Children First Child Development Center Pre K Survey

While planning for the second half of our school year, we would love your feedback on our classroom.  Please take a few minutes to answer these 10 questions.

CFCDC Pre K Survey

Excited to see everyone return this week for class!

Survey, Field trip information, and Scientist links

We need your help!  Below is a link for a survey, on survey monkey.com.  This survey is only 10 questions long, and does not ask for any personal information.  Thank you ahead of time for helping us make the Pre K classroom better.

Click here to take the Survey

Your kids might be singing a new song this past week.  There are a lot of different ways to sing it, but this is the favorite that we've made.  Hope you enjoy it.  They're favorite part is the end when they get to dance around.  

I'm Smart and I'm strong
I'm ready for whatever comes along
I have good friends that stick together
Through the end.
I like myself I'm worth a lot
I like myself I'm worth a lot.

In our upcoming unit we will be scientists.  We will be doing a different experiment Wednesday - Friday and then documenting what we've observed in our individual scientist journals.  These journals will be taken home on Friday, January 31st.  

Here are some upcoming videos we will be sharing in class:

Child Experiment - Attitude when a hypothesis isn't right
Grover's Experiments
Magnification Observation
Thunderstorm in Sesame Street

Upcoming field trip information:

Location: Animal Welfare Society, Jefferson County 23 Poor Farm Road Kearneysville, WV 25430 304.725.0589 (facility)
Contact Information:  Miss Shelly's cell phone number will be given out on paper
Time:  11:00 - 1:30, please eat lunch before coming on the trip.  We highly suggest having a snack packed in the car for the ride home. 

Chaperons:  Miss Shelly will have information this week if you have volunteered to help with the trip. Thank you for your participation!

Donations:  All donations will be loaded and transported to the facility the day of the trip.  Boxes are located at the entry of the center.  

**Parents or a guardian must accompany each child on this trip.  If your child will be in the care of another parent, please communicate with teachers. **

January 7th - 10th and January 14th - 17th

National Hat Day was so fun seeing all the kids in some of their favorite things!  We had sparkle, we had camo, we had baseball hats, and we had animals!  Above all, we had FUN!

In the Art center we were able to explore and practice our fine motor skills as our students used clothes pins to pick up pom poms (of three different sizes) or cotton balls.  Then they dipped it into yellow paint to dab and make a moon. (Full moon, crescent, and half moon were the popular ones)

Graphing is still a part of our daily schedule.  One of our jobs that the students look forward to having is the chart counter.  They are in charge of leading the class in tallying the totals and writing the numbers beside each column.  Then, with Miss Jamie's help, they discuss which item had the most, least, or tied votes.

When the weather isn't cooperating with us, at times we do gross motor play indoors.  In this activity, our students worked together to build a track from their "rocket ship" around the planets (tables) to explore and then back to the rocket ship.  Practicing balance, teamwork, organizing, and execution; our students did an amazing job!

It wouldn't be outer space week if we didn't make a rocket that they could launch!  Their faces were priceless when they found out they were able to take them home!  Of course, because of the size of these, Miss Shelly and Miss Jamie had to put them together.  When we started using them, their goal was to blow the rocket into the cup on the other side of the hallway.  After they would make it, they were encouraged to take a scoot back and try again.  But they couldn't wait for us to let them just blow them where ever they wanted to blow them!

 

It's also Winter outside, so we've also been discussing the snow and the weather.  This week, we had small pieces of a snowman (hat, two stick arms, carrot nose, eyes, and a scarf); while the children played with play doh, they were able to use these small pieces to make their own snowman.  At times, our little ones become frustrated due to their fine motor skills.  Having a hard time picking up something small, moving a small piece to another location, etc.  The more we practice having them use these skills while doing something they love the better they're becoming!

We have been working very hard on some gross motor skills throughout our time in Pre K.  I hope you see a world of difference in some of your children as we gallop (step and slide), skip (step and hop), jump on two feet, hop on one foot, walking backwards, bear crawl, and crab walking.  I remember very well at the beginning of the year, when some of our students could not grasp this idea of combining the "step and hop" and to see them moving as fast as the wind now gives us great joy!  One of our activities this week that showcased these different tasks was our Planet hop.  While we placed each planet's name around the room, the first letter of the word was underlined.  The music would play, when it stopped, Miss Jamie would be located by one planet and Miss Shelly by another.  We would call out one planet, example "Jupiter" and the children would have to look at the word to recognize the letter sounds within the word.  (concentrating on the beginning sound).  This was a great letter sound connection combined with gross motor. . . Learning without realizing!

