Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello families~

 

We are on the verge of a little break from school to enjoy family time and big feasts.  I can't express to you in words how thankful I am to all of you for being such amazing parents.  I have wonderful families in both of my classes and nothing shows that to me more than having a successful Friendship Feast like we had last week.  I thank you all for helping, being there, and generally supporting your school and your children.  Good on you!

 

This week we will have a make up day for the 3s class.  We will have school at our normal time on Monday.  Parent helpers will arrive at 8:30 am and class will end at 11:40 am.  Please send a snack as usual.  Also, please, please send your children with coats, hats, gloves, etc. for playground time.  I will usually go out regardless of cold or rain so please send your child prepared for the weather.  They will enjoy outdoor time so much more with a warm body.

 

The 4s class will be going on a nature walk on Monday.  We will meet at school as normal at 1pm.  Please try to be on time.  We will leave school at 1:15 and meet in the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon church on the corner of Elm and 13th streets).  The physical address for the church is 1285 S Elm St.  We will park in the far back corner of the lot closest to 13th street.  We will gather together and then walk for a short jaunt through the neighborhood.  We will travel along a nature trail that ends up at the Canby City Park.  After we arrive at the park we will play for a few minutes on the playground, and then we will have snack.  The children will take their collection bags (from our Leafman project) to collect various treasures they find along the way.  After we have snack we will walk to the river to explore and see what we can see.  Then we will walk around the park and back to the nature trail.  We will walk along the nature trail back to our parked cars in the church parking lot.  I believe on the permission slip that I stated that school would end at the park, but school will actually end at the Mormon chuch parking lot at 3:40 pm.  I apologize for any confusion.  This should be a neat experience and tons of fun!!  I am really excited about sharing this trail with the children.  I hope they love it as much as I do.  I am so thankful I can share it with them. 

 

Please remember to dress your children for cold, wet weather.  We will go rain or shine.  The weather report at this point looks good, but it doesn't look very warm.  Please send your child with hats, coats, gloves, scarves, and sensible shoes.  Rubber boots are best.  Please send a snack as usual.  As always, your are all welcome to come along.  Younger siblings are also welcome, but the trail is not easy walking for new walkers or for strollers.  If your child is younger I might suggest a backpack.  If you have questions please feel free to call me at the school.  Take care and see you soon!  ~Anne.

Soup!

Hi there!  Don't forget that we will be making soup next week.  The children will be asked what kind of vegetable they would like to bring to add to the soup this Wednesday (3s) and next Monday (4s).  Try to discuss with your child what kinds of ingredients go into a soup.  Help them discern the difference between fruits and vegetables so they have an idea of what they would like to bring.  Maybe you could have a bowl of vegetable-style soup together and talk about the contents or look at a recipe and discuss the ingredients.  Take a trip to the grocery store and look at all the vegetables that they could choose from.  Make it fun and memorable. 

 

Your child will bring home a small slip of paper on the days listed above that states what vegetable they have chosen.  Try to involve them in the shopping trip.  Please bring all veggies to class in an unprepared form on Wednesday, November 16.  We will be having our Friendship Feast on Friday, November 18.  Please feel free to join us for the last part of class.

 

DON'T FORGET: Pictures with Curly (Craig) Huston are tomorrow!!  Prepare your child by talking about a man coming and taking a picture of them in the Art Center.  He is very friendly and good with the children, but it is always good to let them know.  You are not obligated to purchase portraits (you do not have to have payment tomorrow), but is an option.  I believe all purchasing of portraits happens online.  Your information sheet will explain most everything you need to know. 

 

I was most proud of your children last week. They did a lot of amazing things!!  I was blown away by my 3s class and the way they handled the "Mad Monster Science" experiments that we did.  The 4s class is starting to become such good friends.  They are relying less and less on chatting and playing with Teacher Anne and more and more on each other as peers.  It is magic!

 

Have a great day!  Don't forget to occasionally check this very blog for small updates and fun observations.  ~Anne.   :)

Harvest Greetings!

Welcome to Fall!  Autumn has seeped in and the cold, scarf-wearing weather is here.  I can't say I am resisiting it.  I love to go for fall color walks this time of year.  There are many places for this in and around Canby so don't forget to go outside!  Champoeg Park is beautiful this time of year and is only $5/car for day use.  Alternatively you can pay $25 for a yearly pass and get into this as well as many other state parks for free with your pass!  What a deal.  Load up your friends in your van/truck/car and go on a nature walk-what could be better?  Take rain gear and go on a rainy day for a sensory walk.  It will be lots of fun to come home to a nice, hot cup of cocoa or spiced cider after that!  

