Preschool

Hi Everyone,

We have have been quite busy in Preschool during the last two weeks.  In addition to meeting Impy Ink and Jumping Jim, from Letterland, the children made insect pictures by stamping insect stamps on paper with ink.  They also tried juggling scarves.  We introduced the new USDA’s “My Placemat,” which has taken the place of the food pyramid.  The Placemat has a fork, a plate and a circle in the upper right hand corner.  The plate is sectioned into four color coded food groups, protein, vegetables, fruit and grains.  The circle is for dairy.  Initially, the children are learning which foods go in which food groups.  They colored a copy of the placemat using the appropriate colors and we laminated them to use at our snack and lunch tables.  We also made a giant placemat and use some of our plastic food to practice sorting.  If you would like to investigate the new Placemat, you may go to ChooseMyPlate.gov.  Our Pretend Area is now a restaurant equipped with a cash register, play food, chef hats, aprons, receipt books and menus.  Sam and his mom brought in a Mancala game that uses small ceramic fruit as the counters.  This is becoming a popular choice during Activity Time.

We learned that the Letterland character Impy Ink is a special bottle of ink who has rainbow colored ink inside.  He invented a special machine just to make this fancy ink.  It’s incredible.  His ink can be used to make invitations and write notes.  He also has a pet iguana and a number of insects.  The poem to remember how to write “i” goes like this:

Inside the ink bottle draw a line.  Add an inky dot.  That’s fine!

This week we met Jumping Jim, who loves to juggle.  He lives in a jigsaw house and he also loves to jump!  He can jump as high as a jet.  The poem we learned to help us remember how to make his sound is:

Just draw down Jim, bending his knees.  Then add the one ball which everyone sees. 

Next week we will review all of our Letterland friends, as we will only be together for a day and a half.  It is hard to believe we have already met 10 Letterland friends. 

This week we also cut and decorated Friendship Feathers for our turkey.  The children glued a variety of collage materials onto oak tag feathers.  Finally, we put them all together on our chilly turkey.  As we worked, we talked about how each of our feathers are different, but when put together on the turkey, they created a beautiful piece of art. We also worked cooperativly to make a class puzzle.  Each child recieved a blank puzzle piece which to decorate.  When finished, we put the pieces together to make a puzzle.  Inspired by one of our student’s desire to share home made jewelry with some of her friends, we decided to make friendship bracelets for one another.  This was such a fun activity, nearly everyone made one for school and one for home.   

In preparation of our Friendship Lunch on Thursday, we joined Kindergarten and listened to the story Stone Soup, which was retold and illustrated by Jon J. Muth.  In addition, we made butter by shaking heavy cream in jars, baked chocolate chip cookies, made some new placemats (which we will also use for BCD Soup) and we listened to another story about cooperation.  Our feast was fantastic!  On Thursday, the children helped set the tables.  Before eating, we listened to the story “Plump and Perky Turkey,” by Teresa Bateman and Jeff Shelly.  Our menu included spaghetti, sauce, meatballs, bread, butter, carrots, cucumbers, dip, juice and cookies.  It was great fun to work with our Kindergarten friends on this special event.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we will have members of the 8th Grade Peer Mentoring Program join us during 8th period, which is at the end of the day.  Sam joins us on Mondays, Ginger on Wednesdays and Jack and Isabelle on Fridays.  The students will help prepare projects, read to the children and play with the children.  Our Preschool students are very excited and really looking forward to spending time with their new older friends.

We would like to thank Jenny for treating the class to a delicious Lunch Bunch on Tuesday.  We put two tables together to make one long table.  It was quite fancy with real plates, tablecloth and silverware.  Jenny even brought us a lovely potted daisy for a center piece.

Each Preschool child was sent home with a star for our holiday gift giving program.  This is a voluntary activity. Our class is asked to provide a wrapped educational toy, book, or puzzle for a boy or girl aged 3, 4, or 5. Please attach your star to the gift so that it can be delivered to the appropriate destination..  The gifts from Preschool will be donated to Head Start in Lee. Please ask if you have any  questions about this program.  Gifts are due in the classroom by Monday, December 5th. 

Thank you for sending the orzo, we are looking forward to spying it in our soup on Tuesday.  Along with the orzo, each student is also asked to bring in an apple.  As a reminder, you are welcome to send in a regular lunch for your child on Tuesday, if you do not believe he or she will eat the soup.  Fruit, yummy rolls and butter will also be served with soup.  Dismissal for Thanksgiving Break will be at 1:00pm on Tuesday.  There are no after school activities on this day.   School will resume on Monday, November 28th. 

Important Reminders:

• Please be sure to send in a refillable drink container for us to fill with water.  In our efforts to be green, we try to refrain from using plastic cups.
• Please be sure to send neccessary flatware with your child’s lunch. 
• A variety of snack items is encouraged for young growing children.
• Please be sure to return Library books on Wednesdays. 
• If your child needs to have an item warmed up, please be sure it is in a microwave safe container.
• Please be sure to replenish extra clothes and please leave an extra warm layer in case your child is chilly.
• Leaving an extra pair of sneakers or other shoes in school is a good idea. 

 Dates to remember:

• Tuesday November 22nd: BCD Soup, 1p.m. dismissal (No After School Activities)  Thanksgiving Break, return to school Monday November 28th
• BCD Book Sale:  Monday November 28th through Friday December 2nd
• Friday, December 16th, Preschool Winter Solstice Party (details TBA)  Winter Break begins at 3:00pm
• Tuesday, January 3rd, School resumes

Enjoy the weekend!

Joni and Ellie

Hello Families,

Last Monday, we brought out our Halloween themed games and activities.  We traced and cut out orange pumpkins, which we turned into Jumping Jacks and Jackies!  The children added faces to their pumpkins and then added 2 legs and 2 arms.  They each had 4 strips of black paper which they folded accordion style to create the “jumping” effect.  We also took  a trip to Letterland to learn about Harry Hat Man.  We learned that he likes things to be quiet so you can hear his soft “h,h,h” sound.  He makes hundreds of hats and lives on a high hill. 

