"P" is for Pirate

 Yes "P" is for pirate!  So for the "prize bucket" everyone got a fun pirate eye patch.  (Of course the girls got pink!)  What is more fun than getting a pirate patch and reading some pirate books.  I am quite sure these will be lots of fun at home.  (PS - we did talk about being careful with these because they are stretchy like a rubber band and can hurt if you don't play with the right way.)  You can have fun with letters anywhere at anytime....these patches were the perfect way to end our week about the letter "p."

"I Can Read..."

 Reading is so much more fun with the right accessories!!!!!  We are doing some serious reading with these crazy glasses. Of course it is over the top when you add the Dr. Seuss hat.  We are becoming such good readers!  Kindergarten here we come...but can we have just a little more time at preschool?  It is hard to believe that it is right around the corner. 

Happy Dr. Seuss Day!!!!

 Since Dr. Seuss' Official birthday falls on a day when we are not at the preschool, we celebrated it a little bit early.  It was such a wacky day because it started with a visit from Thing 1 and Thing 2.  We got to hear a book and even got to shake hands with them.  It was so much fun. 

Then we made these "Cat In The Hat" masks to help remind us that reading is fun!  Of course Dr. Seuss is really the most fun because the books are full of nonsense and silly words that make us giggle!  We will spend some more time next week learning about rhymes, but celebrate "Read Across America" Day on Saturday by having some silly story time.  Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!  Thank you for inspiring us to read and making it so much fun!

The Best Raincoat Ever!

I think with all of the rainy days we have had lately - we have had to work hard to make the best of it.  We have been doing lots of indoor exercise and watched our share of educational videos -but this friend in our class had the best idea yet - find the coolest raincoat.  Isn't this great?  I would certainly wear one if they made it in an adult size because rainy days always need a little "cheering up."  The hood even has this fireman's helmet attached and how perfect is that for keeping the rain out of your eyes?  Sometimes I wish we could have some play time in the rain like I did when I was a little girl.  (Yes we put on our raincoats and boots and headed outside to play in the rain.)  We explored mud puddles and lots of other interesting things - but seeing how wet you could get was probably the best.  It was almost like a science experiment - to form a hypothesis and then put it to the test.  Either way - this is the best raincoat ever!  I had to share this bright spot from a gray day.

P Is Also For Pigeon

It was another super fun day in our classroom, but then again - when is it not?  Today we learned about the author Mo Willems and his hilarious books about the "pigeon."  So to make it extra silly - we made these pigeon hats.  I think you would have to see the books to understand why this pigeon looks a little strange - so take a trip to the library and see if you can figure out what that crazy pigeon is up to.  Today we heard about him trying to drive a bus and finding a hot dog. (Now you know why I referred to him as that "crazy pigeon.")  Children's books are so entertaining.  Take a few minutes and let your child tell you what they remember about the books we heard today.

P is for Palmetto & President

Here are our "Presidential" Self Portraits and Palmetto Flag paintings.  I think that the children did a really great job.  If you are in the building they are displayed just outside our classroom door.  Stop by to take a peek at your child's latest art project.

Words That Start With "P"

I am telling you that we get smarter and smarter every day!  Today we started a new letter and as you can see we had absolutely NO trouble thinking of words with this beginning sound!  (Please disregard any misspelled words because I couldn't write any faster than usual but the words were coming out much faster than I remember.) It was a "positively perfect" day in our classroom.

Dental Health Is Here!

February is Children's Dental Health Month and we will spend the entire next week learning about health!  To help us get started we had a visit from a local dental hygienist.  She brought along some special friends and taught us how to take care of our teeth.  We all agreed that it is important to brush our teeth every morning and every night and had fun watching her teach us how to floss our teeth.  Thank you so much to our friend for coming by our preschool!

Smart Cookies!

We sure are "smart cookies."  As you can see from the papers pictured above our boys and girls are so smart!  Part of our letter review was talking about letter sounds.  Here was a little worksheet to evaulate our learning and the children did great!  I think that everyone has been eating their smart cookies or smart cereal (as I was told by one of the children.)  This little activity was done by each child and in their own hand writing.!  I love it when I give the instructions and they say "I can do this....you don't need to help me."  Of course it was only three letter sounds but I was so impressed.   Way to go!!!!

