During this difficult time my coworkers and I have mailed curriculum plans, and made videos of ourselves reading to the children. It breaks my heart that I can’t be with the class, but my colleges and I remain upbeat and hopeful. Our parents are doing a wonderful job of teaching at home. The pictures they send of their children working on the curriculum brighten my day. Parents are the first teachers and now we are returning to their knowledge and care. Parents and teachers working together are important factors in the educational success of their children. Even in the classroom I could always tell the children that had parents who worked with them at home.

I must say the Reduce, Reuse , Recycle unit is a great way to learn at home. The children are learning first hand what items can be thrown away or used again. I know some parents already have recycling containers at their home. Paper , plastic and metal are a few things that we can recycle. In some areas glass is melted down and used again. It is very important for our earth that we all do our part.

Letters and numbers are discussed in the children’s packet with help from our parents. One computer lesson had the children looking for the letter R on the family computer. Learning will continue. The videos we send home help the children with language skills and phonics, and the children love seeing their teacher! Each child is a blessing and each child has a special gift. As parents and teachers we will continue to work together for the educational success of every child.

BOUNCING AND ROLLING

Our first topics were about balls that bounce and roll. One of our favorite balls that rolled was a bowling ball. We noticed that our bowling ball had three holes in it. I was amazed to watch the children as they put their fingers and thumb into the right hole. The class shouted for joy as the pins were knocked down. The children counted the pins that were knocked down and the pins that were left standing. We determined that the bowling ball did not bounce very well, but it was fun to watch it roll. This activity helped your child with counting skills and hand-eye coordination.

DEMONSTRATES POSITIVE APPROACHES TO LEARNING

One of our objectives for last week was - demonstrates positive approaches to learning . I put a small object in a box and then I moved the box back and forth. After I gave the class clues , they had to guess what was in the box. Everyone was thrilled to see that a ping pong ball was in the box! We practiced making the sound of letter P for ping pong and letter B for ball. Our listening skills were getting a work out.

MUSIC WITH BALLS

Mrs. Tipton must have heard that we were learning about balls. When the students arrived to the music classroom we found balls wrapped in velcro. Each child had to take a turn throwing four balls toward a musical banner. The banner was full of music notes. As the ball hit a note the children had to tell the class what note it was. Mrs. Tipton was by their side if anyone forgot what note their ball hit. This activity helped your child learn to read music.

We were thrilled to see the tooth fairy this month. We learned that we need to brush our teeth two times a day for two minutes. The class learned about food that is good for our teeth and food that is bad for our teeth. Each student was thrilled to help with the dental floss. Don’t forget to floss your teeth! A special thanks to Pediatric Dentistry of Texarkana.

Our Valentine Party was a hit! This class practiced name recognition as they passed out valentines. The hit of the party was the ballroom dancing! Costumes for the dance were provide by the home living center. It was very sweet to watch the class as they moved to the music. A special thank you to all the parents for helping with our snacks.

Grandparents Day was a blast! All of our primary classes went on the stage to sing for the grandparents. After we left the stage it was time for everyone to see our beautiful classroom. The children loved showing their work and telling the parents and grandparents about our centers.

We wrapped up the building unit by making buildings out of boxes. Each child had a great time as they pretended to be in various buildings. The beauty shop was a hit with the boys and girls and the automotive repair shop was just the place for a tune up. Anyone who was feeling sick was able to stop by the doctor’s office. letter P was for post office and it was the place to be for mailing those valentines. Your child’s imagination flourished as they took turns moving around our pretend city. Our next unit will have us bouncing for joy as we learn about balls.

We spent the last few weeks discussing buildings. We determined that a building is a place that shelters people or things. Our community is full of all kinds of buildings. They provide a place for people to learn, work, shop or play. We discussed the features that made our building special, and we explored the beautiful buildings on our campus. This class counted doors and windows and we examined the materials that make up the buildings on our school grounds.

We made a special trip to the Middle School as we took a trip back in time to the Colonial Days Living History Project. This activity was a great social studies lesson for the class. We learned how people sewed and cooked during the colonial days. The blacksmith shop was a big hit as we watched the blacksmith take care of his horse. The highlight of this trip was the general store. Each child was able to purchase a piece of candy for a penny.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

The kids loved reading The Three Little Pigs. I used this story to teach the children about strong materials for buildings. We learned that that straw and sticks are not good building materials. The smartest little pig used brick for his house and we determined that bricks are one of the strongest materials for building a house. I used props for the children to act out this story. Dramatic play was a hit with this class! As the class acts out this story they are giving their language skills and memory skills a workout!

LETTER S

The letter S box was a hit! I wrapped a box with paper and glued on the letter S. I put items in the box that started with the letter S. The children had to take turns putting their hand in the box and pulling out a item. Everyone was thrilled as they pulled out scissors, suckers, stars and a snake!

TRIANGLES

Builders know that a triangle is one of the strongest shapes. It is used in bridges and roofs. Triangles come in many different sizes but all triangles have three sides and three corners. The class had a blast as we used our bodies to form triangles!

SHAPES

I played music as the children walked around the shapes on my rug. When the music stopped, the children had to stop. When they stopped they had to tell me the shape they were on. This activity helped the children with their listening skills, and shape recognition.

WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPE PAINTING

The class looked at trees on the computer and on our beautiful campus. After we observed the trees it was time to paint. During large group time I painted a picture of the sky, grass, and a few trees. After I painted, each child was invited to create their own watercolor landscape masterpiece. When the children noticed their paintings were on the classroom wall , they knew their work was important. Vincent van Gogh would be proud!

V R GOGGLES

We used VR Goggles to take a trip to Mt. Rushmore. This activity let your child experience the beauty of the mountains and trees that covered them. As each child took a turn with the goggles they felt as if they were transported to South Dakota. This was a wonderful way to show the class the physical features of our country.

LISTENING SKILLS

We had a blast using our listening skills as we played animal sound bingo. Each child had a bingo card with pictures of different animals on it. Your child had to listen to the sound the animal made and then place their bingo chip on the matching animal. When your child is developing listening skills they are becoming active listeners. An active listener uses what he or she hears from others as part of the communication process.

AB PATTERNS AND GROUPING BY COLOR

I used red, green and white bows for a math activity. The class loved grouping the bows by color! After we grouped by color we counted the amount for each color. The class loved making AB patterns with different color bows. As your child creates a pattern they are learning how to use an arrangement of items that repeat in a logical way.

HO, HO , HO

We were surprised when Santa Claus stopped by our classroom! Everyone was amazed at his clothing! He brought each child a gift and wished us all a Merry Christmas. After Santa left it was time for our Christmas Party. A special that you to all of our parents for the food and crafts.

BETHLEHEM STABLE

During December I turned our home living center into the Bethlehem Stable. There was not any room for Mary and Joseph at the inn, but they did find a stable. The children loved pretending to be Mary and Joseph and it is important for them to understand the true meaning of Christmas. When your child engages in pretend play they are actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life. During our next unit we will discuss buildings.