On Tuesday, our Peer Readers came over and we read some silly Halloween stories as a group. Our next visit will have the second graders reading to their Preschool partner.  We also had time to decorate our poem and song books for Halloween.  The children have been working hard to memorize many of the songs!

Some of the children helped Mrs. Olsen make our first batch of play dough last Wednesday.  We were hoping for blue, but it turned out light green.  The children explored with Halloween themed cookie cutters while manipulating the dough.  Harry Hat Man made a visit and we learned the poem to remember how to write his letter:

“Hurry from the Hat Man’s head down to his heel on the ground.  Go up and bend his knee over, so he’ll hop while he makes his sound.” 

Mrs. Caputo, who was teaching with Mrs. Olsen while Mrs. Atwater was away, visiting another school,  read The Vanishing Pumpkin, by Tony Johnston and then did a movement activity with the children.  They were thrilled and enjoyed having her as a guest teacher!

On Friday we went on our annual Pumpkin Walk.  We  joined the Kindergarten class and were thrilled when we spied something in the distance….it seemed to be a fairy….beckoning us to follow……which we did across the campus and to a field filled with magical pumpkins.  It was an adventure we will always remember.  You can see pictures of our adventure in an earlier blog. 

Monday greeted us with a chilly, snowy Halloween! Our classroom was overtaken by a Policeman, Rapunzel, a Fire Fighter, Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Thomas the Tank Engine, a Woodland Fairy, Batman, a butterfly and a jellyfish!  We had a wonderful parade around the BCD campus and got to show off our costumes to lots of “big kids” and faculty members.  Everyone said we all looked fantastic! In the classroom the children got to play in Witch’s Brew, which consisted of purple water with glitter and lots of snakes, spiders, bats and skeletons.  They also played with a number of dress-ups, the Pumpkin Pom-Pom Toss and Halloween cookie cutters with the green play-dough.  Margaret shared a really fun Halloween BINGO game, which we all enjoyed.  Each child received a Halloween pencil after reaching BINGO!  Our Halloweeny snack and lunch times were filled with yummy and healthy treats.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to our party, we had a spook-o-licious time. 

Tuesday we had our first recess in the snow.  We talked about the BCD snow rules that include: no throwing snow and no eating snow.  We encourage the children to work together to build snow sculptures and forts.   Please be sure your child has the following items to better enjoy their time in the wet snow: snowpants, a warm jacket, boots, hat, mittens(waterproof or resistant are best) and an extra pair of socks to change into.  These items can all be left at school if you wish.  Please be sure to label everything, so that we can ensure items are returned to you if misplaced.  Preschool will go outside everyday as long as the air temperature is reasonable.

We celebrated Ben’s Star Day on Wednesday. His mom, Courtney, dad, Andrew, and brothers James and Emmet joined us for Morning Meeting.  We learned that when Ben was little he loved to make his brothers laugh.  Now that he is bigger he continues to make his brothers laugh, but he also likes to play Spud.  Ben’s favorite food is yogurt and granola.  On vacation on a ranch in Wyoming, he really liked to go horseback riding.  His mom read us the silly story Imogene’s Antlers,  by David Small.  Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, was another story that he brought in to share.  Ben shared pictures of himself with his family, as well as his grandparents, cousins and friends on an IPad.  He did a fine job   They brought in apples and honey and delicious brownies to share with the class.  Happy Star Day, Ben!

On Thursday, November 17th we will join Kindergarten for our annual Friendship Lunch.  Earlier in the week we will spend time with our Kindergarten friends to prepare some of the courses of the meal.  As the details regarding the menu of this special feast unfold, we will let you know.  This is one way we celebrate being a part of a community. 

We would like to thank everyone for taking the time to join us for Parent/Teacher Conferences this week.  It is always nice to have the time together to reflect on your child’s experiences and development.  They have all grown so much in just the first two months of school!  Please let us know if you have any further questions, concerns or thoughts and we will be happy to schedule additional time to meet with you.   

A new set of book order flyers will be sent home next week.  Please feel free to order from these or place your order online with our activation code: J6XGN.   The book orders are due Thursday Nov. 17th and will be in before our Winter Break.  Remember that there is also the BCD Book Sale coming up Monday Nov. 28th through Friday Dec 2nd.  Happy reading!

 Important Reminders:

• Please be sure to send in a refillable drink container for us to fill with water.  In our efforts to be green, we try to refrain from using plastic cups.
• A variety of snack items is encouraged for young growing children.
• Please be sure to return Library books on Wednesdays. 
• If your child needs to have an item warmed up, please be sure it is in a microwave safe container.
• Please be sure to replenish extra clothes and please leave an extra warm layer in case your child is chilly.
• Leaving an extra pair of sneakers or other shoes in school is a good idea. 

 Dates to remember:

• Friday November 11th: No School, Veterans Day
• Tuesday November 15th: Lunch Bunch, Benson Family
• Thursday November 17th: Friendship Lunch with Kindergarten
• Friday November 18th: Pizza Friday
• Tuesday November 22nd: BCD Soup, 1p.m. dismissal.  Thanksgiving Break, return to school Monday November 28th
• BCD Book Sale:  Monday November 28th through Friday December 2nd

Enjoy the weekend!

Joni and Ellie

Hi Everyone! 

What a surprise the children had this morning!  We were sitting in the Kindergarten classroom listening to the story Big Pumpkin, when all of a sudden, Mrs. Patel noticed something orange and green flutter by the window.  It was the Pumpkin Fairy!  It was dancing about the courtyard, waving its magic wand.  It seemed as though it wanted us to follow, so we put on our coats and we did.  We followed it as it led us through the snow covered Cole Field and up on to the next soccer field.  We followed it as it went on Mike’s Trail.  It was great fun to venture through the forest as the sun was shining and beginning to melt the glistening snow.  It was glistening, like magic fairy dust!  All of a sudden, the trail opened up to the field behind Mr. Lindenmaier’s house and there it was!  The fairy was doing leaps and waving its magic wand around the field.  It invited us to come and take a look.  Lo and behold…it had left us magic pumpkins!  In all of the excitement, we didn’t even notice that it had flown away.  We started our trek back to the school in search of the Fairy, but we never did find it.  We asked everyone we met on our way if they had seen it.  Not even Mr. Frantz had seen it.  He had been in a meeting on the second floor when all of the excitement had occurred.  Here are some of the theories and thoughts the children had about our adventure:

Jacob:  ”We looked out the window in Kindergarten.  It was dancing and then it flied away.  The fairy went to make magic after going in First Grade and no one was there.  Or, she went home.  There were sparkles on the roof of the car.  It put a spell on each pumpkin.”