How It Goes!

  Just some pictures of our classroom and really this is "how it goes."  We work and play and, yes, we really learn.  It is so awesome to watch the children play in centers and find new ways to play with toys or objects.  There are always new stories being told and imaginations are hard at work.  It is also more amazing to see the children watch the "work" tables and know that they need to complete certain learning tasks during the morning hours.  I am never surprised when a child comes over and says, " Mrs. Laura, I haven't done my work yet."  Amazing!!! To me this demonstrates that the children are becoming more aware of our day and how our schedule really works.  They are learning to become organized.  Their face beams with pride when they finish work centers and always ask "am I taking this home today?"  They are growing up so fast!  I hope that you are enjoying their folder work.  It is so important to review our weekly papers at your home and let your child explain what they learned.  Of course I know there may be some embellishing - but giving your child those few minutes to share and explain their week is priceless. 

 

 

Show & Tell Day 3

It was our last day of show & tell for this week.  We had fun with a stuffed bear named, Snowflake, and a Yoda, that "turns real at night."  We also had a watch with Transformers on it and a fairy Barbie that didn't bring her wings to school.  Her name is "Bloom" but we since it isn't Spring, we didn't want her flying around in this chilly air.  Our final treat was a stretchy lizard.  He was really cool but we had to be careful with his tail.  He could stretch it out very long and we didn't want anyone to get hit if we let go at the wrong time.  It was a fun day and it is amazing how much the children LOVE to see what their friends bring from home to share.  Even if they have the very same thing - it just isn't as good as the one that the friend brings in.  Thank you parents for a great week of show & tell.  Watch your calendars for a weekly schedule starting in March.  We will assign days for each child and this will continue through the end of the year.

President Lincoln & President Washington

President Lincoln & President Washington were so serious!  Of course they had to be - but we try to make it fun in our classroom.  Here you can see some friends wearing a "tri-corner" hat and a "stove pipe" hat and yes, they made us giggle.  There is a plenty of time to learn all of the facts about their role in the history of our country, so we work hard to remember their names and that they were good leaders.  Of course right now, I think the only thing they can remember are these silly hats.  Happy President's Day Again!

Show & Tell Day Number 2

 More show & tell fun.  Really it is so MUCH fun!  We had a baseball glove from our friend above because he is starting to play baseball and do you know that he "really" caught a ball with it????  He also brought a remote control monster truck that everyone wanted to touch.

 This is our friend Isabella, (above), she is a snow dog and she is super soft.  Below is our friend, Peppermint, and she likes to listen to music and eat cookies.  She also travels in this really cute tote. 

 Below is a friend with some stuffed animals and a toy chainsaw.  The toy chainsaw was cool, but those stuffed animals were awesome because they made everyone smile.  Snoopy played the "Charlie Brown" song and his ears moved to the music. Again, everyone wanted to play with him.

 This little guy in the picture below was the "hit" of the day.  When our friend turned him on, he just rolled all over the floor with this super cute laugh.  It was the perfect way to end our day.  With all of the serious business of learning there should always be time for laughs and smiles and today we did a lot of that! 

 

Finally, I had to share the picture below from yesterday's show & tell!  If you love Star Wars, (like all good mothers of boys do), you can really appreciate this treat from Disney World.   Our friend looks like a real X-Wing fighter pilot and some of us even thought he was in the real Star Wars movie.  I also have to mention that I LOVE the expression on his face.  See, didn't I tell you that Show & Tell is the best!

President's Day!

Happy Belated President's Day!  Here you can see our cute "George Washington" art projects and our summary of our current President's duties.  It is always very interesting to hear what children think the job of President really entails.  I especially love the part about "he keeps squirrels safe!"  I think that President Obama might really enjoy this duty because it would have to be less stressful than National Security!

Show & Tell

Show & Tell is here again!!!!  It was a fun day with stuffed animals, named "Patricia" & "Thunderstorm" and a friend's report on his trip to Disneyworld!!  It was really exciting because everyone in our class loves to see treasures from home!!! Stay tuned for more show & tell this week!