Center Fun...

I thought it would be nice to give you a snap shot of what your children do when they come into the room everyday. When they enter they follow a simple routine. First, the kids get out their folders and check them for their homework and important papers. Second, they get to explore one of our classroom centers. This allows children to have some social development and exploration time at the beginning of each day for approximately 15 minutes. The centers include: Writing, Science, Computer, Reading, and Math. The children rotate through the centers each week. Some of the centers have a specific task or they are exploratory. For example, the math center this week chidlren have been exploring pegs and geo boards. The allows children to look at balance, patterns, adding, subtracting, etc. The writing center this week has allowed children to explore their own writing on various papers. We have had story paper and grid paper. A group of children in the afternoon decided to create a graph at the center with the grid paper. The morning group worked together to create a story about animals. It is so much fun to talk with the children and watch them learn during this time...

Report Cards...

On Monday your child will bring home their 3rd quarter report card. Please review it and if you have any questions please let me know. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have. If your child does not bring home their report card it means you have an outstanding balance on your school fees. You need to have paid $30 of the $40 school fee to receive the report card. You will receive a letter if you owe.

New Faces...

We will have some new faces in the classroom in the upcoming week! In addition to Mrs. Duncan, we will have two more student teachers joining us from March 29 to the end of the school year. Mrs. Duncan will be with us through the end of April. Ms. Sizler and Ms. Hildebrand will be in our classroom on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Ms. Sizler will join the AM class and Ms. Hildebrand will join the PM class. These two students are in their junior yeat at the University of Cincinnati and are majoring in Early Childhood Education. They will be designing various lessons for small and whole group. Ms. Sizler and Ms. Hildebrand will not be taking over full teaching responsibilities, but will conduct various lessons. Just like Mrs. Duncan, I will be reviewing their lessons and will be in the room with them while they are teaching. I will be helping and providing feedback. I am looking forward to working with these students and having them help your children!

Library, Here We Come...

Since this is the beginning of the 4th quarter, it means our special area has changed. We finished Music last week with Mrs. White and this week we will begin going to Library with Mrs. Vastine! The children will go on Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon! This is a change for the PM children. We typically have our special areas on Tuesdays, but we have changed this to Friday! Your child will be able to check out a book from the Library for one week. If they bring it back on their Library day, they will be able to check out another one. I recommend to keep the book inside their book bag unless you are reading it. This helps keep the book in a safe place!

Class Collections...

We are collecting aluminum and cans this week for our math and science lesson. We will be sorting, counting, and graphing the various items brought in for our project. We will also discuss recycling and the importance of doing something to help the earth. If you can send in any aluminum or cans for our project, this would be fantastic. I appreciate all of your help!

Counting On...

This week we played "WAR!" The children were practicing the idea of counting on from a larger number. This is such a great way to help children begin the idea of counting on and the beginning of addition. The children draw two cards and then decide which card is bigger. We slap the card and say the number aloud. We then count on from the respective number while touching the other card. The child who has the largest number wins the cards. You could modify the game to the person with the lowest number wins the cards. This allows the children to practice numbers larger and smaller. I noticed some of the children able to look at 2 and 3 and add quickly and say "5." It was such a fantastic day watching the children learn and grow through the use of this game! You may want to try it at home...I would love to know what you all think...

Out of the Building...

I just want to let everyone know I will be out of the building tomorrow! Mrs. Null will be our guest teacher. Mrs. Duncan (our student teacher) will be here as well teaching the class! I know the children will do a fantastic job! I look forward to seeing the kids on Monday.

Word Search Fun...

As I think back to my childhood one of my favorite things to do was word searches and I continue to love them. This is a great inexpensive way to help your child learn. This activity also can be used for all levels of children. Children who may not be able to read all the of the bigger words can use this as a way to find letters and groups of letters; whereas, the children who can read most of the words can look for the whole words in the puzzles. This activity is great for siblings to do together and for you to do with your children. There are many word search books you can purchase at the grocery store or book store. You can also find them on the internet for FREE! We have completed some in the classroom and the children LOVE them! Enjoy...

Field Trip...

We are currently planning our annual trip to the Cincinnati Children's Museum on April 30. We would love to have chaperones join us for this fantastic trip. The children are able to explore scientifically and experiment with many various objects and items. This a great hands-on experience for the children; however, if you wish to join us you will need to be fingerprinted! This is extremely important and is for the safety of all children. You will want to have your fingerprints taken at the West Clermont Board of Education Office (located on Aicholtz Road, behind Biggs). This is free of charge. It can take a couple of weeks to process; therefore, it is my recommendation for you to have your fingerprints completed early! If you want until the week of or the week before the field trip, they may not be cleared in time. We are looking forward to this trip. We will be sending out more information in the upcoming weeks!

