Group Meeting: We are starting to wrap up our study of Castles/Medieval times. While the children have enjoyed it, we will be starting Reading Month on Monday and Tuesday. Our focus will be on various children's author/illustrators. We will keep the castle up for playtime until the children move on to something else.
Small Groups: Habitat was the vocabulary word in our Let's Find Out magazine for today. The video demonstrated several habitats and the animals that live in them. After the video, we discussed the kind of habitats that we have in this area, particularly the river habitat.
Story: The story for today was A Bean, A Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack by William Joyce. This was a version of the familar tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. The kingdom was without water. The plants, animals and people had no water to drink or to bathe in. King Blah Blah Blah was without water to wash his "stinky pinky." Princess Blah Blah Blah went to the wizard seeking his help. Ask your child to tell you what happened next.
Large Group: The children in the Yellow Group brought items for Show and Tell.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Cc.
Snacks: The morning class snack was pretzels, apple slices, and milk brought by Emmett A. The afternoon snack was peanut butter, jelly, bread, and milk brought by Jayce. Thank you, Emmett and Jayce!
Parent/Teacher conferences will be held on Monday and Tuesday evening. Preschool classes will not be held on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Group Meeting: Our movement video for today was about the four seasons. We are finally getting some Spring weather, so it was fun to talk about the different seasons.
Small Groups: The children helped me create a class story for our Castle/Medieval study. They dictated the story to me. Then, they drew pictures in their writing journals to go with the story. I'll be sharing these with you next week during conferences.
Story: Because we wrote and read a story today at Small Group time, we skipped story time and spent that time outdoors. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I wanted to get as much time outdoor as possible.
Large Group: The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Yy.
Snacks: The morning snack was cheese sticks, Goldfish and juice brought by Daphne. Thank you, Daphne! The afternoon snack was Club crackers, cheese sticks, and milk.
Small Groups: The children helped me create a class story for our Castle/Medieval study. They dictated the story to me. Then, they drew pictures in their writing journals to go with the story. I'll be sharing these with you next week during conferences.
Story: Because we wrote and read a story today at Small Group time, we skipped story time and spent that time outdoors. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I wanted to get as much time outdoor as possible.
Large Group: The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Yy.
Snacks: The morning snack was cheese sticks, Goldfish and juice brought by Daphne. Thank you, Daphne! The afternoon snack was Club crackers, cheese sticks, and milk.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Group Meeting: Today we added a dungeon to the castle just in case we caught an enemy that wanted to invade. We also added two horses made with pool noodles.
Small Groups: The class is in the process of writing a story to go with outrCastle/Medieval study. Today, we made a list of characters, settings, and possible problems for the story. Tomorrow, we will narrow down our choices and begin writing.
Story: The story for today was The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. This is the story of a prince who was searching for a real princess. A young lady appears at the castle door during a rain storm and claims to be a real princess. The queen isn't so sure. She thinks of a way to tell if this young lady is a real princess. Ask your child to tell you what happens next.
Large Group: The children went to the Outdoor Classroom. Hooray! I thought we were never going to get out there!
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Ww.
Snacks: The morning snack was Goldfish, applesauce, and juice brought by Clara. The afternoon snack was pears and milk brought by Evelyn. Thank you, Clara and Evelyn!
Small Groups: The class is in the process of writing a story to go with outrCastle/Medieval study. Today, we made a list of characters, settings, and possible problems for the story. Tomorrow, we will narrow down our choices and begin writing.
Story: The story for today was The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. This is the story of a prince who was searching for a real princess. A young lady appears at the castle door during a rain storm and claims to be a real princess. The queen isn't so sure. She thinks of a way to tell if this young lady is a real princess. Ask your child to tell you what happens next.
Large Group: The children went to the Outdoor Classroom. Hooray! I thought we were never going to get out there!
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Ww.
Snacks: The morning snack was Goldfish, applesauce, and juice brought by Clara. The afternoon snack was pears and milk brought by Evelyn. Thank you, Clara and Evelyn!
Monday, March 25, 2019
Kings, Queens, and Knights, Oh My!
Group Meeting: Today, we are learning about the people who lived in the castle and their roles.
Small Groups: We not be getting into our small groups this week. Instead, we will be working on the castle by adding a moat and a dungeon. The children can make knight helmets and crowns for kings and queens. I'm adding a picture of the morning class knights. I'll take more pictures tomorrow when our crowns are dried.