The following is a description of what we will be doing for the month of November.  Remember that we have the Thanksgiving holiday coming up and that Curly will be here to take pictures of the little ones.  At the end of the month we will have a visit from our local firefighters.  We have two 3s makeup days this month: Nov. 7 and Nov. 21.  Parent helpers arrive at 8:30 am and school starts at 9 am (as usual) on those days.  I am planning a big nature walk with the 4s class on November 21 to the Canby City Park.  This is a walk that I do with my children on a regular basis.  I enjoy it so much that I would like to show it to the children in my class.  Enjoy these cooler days and remember that Teacher Anne goes outside.  Rain or shine!  :)

 

Weds., Nov. 2: 3s class-In response to some of the creepy things the children may have seen or are talking about because of Halloween we will be "studying" monsters this week.  Today we will read Ed Emberley's Go Away Big Green Monster and make faces out of different shapes.  We'll also play with spaghetti!  We'll have a special monster friend in our classroom that the children will have a chance to transform themselves into.  4s class-Today will be an Open School day and we will have a chance to play with the children from Teacher Andy's classroom.  We will paint our spiders from Monday and we will learn about the spider's life cycle.  We will sing a song about a spider on the floor.

 

Fri., Nov. 4: 3s class-We will read another monster book today and make a book about the "monsters" in our class.  We'll play with flubber and watch it ooze.  4s class-We will finish up our study of spiders by decorating the salt dough spiders we made and we'll make a special edible spider!

 

Mon., Nov. 7: 3s class-MAKE UP DAY ALERT!!  SCHOOL TODAY!!  We will start to talk about fall and the changing colors and leaves and such.  We will read a story about the leaves falling down and we will learn a new song about the different colors the leaves change to.  We will make a fall tree with bath scrubbers and use spray bottles to make leaves to put in our windows.  The children can pretend to be little firefighters in the Canby Community Preschool Fire Station in the dramatic playroom.  On Wednesday, the children will be asked what kind of vegetable they would like to bring to use in the stone soup for our Friendship Feast (Nov. 18).  This is a good time to talk with your children about the differences between fruits and vegetables.  Maybe a trip to the produce section is in order?  4s class-Today we will read a story by Lois Ehlert called Leaf Man.  It will inspire our activities for the week.  We will make bags for collecting nature items and we'll use shapes stickers to make faces.  The dramatic play room is a Fire Station!!

 

Weds., Nov. 9: 3s class-PICTURE DAY!! Craig Huston (Curly) will be here to take individual pictures of your child.  You are not obligated to purchase, but it is an option.  You might want to talk with your child about a nice man coming to class and taking their picture.  (Change is always better when prepared for.)  We will trace the children's hand and arm and make a tree out of it.  Your child will come home with a note stating what kind of vegetable they would like to bring to class on November 16.  We will be cutting and chopping veggies for our feast that day.  4s class-PICTURE DAY!!  Tell your child bring their best smile today.  We will go on a collection walk in small groups today and make a Leaf Man.  We will use my salad spinner to make leaves out of coffee filters.  If you have an extra salad spinner that you don't mind getting temporarily paint-covered, bring it on in!  On Monday, the children will be asked what kind of vegetable they would like to bring to use in the stone soup for our Friendship Feast (Nov. 18). This is a good time to talk with your children about the differences between fruits and vegetables.  Maybe you could look at the differences in the produce section on your next grocery store visit.

 

Fri., Nov. 11: NO SCHOOL TODAY!!  VETERAN'S DAY HOLIDAY.

 

Mon., Nov. 14: Today we will hear a story about a village that makes soup out of a stone!  We will paint a turkey together and we will cut out feathers to place on the turkey we paint.  Your child will bring home a note stating what kind of vegetable they would like to add to our soup for the friendship feast (Nov. 18).  Please bring it unprepared on Wednesday.

 

Weds., Nov. 16: 3s class-Today we will be cutting, chopping, dicing, and slicing!  The children will bring the vegetable of their choice and we will prepare it for our soup. 4s class-We will be little chefs today and chop and slice all those veggies.  The children will get a chance to paint with vegetables.  

 

Fri., Nov. 18: 3s class-Friendship Feast day.  We will celebrate being friends with each other and feelings of thankfulness with a small feast which the children will prepare almost entirely themselves.  We will make corn bread, butter, and apple pie.  If you would like join us you are welcome to come and be thankful with us at 11am.  We will sit down family style and eat our feast.  NO SNACK IS NEEDED TODAY.  4s class-Friendship Feast!  We will place thankful feathers on the turkey we made together, and talk about being thankful for all the great things and people in our lives.  The children will make soup, corn bread, butter, and pumpkin pie.  We will make a feast that you are welcome to join.  We will have our feast at 3 pm.  NO SNACK IS NEEDED TODAY.