In the afternoon class, one of our friends brought in their parachute!  We had a "meteor" here in our solar system that we needed to bounce off.  Counting how many shakes it took to bounce it off was a load of fun.  But their favorite will probably always be "The Three Little Pigs".

We also ended our unit making martian hats.  As they taped their pieces onto their hats, using their fine motor skills, and then gluing on their eyes (in any way they chose); it was fun to see some glue 10 eye balls on one eye and others choose to be more modest in their decoration and want only one.  Personalities come out when we're doing projects.

The next two weeks we will become Scientists and do an experiment a day, documenting our hypothesis, outcomes, and sharing our thoughts with our friends in small groups.  Get ready for some fun conversations!

Jefferson County 2 hour delay

Reminder that Jefferson County has a two hour delay tomorrow, Wednesday January 8th.

When the county has a delay our morning Pre K will not have class.  Please be sure to make adjustments.

We will be looking forward to seeing our morning Pre K children on Thursday, you know we're missing you like crazy!!!!

Stay warm!

Blasting Into the New Year

Be prepared!  We're blasting into the New Year while learning about space and space ships!

To view videos being shared during this unit in our classroom check these out:

Kennedy Space Center
Elmo's Staying Clean in Space
Chocolate cake and coffee in space

Do you want to do activities at home to encourage learning about space?  Check out this video on making a rocket as a family


It's also close to the mid year.  This week we will be sending home the mid year "All About Me" and "Parent Survey".  Below is a copy of it in case you want to get a head start.

Cards, Cards, and more cards. Now snow!

If your house is anything like our house, we have loads and loads of Holiday cards.  I know how much time and money it takes to send out a hundred cards during the season and I just can't toss them in the trash when the New Year hits.

So since there is that magical white thing outside, and its got a great sheet of ice under it.  I thought I would share with you two ways to do an at home project with your kids and use those cards for something more than burning fuel for a fire or worse taking up space in your trash.

Option One:  Thinking of you sticks.

My daughter loves these!  Each night before bed, she chooses one or two of them and we think about those that are on the sticks.  We also combine visually seeing some of our family and friends that we don't get to see often enough and she's reminded of what they look like.  When we do get the chance to see them, its not so hard to rekindle the relationship as she already remembers them from these sticks.  Secondly, we write their name at the bottom of the stick so we are practicing letter recognition and sounds each night too.  (I know I'm a teacher in the class and at home, but its hard to take that hat off)

So what do you do?  It's so easy!!!  Obviously we're using the photo cards.  Cut out around the picture that you want to use.  Using tape, tape the card to a  popsicle stick and then write the person's name on the end of the stick.  Voila, instant "Thinking of you" sticks.

Don't mind Zoe's pjs.  She waits to do this project on New Years Day since the beginning of getting our cards in the mail.  She was a bit excited to use scissors and tape.

We store them in a little bucket in her room and add in the new photos, exchange some of the current ones with updated pictures and then celebrate them.

Onto the other cards.  Some of you are going to say "Really Miss Shelly, you have time for that?"  And honestly, . . . there are a million other things I would rather do with my time than sit down to cut and paste.  But spending time with my little princess as she practices her cutting is priceless to me.  So I sit and cut.

Option Two:  Holiday Gift Tags

Find the cards that have pictures that you would like to use.  Sometimes I find after cutting out the item that it wasn't what I had imagined and I don't use it (instead save it in a box of items my daughter can glue onto pieces of paper as most 4 year olds enjoy pasting ANYTHING onto ANYTHING).  And other times, I cut something out thinking I won't like it and it ends up being one of my favorites.

Cut out the pictures.  It doesn't have to be perfect, going around them is perfect.

Next using a glue stick (I've found that Elmers liquid glue doesn't do well for this).  Make sure you get around every edge of the picture.  Paste them onto any color of construction paper that you want to use.  Then cut around the picture leaving a small amount of the colored construction paper visible.

Now you have gift tags, that next year when its time to wrap you add a small piece of ribbon and attach to your gift bags or your wrapped presents.

Voila, two small projects that you can do at home today on this COLD snowy day.

Excited to see everyone on Tuesday! Parents, your small "Mommy" time is in the future as Pre K begins again ;)  I know you've been counting down until it starts back up.