick to talk about Native American Indian life as the people of Powhatan might have experienced it nearly four hundred years ago. We will learn to write pictograph words just like the Indians did. We will try to call your child by his Indian name during class time; they love these names! So, if your child comes home one day next week to report that we built a campfire in the classroom, just know that it was made with wooden blocks and colorful red, orange, and yellow blocks to simulate ‘fire.’ We use our imaginations to create the mood! Just an FYI…Mrs. Howeth and I will be attending a Kindergarten Educational Conference on Monday and Tuesday, November 16 and 17. I will attend on Monday; Mrs. Howeth will attend on Tuesday. We enjoy this conference every year; it is packed with inspirational presenters who give us wonderful ideas for teaching. It is well worth our time to go. Substitutes have been scheduled and teaching will go on as usual! Linens are coming home today…Have a great and glorious, rain-free weekend! Mrs. Ryan |
October 30, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: What a great week! It was so great to speak with each of you at the Parent/Teacher conferences. You will have to let Mrs. Haynes know if you were happy with the time schedule. I know that some of our parents are really appreciative of the fact that we had evening hours. The Halloween costumes were to die for! The children were so excited to arrive at school in full costume dress; you parents did a wonderful job. Each child felt so special! We had a wonderful time and a great party at Noon! We would like to offer a special thanks to our hostess Moms, Becky Ball and Sandra White. Thanks for making our Halloween party so much fun! On Monday…Day 1 of Tree Mini-mester! (The children attended gym class, but not Library today.) We talked about the two major kinds of trees…evergreen and deciduous (or broadleaf). “Deciduous” is a difficult word to remember, but they preferred that word to ‘broadleaf!’ The children search the room to put sticky notes on everything they could find that was made from a tree. We read A Tree is Nice by Janice Udry. We learned the many functions of a tree…from shade to wind protection; from perfect picnic places to releasing oxygen into our atmosphere. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Diane Spoor, who brought in samples of wood for the children to touch and smell. She also brought in pictures of the trees so that the children could see where these various woods come from. We also worked on a collaborative project with Pre-K 4…building bluebird boxes. This was an interesting project, and we have two new bluebird boxes to place near our windows. Mrs. Spoor also helped with the bluebird box project; she is an expert wood worker, so we were in good hands! Your children were so patient and excited to work. We also sent home an assignment for parents and children. Have fun looking for leaves! Try to send these books back to school on Monday (Nov. 2); you don’t have to find all of the leaves—just as many as you can! On Tuesday… Day 2 of Tree Mini-mester! The children worked on painting a broadleaf tree in the hallway; painting their hands for pumpkin leaves; and a special assignment learning about the four seasons of a tree. Again, we worked on a collaborative project with Pre-K 4. The children constructed the most interesting wood art creations! They had a blast! With the exception of Mrs. Ryan burning her finger, everything went swimmingly! Special thanks go to Mrs. Smith for cutting the million pieces of wood that everyone poured over; and special thanks to Mr. Ryan for pre-cutting and pre-drilling our bluebird boxes. Power drills and glue guns…what fun! We also read Animals that Live in Trees by National Geographic. On Wednesday…Parent/Teacher Conference Day…I so enjoyed getting to know you better; I hope you will call me if you have any questions or concerns. On Thursday…Early morning gym! We continued our discussion about animals that live in trees, and followed up with an activity that had the children identifying the roots and trunk of a tree. They also colored animals and placed them either in the tree where they live or below the ground where they live. We all went on an adventure looking for the trees and leaves that are found on Aylett’s campus. Mrs. Brooks had previously helped the children make a book with us that illustrates most of the leaves that we might find on our grounds. These leaves are coming home to you today. We also read one of my favorite Halloween books, Witches Four by Marc Brown. The copyright date is 1980; I’m not sure if it is even in print any more, but it is so much fun to read! The children then drew some very scary witches! Everyone is frightfully excited about coming dressed up to school tomorrow! On Friday…Here come the super heroes…the princesses…the sea turtle…Cleopatra…the costumes keep coming! We visited in other classrooms to show off our array of costumes. We wrote an amazing story that involved every single character in the Pre-K 5 classroom. The children are so creative! The children attended music class in costume; then changed before snacktime. Thank you to all of the parents who trusted us with these great costumes. After snacktime and outside play, the children helped to construct “Ms