Story: The story for today was In the Castle by Anne Milbourne. This book illustrates what the people of medieval times did in the castle. The king sat on the throne and gave the orders. The ladys in waiting did the cooking, cleaning, and sewing. The knights protected the castle from those who wanted to invade.
Large Group: The children participated in a Castle Challenge. The class was divided into two groups representing two kingdoms. Each kingdom had to defend it's castle. Our ammunition was bean bags. The children had to throw bean bags back and forth trying to have the least amount on their side of the kingdom.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Qq.
Snacks: The morning snack was grapes, pretzels, peanut butter and juice brought by Carter. The afternoon snack was Scooby snacks and milk brought by Carson. Thank you, Carter and Carson!
Small Groups: We not be getting into our small groups this week. Instead, we will be working on the castle by adding a moat and a dungeon. The children can make knight helmets and crowns for kings and queens. I'm adding a picture of the morning class knights. I'll take more pictures tomorrow when our crowns are dried.
Story: The story for today was In the Castle by Anne Milbourne. This book illustrates what the people of medieval times did in the castle. The king sat on the throne and gave the orders. The ladys in waiting did the cooking, cleaning, and sewing. The knights protected the castle from those who wanted to invade.
Large Group: The children participated in a Castle Challenge. The class was divided into two groups representing two kingdoms. Each kingdom had to defend it's castle. Our ammunition was bean bags. The children had to throw bean bags back and forth trying to have the least amount on their side of the kingdom.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Qq.
Snacks: The morning snack was grapes, pretzels, peanut butter and juice brought by Carter. The afternoon snack was Scooby snacks and milk brought by Carson. Thank you, Carter and Carson!
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Group Meeting: We broke away from the Castle study for a Rainbow Day. It was Birthday Day as well. We combined the two for some fun activities.
Small Groups: Our Let's Find Out Magazine was about rainbows. We watched a video about what conditions will create a rainbow. We did not complete the back page of the magazine. I hoping that they will complete it at home. The afternoon class took it home today, but we forgot to put it in the cubbies for the morning class. We will send it home on Monday.
The children made Rainbow Toast for snack time. Rainbow Toast is made by painting colored milk onto a piece of bread. We put the bread in the oven to toast it and the milk evaporated. We added a little butter when it came out of the oven. It was delicious! If you would like to make it at home, add food coloring to a little milk. Use a small brush or Q-tip to put the milk on the bread being careful not to soak it. Put the bread in the toaster and add whatever topping you'd like.
Story: The story for today was Skyfire by Frank Asch. Little Bear has never seen a rainbow before. When one appears in the sky, he thinks the sky is on fire. He tries to put it out with a pot of water. Little Bird tries to find the gold at the end of the rainbow. Ask your child to tell you what he finds at the end of the rainbow.
Large Group: The Red Group brought items for Show and Tell.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Hh.
Snacks: The children had Rainbow Toast, Birthday Brownies and juice.
Small Groups: Our Let's Find Out Magazine was about rainbows. We watched a video about what conditions will create a rainbow. We did not complete the back page of the magazine. I hoping that they will complete it at home. The afternoon class took it home today, but we forgot to put it in the cubbies for the morning class. We will send it home on Monday.
The children made Rainbow Toast for snack time. Rainbow Toast is made by painting colored milk onto a piece of bread. We put the bread in the oven to toast it and the milk evaporated. We added a little butter when it came out of the oven. It was delicious! If you would like to make it at home, add food coloring to a little milk. Use a small brush or Q-tip to put the milk on the bread being careful not to soak it. Put the bread in the toaster and add whatever topping you'd like.
Story: The story for today was Skyfire by Frank Asch. Little Bear has never seen a rainbow before. When one appears in the sky, he thinks the sky is on fire. He tries to put it out with a pot of water. Little Bird tries to find the gold at the end of the rainbow. Ask your child to tell you what he finds at the end of the rainbow.
Large Group: The Red Group brought items for Show and Tell.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Hh.
Snacks: The children had Rainbow Toast, Birthday Brownies and juice.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Group Meeting: The paint is dry, so we are putting up walls and decorating the outside of our castle. We had many children interested in making candles, flags, flowers, and other things to put on the outside walls of the castle.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group
Story: Today's story was a re-read from two weeks ago. I read The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. The children helped me read it this time by filling in the words that I would leave out. They were especially ready to read the line "Ronald, you are a bum." Ask your child to tell you why Elizabeth tells him that.
