Happy February!
Thank you to all parents providing your little one with valentines day cards and treats for the entire class! An extra special shout out to the parents that were able to join us in class.It is always special to have you share in the festivities!
Our class will round out this month by learning about farms, farm animals and their special jobs, Doctors, and continue practicing Love & Friendship!
A reminder to please arrive by 9:30am so the children understand the flow of the day, can do their appointed jobs and to hear about what our day will be like.
Monthly Curriculum
Theme: Love
Value: Friendship
Color: Pink & Purple
Multicultural Visit: Asia
Holiday: Valentine’s Day & Lunar New Year!
Animal: Farm Animals
Community Helper: Doctor
Additional Theme: President’s Day
Letters/Sounds: Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, Uu
Words: – ot family words & CVC list 1
Numbers: 30-50
Shapes: Pentagon, Hexagon, Octagon
** Week Three – Feb. 20 – 23
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In preparation for the petting zoo visit, we will begin our week by learning about farms! We will learn what a farm is, the various types of farms, how we benefit from them, and all the hard work that goes into running one! We will also spend some time learning about different Farm Animals and their roles on the farm. We will discuss and learn fun facts about cows, horses, pigs, ducks, chickens, sheep, and goats. Our class will also learn to “milk a cow” using latex gloves, and water!
To enhance their sensory and imaginative play. our class water table will be filed with various dirty farm animals that can be cleaned with small sponges and water.
In the block area, the children can practice their building and geometry skills by making animal pens in the shape of a pentagon, hexagon, octagon, square, triangle, or rectangle.
In Social Studies and Geography, the Pineapple’s will continue their journey through Asia! Our class will continue our focus on countries such as, China, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, and Indonesia. We will find the countries on our map and learn more about each country by seeing pictures of the cityscapes, natural environments, and native animals, listening to music, listening to the language and trying out phrases for ourselves, trying on traditional garments, and looking at, recreating, and discussing each countries flag.
While in Japan, the children will learn about sushi, Koinobori Windsock Flags, and chopsticks! Our class will discuss what the chopsticks are and how they are used, and they will have the chance to experience using them with a fun manipulatives activity.
On our trip to China, we will learn facts about the country and locate it on our world map! We will discover that China is the most populated country on our planet and that the animals that inhabit its land and waters include various species of panda, the only 2 fresh water dolphins on Earth, various monkeys, and even some tigers. We will look at and learn fun facts about a few famous landmarks such as, the Great Wall of China, the forbidden city, the Terracotta Warriors, and Mount Everest. We will also learn a couple of phrases in Chinese as well as the numbers 1-10. Some of our arts and crafts projects and activities will be panda masks, making a recreation of the Chinese flag, creating our own Terracotta Warriors, and trying to recreate the Great Wall of China.
Week Four – Feb. 26 – Mar. 2
Our class will be continue practicing what we learned about LOVE and FRIENDSHIP. The kids will continue to have the opportunity to write on the Kindness Wall. This is a space for the children to show their love for their friends by using kind words. We will also focus on making our class FRIENDSHIP QUILT! Each child will receive a square piece of paper and be asked to decorate it how they want. It will be a unique artistic representation of themselves.
This month’s community helper is our friend the DOCTOR!!! We will discuss their job, tools, and how they help us stay healthy! Our class will focus on what it takes for our bodies to be in tip top condition. We will discuss what a proper diet looks like, what foods are good for our bodies and what benefits each food gives us. We will also see what an unhealthy diet looks like, what foods are unhealthy and what those foods can do to our bodies, minds and emotions,
With flu season being in full swing, our class will focus a bit more on the human body and good hygiene habits, using creative crafts, activities, and small clips of the Magic School Bus. We will also do an experiment to see how fast and far germs can spread when we cough, sneeze, or put our hands in our mouths, YUCK!
Monthly Academic Focus
Academically, we will be going over the VOWELS: Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, and Uu. Each week, we will focus on one letter/sound and practice writing it using worksheets and our lined practice paper, review words that start with that sound, search for things in our classroom that start with that sound, and read a book about that letter and its sound. So far in the school year we have learned 4 word families (-at, -an, -am and -ad) and will start learning our -ot Family words using the sounding out methods we have learned so far! The words we will learn this month are cot, dot, hot, lot, not, pot, rot, and spot. We will learn to read these words by blending sounds from left to right and matching them to picture words!
For math, the children will have the opportunity to create Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and farm animal patterns using our class tangram shapes. This will help them practice identifying the shapes, figure out which shape best fits where, and enhance puzzle skills. Our class will practice going over numbers 30-50 with the 100’s pocket chart, the Montessori Tens Board and beads, and our unifix blocks. These materials will allow the children to match the quantities with its appropriate number. We will also practice reading numbers from left to right and how our 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s numbers all have a 3, 4, or 5 in the front followed by our unchanging 0-9 pattern.
Upcoming Events
The Petting Zoo is coming to PLAY!
One of our learning themes this month is Farms. On Wednesday, February 21st the children will have the opportunity to see and pet small/baby sheep, goats, bunnies, chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, and a pony.
Feel free to dress up your child in a fun Farmer or animal outfit!
Picture Day is Monday, March 5th!
All pictures will be taken between 8a – 11a. If Monday is not your regular school day you are welcome to bring your child in for just the pictures or for an extra school day as a Drop-In.
Feel free to pack a spare play outfit for when pictures are all done!
Reminders
– Birthdays at PLAY – Our class celebrates all birthdays after our lunch (approx. 12:35pm).
If you’d like to be here for the festivities or if you would like to have a small celebration with decor, treats, etc. please notify me as soon as possible so we can plan it all out and I can offer my help.
Reminder, we do not allow an excess amount of frosting! The majority of our class does not nap and therefore can burn off the sugar high.
– Hot lunch will continue to be $5 when ordered in advance, however if ordered the day of or by the week it will be billed at $6.
– Show and Tell is every Friday! Encourage your child to bring in a special toy, book, or game of their choice to share with the class. Show & Tell is great because it’s fun for the kids and simultaneously enhances effective communication, strengthens their vocabulary , improves their listening skills, and promotes self confidence.
– Date Night is (typically) every other Saturday from 5:00pm-12:00am. $15/hr for an individual child or $20/hr for a pair of siblings (min. charge is $60). Dinner and a movie are also provided.
– We are now NUT FREE! We have a number of students in the school allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, in order to keep them safe we ask that you please do not send your child to school with any products containing nuts. If you would like a list of nut-free food suggestions let me know and I will get you a list!
– And lastly, a personal request from myself, please try to label all of your child’s items! Many families buy the same things and sometimes other students or teachers may move your child’s items mistakenly; labeling your things will greatly help avoid any mishaps!
If you have any other questions about the parent handbook feel free to ask myself, Gabriel, or Ms. Annie.
School Calendar 2017
February
Wednesday- 21st- Petting Zoo Visit
March
Saturday – 3rd- Date Night with Ms. Jennifer
Monday – 5th – Picture Day
Saturday – 10th – Date Night with Ms. Cynthia
Friday – 16th – Celebrating St Patrick’s Day
Tuesday – 20th – Egg Hunt
Friday – 23rd to 2nd – NO SCHOOL- Spring Break
April
Tuesday – 3rd- Back from Spring Break
Saturday – 7th- Date Night with Mrs. Gloria
Saturday -21st – Date Night with Ms. Jennifer