Margaret:  “The fairy was wearing an orange costume.  She was shy.”

Sam:  “She was waving the wand and pumpkins appeared on the ground every where.”

Tom:  “We found pumpkins on the soccer field.”

Ben:  “It all started in Kindergarten when Mrs. Patel shouted, ‘Oh!’  The fairy put a spell on the car that was driving.  It didn’t talk.”

 Gabrielle:  “She flew off and left magic.  I think the fairy went to Fairyland.”

Katelynne:  “We were listening to Big Pumpkin when she came.”

After we recalled the events of the morning, Mrs. Atwater took a look around the classroom to see if, perhaps, the fairy had visited Preschool.  Far off, in the Extended Day Room, she discovered a beautiful model of the Pumpkin Fairy!  Had it turned itself into a statue?!  It remains a mystery…until next Halloween!

Have a Safe and Fun Spooky Weekend!

Old Witch Atwater and Goblin Olsen

Hello Families,

Last Tuesday morning we celebrated Gabrielle’s Star Day.  Her Mom and Dad joined us for Morning Meeting and shared family photos of Gabrielle when she was little.  We learned that she was born in Texas and had a cat named Tiny that she loved to play with.  Her favorite food is sweet cereal and she likes to make up her own dances.  When Gabrielle went on vacation to New Hampshire, she enjoyed playing on the beach.  Gabi loves fairies and shared a wonderful book of poetry titled:  The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies, by Cicely Mary Barker.  The book inspired us to make our own woodland fall fairies on Wednesday.Gabrielle brought in delicious chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, sliced apples and angle food cake to share for snack!  It was very delicious.  Thank you Gabrielle and Happy Star Day!

Last week we met Firefighter Fred on our trip to Letterland.  He is famous for putting out fires with foam!  Near the farm, Firefighter Fred has friends and they are the fox, the frog, and the finch.  On Thursday we learned how to write the letter “f”.  The little phrase to help learn to write his shape is:

First draw Fred’s helmet. Then go down a ways. Give him some arms and he’ll put out the blaze.

We also finger painted with foam paint on the tables.  Using large white paper, we took prints of their creations before washing the gloppy mess up.  They are posted in the Berkshire Room.  Posted in the Long Room, are colorful feathery collages the children made using glue and feathers.  Inspired by Gabrielle’s Fairy book, we made Fall Fairies from clothespins, acorn caps and silk Fall leaves. 

Last Thursday, Mr. Uhas came and read to our class.  He is a middle school teacher and former preschool librarian.  Mr. Uhas read: The Great Gracie Chase Stop That Dog! by Cynthia Rylant.  The children loved this funny tale of a dog who likes things to be quiet.  He also read: What’s Your Sound Hound the Hound?  by Mo Willems.  We will continue to invite other faculty and staff members to be guest readers, as the children really like to meet other members of our BCD family.

Last week Reem, one of the 6th grade girls, helped out in our class and played with the children on the playground.  The children loved running with her on the playground and she is a great puzzle builder.  Perhaps she will join us again, soon!

This week we met Golden Girl from Letterland.  Golden Girl loves the color green and she has long golden hair, which she actually uses as a swing.  Her grandparents think she is a great gardener.  She grows tasty green grapes in her greenhouse.  She also has a pet goat.  Here is the phrase we learned when learning to write “g”:

Go round Golden Girl’s head. Go down her golden hair. Then curve to make her swing so she can sit there.

We also made a welcome banner for our Grandparents and Grand Friends tomorrow.  In addition, we talked about what we like to do with our grandparents and we read a number of Grandparent books.  Today, the children traced hearts, cut them out and glued photos of themselves on to the hearts.  They decorated the hearts with fall leaves and the teachers wrote their messages to their grandparents on the back.  The children will present their creations to their special guests tomorrow.  If your child will not be with us or he or she will not have a grandparent joining us, they can give it to them at another time, or even mail it to them via the U.S. Postal Service. 

Earlier in the week, the children created new Self-Portraits.  They will always be posted on the same bulletin board in the Berkshire Room.

One of our old friends, Jack, who was in Pre K last year, sent us a brand new Letterland puzzle.  He really loved meeting all of the characters and reading their stories.  In order to thank him, we drew pictures of our favorite Letterland characters and put them together to make a book.  We will send it to him in the mail.  Thank you, Jack!   

We would like to thank Jacob’s family for preparing and serving our first Lunch Bunch!  The children enjoyed mac n’ cheese, apples, chocolate chip cookies and rice krispy squares.  Our next Lunch Bunch is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15th. 

 As tomorrow we will be very busy with Grandparents and Grand Friends, we decided to post our newsletter today.  We will post seperate blogs about our fantastic trip to Ioka Farm on Tuesday and our special day tomorrow next week.  Much thanks to Paul, Jenny and Terri for joining us on our trip to Ioka.  It turned out to be a bit chilly, but fun!  Everyone got a pumpkin.  We also road on hay bales in the pumpkin wagon and we fed goats, geese, chickens and turkeys.  They also had some very interesting looking bunnies.  After spending a good amount of time sliding down the giant slides, riding the go-carts and playing with the ducks and the hand water pumps, we ate lunch at the gazeebo.  We would also like to thank Mr. B. for driving the bus and spending the day with us. 

As stated in our last newsletter, we will celebrate Halloween on Monday, October 31st.  On this day, children are invited to wear their costumes to school.  Costumes should be easy to put on and allow children to move about freely.  Please do not send irreplaceable accessories, as we cannot ensure that they will return home in the same condition that they arrive.  We know that the children may have other events to attend.  In addition, please refrain from allowing children to bring any pretend weapons, masks, or overly scary costumes.  Weapons are against classroom policy and  masks hinder vision and coordination. 