Large Group: The children participated in a color the numeral activity. Around the room were placed castle pictures with colored numerals on them. The children had to find the numerals and color the numeral on their paper the same color.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Xx.
Snacks: The snack for the morning class was pretzel rods, strawberries and juice brought by Brody. Thank you, Brody! The afternoon snack was graham crackers and juice.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group
Story: Today's story was a re-read from two weeks ago. I read The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. The children helped me read it this time by filling in the words that I would leave out. They were especially ready to read the line "Ronald, you are a bum." Ask your child to tell you why Elizabeth tells him that.
Large Group: The children participated in a color the numeral activity. Around the room were placed castle pictures with colored numerals on them. The children had to find the numerals and color the numeral on their paper the same color.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Xx.
Snacks: The snack for the morning class was pretzel rods, strawberries and juice brought by Brody. Thank you, Brody! The afternoon snack was graham crackers and juice.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Castle building begins
Group Meeting: Plans were made to paint the castle walls today. At play time, the children were invited to grab a roller and grey paint to help paint the cardboard that will create our walls.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group
Story: The story for today was King Arthur's Great Grandson by Kenneth Kraegel. Henry Alfred Grummorson is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Arthur, King of Britain. On his sixth birthday, with a helmet and sword, He
nry goes in search of adventure. He challenges a
fire-breathing dragon to a fight, but the dragon prefers a game of
blowing smoke rings. A cyclops wants only to have a staring contest. Henry tries to engage several other mythical monsters with no luck. Finally at the end of the day, he finds something that he didn't realize that he was looking for. Ask your child to tell you what it was.
Large Group: The children played "Jump the Moat". We placed two jump ropes on the ground to represent the moat. The children took turns running and jumping to try to get across the moat without getting their feet wet. We made the moat get bigger to increase the challenge.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Rr.
Snacks: The morning class snack was graham crackers, peanut butter, and milk brought by Arlo. Thank you, Arlo! The afternoon snack was Scooby snacks and juice.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group
Story: The story for today was King Arthur's Great Grandson by Kenneth Kraegel. Henry Alfred Grummorson is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Arthur, King of Britain. On his sixth birthday, with a helmet and sword, He
Large Group: The children played "Jump the Moat". We placed two jump ropes on the ground to represent the moat. The children took turns running and jumping to try to get across the moat without getting their feet wet. We made the moat get bigger to increase the challenge.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Rr.
Snacks: The morning class snack was graham crackers, peanut butter, and milk brought by Arlo. Thank you, Arlo! The afternoon snack was Scooby snacks and juice.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Group Meeting: It was good to be back at school. We took a few minutes to talk to each other about what we did during our week of Spring Break.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed below along with the schedule for today.
Activity #1 (Red Group) The children learned to play a new game called Letter Queen. Each child had a game board with three squares on it. The goal was to fill the squares with a picture of the queen, her necklace, and her crown. The children took turns drawing cards from a pile. If the card had a letter printed on it, they had to name the letter and put it in the discard pile. If the card had a picture of the queen, her necklace or her crown on it, they placed it on their game board. The first person to fill their game board was the winner.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group) The children sorted the Kings Crown Jewels. They decided how they should be sorted. The children thought of color, shape, and size.
Activity #3 (Green Group) The children listened to the story In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming. They answered questions about the story and talked about the colors that they saw in the pictures.
Story: The story for today was The Knight and the Dragon by Tomie DePaola. In this story, a knight is learning how to fight a dragon, and a dragon is learning how to fight a knight. Neither of them is very successful. So, at the end of the story, the princess suggests an idea. Ask your child to tell you how the story ends.
Large Group: The children are going to be building a classroom castle in the play area. Today, we make a list of things that we would like to have included on our castle. The list included towers, a drawbridge, windows, a dungeon, flags, a moat, and turrets. Tomorrow, we will begin by painting the cardboard that we received. After it dries, we will add the other items.
Letter Learning: The morning class learned about the letter Nn. The afternoon class took a break so that the morning class could catch up from missing a day due to snow. Tomorrow, we should be back to the same letter :)
Snacks: The morning snack was Nutrigrain bars and milk brought by Addy. The afternoon snack was Goldfish, apples, and juice brought by Brayden. Thank you, Addy and Brayden!
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed below along with the schedule for today.