 

 

Mon., Nov. 21: 3s class-MAKE UP DAY ALERT!!  SCHOOL TODAY!!  Today we will start making Christmas presents and go on a small nature walk.  Send hats, coats, gloves, and boots.  4s class-Today we will be going on our special nature walk to the Canby City Park.  We will meet at the school and leave around 1:15-1:20 pm.  You are welcome to come with us if you would like.  The more help we have, the better.  We will leave the school and travel to the Mormon Church on the corner of Elm and 13th streets.  We will walk from that point through the neighborhood to a nature trail that leads to the city park.  We will arrive at the park and play, eat snack, do some journaling of the things we saw, and go see the river.  We will go on a short walk around the park and then return to our cars via the nature trail.  We will do this rain or shine so please be sure to send your child prepared.  Their comfort level depends on your preparation.  They will need rubber boots, raincoats, hats, gloves, etc.  The children will bring the collection bags we made earlier in the month.  Please send a snack as usual.  This should be a lot of fun!  I would like to do this in every season while in school, so the success of this trip will dictate future plans.  I'm super excited about sharing this favorite of my family's with your children.

NO SCHOOL NOVEMBER 23-25.  Enjoy your time with family.

Mon., Nov. 28: Today we will make a fire truck and paint flames for our fire station.

Weds., Nov. 30: 3s class-We will decorate the fire truck the 4s class started on Monday and make a fire hat we can wear while we enjoy a visit from the Canby firefighters!  4s class-The children will decorate the fire truck we started on Monday and make fire badges to wear while listening to the firefighters.  This should be a fun time to visit with the firefighters and learn about what they do when they have to go on a call.  

I am so thankful for all of you and for your willingness to share your children with me.  I am thankful every day for the things they teach me.  I hope you have a great month!  See you in the class room.  ~Anne.

   

Scary Monsters and Sing-A-Longs!

Happy October!  School is in full swing and we are all getting to know each other so well.  The children are really starting to learn (and relearn) the routines.  This month is such a fun one for the little ones.  It can also be kind of scary.  There are lots of ghosts and ghouls out there and it can be kind of confusing and frightening.  We will talk a lot about monsters with the 3s classes to help alleviate any fears they might have.  We will also learn about apples and farms and animals.  The list that follows will give you an idea of what we are up to at school.  Hurray!

Monday, Oct. 3: Today we will look at and explore sunflowers.  We will paint petals on a big sunflower and we will paint a sunflower onto a plate that will become a prop for a song we are learning. We will read a story about a boy who makes a sunflower house!  

Wednesday, Oct. 5: 3s class- Please send your child with an apple to school today.  We will be graphing the apples to see how many of each color we get.  We will make prints with apples.  We will also have a little taste test to see what kind of apple we like best.  4s class- Please send an apple with your child.  We will graph them.  We'll make prints and we'll finish up our sunflowers from Monday.  We will taste sunflower seeds and decide which kind of apple we like best.  We'll read a story about a farmer and his apples.

Friday, Oct. 7: 3s class- Today we will cut up our apples from Wednesday and make them into applesauce.  Yum!  We'll read a story about some hamsters that learn about apples and we'll use apples to finger paint.  4s class- We will cut apples and make sauce from them.  We will add stems to our sunflowers and sing a song with them.

Monday, Oct. 10: TODAY IS A 3S MAKE-UP DAY!! 3S CLASS COME TO SCHOOL AT 8:00 AM TODAY!!  3s class- The dramatic play room has changed into a veterinarian's office and we will learn about animals and how to care for them.  We will start to learn special facts about mammals.  We will read a story about a brown bear and make a bear out of coffee grounds!  4s class- Today we will start to learn about mammals and their characteristics.  We will read a story about a brown bear and what he sees.  We'll make a bear in Eric Carle style.  The dramatic play room has become a vet office!