 Our Class Parent, Priscilla France, will be helping us organize Halloweeny treats.  A sign-up sheet will be posted in the coat room next week.  We will have a “trick-filled” Morning Meeting and then we will go on our annual Halloween Parade around the BCD campus.  Parents are welcome to join us for the parade.  Once we return to the classrooms and we say good-bye to parents, we will have our own celebration with special Halloween activities.  Special treats will be served for snack time and after lunch.  Please be sure to send in a set of clothes in a labeled bag for your child to change into whenever he or she is ready.  This should be a fun-filled morning!  

 Reminders to Note:

• Please send in the green paper leaves with your family photos on them.  We would like to decorate our Preschool Tree. 
• Please be sure to send in a refillable drink container for us to fill with water.  In our efforts to be green, we try to refrain from using plastic cups.
• Forks sometimes work better for pasta dishes.
• A variety of snack items is encouraged for young growing children.
• Please be sure to return Library books on Wednesdays. 
• If your child needs to have an item warmed up, please be sure it is in a microwave safe container.
• Please be sure to replenish extra clothes and please leave an extra warm layer in case your child is chilly.
• Leaving an extra pair of sneakers in school is a good idea for the days when we play in the wet grass in the morning.   

Dates to Remember:

Friday, October 28th, Pizza Lunch

Monday, October 31st, Preschool Halloween Party

Tuesday, November 1st, Family leaves with photos are due

 Thursday, November 3rd, Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30 -7

Friday, November 4, No School for Preschool, Parent Teacher Conferences 8a.m. to noon

Have  fantastic weekend!

Joni and Ellie

Hi Everyone,

 Monday morning we were greeted by our monarch butterfly!  Over the weekend the butterfly hatched out of its chrysalis. We carefully carried it out to the BCD flower garden and Mrs. Atwater gently scooped the monarch out of the habitat and onto a daisy petal.  Everyone was so excited to see it pump its wings and climb on the flowers.  We think it has started to make its way to Mexico.  Unfortunately, it was apparent that the second chrysalis was not going to mature into a butterfly.  It usually takes around 17 days for a chrysalis to open.  We observed that the second chrysalis has been formed for at least one month and we talked about the fact that it probably stopped growing and it will never turn into a butterfly.  We also speculated that the first butterfly may already have laid new eggs.  Thank you for sharing this special find with us, Henry!

On Tuesday we had our first Peer Reading with 2nd grade.  The 2nd grade students come to our classroom every other week and we share books.  for the first few times, one of the teachers read to the whole group.  Each preschooler has 2 reading partners.  This first visit was all about imagination, friendship and getting to know each other. Mrs. Olsen read, “When I Close My Eyes” by Ty Jackson.  The preschoolers then toured their peer readers around the classrooms and talked about what types of books they like to read.  We are very excited for our next gathering!

 On Monday, September 28th, we celebrated Margaret’s Star Day with her mom, Priscilla, Mrs. Freeman and her new baby, Mia, joining us for a special Morning Meeting.  We learned that Margaret was born in Guatamala and adopted by her mom and dad when she was three months old.  Margaret also has an older sister, Lucy, and a neice, Mia, in addition to Mimi and Poppa and a number of aunts, uncles and cousins.  She has one pet named “Moo,” who is a small white dog.  When Margaret was a baby, she loved to play with her baby gym.  Now that she is five, she loves to play on the playground!  Her favorite food is spaghetti and meatballs, but she was very surprised to learn that she also likes to eat lobster.  Priscilla read us the story “Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct,” by Mo Willems.  It is a fun story about a kind dinosaur who made cookies for everyone she met.  Margaret also donated this fun story to our classroom collection.  For a special treat, she brought in mini cupcakes with sprinkles, grapes, cheese sticks and juice pouches.  Thank you and Happy Star Day, Margaret!    

 Last week, we met Dippy Duck in the Letterland Duck Pond.  He has a “D” shaped door on his house and he loves to dip into the water in the duck pond.  He also grows daffodils and daisies around the duck pond.  Among his other interesting friends are dinosaurs and donkeys.  He also has a doll dressed in a dress, which may be donning a diamond!  We learned how to draw Dippy Duck’s “d” shape.  This is the saying to help them remember how to do it:

Draw Dippy Duck’s back.  Go round her tum.  Go up to her head.  Then down you come! 

On Wednesday, we painted dragonflies with glitter paint and on Friday, we dipped apples and crackers in honey.  This week we met Eddy Elephant.  He thinks it is very exciting to go to the Letterland fair!  In his story, we learned that he likes to show everybody how he can juggle eggs.  Although he’s not yet exactly an expert, he keeps on trying.  At the Letterland Fair, he also met Mr. E, the Easy Magic Man.  We also spied the “Entrance” and “Exit” signs on the tents at the fair.  We learned how to write Eddy Elephants “e” shape.  The saying to help us remember is:

Ed has a headband.  Draw it and then stroke round his head and his trunk to the end. 

 On Thursday, the children traced triangles and cut them out with scissors.  Before we began, we talked about what scissors are made out of, what it is okay to cut (paper) and how to use them in a safe manner.  We practiced positioning them on our hands and then cut along the lines of our triangle.  Today, we decorated the triangles, along with two strips of paper.  Once assembled, they made Eddy Elephant hats!  We will continue practice cutting and snipping all sorts of paper. 

For our Yoga poses, we added “Dinosaur”, “Dog”, “Dolphin”, “‘Do Nothing’” Pose, “Easy Pose” and “Elephant.”  The children are getting very proficiant in their yoga moves and enjoy the relaxing music that is played during yoga time.   

Friday was filled with excellent “e” activities.  We did an experiment with oil, water, salt and food coloring. The children observed that if you stir really fast, the oil and water will mix, but if we let the mixture sit, they separate!  A few children predicted that the oil would indeed “float” on the water!  We tried adding more water to one mixture and more oil to the other mixture: nothing helped as they observed; no matter what we did, the two liquids would not join together.  We plan on adding more simple experiments each week.  We also cooked eggs in 2 ways: hard boiled and scrambled.  This was a yummy experiment.

