Fabulous First Week

     Wow, we made it through the first week of Preschool.  We started out week by exploring the classroom in a scavenger hunt.  The children were given pictures of different classroom materials and had to locate them.  The children also completed their first portfolio entry.  Each child was asked to write his/her name, age, and draw a self portrait.  We will look back at these pages at the end of the year to see how far we've come.    We have also been talking about our classroom rules and learning all the routines and expectations.  All of the children are adjusting quickly and doing great!
    

     The children have been very interested in working in the block area.  They have built many towers, roads, and other great structures this week.  Other children have been busy in the dramatic play area, sensory table, and playing learning games.  It's been a busy first week!

     On Thursday, we were visited by our Speech-Language Pathologist - Ms. Jutte, our Occupational Therapist - Mrs. Graves, and out Physical Therapist - Ms. Lisa.  The therapists will be in the room each Thursday to work with children individually and in groups.  They have a lot of fun activities planned for this year.

REMINDERS...

•  If you have not turned in paperwork or school supplies, please do so as soon as possible.
• T-Shirt orders are due this week.
• Have you turned in your Family Photo Album page?  The children love looking at these photos all year long. 

HOMEWORK...

    In previous years, our preschool homework has been mostly paper and pencil based.  This year I am going to be trying a strategy for homework.  I have been creating parent-child activity bags.  In the upcoming weeks, I will begin sending the bags home with students on Thursdays.  The bags will contain an activity (with instructions) for your and your child to complete together.  These activities are designed to reinforce the skills we are working on in the classroom.  There will occasionally be a paper and pencil homework assignment, but I plan to mostly use the activity bags.  More information soon!  I also hope you are practicing letter names and sounds with the flash cards that were in your welcome goody bags.

COMING UP NEXT...

     Our surprise class pet will be arriving this week.  We will be making predictions about the type of pet.  Once our pet arrives, we will be talking more about it and deciding on a name.