Activity #1 (Red Group) The children learned to play a new game called Letter Queen. Each child had a game board with three squares on it. The goal was to fill the squares with a picture of the queen, her necklace, and her crown. The children took turns drawing cards from a pile. If the card had a letter printed on it, they had to name the letter and put it in the discard pile. If the card had a picture of the queen, her necklace or her crown on it, they placed it on their game board. The first person to fill their game board was the winner.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group) The children sorted the Kings Crown Jewels. They decided how they should be sorted. The children thought of color, shape, and size.
Activity #3 (Green Group) The children listened to the story In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming. They answered questions about the story and talked about the colors that they saw in the pictures.
Story: The story for today was The Knight and the Dragon by Tomie DePaola. In this story, a knight is learning how to fight a dragon, and a dragon is learning how to fight a knight. Neither of them is very successful. So, at the end of the story, the princess suggests an idea. Ask your child to tell you how the story ends.
Large Group: The children are going to be building a classroom castle in the play area. Today, we make a list of things that we would like to have included on our castle. The list included towers, a drawbridge, windows, a dungeon, flags, a moat, and turrets. Tomorrow, we will begin by painting the cardboard that we received. After it dries, we will add the other items.
Letter Learning: The morning class learned about the letter Nn. The afternoon class took a break so that the morning class could catch up from missing a day due to snow. Tomorrow, we should be back to the same letter :)
Snacks: The morning snack was Nutrigrain bars and milk brought by Addy. The afternoon snack was Goldfish, apples, and juice brought by Brayden. Thank you, Addy and Brayden!
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Grown Up Day!
Group Meeting: The children introduced themselves and their grown-up to the class. We danced to Zap it, Zap it, by Koo Koo Kangaroo.
Small Groups: The children watched a video about Spring weather that corresponded with their Let's Find Out Magazine. The grown-ups helped us complete the page on the back.
Story: The story for today was The Bravest Knight by Mercer Mayer. In this story, a boy wishes he lived in the times of kings and queens so that he could be a knights squire. He would fight dragons with the knights and battle the troll.
Large Group: After watching a video about catapults, the children created their own with Popsicle sticks. They used puff balls as the ammunition for the catapult.
Snacks: The children and grown-ups had a Chex mix and juice.
Thank you very much Grown-ups for coming today!
Next week is Spring Break. School will resume on March 18th. Enjoy!
Small Groups: The children watched a video about Spring weather that corresponded with their Let's Find Out Magazine. The grown-ups helped us complete the page on the back.
Story: The story for today was The Bravest Knight by Mercer Mayer. In this story, a boy wishes he lived in the times of kings and queens so that he could be a knights squire. He would fight dragons with the knights and battle the troll.
Large Group: After watching a video about catapults, the children created their own with Popsicle sticks. They used puff balls as the ammunition for the catapult.
Snacks: The children and grown-ups had a Chex mix and juice.
Thank you very much Grown-ups for coming today!
Next week is Spring Break. School will resume on March 18th. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Draw a Castle
Group Meeting: For Where is it Wednesday, the children searched the classroom for spheres. We will be looking for 3D shapes throughout the classroom when we return from Spring Break.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group
Story: The story for today was The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Ronald live in a castle. One day, a dragon destroys the castle, including the princess' dress, and carries Ronald away to his cave. The princess finds a paper bag to wear as a dress and hurries off to rescue Ronald. The princess tricks the dragon into falling asleep. She rescues Ronald. Ask your child to tell you what Ronald says and how Elizabeth replies.
Large Group: The children watched a video about how to draw a castle. They watched it for a second time, and as I paused the video, they copied the process. I was amazed at how well they drew!
Letter Learning: The letter for the morning class was Mm. The afternoon letter was Nn.
Snacks: The snack for the morning class was animal crackers, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Abby. The afternoon snack was mini pancakes and juice brought by Avani. Thank you, Abby and Avani!
Tomorrow is Bring A Grown-up to School Day. We are looking forward to seeing everyone!
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group
Story: The story for today was The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Ronald live in a castle. One day, a dragon destroys the castle, including the princess' dress, and carries Ronald away to his cave. The princess finds a paper bag to wear as a dress and hurries off to rescue Ronald. The princess tricks the dragon into falling asleep. She rescues Ronald. Ask your child to tell you what Ronald says and how Elizabeth replies.
Large Group: The children watched a video about how to draw a castle. They watched it for a second time, and as I paused the video, they copied the process. I was amazed at how well they drew!
Letter Learning: The letter for the morning class was Mm. The afternoon letter was Nn.
