November 8, 2013

 Dear Parents,

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is almost here?  The children have been busy preparing for this holiday.  Each child traced and cut out a yellow feather and dictated what they were thankful for.  Ozi was thankful for his Woofy; Nathaniel was thankful for his toys; Nina was thankful for her teacher, Hattie was thankful for Bede (her brother); Liaan was thankful for the teachers; Ella was thankful for her pretend baby; and Delia was thankful for her sister Chloe; and  I am thankful for the best class ever!

 The children then cut and decorated orange feathers, for our turkey “Ted,” using, stickers, sequins, and feathers. They also decorated his body with pompoms, and added a head with eyes, a beak and even a waddle.  Please stop by our classroom and look at the handsome turkey your children made, which are displayed on our bulletin board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had a special visitor on Wednesday, Rachel and Ozi’s Mom, Kathryn.  She did an incredible job teaching the children yoga.  Some of the children actually stood on their head.  Thank you Kathryn for a great class!

 

 

 

 

This week in music with Lisa was so much fun.  The children learned some new songs, including Bow Wow Wow, where the children passed around a dog and each child sang his or her name. They also practiced singing some Thanksgiving songs.  In violin, the children practiced the rest position song and continued to practice the bunny bow holds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                        

 

We began making our Thanksgiving centerpieces by painting a brown base and a “campfire.”  We look forward to continuing working on our centerpieces next week.

 

Love,

 

Ms. Bonne and

Ms. Barbara

 

 

 

 

November 1, 2013 Newsletter

Dear Parents,

We prepared for our Halloween celebration by making the most adorable pumpkin puppets.  The children cut out clothes, added eyes and added various types of stickers.

The children seem to really enjoy baking.  They used their large muscles to knead the dough and then roll it.  They used various types of cookie cutters to cut out leaves, pumpkins, and acorns.  They then decorated them with sprinkles.

 

The class collaged a large pumpkin which we displayed on our classroom door.

The children practiced tracing and writing the letter "E."  They also came up with a list of words beginning with the "E."  Some of the words were: elephant, Ella, Emma, eggs, and end.

"We love to read"

 

                                                   " Just relaxing with a good book"

The children did an amazing job at music with Christine.  They sang the Five Little Pumpkins song; Fit and Fly, using scarves;  and Halloween is here, the circle dance. 

 

We had a fantastic Halloween party.  The children enjoyed decorating pumpkin cookies and creating Halloween puppets.  The children looked absolutely adorable in their costumes, marching in the parade.    They also enjoyed singing some Halloween songs with Lisa, our music teacher. 

 

We would also like to welcome our new friend Sophia.  We are all  so excited to have her in our class!

 

 

Love,

Ms. Bonne and
Ms. Barbara

Next week we look forward to beginning our Thanksgiving unit.

Quarter Note Class Newsletter

Dear Parents,

We continued our autumn theme by creating fall collages, using pumpkin stickers, leaves and shredded paper.  Some of the stories the children enjoyed listening to were: Mouse's First Fall, by Lauren Thompson and Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin, by Rick Walton.






In music class this week with Lisa, we went to the beach and made castles in the sand.  We also listened to sounds of waves, seagulls and motorboats and then imitated their sounds.  We counted five seagulls on our fingers and watched as they flew away one by one.  Their favorite song of the week was "Shoo-fly", which we dance as a big circle.  I could hear the kids still singing it while they were playing outside! In violin, we have learned the parts of the violin and the bow, plus are working on developing the shape of our bow holds with our "bunny bow holds".  Ask your kids if they can show you how to make one!

The highlight of the week was when Richard, from Curious Creatures, visited the school.  The children had a chance to pat, and even hold the creatures. Some of their favorite animals and reptiles were a boa constrictor, a chinchilla, a tortoise, a bearded dragon lizard,  and an alligator.  What a fun learning experience it was for the children.

 

Today we made the most delicious pumpkin muffins. The children not only had a great time baking the muffins but eating them as well. They were so delicious!  The children learned how to measure, crack open an egg, and even had a chance to decorate the muffins with a real  pastry bag.

 

Next week we look forward to beginning our Thanksgiving unit.

Notes:  Parent Conferences will be scheduled on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.  A sign up sheet will be posted in the classroom.  If this time is not convenient for you, please let me know. 

It is getting very cold outside. Please make sure you send your child to school with the proper outdoor clothing.

Please bring your child to school on time.  We will be starting our meeting time promptly at 9:15.  This is a very important part of the day and we don't want your child to miss it. 

Love,

Ms. Bonne and
Ms. Barbara

October 18, 2013 Newsletter

Dear Parents,

We began our fall theme by going on a nature walk.  We collected pine cones, wild flowers, and leaves.  We then went back to our class room and sorted through the leaves and all of nature's treasures.  The children chose all of their favorite leaves and  flowers and stuck them onto clear contact paper. Please stop by our classroom and see how beautiful they look displayed in our windows.  We also painted a large brown tree and attached some painted leaves to it.  





 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Some of the stories the children enjoyed listening to this week were:  Why do Leaves Change Color?, by Betsy Maestro and Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert.  We then had a discussion about trees and leaves. We talked about the benefits of trees, such as they provide oxygen, fruits, and provide us shade from the sun.   We now know that the wood from the trees can be used to build houses, furniture and boats.  
 
After taking a closer look at the leaves, we found that different types of trees produce different kinds of leaves such as oak, maple, pine, elm, and birch. We also discovered that leaves come in all different shapes and sizes.  Some leaves are large, small, round, pointy, long, and short.
 

 
 
The children seemed to enjoy painting at the easel this week.  They seemed to like experimenting with paint by  mixing all the colors together.  They also traced and cutout a pumpkin shape, which they marble painted.

 
 
 

         












                "Hi Dad, I am at school."
  

  

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Next week we will continue our fall theme by decorating pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds.
 
Love,
 
Ms. Bonne and
Ms. Barbara