Wednesday, Oct. 12: 3s class- Today is Pet Day!!  Bring your pet to school today.  We will make a bear mask and finger paint with brown paint to make a bear the Eric Carle way.  If you have a pet you would like to share with the class you can bring it in at 11:20 today and we will share our pets with each other.  If you don't want to bring your pet to school you can bring a picture.  We will end our day outside if the weather cooperates.  If the weather is inclement we will cancel Pet Day.  4s class- Today is Pet Day!!  Bring your pet to school today.  If you have a pet you would like to share with us bring it to school at 3:20.  We will spend the last 20 minutes of class outside talking about our pets.  If you don't want to bring your pet to school you can bring a picture.  If the weather is awful we will cancel Pet Day.  We will learn about beavers today and make a book about mammals.  We'll also finger paint with orange paint. 

Friday, Oct. 14: NO SCHOOL TODAY!  STATE-WIDE INSERVICE DAY.  Andy and I will be attending the OAEYC conference.

Monday, Oct. 17: Today we will talk about pumpkins and learn about the pumpkin life-cycle.  We will cut out a pumpkin shape to use as a decoration for out pumpkin carving night.

Wednesday, Oct. 19: Pumpkin Patch Day!!  3s class- Today we will meet at the school, read a story, and then we will travel to Teacher Andy's Farm to visit the Pumpkin Patch.  Send a snack as usual.  We will have some goodies at the farm as well.  We will play, visit the chickens and see the cows, have a snack, visit the pumpkin patch, and go for a nature walk.  Teacher Andy's 4s class will be there with us.  Class will end at the farm.  Please make sure to make arrangements to get your child to the farm and pick them up at the farm.  All are welcome to come along (younger siblings, too!)  Make sure to wear boots or sturdy shoes.  Coats, hats, and gloves are always a good thing to have...you can't take it off if you don't have it with you!  :)  4s class- We will start school at the Pumpkin Patch today.  Send a snack as usual.  (See 3s class description.)  Bring your pumpkin to the Pumpkin Carving Night on Oct. 26.  It will be such fun!

Friday, Oct. 21: NO SCHOOL TODAY.  I will be conducting phone conferences.  There is no need to set up a time with me.  I will start calling on Tuesday of this week.  These conferences are just to let you know how things are going in the classroom and to see how you are feeling about how things are progressing. 

Monday, Oct. 24: We will paint a face on our pumpkin today and start learning about spiders!  We will make a spider out of salt dough.

Wednesday, Oct. 26: 3s class- Today we will start talking about monsters.  We will read Go Away, Big Green Monster! and paint with corn cobs to make a monster face.  Also, we will paint a face on our pumpkins.  4s class- We will make a spider life-cycle today and paint our salt-dough spiders from Monday.  Don't forget our Pumpkin Carving and Sing-A-Long Extravaganza tonight!  6:30-8:30 pm.  Bring the pumpkin from Teacher Andy's Farm cleaned out and ready to carve.  If you have carving tools bring those as well.  Don't forget your costume and singing voice!   

Friday, Oct. 28: 3s class- We will make a monster face and a book of us looking like monsters!  We'll sing a song about a big, hairy monster.  Raarrrr!  4s class- We will decorate our salt dough spiders and make a spider out of pretzels!

Monday, Oct. 31: Today we will make bats to take home and a spider necklace.  We'll read a story about a woman that isn't afraid of anything.  We won't wear costumes today at school.  If you have treats you would like to share with the class please bring them at the end of class so we can distribute as the children are leaving.  (We save costume-wearing for our Carving/Sing-A-Long night.) Happy Halloween!  Have fun and be safe!!

Thanks so much for all your help in the classroom and otherwise.  I couldn't do it without you.  I am appreciative of such great parents!  ~Anne.

September Welcomes New Friends

Hello, Greetings, Salutations, and all things welcoming!

 

Thank you all for coming to the orientation, the training, the open house and anything else you could make it to!  It is so nice to meet everyone and put a face to the name I have been looking at and writing on many surfaces for the past month.  It is going to be such a fun year.  As the first day nears please remember to leave plenty of time to get out the door in as peaceful a manner as possible.  Let your child know the schedule of his/her day and remind them that when the school day is over you will be there to pick them up and take them home.  The 3s especially need a little reassurance and an idea of what their day might bring.  Let your child know how the morning will work.  Help them find their hook, get a squirt of sanitizer, wait in the sign-in line, sign-in, then the math games table.  It is a lot for them to remember so it is always good to give them little reminders-returning children as well!  It has been a long summer for them and they might not remember the routine. 

 

The following schedule is what we will be doing for the remainder of September.  It is going to be a lot of fun for returning children to redo some of their favorite activities.  It will be a period of discovery for the new children.  Here goes:

 

Wednesday, Sept. 14: Both classes will be doing mostly the same activities today.  We will be getting used to being in school and getting back into the swing of things.  The 3s will be doing some fingerpainting and the 4s will make Rainbow People.  We will all get a chance to mix colors in the Art Center and free painting and play dough will also be options.  Welcome (Back)!