Janice-O-Lantern”…a funny, yet strange, looking jack-o-lantern. We sneaked this strange pumpkin into Mrs. Haynes’ office, where she was appropriately surprised and frightened! Janice should be on display for a few days! We headed to the library for a few minutes to read a Halloween story while our hostesses prepared for the party. What a fun day! I think linens are coming home today…the day before Halloween has us all a little rattled! We are continuing with the letter H next week, and we may ask Silas to teach us the sound again! We were so busy doing other “tree” things this week that we barely had time to discover H. We will have library on Monday. I also wanted to remind you that there is a canned food drive going on sponsored by the Student Government Association. You still have time to send in canned foods for the Thanksgiving families we are helping. Have a howling, happy, hair-raising, hocus-pocus, hysterical Halloween! Mrs. Ryan |
October 23, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: What a wonderful week we have had! Finally, the rain left us with four beautiful sunshine days! What a wonderful day for our trip to the Ashland Berry Farm. I hope that each of you enjoyed the trip as much as Mrs. Howeth and I did. The farm was a busy place…lots of children on class trips! Even though it was very congested in places, I still felt that our children had a wonderful time. I hope you will give me some feedback as to how you felt about the Ashland Berry Farm, and how you enjoyed the field trip! I am sorry that we are unable to allow parents to accompany us to the ballet in December. It has long been a tradition that we have enjoyed taking both parent and child to the ballet; but we have been informed that due to Title 1 restrictions, parents will no longer be invited. In fact, it is only by special invitation that we, as a private school, are allowed to attend at all. I want to assure you that if you choose for your child to attend, we will provide the supervision that you yourself would provide. Of course, if you have chosen not to attend, your child will remain home with you on that date. Thanks to all of you for your patience and understanding of our situation. On Monday… We read “Seal’s Silly Sandwich,” our Alpha Tales story. This story was about a sandwich filled with spaghetti, sardines, salsa, strawberry ice cream, and other strange things that begin with the letter S! The children enjoyed gym class; then Samantha showed us her letter box with things that begin with the letter S. We worked on the Letter S page for our alphabet binders. Two more days until the pumpkin patch! On Tuesday…Dancing and moving with Mrs. Ryan…We read “Spotty Snake” from our alphabet coloring series. The little stories that we send home are for parent and child to read together; the repetitive sounds of the letter “S” are important for your child to hear and to repeat. Each time I send a story home…read it together, and have fun! We got out our “Days of the Week Mice” to put them in order as we read poems. We will be using them at different times during November, also. We read A Squirrel’s Tale by Richard Fowler, a story about a squirrel who gets into trouble trying to remember where he has hidden his nuts! After the story, we began working on our “Seasons” book. So far we have worked on our Fall and Winter pages. On Wednesday…What a beautiful day for children to visit the pumpkin patch! Mrs. Howeth will be posting pictures on line this weekend! We missed you so much, William…We hope you are feeling better! On Thursday…Early Morning Gym!! We read A Book of Seasons by Alice Provensen. We are learning about the four seasons while making our book about the “Seasons.” Today we worked on ‘Spring.” The book will come home soon! We enjoyed putting together a leaf book of leaves that are found on the ACDS campus. Mrs. Brooks helped the children to use spray adhesive to mount leaves from trees that she had found on our school grounds. The children took turns working with Mrs. Brooks, and on a sequencing project with me. I have also sent home (today) instructions for how to dry and mount Fall leaves. We will be mounting more leaves in the classroom. There will also be a homework assignment coming home which will involve your help. You and your child will be looking for certain leaves around your home. We also read The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown, a great story about a very industrious hen. The children participated in an exercise for ‘following directions,’ and counting shapes following our book. On Friday… We read Curious George at the Fire Station by Margaret Rey’s; we also drew a picture depicting our fun at the pumpkin patch. This picture is in your child’s journal! We had a visit from the Tappahannock/Essex Volunteer Fire Department this morning at 10:00 a.m. We got to climb on a pumper and ladder truck; it was so much fun! We owe a great debt of gratitude to our volunteer firefighters! Safety instructions were shared with the children… 1. Have a plan for how to evacuate the house in case you smell smoke or see fire. 2. Practice this plan by actually having a drill. Designate a safe place to meet. 3. Make sure that you have enough smoke detectors in your home and that they all have batteries that work. 4. Do not overload outlets and inspect old wiring. 