Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Hello Parents,

Diwali was a great success, and we would like to thank everyone who participated in this event. The children were certainly excited!!  This week we will be having an all school pumpkin hunt on Thursday , and a field trip to the Children's Museum on Friday.  What a great way to wrap up the month!!  

The children will be wrapping up their scarecrow and pumpkin themes this week, and we have definitely had great fun!  Next week the students will begin focusing on leaves, trees, and seeds.  The children will learn about different types of trees, including deciduous trees.  They will learn about the leaves that change in the Fall, and learn to distinguish the differences within their characteristics.  

The students will also be focusing on rhythm and motion while reciting nursery rhymes.  During the rhyme and rhythm theme, we will be asking the children to use different parts of their body in a kinesthetic learning activity.  This will also be a great following directions excersize, or listening comprehension activity because the Teacher will ask the students to use a particular body part without modeling this motion for the students.

Balloon Parents:  Ms. Richmond  has sent home a homework assignment this week using patterning and memory recall.  Both of these activities are incorporated into the classroom on a daily basis, and you could continue these activities throughout the year with your child.  These activities are simple, easy, and fun for your student!  


November Artists & Authors

Koosha
Ryan

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

October Fun!!!

Hello Parents!!


We would just like to start off by thanking all of the parents who have brought in donations for the Class Academy Auction!  The baskets are filling up, and the items that you have donated are sure to be a hit!  

We have been having a lot of fun this past week while learning about scarecrows and measuring our pumpkins!  The children have enjoyed the fall festivities, and seem to be excited about the "pumpkin hunt" that will be taking place at Class Academy at the end of the month.  We have previously asked the parents to bring in hay and clothes so that the students can dress up as scarecrows during our Fall themed activity.  Many of you have already brought in these items, but there is no need to worry if you have not had the time to gather these materials.  We have managed to acquire additional hay and clothes that can be shared amongst the students for this activity.

Perhaps the most exciting event that will be taking place this week will be the celebration of Diwali on Friday the 24th.  The school calendar has marked this event to occur on the 28th, but don't let this fool you...we will be celebrating at the end of this week!  The Balloons and Toucans will enjoy this festive occasion while the students participate in creative activities, listen to stories, and learn about the culture and history incorporated with this traditional Indian holiday.  Many parents have offered to bring in traditional Indian clothes for the students and teachers to wear, and we would like to thank them again for all of their help.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Hello Parents!

Hello Parents!

We would like to thank all of you for attending "Back to School Night" this past week.  We hope that you all enjoyed speaking with Ms. Richmond and Mr. Butler, while learning about the curriculum that will be implemented this year.  We definitely enjoyed speaking with all of you! 

 We have recently been learning about hibernation and migration in our Science theme, while learning about different animals. The children have been playing fun games and acting out these activities, which has been very exciting!  The "Me Bags" have been a huge success, and the students seemed to really enjoy talking about their items with the class.  Next we will be moving on to our pumpkin and scarecrow themes!!  The students will learn the purpose of a scarecrow, and work on sorting and categorizing their pumpkins.  The pumpkin activity will encourage the students to observe characteristics and learn which pumpkin is smaller/larger, heavier/lighter, etc.  Please bring a pumpkin to school for your child to use in this activity.

We have had a lot of fun with your students this Fall, and we are very excited to continue the school year with some exciting events coming up very soon.  The annual Class Academy Silent Auction is quickly approaching, which means that it is time to make your donations!!  You may have noticed that there have been "Class Baskets" located near the office and common area.  Each class is designated a themed basket, and the families may contribute items to their CLASS Basket.  These items should be kid-focused, and relatively inexpensive ($1-$15).  The donations are usually very popular because the students are very excited when Mom and Dad bring them a donation from the auction!  The Balloon's theme is "dress up", which means that parents could bring costumes, dress up clothes, make up, jewelry, face paints, and anything else that you can think of.  The Toucan's them is "game zone", which means that any type of board games, card games, video games, or outdoor games would be appropriate.  Baskets will be in the school foyer until October 24th.

Also, at the end of this month we will be celebrating the Indian holiday Diwali.  This holiday is known as the "Celebration of Lights",  and will be held on Tuesday October 28th.  The teacher's will dress in traditional attire, and we will have activities planned in relation to this event.  If any parents have suggestions or would like to be involved please speak with Mr. Butler or Ms. Richmond.  We would love to hear your input!  Another exciting event that is coming up at the end of the month is the field trip to the Children's Museum on Halloween.  We are in need of chaperones on this day, and would appreciate any help that is offered.  Parents may speak with Ms. Vann or Ms. Hintz regarding this matter.