 

Friday, Sept. 16: 3s class: Today we will weigh and measure the children and talk about how we are all different but have many similarities as well.  We will watch some fancy color mixing in the Art Center and we will draw what we look like for our journals.  4s class: We will see how big we are and how much we weigh.  Also, we will draw a picture of ourselves for our journal.  We will read a story about our differences and our similarities and we will be mixing colors in large glass containers in the Art Center.

 

Monday, Sept 19: Today we will use Big Body Movement to make collage art in the Art Center.  We will make a collaborative piece of art using crayons, movement, and music.  We will have color exploration with the light table in the loft and we will color over our heads in the classroom!  We will also get a chance to finger paint and make handprints.  We will read a story about some crayons that talk. 

 

Wednesday, Sept. 21: 3s class: We will use Big Body Movement to make a community piece of art using our bodies, markers, movement, and music.  Fun!  We will mix colors on paper with paint and we will fingerpaint and make handprints.  We'll read a story about two friends that get lost and found.  4s class: Today we will use the same technique we used in the Art Center on Monday, except we will be using markers under the table!  We will color mix with paints and paper and we will read a story about some mischevious mice. 

 

Friday, Sept. 23: 3s class: Today we will conduct an experiment using color and ice.  We will use paint brushes bundled together to collaboratively do some color mixing in the Art Center.  IF the weather cooperates we will be able to paint outside today!  4s class: Today we will be doing some crazy outdoor art projects.  Think good thoughts about the weather cooperating with us. We will be painting on the grass, throwing tennis balls covered in paint, and using paint-covered balls to roll around in a swimming pool.  Crazy!  If any of you (or grandmas or grandpas) can come in to help on this day it would be a great day to have some extra hands.  We will (hopefully) be outside most of this day.

 

Monday, Sept. 26: Today we will read a story about a dance of colors.  We will learn what it looks like to blend colors using white.  We will paint with scarves and we will use a heat plate to blend and mix colors.  

 

Wednesday, Sept 28: 3s class: We will read a story about children dancing and blending colors.  We will paint with scarves and dance to the music while doing so.  4s class: Today we will paint with popcorn!  We will have music and scarves to mix colors and we will find out what happens to a color when we add black to it.

 

Friday, Sept. 30: 3s class/4s class: Today we will talk about safety and learn about how to stay safe.  We will discuss police officers and fire fighters and get a chance to make and wear a police badge.  (This day is meant to respond to our Safety Fair.) 

 

I hope all goes well with you and yours as we move into the school year.  If you have any questions or concerns please let me know and I will assist however I can.  Have fun and welcome!

 

~Anne.     

 

May Flowers

Greetings! 

 

At this point it probably feels like I am long lost.  I apologize for not getting a post out last month. It was a whirlwind of a month.  Whew!

 

May is upon us and before you know it we will be saying goodbye for now.  It has a been an incredible year of growth and compromise.  I will miss all of you tremendously, and will look forward to see returning families again and wish well those that are moving on.  Your next endeavor will be both fun and exciting.  The next step is full of adventure.  Good luck!

 

This is a schedule of what the next few weeks hold for us...

 

Monday, May 9: Today we will start the process of building a volcano!  We will use our special volcano-making syrup and our special volcano-making paper strips to build an active volcano.  We will also be able to play in our new lemondade stand and sandwich shop.  Yahoo!  Teacher Andy's class will be traveling on the CAT bus today.

 

Tuesday, May 10: We will start making a volcano today and search for fossils in our texture table.  We will use special syrup and paper to make a volcano that will explode before our very eyes next week!  Teacher Andy's class will be traveling on the CAT bus today. 

 

Wednesday, May 11: We will be taking the CAT bus to Thriftway today.  PLEASE ARRIVE AT SCHOOL BY 8:50 AM.  The bus comes to the school by 9:15 am so we will needs lots of time to go potty, gather snacks (please send snack as usual), get coats, and walk out to the bus stop.  We can only have our two parent helpers with us on the bus.  We will arrive at Thriftway and will receive a tour of the store by the various employees.  We will be at the store for approximately a half hour.  At the end of the tour we will walk to Wait Park.  It is always nice to have a couple more parents to help us walk there, so if you would like to meet us at the store and walk with us you are welcome.  If not, we usually manage with the parent helpers.  At the park we will play for a little bit and then sit and have snack.  After snack...more playing, of course!  SCHOOL WILL END AT THE PARK AT 11:40 AM.