5. Keep matches, disposable lighters, and combustibles out of areas of extreme heat and out of reach of small hands. 6. Teach your child how to dial “911” in case of an emergency. 7. Remember that I now know that I must STOP, DROP, AND ROLL if any of my clothing should be burning. Crawling along the floor is important if we are trying to get out of a house filling with smoke. 8. Firefighters are here to help us! After some much needed outside play, we painted pumpkins and read Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Dianne Ochiltree. Remember your magnet art orders…if you do not wish to purchase anything, please send me a note indicating this along with your magnet. Order forms are due back to Mrs. Schacht by November 2. We will be keeping linens until next Friday, October 30. Silas has the letter box for the Letter H next week. We have had a wonderful, exciting week, blessed with beautiful weather. Let’s hope for more of the same! acdspatriots.net Click on Pre-K 5 Homework Have a sensational weekend! Mrs. Ryan |
October 16, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: This has been an exciting week, filled with monkeys, mice, and a moose with muffins! We thank Natalie for bringing in such an interesting Letter Box for M. We are also excited that on Wednesday, October 21, we will be traveling to the Ashland Berry Farm for pumpkin patch thrills…a reminder letter will be traveling home on Monday. Also to let you know of future plans, the Tappahannock/Essex Volunteer Fire Department plans to visit our school on Friday, October 23, to teach the children about fire safety. October is fire safety month, so you might want to spend some time talking about safety with your child. I also wanted to remind you that you may read this newsletter on line (Fridays after 4:00 p.m.) by going to acdspatriots.net (click on “School Stuff”; then scroll down to “Pre-K 5” (homework). On Monday…We read our Alpha Tales story, “Monkey’s Miserable Monday…” it turned out better for monkey than he anticipated! The children enjoyed gym class with Mrs. Watts, and nearly everyone remembered their library book for Mrs. Schacht! Library time is so important for the children. After Natalie taught us about the letter M, we worked on our letter page for our alphabet binders! We aren’t taking each letter in order from the alphabet; we skip around working on consonants first, then finish with our final vowels. On Tuesday…We read our alphabet coloring story “Merry Mouse;” a story about a mouse and a great many words that begin with the letter M! We put some of these new words on our vocabulary chart. We also looked at a map of the United States, and found all of the states that begin with the letter M. (Each child had their own map to look at.) We read If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff; then created our own book “If You Give a Mouse a…”. Those who finished early completed a worksheet which required them to color the pictures of those items that begin with the letter M. They are beginning to make these connections more easily. On Wednesday…We listened to our letter M poem set to music; then practiced writing the letter M in our Callirobics workbook. The children are learning to make their letters being conscious of the top, middle, and lower line as points to begin and end their letters. A practice homework sheet will come home on Friday!The children painted pumpkins in Art class; they are happiest when there is a paint brush in their hands! We read Growing Pumpkins, which is our favorite big book. The children were asked to participate in an activity which required them to follow directions with specific markers. This was a journal activity; you will be able to view your child’s journal when you visit for Parent/Teacher Conference. The children learned to “click and drag” with their mouse during computer class. A few of them even learned to write their names on the computer screen using this technique. They love Wednesdays! On Thursday…Early morning Gym class! The children helped to color and cut out Fall leaves for our bulletin board tree. We read Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young…a book about seven blind mice who are trying to guess what the giant “something” is that has visited their pond. It is a clever book and also teaches the days of the week to children. We have colored and cut out our seven mice; we will use them for different activities in the weeks to come. The mouse “moral” of the story was Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.After watching our favorite, interactive CD by Mary Jo Huff, storyteller extraordinaire, we read If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff. We decided to make our own banana muffins to see just what a Pre-K 5 student would do if we gave them a muffin. You can guess from here! They were such good bakers! Every child wants the recipe! On Friday…The children worked on the numeral 2 from their Scholastic Number Practice workbook. We are learning the fingerplay…”Five Little Pumpkins”; the song “It’s Halloween,” and “The Pumpkins are Here.” We need some songs to sing on the hayride next Wednesday! The children enjoyed singing and listening in Music class with Mrs. Reynolds. We read There’s A Mouse About the House by Richard Fowler…a book that really captured