Snacks: The snack for the morning class was animal crackers, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Abby. The afternoon snack was mini pancakes and juice brought by Avani. Thank you, Abby and Avani!
Tomorrow is Bring A Grown-up to School Day. We are looking forward to seeing everyone!
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Who lives in a castle?
Group Meeting: We have started a study of Medieval times and castles. The children have a note in their bags today to let you know what we are doing and things that we are looking for.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group
Story: The story for today was A Year in a Castle by Rachel Coombs. This book describes what people in the castle might have been doing throughout the year. This book is a seek and find book. After reading the text, the children are directed to find the people in the castle. Tomorrow, this book will be available to the children during play time so that they can find all of the characters on the pages.
Large Group: The children learned about the hierarchy of the castle. The king was at the top followed by nobles and church people. Next came the knights followed by the peasants. We discussed the roles that they had within the castle.
Letter Learning: The morning class learned about the letter Ll. The afternoon class learned about the letter Mm.
Snacks: The morning class snack was bananas, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Rory. The afternoon snack was cinnamon graham crackers and juice brought by Asher. Thank you, Rory and Asher!
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post. The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group
Story: The story for today was A Year in a Castle by Rachel Coombs. This book describes what people in the castle might have been doing throughout the year. This book is a seek and find book. After reading the text, the children are directed to find the people in the castle. Tomorrow, this book will be available to the children during play time so that they can find all of the characters on the pages.
Large Group: The children learned about the hierarchy of the castle. The king was at the top followed by nobles and church people. Next came the knights followed by the peasants. We discussed the roles that they had within the castle.
Letter Learning: The morning class learned about the letter Ll. The afternoon class learned about the letter Mm.
Snacks: The morning class snack was bananas, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Rory. The afternoon snack was cinnamon graham crackers and juice brought by Asher. Thank you, Rory and Asher!
Monday, March 4, 2019
Castle Study
Group Meeting: This week, we are going to begin as study on Castles and Medieval Times. I will be sending home a note about this study tomorrow.
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed below as well as the schedule for today.
Activity #1 The children played the game "Where is the Knight?" In a pocket chart, I had placed castles with the numerals 1-20 printed on them. The children took turns hiding a picture of a knight behind one of the castles while the rest covered their eyes. The children took turns guessing where the knight was by saying the numeral printed on the castle.
Activity #2 The children were given a castle with the upper case letters printed on it. The teacher displayed a lower case letter. They identified the letter and stamped it's match.
Activity #3 The children listened to the story Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells and answered questions about the story.
Story: The story for today was The Medieval Feast by Aliki. The King is coming to visit! The lord and lady of Camdenton Manor must work quickly to prepare for his arrival. It will take weeks to ready rooms, set up tents, and prepare the feast itself. Ask your child to tell you something that the King and Queen ate during the feast.
Large Group: The children looked a three pictures of castles. They finished the sentences "I see...,
I think..., and I wonder.... This will help us begin our study.
Letter Learning: The morning letter was Ff. The letter in the afternoon was Ll.
Snacks: The children in the morning class had muffins and milk brought by Noah. The afternoon snack was crackers and juice brought by Anaya. Thank you, Noah and Anaya!
Small Groups: The activities for this week are listed below as well as the schedule for today.
Activity #1 The children played the game "Where is the Knight?" In a pocket chart, I had placed castles with the numerals 1-20 printed on them. The children took turns hiding a picture of a knight behind one of the castles while the rest covered their eyes. The children took turns guessing where the knight was by saying the numeral printed on the castle.
Activity #2 The children were given a castle with the upper case letters printed on it. The teacher displayed a lower case letter. They identified the letter and stamped it's match.
Activity #3 The children listened to the story Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells and answered questions about the story.
Story: The story for today was The Medieval Feast by Aliki. The King is coming to visit! The lord and lady of Camdenton Manor must work quickly to prepare for his arrival. It will take weeks to ready rooms, set up tents, and prepare the feast itself. Ask your child to tell you something that the King and Queen ate during the feast.
Large Group: The children looked a three pictures of castles. They finished the sentences "I see...,
I think..., and I wonder.... This will help us begin our study.
Letter Learning: The morning letter was Ff. The letter in the afternoon was Ll.
Snacks: The children in the morning class had muffins and milk brought by Noah. The afternoon snack was crackers and juice brought by Anaya. Thank you, Noah and Anaya!
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