 

Thursday, May 12: Today is CAT bus day!!  We will start school as we normally would and play for about an hour.  We will gather snacks, go potty, and walk out to the bus stop at about 10:00 or so.  Please send snack as usual.  Feel free to meet us at the park, however, we can only have our two parent helpers on the bus with us.  We will play for awhile and then have snack.  This is our summer birthdays celebration day.  If your child has a summer birthday you can come to the park with something to share with the class and we will sing and celebrate together.  After snack we will play some more and SCHOOL WILL END AT THE PARK AT 11:40 AM. 

 

Friday, May 13: Today we will work on scrapbooks and paint our volcano to ready it for its epic explosion next week. 

 

Monday, May 16: We will start making Father's Day presents today and color and cut out dinosaurs for our volcano.  We will also make a "favorites" dinosaur book.

 

Tuesday, May 17: We will be making Father's Day presents today and continue to work on our volcano.  We will have a chance to play with the volcano and some dinosaurs, too.  Today is my son's 10th birthday!  I can't believe it.

 

Wednesday, May 18: We will continue working on Father's Day gifts and start making our own personal volcanoes.  We will play with the big volcano with some dinosaurs.

 

Thursday, May 19: Today is our Outdoor Classroom day!  We will have class completely out-of-doors!  We will watch our volcano explode today!!  It will hopefully be nice enough for you to want to send your child with sunscreen, hats, and/or sunglasses.  Hope, hope, hope!

 

Friday, May 20: Today is Outdoor Classroom Day and Summer Birthdays celebration day!  If your child has a summer birthday feel free to bring something to share and celebrate with us.  We will have snack as usual...except that it will be outside.  Hopefully you will want to send your child to school with sunscreen, hats, etc.  We will explode the volcano today!!

 

Monday, May 23: Today we will have open school and finish up our Father's Day gifts.  We will make a habitat for our personal volcanoes and send them home.  One more day!  :(

 

Tuesday, May 24: We will wrap our Father's Day gifts and send those home.  We will do some color-mixing and beading...old favorites for our last full day together.  :(

 

Wednesday, May 25: GRADUATION DAY!!  We will start our day at usual and play for about an hour.  We will have snack at about 10:15 and then play outside until about 10:30 at which point we will come inside to start the graduation ceremony at 10:45 am.  I will present the children with a gift from me at around 11:30 am.  We will have cookies and play outside for the remainder of the school day.  Good luck to all of you on your next big adventure.  I am so proud of each and every one of your children.  They have come so far and learned so much.  A big pat on the back for all!  SCHOOL-WIDE POTLUCK TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM.

 

Thursday, May 26: Last day of school!  We will have open school and play with all of our friends today.  We will have snack as usual and play outside until around 11:00 am.  We will come inside to say goodbye and I will give each child a gift from me.  We have had a great school year.  Thank you so much for allowing me to be your child's first teacher.  It has been an honor.  I will miss all of you and will see you in the fall.  Happy summer!

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask me personally, via email, or call me.  The next days will go flying by so remember to cherish them!  We will have tons of fun and you are welcome to be involved in all of it!  Thank you, thank you for your HARD WORK and dedication.  It can be an almost exhausting experience to be a part of the co-op, but it is so worth it in the long run, and I am so appreciative of your effort.  You have all become such great parent helpers and I will miss all of you as well.  Have a great summer.  If you are leaving the school...please come and visit.  We love visitors. :) Thanks again, Anne.

In like a lion, out like a lamb...March is here!

Greetings to all.  March is here and so is the rain!  We are having fun talking about clouds and rain and all things up in the sky this month.  I am starting to do some assessments this month, so you might see some different practices at the sign-in table as well as throughout the school day.  I might ask for special help from you as parent helpers this month.  Parent conferences will take place in April.  At these, I will have a chance to tell you all about the fun things your children know and some things they can work on.

I want to make sure to say thank you to all of you for your hard work and dedication.  I want you to understand how much I appreciate your ability to come and help and give up your time in order to give your child such an enriching school experience.  You really need to give yourselves a pat on the back.  Good on you!

Here is a peek at what we will be doing in the classroom this month:

Monday, March 7: Today we will make cloud shapes out of finger paintings we made last week.  We will also make clouds to hang in the classroom and watch the water cycle happen before our eyes.  We will be doing a secret project in the art center with our fabulous art literacy teacher, Heather Anderson.

Tuesday, Mar. 8: We will start making some shamrocks to decorate our classroom with, and possibly lure some leprechauns into the school.  We will make a rain picture with droppers and continue our secret project in the art center.