Reading Fun...

As I was observing Mrs. Duncan today during reading it amazed me how much the children have learned! It was great to observe and it gave me time to reflect upon the year. It seems like yesterday we walked through the door for the first time and we started our study of letters and sounds. We have come from identify just beginning sounds to identifying beginning, middle, and ending sounds. Many children are beginning to blend words together and can read simple books. Furthermore, the children are thinking about their reading and telling me what happened in the story. I also noticed an area where we need further practice. The children are getting confused with the letter q. The letter at times has a hook and does not and the children need to be able to identify both. You may want to practice this letter at home along with the letter p. This will help them distinguish the two letters. Keep up the great reading...it is great to have your children reading to you and you reading to them!

Class Pictures...

Just a reminder we will have class pictures and individual pictures on Thursday, March 11. If you would like to purchase a class photo, then you need to send in the picture envelope with money. If you just want individual pictures, there is no money due at this time. Make sure your child is at school on time becuase our picture time is early in each session and I would hate for someone to be late and miss our class picture! Make sure to look your best and bring a great big smile to school!

Kindergarten Registration...

March is an important time in many districts in Ohio. This is the time we register children for Kindergarten. During the week of March 22, we will be having Kindergarten Registration for incoming Kindergartners to W-T. If you have a child or know of a child who will be attending Kindergarten next year please call to set up an appointment. If you have a child or know of a child who is currently enrolled in a West Clermont Preschool, you still have to complete the kindergarten registration. This year we will be registering at the Board of Education office. You will need to call 943-5000 to set up an appointment. There are some required items you must bring to the registration. You will be able to find this list on the West Clermont website (www.westcler.org) along with other information regarding Kindergarten.

Happy Birthday...

Happy Birthday Yann! I hope you have a fantastic day. Thank you for the FANTASTIC cookies!

Learning Overflow...Graphing Fun...

It was an overflow of learning in the classroom the past two day. We have been having fun graphing! The children came up with their own surveys to ask everyone in the room and took th information and made a graph. The children were loud and moving quickly throughout to get to their friends to find out information. If anyone peeked into our room, you would wonder what was happening; however, if you asked the children what was happening they would say "We are graphing," "We can find out information," "We can ask questions," and much more. I was AMAZED by how much the children have learned about surveys and graphs. I was further AMAZED by their math thinking. The children were telling me certain pieces were "equal" or "I only need 3 more of something to have the most." Angel stated "Oh my goodness, this is so much fun! Look at my graph." Grady mentioned "I cannot wait to find out what my friends think." Trenton said "Can we call our friends at Amelia and ask them?" In addition, the children had to practice their writing as they wrote their question and the chioces. It was an overflow of learning because we were able to learn so much!

We are off and running...

We are having a fantastic week! The children are trying their hardest. The morning class was able to go to Music today with Mrs. White and the PM class will go tomorrow :) The children are working hard on their letters and sounds. In Read Well the children are doing a fabulous job on their units. We are working on writing stories with 2-3 sentences. In math, we are working on making our own graphs. I look forward to showing you some of their fabulous work! I cannot believe it is March. It seems like yesterday they were walking through the door in their shorts and tee-shirts into the "hot" classroom. We have come so far and I can only imagine what else we can accomplish in the next three months!

Closing Ceremonies, but it is only the beginning...

Today we celebrated the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games! We had a fantastic two weeks of studying the Winter Games. We learned so much and met so many of our friends! We are looking forward to talking with Kellie Stack, 2010 Silver Medalist in US Women's Hockey. We will be talking with her with Ms. Van Eman's class. We were able to meet children in Kansas City, Texas, and Amelia. We compared and contrasted our graph and made LOTS of observations. We also found out interesting facts about the Olympic rings, Canada, and the various athletes. We also wrote about our favorite sport and athlete. It was overwhelming in my class with Shani Davis being their favorite. We loved speed skating. Many children also liked snowboarding with Shaun White. Even though the Olympics have come to a close, we are just beginning our technology journey. We will be continuing to Skype with our friends throughout the month.

I want to say thank you to Mrs. Crouch who provided an Olympic surprise to the PM class today. We had Olympic cookies and gold medals! I must say I have been very proud of all the children in both classes...I have received many compliments from our friends on how respectful you have been! You are all great children and deserve a Gold medal!

I am looking forward to our other fun units of study!