everyone’s attention! We made our own mice and sent them on a mission to find cheese! We also worked on another page of our special “Book About Me.” Sorry, can’t tell you any more about that! Today, homework will be included in the folder; this is PRACTICE, not something that has to be perfect. Just let your child use this as a supplemental practice sheet. All homework returned is placed in your child’s alphabet binder! I would love to see what they have done at home! We are really getting excited about Wednesday…hope you are, too! Today, we said goodbye to the Letter M; Samantha will take the letter box home for S today.We will send linens home today; thanks for returning those washed and ready for a new week on Monday! Remember those library books for Monday! Have a marvelous, merry, magical, magnificent, memorable, mentally invigorating weekend! Mrs. Ryan |
October 9, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: This has been an exciting d week…filled with dromedarys and door knobs; detectives and donuts! We’ve added new musical numbers to our repetoire…”Get Funky… Do the Monkey,” “Place Your Hands…,” “The Laughing Song” and “Butterfly in my Soup” by Betsy Q. (She will be here on Friday, October 9!) The teachers are more excited than the children for the Betsy Q concert! On Monday…We read our Alpha Tales story “Detective Dog and the Disappearing Donuts,” which was quite appropriate since Davis had the letter box for D. Inside his letter box, there was a package of donuts with two missing! It didn’t take much detective work to figure out what happened to those donuts! The children enjoyed Gym class, and their special library time. Nearly every child remembered their library book! (A good lesson for responsibility…we’re shooting for 100% books returned on Monday, October 12!) The children also worked on their letter D for their alphabet binders. There seems to be a race going on to get finished with lunch so that the girls can put on the dress up clothes! On Tuesday…We read our alphabet coloring story “Ditto Dog,” about a dog who kept digging up things that begin with the letter d. (More singing and dancing…doing the ‘monkey’ going on today!) The songs and movements that we do help to coordinate listening skills with hand and body movements; it gets them thinking and moving…following directions! Songs and movement help children to relax and get ready for more concentrated work. We read If The Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most, a book about dinosaurs that traveled to the present time to do good works for us. The children selected their own scenes for what dinosaurs would do if they came back; then placed pre-cut dinosaurs in those scenes. They could also draw their own dinosaurs; some were very ferocious looking! On Wednesday…We read The D Book by Jane Moncure; then modeled the writing of the letter D. The Callirobics lesson went very well for all of the children; they were focused and on task. I was very proud of them. The children got to paint little pumpkins in art class; one side was a happy Jack-o-lantern, the opposite side is a scary jack-o-lantern! The children completed the next page of “My Book About Me,” then learned three new Betsy Q songs! Computer class was so much fun; the children learned to ‘click and drag’ for their computer game. On Thursday… Early morning Gym! We read Let’s Find Out About Fall by Charles and Martha Shapp. This is a very old book, but an interesting look at the four seasons. The children made a little book that reflects some of the Fall changes that are taking place. We read nursery rhymes that had the letter D in their title, until we came to “Old Mother Hubbard.” We read Old Mother Hubbard and her Wonderful Dog by James Marshall. He added quite a bit to the traditional nursery rhyme! The children colored their own cupboards and a dish for their dog. Their jobs were to fill the dog’s bowl with exactly the number of bones that I specified. In this one-to-one correspondence activity, the children were responsible for counting out specific objects to correspond with my story. (“The dog ran into the woods to chase a deer, and returned very hungry. Old Mother Hubbard gave him nine bones.”) Then they returned the bones to the cupboard to listen to the next instruction. They really had fun with this! On Friday…The excitement is almost overwhelming…Betsy Q is here today! We’re off to the concert after reading Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 by Bill Martin, Jr. and Lois Ehlert. The children then completed their numeral one worksheets. Betsy Q visited us during our regular music class time, so the children were not actually in music class, but attending a concert instead! The concert lasted for over an hour so it extended into our instruction time. I cannot tell you how much the children enjoyed it; everyone wanted to touch or hug Betsy Q, including me! We later read Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. We said goodbye to the Letter D; Natalie has the letter box for M next week. We have had such a wonderful week; linens will come home today for everyone! Thank you to Mrs. Gwathmey for her donation of October paper towels. The money due for the Ashland Berry Farm field trip was due today; please try to get that in by Monday…we like to give our business manager time to write the check for payment. I sincerely hope you have delightful, dreamy, devastingly divine weekend with your little darlings! Mrs. Ryan |