Wednesday, Mar. 9: UMBRELLA MARCH!!  If the rain continues today we will have our annual Umbrella March.  Please send an umbrella that is easy for your child to carry.  We will go out and jump in the puddles!  If the rain does not cooperate (i.e. not show up) than we will postpone this until Friday.  We will make a picture of an umbrella and read a story about a magical umbrella.

Thursday, Mar. 10: UMBRELLA MARCH!!! Please see March 9.  We will have our march today regardless of the weather.  Think rain.  We will do some finger painting INSIDE of a box!

Friday, Mar. 11: NO SHOES DAY!! We will have open school today and we will have a no shoes policy for the day.  We will be painting feet and making prints.  We'll also make some shamrocks out of string.  If the weather didn't cooperate for us on Wednesday we will be having our Umbrella March today.

Monday, Mar. 14: Today we will continue our foot project from Friday, and we'll make prints of our hands.  We will put them all together to make a kite.  We will be talking about rain and rainbows this week.

Tuesday, Mar. 15: We'll make a kite today and talk about rainbows.

Wednesday, Mar. 16: It is very possible we will have a visit from a small green man in our classroom today!  He often makes a big mess and we will try to make some traps to catch him.  Don't forget to wear your green!  

Thursday, Mar. 17: Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Make sure to wear some green today.  We will be on the lookout for leprechauns and a pot of gold.

Friday, Mar 18: Today we will play, play, play.  Hopefully all assessments will be finished and we will just have fun together for our last day before spring break.

Monday, Mar 21-25: SPRING BREAK VACATION.  Have fun, be safe, and go outside!  :)

Monday, Mar. 28: Today we will get back into the routine of school and start talking about trees.  We will make invitations for our Grand friends Day coming up in April.  We'll start our unit on the story of Pickin' Peas.

Tuesday, Mar. 29: We will make some nature pictures out of sand, rocks, and sticks.  We will talk about trees and what they mean to us.

Wednesday, Mar. 30: We will make some pictures using tree products and make temporary structures out of natural products.

Thursday, Mar. 31: Today we will make a picture of a tree.

Friday, April 1: The Talk About Trees lady will be here today and she will talk to us about trees!  We will get a chance to make paper and have fun learning about trees and tree products.

Again, thank you so much for being a part of our community and making our school so great!  Have fun enjoying some family time during spring break.  Enjoy spring starting to emerge...get outside this month.  Warmly, Anne.  

February Events

Hello all!  I want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to our school.  From volunteering for cleaning sessions to coming to meetings to going the extra mile, you are what make this school so great.  I am so proud to know you!  Thank you so very much.

 

Here is a schedule of events for the month of February.  We are going to have some fun this month.  We have moved away from learning about our bodies and are now going to talk about dental health, making valentines for our friends, and sharing love and compassion for one another by keeping in touch through the postal service.  Our dramatic play room has become a post office.  If you have any old magazines, junk mail, greeting cards, or anything that you think might fit into the concept of the mail delivery system send it in.  We will put it to use in the post office.  This is a fun unit as it reinforces the idea that we can care for people all around us even if we don't see them all the time.  It's a great way to be a bucket filler!

 

On the 14th and 15th of the month we will be having a Valentine's Party.  We will be making a class fruit salad and each child will get to choose what fruit they would like to bring to share.  We will also be making small jam tarts to eat at snack time.  We will have a little gathering to open our Valentine pockets in the last 20 minutes of class.  At this time, parents and/or siblings are welcome to join in the festivities.  We might even be able to taste a little treat or two.  

 

Here is what we will be experiencing this month:

 

Monday, February 7: Today we will start to make our Valentine's Day pockets to use for our party.  The children will decorate a pocket and do a little lacing for some fine motor practice.  We will also start writing letters to send at the post office on Friday.  Heather Anderson will be in the art center to help the children create something for the auction.

 

Tuesday, Feb. 8: We will make our Valentine's pockets and paint a heart-shaped paper plate.

 

Weds., Feb. 9: Today we will use the heat plate to create a "melty" heart.  We will make some paintings to use for a community heart that we will place on the bulletin board in the hallway.  It will be a double class event and we will discuss how we can take all of the individual paintings and make them into one piece of art that we all worked on.  Fun!  The children will choose a fruit that they would like to share for the Valentine party and the notice will come home today.

 

Thurs., Feb. 10: We will make wax paper hearts and make paintings that we can use for our community heart.  The children will choose a fruit to share for the fruit salad for our Valentine's Day party.  A notice will come home today. 