On Tuesday, October 18th, we will join the Kindergarten class for a trip to Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock.  We will travel by bus and will leave BCD at 9:30a.m.  We will have an early snack before we board the bus.  Once at the farm, we will visit the petting zoo, go on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, select a pumpkin to take home and have some time to play on their playground.  We will also bring our lunches to eat at the farm.  Please be sure that your child is dressed for walking about a farm and spending the morning outdoors.  Pants, sturdy shoes and layers work great.  Regarding lunches, please be sure to send forks, spoons and water bottles.  We will not be able to heat anything up in the microwave.  

Friday, October 21st is a very special day at BCD.  As you may be aware, it is Grandparents’ and Grand Friends’ Day.  On this day, parents should send lunch and beverages for all of their children and grandparents in the morning.  Please remember to send in a separate snack and beverage for your child for earlier in the morning at our 9:30 a.m. snack time.  Grandparents and Grand Friends will be escorted to the Preschool classrooms at 10:30a.m.  Preschool students, Grandparents and Friends will have a quick Welcome Meeting and then have time to play and explore the classroom together.  Lunch will begin for Preschool at 11:45a.m.  At 12:30, we will all go to Fitzpatrick Hall for a special choral presentation.  Grandparents will be dismissed at 12:45p.m.  Let us know, in writing, if your child will depart with his or her Grandparent or Grandfriend.  Parents may pick children up at the wall at 1:00p.m.

Some Guests will have more than one grandchild or grand friend to visit.  Our time together will be exploratory and informal.  These families have a number of options:

• Families with multiple Grandparents and multiple siblings may choose to divide their time equally, between different siblings’ classes, and then join together (preschooler included) in the oldest siblings’ classroom for lunch.   In this case, grandparents should return to the Preschool classrooms to collect the Preschool child and have lunch with the older sibling in their designated lunch area.
• Some families may choose to have one grandparent stay with one child and another grandparent visit his or her sibling.  For lunch, everyone can join together in the oldest student’s classroom. 

Please let us know ahead if your child’s guests will be in need of any special accomodations.  We would like them to be as comfortable as possible.   

Thank you so much for helping us coordinate this very special day.  If you have any questions, please let us know.  We are happy to help! 

Halloween is also fast approaching!  We will celebrate this fun day on Monday, October 31st.  On this day, children are invited to wear their costumes to school.  Costumes should be easy to put on and allow children to move about freely.  Please do not send irreplaceable accessories, as we cannot ensure that they will return home in the same condition that they arrive.  We know that the children may have other events to attend.  In addition, please refrain from allowing children to bring any pretend weapons, masks, or overly scary costumes.  Weapons are against classroom policy and  masks hinder vision and coordination. 

 Our Class Parent, Priscilla France, will be organizing Halloweeny treats.  We will have a “trick-filled” Morning Meeting and then we will go on our annual Halloween Parade around the BCD campus.  Parents are welcome to join us for the parade.  Once we return to the classrooms and we say good-bye to parents, we will have our own celebration with special Halloween activities.  Special treats will be served for snack time and after lunch.  Please be sure to send in a set of clothes in a labeled bag for your child to change into whenever he or she is ready.  This should be a fun-filled morning!  

A huge thank you to everyone who ordered from this past Scholastic book order.  We were able to purchase 18 new books for our class library!  The next order will be in November for holiday shopping.  I will again send home paper fliers and you are always welcome to order on line with our class code to help earn even more books for your children to enjoy while in preschool.

Reminders to Note:

• Please be sure to send in a refillable drink container for us to fill with water as children need it.  In our efforts to be green, we try to refrain from using plastic cups
• Forks sometimes work better for pasta dishes
• A variety of snack items is encouraged for young growing children
• Please be sure to return Library books on Wednesdays 
• If your child needs to have an item warmed up, please be sure it is in a microwave safe container
• Please be sure to replenish extra clothes  
• Leaving an extra pair of sneakers in school is a good idea for the days when we play in the wet grass in the morning   

Dates to Remember:

Monday, October 10th, No School, Columbus Day

Friday, October 21st, Grandparents’ and Grand Friends’ Day, all school dismissal at 1 p.m.

Friday, October 28th, Pizza Lunch

Monday, October 31st, Preschool Halloween Party

Have a Nice Long Weekend!

Ellie and Joni

Hi Everyone,

We would like to thank those of you who were able to join us for Back-to-School-Night.  The children thought that it was very funny to hear that their parents had an “Evening Meeting,” instead of a Morning Meeting.  We have also posted your Hopes and Dream clouds on your child’s painted heart.  If you did not have the opportunity to make one last night, we are happy to give you a cloud on which to write your Hopes and Dreams for your child this school year.

One of the highlights of our week was on Thursday, when author Ty Jackson visited Preschool and our Kindergarten friends to read his new book When I Close My Eyes.  Before reading the story, Ty spoke with the children about how he came up with the idea for his story.  His daughter is very imaginative and is always pretending she is doing all sorts of different things.  The girl in this story also loves to imagine she is in all different parts of the world and universe, interacting with all sorts of creatures and people.  He also shared that he had to search far and wide for someone special to illustrate his stories.  He finally found his good friend Jonathan Shears.  He also shared that he founded the company Big Head Books, so that he could publish his own books.  As quoted in his bio, “his mission is to introduce children of all cultures to the fun and empowerment of reading.”  Madame Whalen held up large copies of the illustrations on each page as Ty read the story to the children.  After reading it, he answered lots of questions and he had the children share ideas from their imaginations.  As a thank you, the children created an “Imagination Book” to send to Ty.  We truly enjoyed his visit and hope that he will return to read us his new book that will be coming out in the Spring.  He also handed out bookmarks designed to look like $1,000,000.00!  Danny Dollar, a character in one of his first books is on the bill.  We encourage you to visit his website dannydollar.com or bigheadbooks.com. 

As noted, this week the children met Clever Cat from Letterland.  Clever Cat lives near the Letterland Castle, where she likes to drink cups of cocoa and do her crossword puzzles.  She also likes to drive around in her car and help people with their problems.  She is very clever.  She also likes to cook carrots and cauliflower.  We also made Clever Cat masks.  Our yoga positions for the week included Candle, Cat, Cobra and Chair.  Next week we will meet Dippy Duck!