| October 2, 2009 Newsletter Dear Parents of Pre-K 5 Children: As I reflect on the events of Wednesday, (9/30), I am so proud of our children. We discussed why the policemen were here at the school, and we talked about what had happened. We were sad that burglars had hurt our school, and stolen money and property. Silas informed us all that he was “going to become a policeman and guard the school every night!” What a generous thought! What was of most concern to them was that the intruders were no longer here. That understood, we went on with our day as if it were any other school day. We will all hope that nothing of this nature ever happens again at ACDS; it was a challenge, but the students and teachers helped to make things feel better. Our custodian, Mr. Mercer, deserves a “round of applause” and our appreciation for his efforts on Wednesday morning. Thank him, please, when you see him. On Monday… No school…we missed library, but that gives you another opportunity to get that library book back for October 7! On Tuesday…We worked on our square dancing techniques dancing to “Swing Your Partner!” We read in our alphabet coloring books the story of “Curly Caterpillar,” listening to words that begin with the letter C. At 11:00 a.m., we took our “Brown Bear, Brown Bear…What do you See?” painted illustrations ‘on the road.’ The children performed by holding up their painted animals at just the right point in the story. We read for Pre-K 4; then traveled to the lobby to ‘show’ and read our story to Mrs. Haynes, Mrs. Pitts, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Turpin. The children basically know the words to the entire book! Their illustrations will be hung in the lobby hall this week for all to admire. We read Caps for Sale, by children’s author Esphyr Slobodkina (Siberian immigrant to the US in 1937). It is a very old story, but considered a classic in children’s literature. The children had the daunting task of placing twelve caps on the head of their peddler…in correct ordination! They really had fun with this task. On Wednesday…The children watched attentively as Cameron displayed her Letter Box for the letter C. It was packed to the brim with items that begin with the letter C. We read our Alpha Tales story “Copy Cats,” a story about two cats that tried to out-copy each other. Turns out, I have a number of ‘copy cats’ in Pre-K 5! During Art class, the children added antennae to their butterflies; colored flowers for their butterflies to feed upon. These will be displayed in the hallway. We worked on our letter C for our alphabet binders, carefully coloring pictures of items that begin with the letter C. The children are beginning to understand exactly what their instructions will be for this activity, and they are ready to work. In computer class, the children played a game from “Cyber Start” on the computer…next week they will begin “clicking!” On Thursday… Early Morning Gym! We read (sang) Over in the Garden by Jennifer Ward, a counting and rhyming book. We then worked on a counting activity which involved counting ‘Cookie Crisp,’ and placing the correct number of cereal pieces in our cookie jars. We even got to eat some of our ‘cookies!’ I am sending the sheet home that we used so that the children can count their own cereal at home, too. We read Cornelius by Leo Lionni; a story about a crocodile who walks upright and can hang by his tail. (He had the help of a monkey who taught him!) The activity for the children had them coloring and cutting out Cornelius, and hanging him on a branch in their jungles. Some of the children also wanted the monkey on their jungle illustration. We quickly drafted a monkey to use! Ask them to retell the story to you! This was also a ‘bear hunt’ day! On Friday…We talked about the letter C sound; I brought in items beginning with the letter C mixed with other items of different sounds, and I asked the children to pick out the ones with the “C sound.” We then practiced the Letter C in our Callirobics workbook. In Music class, the “Cycle of Seasons” continues! We read Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom Deluise, a story about a very disheartened caterpillar who can find no friends. This is one of my favorite books, because it also teaches tolerance and kindness—two of our virtues for character education. The children made “before and after” Charlie puppets to re-tell the story. As you know, most important stories have happy endings. So it goes with Charlie… Coming home today…along with this newsletter… You will find a letter regarding our first field trip to the Ashland Berry Farm. Please read the letter carefully, and contact me if you have any questions. We are so excited about this first trip. If you sent in washed linens on Tuesday, you will not be getting them today. We are only sending home linens for children that did not go home on the Friday before the Fair. Please remember the deadline for sending in money and permission slip for the Pumpkin Patch field trip! Have a celestial, calm, celebratory, confetti-filled, constructive, non-confrontational weekend! (Was that too much?) Mrs. Ryan |
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