 

Fri., Feb. 11: FIELD TRIP DAY!!  We will be going to the post office today.  We will come to school as usual and have snack as usual, but we will leave the school at 10:55.  We will tour the post office (in Canby) until the end of class.  School will end at the post office.  Parents can drop off at 9 am and be back at the school at 10:50 to pick up children for transport to the post office. 

 

Mon., Feb. 14: Valentine's Day party!  The children can bring Valentines to place in their friends' pockets before school.  The pockets will be in alphabetical order outside the classroom in the hallway.  We will have class as usual until the last 20 minutes of class at which point we will gather at the meeting mat to enjoy our Valentines.  This is a great time for parents to come and enjoy and help out with reading and monitoring candy intake.  :)  We will also hang our communtiy heart and the children will glue a picture of themselves on it.  We will make heart necklaces and make a fruit salad and a jam tart.

 

Tues., Feb. 15: See Mon. Feb. 14.

 

Weds., Feb. 16: We will read the book Elmer and make patterns on an Elmer-shaped picture.  We will do our scrapbooks for the month of January today.

 

Thurs., Feb. 17: We will do scrapbooks today and read a story about what makes us happy.  We will start the process of making a class book about what makes us smile.  

 

Fri., Feb. 18: Today we will read the story Caps For Sale  and make some caps to stack.  We will also do some special color mixing.

 

Mon., Feb. 21: NO SCHOOL TODAY.  PRESIDENT'S DAY!  Enjoy a fun-filled day of family time.  Go for a walk.  Go to the park.  Go to Mt. Angel and listen to the Glockenspiel...it's free!

 

Tues., Feb. 22: We will finish up our "smile" book and talk about healthy teeth and good dental habits.

 

Weds., Feb. 23: We will talk about healty teeth and good dental habits and paint a picture using toothpaste!

 

Thurs., Feb. 24: We will paint teeth with toothpaste and make a tooth necklace.  We might even have Open School today. 

 

Fri., Feb. 25: Open School today.  We will make a tooth necklace, play with water, and do some paint mixing.  The Dentist will come to visit us and tell us how to keep our choppers in the best condition.  Yay!

 

Thanks again for all you do.  Please know that you are so appreciated!  ~Anne.

BODIES!!

GREETINGS!  I am so excited about this week.  We are going to have so much fun!  We are learning about our bodies and what makes them tick, move, strong, and whole.  We will have Open School a lot this week so it will be a fun time for the children to learn how to work with each other, play with each other, talk with each other, and for the parent helpers to be on their toes!  :)  We will continue to be outside so continue to send coats, hats, gloves, mittens, boots and the like.  Yahoo!

 

Monday: We will begin our body unit by learning about what is on the inside of our bodies.  We will trace the children on large sheets of paper and then encourage them to draw what is inside of them.  I love this part because you just never know what their little minds will cook up.  It is always amazing and delightful.  We will be open to allow them to move around and come and go as they please.  Also we will be learning about the artist Eric Carle and make some amazzzzzing bugs from paintings, etc. that we made last week. 

 

Tuesday:  We will learn about our insides and cut out a body shape and draw what is inside of us.  This will be the first experience of having Open School for this group.  It will be a fun and exciting adventure for them.  We may decide to be open on Thursday as well.  We will also make a faux x-ray of our hands to hang in the windows.  We will also be learning about Eric Carle and bug out!

 

Wednesday: We will start the process of putting clothes on our bodies.  We will finish up any stragglers or absentees on the tracing part and start to clothe ourselves.  This is also a delightful piece of this project.  All of the children come up with something fun and unique to dress themselves up in.  I once had a child decide to be a clown complete with orange pom-pom nose, pink, scraggly yarn hair, and sparkly flip-flops.  Such fun!

 

Thursday: We will finish up our bodies and put clothes on them similar to the 4s, but on a smaller scale.  This may have to stretch into next week.  We will spend as much time as we need to get just the right touches.

 

Friday:  The continuation of clothing the bodies, being open, and playing with each other.  We may have to finish this up next week.  We will give each child as much time as they need. 

 

Have a great week and thank you so much for all your help and hard work.  The auction deadline is coming up at an alarming rate.  If you need help let us know!!  We are here to help you.  Kyla and Mali have lots of ideas if you are having a hard time getting donations.  Don't hesitate to ask...even the teachers can be supportive.  Go team!!  The auction is going to be awesome this year and it is due almost entirely to your hard work.  We are SO appreciative!  Thank you.  ~Anne.