The children drew their first Self-Portraits of the school year.  Before starting, we talked about the fact that a self-portrait is a drawing of one’s self and it should include a head, a body, arms, hands, legs and feet.  We also asked them what we could add to the head.  Children were encouraged to look in the mirror to see what color their eyes and hair are, so that they can use those colors in their drawings.  The results have been posted in the Berkshire Room.  We will do new self-portraits every six weeks, or so.  Also related to our Self-Awareness unit of study, the children made paper figures of themselves.  This activity introduced glue sticks, as well as, what we call, “Gooey Glue.”  These beautiful creations will be posted in the classroom next week. 

On Tuesday, the children colorfully decorated squares of paper which were made into peace pin wheels.  In honor of International Day of Peace, we gathered with the entire school community around the Peace Pole.  The Third Grade students had also decorated pin wheels and we planted them all around the Peace Pole.  Mr. Frantz shared some reminders of living peacefully and taking care of one another.  Earlier in the day, we read Todd Parr’s story The Peace Book.            

Some of the Books we Read:

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein

Have You Got My Purr, by Judy West and Tim Warnes

The Peace Book,  by Todd Parr

The Little Kitten, by Judy and Phoebe Dunn

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig

Little Bear’s Friend, by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak

When I Close My Eyes, by Ty Allan Jackson and Jonathan Shears

Dates to Remember:

Thursday, September 29th, No School, Rosh Hashanah

Monday, October 10th, No School, Columbus Day

Friday, October 21st, Grandparent and Grandfriend’s Day, dismissal at 1 pm, details coming soon!

Friday, October 28th, Pizza Lunch

Monday, October 31st, Preschool Halloween Party, details TBA

Have a Nice Weekend!

Ellie and Joni

Hi Everyone,

We are very happy to share how well all of the children are adjusting to life in Preschool at BCD!  They are all learning how to sit peacefully and listen during Morning Meeting and most of them are comfortable raising their hands when having something to share.  We continued our Guided Discoveries and learned about the Small Building Toys, the Math Area, the Writing Center and the climbing bars.  On Thursday, the children painted with red, yellow and blue liquid water colors on large white paper.  After this initial painting was complete, each child was given a heart to paint.  Now that we have introduced all of the learning centers in the classroom, we asked each child what he or she hopes to do in Preschool this year.  Their thoughts have been recorded and attached to their painted hearts and posted above the classroom cubbies.  We will take some time next week to talk about how we will make sure everyone can achieve his or her Hopes and Dreams in a safe and productive manner.  From this discussion, we will generate our classroom rules. 

On Tuesday, we practiced writing “a,” for Annie Apple.  We do this by first, writing in the air with our fingers and next by sitting in small groups and practice tracing around the letter.  With each letter their is a simple phrase the children learn as they retain the proper way to write the letter.  The phrase for remembering how to write “a” is:

At the leaf begin.  Go round the apple this way.  Then add a line down, so Annie won’t roll away. 

This is just an initial exposure to writing.  Some children are ready to begin writing, while others’ fine motor skills are still developing.  Our activities are designed to plant the seeds of curiosity and interest in learning letter sounds and their shapes.

Continuing along with the Letterland characters, we met Bouncy Ben on Wednesday.  It was a beautiful day and we all had great fun pointing out words that begin with Bouncy Ben’s sound.  He lives in Letterland with his brothers who like to play baseball and ride in boats and hot air balloons.  Obviously, Ben loves to bounce about, making his b-b-b sound as he bounces his ball.  We also introduced paints using brayers and brushes.  The children made group butterflies and balloons by painting with blue and brown paint.  They are posted in the Berkshire Room and the Long Room.  On Friday, also in honor of Bouncy Ben, we baked brownies from scratch! We even got to taste test a few chocolate chips.  After washing our hands with soap and water, we made careful note of the recipe.  Everyone took turns measuring and mixing the batter.  While the brownies were baking, the children learned how to write the letter “b.”  The saying to help them remember how to form the “b” is: 

Brush down Ben’s big, long ears.  Go up and round his head so his face appears!

 The Brownies were delicious!  Next week, we will meet Clever Cat, the smartest Cat in Letterland!

During Morning Meeting, using a book entitled “ABC’s Yoga Kids,” we are learning yoga positions for each new letter introduced.  So far, we have learned the airplane, alligator, butterfly, bridge, boat and bird.

We would like to thank Henry for bringing two Monarch caterpillars to the classroom.  There is a large meadow near his home where the Monarchs love to munch on milkweed.  Everyone took a good look at the first caterpillar that climbed to the top of our butterfly garden.  It attached itself to the top and then curled into a “J”.   By the next morning, it had shed its outer skin and it was in the chrysalis stage.  The next day, the children also discovered the second butterfly had crept to the top of the habitat, where it slowly formed a “J,” as well.  The children are encouraged to draw their observations in the Science notebook.  The teachers also write the children’s observations in the notebook.  From time to time, we will read and share what has been recorded.  Thank you for sharing the caterpillars with us, Henry!

Back-to-School-Night for Preschool and Lower School is scheduled for this Thursday, September 22nd at 6:15pm.  During this meeting, we will share important information about the Preschool Program, Curriculum and schedule.  We will also share information about Responsive Classroom and how it is implemented at the Preschool level.  Specialty Teachers will also provide you with overviews of Preschool Music, French, Gym and Library. Presentations should conclude by 8:15pm.  This event is for parents only.  Childcare is not provided.  We hope that everyone will be able to join us for this important meeting.  If you are not able to attend, please let us know.

Today was our first Pizza Lunch.  Please check with your child to make sure that he or she had enough pizza or that they liked the kind of pizza they ordered.  Any changes in pizza orders must be made by Friday, September 23rd. 

Some of the Books we Read:

My New Boy, by Joan Phillips and Lynn Munsinger

Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

The Berenstains’ B Book, by The Berenstains

Fidgety Fish, by Ruth Galloway

How Deep is the Sea, by Anna Milbourne and Serena Riglietti

Butterflies and Moths, by Kathryn Knight

A Fish Out of Water, by Helen Palmer and P.D. Eastman      

Dates to Remember:

Monday, September 19th, Scholastic Book orders due

Thursday, September 22nd, Back-to-School-Night, 6:15pm, parents only, no childcare

Thursday, September 29th, No School, Rosh Hashanah

Monday, October 10th, No School, Columbus Day

Friday, October 21st, Grandparent and Grandfriend’s Day, dismissal at 1 pm, details coming soon!

