The Week before Thanksgiving

The children had a lot of fun doing many Thanksgiving based activities and learning about why we celebrate Thanksgiving.  We talked about an Indian man named Squanto and the Pilgrims and how they came over from England on a boat called the Mayflower.  We also talked about how much Squanto helped the Pilgrims to establish a life in Plymouth.  The children were excited to hear about the different ways Squanto helped and loved that he helped the pilgrim children as well.   As most of you have seen we have made a big tree in the dramatic play area.  This tree will be our "thankful tree."  The children have enjoyed coloring it brown and in the next couple days they will color in leaves to add to the tree.  Before adding the leaves to the tree, they will need to think of some things they are thankful for to write on the leaf.  Once the whole tree is complete it will have a bunch of different colored leaves on it with the children's thoughts.

The children made turkeys using their hands and feet for their body and wings.  We traced the children's feet and then asked them to cut it out for the body of the turkey.  Then they made the wings with their handprints.  The following day the children added feathers, eyes, and beaks to their turkeys.  The kids were very proud of them and loved how they came out.  Check them out!  The children also made placemats that they will be using at the Green Corn Dance (Thanksgiving feast) on Tuesday.

This week we worked a lot on numbers 1-20.  Not only on counting up to 20 but writing and identifying them as well.  We put out a lot of fun sheets on the bean table for the children to do.  The children were told that they needed to do at least two of the sheets but could do more if they wanted.  These sheets were all Thanksgiving themed.  The activities varied from follow the dots/numbers to two digit basic addition problems.  All of the sheets allowed the children to practice counting objects and writing the amount they counted.  Some of the children came right over and did all of them while others did the two that were required of them and then went back to their original centers.  The sheets varied in difficulty so all the children were able to feel confident and comfortable doing the work.  When the work was complete the children were given a choice about which ones they wanted to hang on the have-to job board and which ones they would take home.

The children had so much fun with the magician!  They were all laughing at his stories and all seemed very surprised with his tricks.  He did a lot of magic tricks where the children could participate with him by saying the magic words or making motions with their hands, which they of course loved.  He also did a really neat trick where he asked the children to come up and help him and ended up with a live goldfish in a glass.  It was great!

Here is what some of your children had to say when asked what a magician does....

"He's a magic man.  He makes things invisible." -OL

"Makes stuff disappear" -EH

"They disappear (The magician walked out of the class) SEE! I don't see him anymore" JL

"Make bunnies come out of their hats!" AR


MUSIC
We had a lot of fun singing Thanksgiving and Fall songs this week.  The children's favorite song is "Ted the Turkey," but they also enjoy "Pumpkin Pie."  We also did a lot of rhythms this week.  The children are getting very good at passing the rhythms as if they were passing a ball to each other.  They are all getting much better at writing rhythms using sticks and correcting a rhythm if it looks incorrect.

Thank you to the troops!

We had a very fun week and were very busy.  The children started the week by going outside, picking all different color leaves, and creating either an animal or a man with their leaves.  I read the story Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, which is about a leaf man that floats through different parts of the world and sees different leaf animals on his adventures.  The children got ideas from the story and chose what they wanted to make with their leaves and googly eyes.  The children made men, chicken, butterflies, and monsters with the leaves they had collected outside.  

Along with the have-to jobs, the children have enjoyed playing in the different centers of the class.  They have begun having a real interest in academics and bring numbers and letters/sounds into all the play.  In the dramatic play area the children were reading the number books to each other.  They would each take a specific number book and read it to the other children while counting the pictures on each page.  The children also have enjoyed using the tweezers to count and pick up the different foam shapes and put them in their proper number cups.  At this point we are concentrating on recognizing numbers 10-20.  The children have been getting a lot of exposure to these numbers in morning meeting and should master that skill soon.  They also have been using the number stamps to practice recognizing numbers but also properly forming them.

In order to celebrate Veteran's Day we talked to the children about what we were celebrating and why Veteran's Day is a holiday.  We also talked about what soldiers are and why they are so important to our country.  We decided that we would have the children write a letter to a soldier.  We brainstormed as a class what we would write and this is what your children came up with.  Here is the letter we will be sending to the troops.

Dear Hero,

We are writing from The Suzuki Preschool of Newton and we are the prek class.  We wanted to thank you for fighting bad guys and girls to protect us.  We wanted to say hi and we love you.  How are you doing? We are doing fine.  Where do you fight? How is your family doing?  We hope you are well.  Where do you live?  We are thinking of you and thank you!

Love,

The kids at the Suzuki Preschool of Newton

Along with this letter the children each made a American flag that we will send as well.  Each of the American flags the children made have what they want to be when they grow up on the back.  Here are what your children said:

When I grow up I want to be a...

Fisher -IG

Doctor -AR

Race Car Driver -AN

Soldier -AW

Big Sister -JL

Princess -HK

Superhero -SK

Doctor -AS

Nurse -CK

Princess -OL

Soldier -PR

Mommy -SB  

MUSIC

This week the children decorated their box violins and have started using them in music class.  They practiced placing them correctly on their shoulders and just getting used to having them.  They also have been learning Thanksgiving songs that we hear around the class all day!

  

First Week of November!

This week the children were given their tree journals and got to decorate their own.  Each child got a journal where throughout the year they will get to write their observations on a tree we picked out as a class.  The children were very excited to go outside, look at the tree, talk about it, and come inside and get started.  Their journals will be available for them by the window at the art table so if they see any major changes with the tree they can draw or write what they see.  Some children observed the hole in the tree and tried to guess what might live there, while others discussed the texture of the bark saying it was rough or scratchy.  Every couple weeks all the children will be asked to make an entry if they have not already.   Because of the recent snow fall we are unsure if the leaves will change colors or just fall off the trees but the children are eagerly awaiting to see. Also check out the recent have-to jobs that we have done this week! 

                                                     

The introduction to the mystery can was a big hit!  The children seem very excited to guess what their classmates have brought in and are eager to get a turn to take it home.  The mystery can is a fun way for all the children to bring in something from home and have an opportunity to share it in an exciting way.  The can helps children with letter/sound recognition and builds language skills.  They have to us description words to help the children guess what is inside.

MUSIC

This week the children have been working on high and low pitches and voice inflection.  The teachers drew lines up and down on the white board and then followed the lines making their voices move up and down.  They also started Thanksgiving songs with the children.  They have really enjoyed learning them and I am sure you are hearing them at home!

*This month is family literacy month!  Anyone who would like to come in and read their child's favorite book to the class is invited.  Please just let me know if you are interested in coming and we can make arrangements on the best times.  Also your child will be sent home with a piece of paper that looks like a book next week.  It will ask what your child's favorite book is and why.  We would like you to fill that out with them, bring it back along with their favorite book, and we will hang it in our class.  We will also make sure to read all of their favorite books to the class and have them on our bookshelf for the month.  

REMINDERS:

*If you have not done so already please bring in a box for your child's box violin.  We will be decorating them next week and would like all the children to have one.

*Please remember to bring your All About Me book if you have not already.
*School will be closed on November 11th for Veteran's Day.