Have a Nice Weekend!

Ellie and Joni

Hi Everyone,

We wanted to let you know that we had our very first all school fire drill today.  As the teachers were informed of the date and time the fire drill was to take place, we had the opportunity to talk with the children about fire safety and smoke detectors.  We discussed the fact that children should never touch matches, lighters, lit candles, nor fire.  Some of the children were also aware of the practice “Stop, Drop and Roll.”  As we expected the fire drill to take place on Wednesday, we began these discussions on Tuesday.  The actual drill was postponed until today, because of the rainy weather.  We also read some books about fire engines and fire fighters.  After reading the books and initiating these discussions, we talked about what we do at BCD when we hear the fire alarm sound.  We mentioned that the fire alarm is REALLY loud, so everyone can hear it.  We even practiced making the sound with our voices.  When they hear the alarm, the children have been instructed to stop what they are doing, whether it is eating, playing, singing, etc…and put down anything that is in their hands and line up at the door, with no talking.  We shared that the teachers will count the children, to be sure everyone is in line, and the teachers will lead them out to the berm(or tunnel) on the playground.  We also mentioned that while we are walking, we may see siblings, parents or other people we know, but we cannot run to them, nor can we talk; and our hands should remain at our sides.  We explained that we must not talk so that we can hear any important instructions from the teachers or from Mr. Frantz.  Once Mr. Bingham or the Fire Department gives us the “All Clear!”  we will return to the classroom, walking in a line and not talking.  We practiced our own fire drill two times, once, when we were playing and once when we were having snack.  Today, Everyone was prepared and they all did fantastic!  The alarm was really loud!  We will probably have another fire drill in the next few weeks.

This may be a good time to talk about fire safety at home and develop a family plan for evacuating your home when your smoke detectors or fire alarms sound.

With all of the rainy weather, we certainly have had plenty of time to explore the various learning centers in our classroom this week.  Using Responsive Classroom practices of Guided Discovery, we continued to introduce the Block Corner, Sandbox, Pretend Area, Train Table, Puzzles and The Book Corner.    When introducing a new center, we discuss how many students may work or play in that area at one time, how the materials in that area are and can be used and where those materials are stored.  With practice and reminders, the children are doing a fine job of learning to work and be with one another in the classroom.  Next week we will learn about the Small Building Toys Area, the Math Center and the Writing Center.  We will also establish our Hopes and Dreams for the year.  Each child will share what they “hope” to do in Preschool this year.  Once our Hopes and Dreams are posted, we will use them to develop our classroom rules.  These activities are also Responsive Classroom practices.

On Thursday, we read about Annie Apple, from Letterland.  Annie, a talking apple, lives in an apple orchard in Letterland and she sells apples from her apple stand.  Annie has many animal friends, such as the anteater, an alligator and the antelope.  On Friday, the children made Annie Apple head bands by stamping real cut apples with paint on to green bands.  We also had an “apple tasting” party.  We all sampled Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and MacIntosh slices.  It appears that the Gala slices were the class’ favorite.  Next week, we will meet “Bouncy Ben”, who is a brown bunny.  He loves to play with balls and bounce about. 

Books We Read:

A Day with Firefighters, by Jan Kottke

Fire Engines, by Anne Rockwell

Firefighter Fred, by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre

My Mom is a Firefighter, by Lois G. Grambling and Jane Manning

School, by Emily Arnold McCully

The Seashore Book, by Charlotte Zolotow and Wendell Minor

Curious George Goes to School, by Margret and H.A. Rey’s

From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle

Dates to Remember:

Friday, September 16th, Pizza Friday

Thursday, September 22nd, Back-to-School-Night, 6:15pm, parents only, no childcare

Thursday, September 29th, No School, Rosh Hashanah

Monday, October 10th, No School, Columbus Day

Have a Nice Weekend!

Ellie and Joni

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to Preschool!  We have had a very exciting two days in Preschool.  The children are getting to know one another and learning one anothers’ names.  In addition, using the Responsive Classroom practices of “Guided Discoveries,” we are slowly introducing various classroom areas and equipment.  This week, we learned how to sit during Morning Meeting (Criss-Cross Applesauce); how to “check-in” in the morning when we arrive; where the bathrooms are located; how and when we wash our hands; how we play in the Block Corner, how to use delicate touches to handle fragile things in the Science Area and how to use the markers.  We also made paper figures of ourselves to use on our “Home and School” banner.  We also learned some signals to use when needing to get every one’s attention.  The children are doing a great job remembering to put their toys and tools away when they are finished playing.  We hope that this is something they are working on at home, as well!  Thursday afternoon, we were invited to join Lower School as they played games on the playground.  We played parachute games with Mrs. Romano, Red Light Green Light, with Mrs. Frantz and Simon Says with Mrs. Allentuck.  After taking a walk to check out the swing in the Quad area, on Friday, we stopped by the picnic to pick up our order of hot dogs, watermelon, lemonade and chips.  Everyone had something to carry.  For those of us whom like hot dogs, it was very yummy! 

Next week, we will coninue introducing learning centers in the classroom and safe playing rules for the playground.  We might also take our first “trip” to Letterland!  Letterland is a language arts program we use to introduce letters and letter sounds.  Each letter is affiliated with a specific character whose name begins with that letter sound.  “Annie Apple”  will be the first friend we meet. 

We’ve posted a few pictures of our first two days of school for you to enjoy!

Happy New School Year!

Enjoy the Long Weekend,

Ellie and Joni

Hi Everyone,

The children have been busy, fluttering around the classroom, learning about butterflies.  They have learned that butterflies are insects, therefor they have a head, thorax, abdomen and six legs.  They also learned that butterflies have four wings, which are symmetrical, antennae and a proboscis, which they use to “sip” nectar from flowers.  They designed their own butterflies using cray-pas on black paper.  They also created their own insects using geometric shapes.  Once they selected the shapes for the three body parts and six legs, the children decided if their insects would have stingers, wings or other interesting features. They have been posted in the Berkshire Room for your enjoyment.  We have also discussed the fact that many insects have “compound eyes.”  You may have seen our compound eye glasses in the Science Corner.  Next week, we will talk about spiders, or arachnids, which are not insects. 

To add to our “living” Science Corner, Max brought in an aquarium of tadpoles from a pond for us to observe.  He also brought in a salamander he found for a day.  When finding a salamander, if you wish to borrow it to observe for a day, be sure to provide it with some water or moister and fresh leaves to hide under.  They do not like light.  Also, be sure, to return it to the same spot you found it, as it will return to the body of water where it was born as it searches for a mate.  Thank you for sharing your discoveries with us, Max. 

On Thursday, we celebrated our last Star Day.  Lyle’s mom and dad, Emily and Don, joined us for Morning Meeting.  Recently, Lyle has been attending Karate lessons, so he chose to wear his Gui throughout his special meeting.  He also demonstrated how the students bow to their teacher and call him or her “Sensei” upon entering the Dojo and as a sign of respect at the end of the class.  He also demonstrated some of the poses and how to fall in a safe manner.  We learned that when he was a baby, Lyle liked to wear his daddy’s shoes and sit on his dog, “Rosie.”  Now that he is five, he likes to do Karate and play on his swing set.  Lyle also enjoys riding his pony and playing sports.  His Photo Board was decorated with lots and lots of pictures of Lyle when he was just a brand new baby; his family;Lyle driving the boat;Lyle driving the tractor, Lyle skiing, Lyle building sandcastles at the beach and Lyle in a real hot air balloon, just to name a few!  He did a fine job of telling his classmates a little bit about each of the photos.  Emily read us ”Ten Timid Ghosts,” by Jennifer O’Connel and “Down on the Farm,” by Merrily Kutner and Will Hillenbrand.   Later in the morning we also read another of Lyle’s favorites “Do Your Ears Hang Low,” illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church.  For snack, Emily and Lyle got up in the wee hours of the morning to collect the eggs from their chicken to make brownies, chocolate chip cookies and pancakes.  To go along with the pancakes, we also had whipped cream, syrup, strawberries and blueberries.  This might be why it looked as though some children hadn’t eaten a thing all day long!  Lyle also brought in a star sticker for each of his friends and shared his bouncy pony, “Rody.”  Happy Star Day and Happy Birthday, Lyle!  Thanks for a great day.

As many of our students are not here on Friday afternoon, we decided to take our “Hike for Juvenile Diabetes” on Friday morning.  Thank you to those of you who sent in donations for this very worthy cause.  FYI, there is no due date for contributions.  Donations, no matter how large or small, are always accepted.  The Preschool students hiked on a little stretch of Mike’s Trail, located behind the Science Lab.  It was a beautiful morning and a great time for a hike!

On Wednesday, the children decorated bookmarks to say “Thank-you” to their Peer Readers.  We gathered in Second Grade on Friday for our final Peer Reading session.  We watched a slide-show projected on the wall, which included photos of some of the Second Grade students when they were 3, 4 and 5 years old, as well as photos of the teams reading together throughout the year.  After, we all enjoyed frozen fruit pops and strawberries on the playground.  What a great year of reading!

During the next two weeks of school, we will be taking time to reflect on the school-year and all that we have accomplished.  We will also review our ”Pre-K Hopes and Dreams,” that were posted back in September.  In addition, we will take the time to thank various members of our community for all that they did for us throughout the year.  ”Move-Up Lunch” will take place next Thursday. We choose to call it “Lunch with Mrs. Patel” and “Lunch with Mrs. Atwater and Miss Guerette.”  The children will bring their lunches to either the Kindergarten or The Berkshire Room.   This is a good time to talk with your child about plans you may have for them for the Summer and for the Fall.  We will talk about these plans during Morning Meeting next Thursday.

This Wednesday,June 1st, Preschool through Third Grade will celebrate Fun Day.  Please arrive to school before 8:30am.  Children should dress for playing games outdoors in the morning.  Sneakers are best for running games.  Children may also wear their bathing suits under their clothes.  After lunch we will have the opportunity to play in the water and, possibly, slide on a water slide.  You should also pack a towel, flip flops and a change of clothes.  Please apply sunscreen in the morning and pack some in his or her backpack for us to re-apply later in the day.  The PA will provide fruit for snack and there will also be a cook-out at 11:30am.  Hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and watermelon will be served.  Please feel free to send a regular lunch for your child, but do not include anything that requires heating up.  The Rain Date for this event is Thursday, June 2nd. 

Important Reminders:

• As the temperature has changed, please check your bag of extra clothes for your child to be sure everything fits and that there is a complete change of clothes
• On sunny days, please apply sunscreen before school.  Send sunscreen in your child’s backpack if you would like it reapplied later in the day.  Please label sunscreen with your name.
• Bring Library books back on Friday!  Please keep your eyes out for BCD Library books in your home collections.
• If lunch items need to be heated up, please be sure the container can be too
• Please be sure to include a spoon or fork when needed
• The Preschool classrooms open at 7:55a.m.
• Remember to have your child wash his or her hands before entering the classroom each morning
• Please be sure your child has sneakers and socks for the playground. Sandals, crocs, cowboy boots, etc. are not safe on the climber.
• It is good idea for children wearing dresses to also wear shorts or leggings.

Important Dates:

• Monday, May 30, No School, Memorial Day
• Wednesday, June 1, Field and Fun Day, details listed above.
• Thursday, June 2nd, “Lunch with Mrs. Patel” and “Lunch with Mrs. Atwater and Miss Guerette,” details listed above.   
• Wednesday, June 8, Last Day of School, Closing Ceremonies, ~ 11:30a.m.   Children will be dismissed to their families at the conclusion of this event.  All School Year End Picnic, ~ 12 noon, Families are invited to bring a picnic lunch and lay a blanket out on the BCD lawns, just like at Tanglewood!  Well…almost!
• Please remember to return Library books
• Please replenish extra clothing

Enjoy the Weekend!

Ellie and Joni