Mrs. Ernst

January 31- February 4

January 31- February 4

 

 

Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley's Class

A BRIEF REVIEW

We really enjoyed our unit on penguins and the other animals found in the colder regions of the earth. We discovered Antarctica on the globe and watched a penguin documentary to help the children get a better understanding of these fascinating creatures and their habitat. The children were intrigued with the salt and ice experiment. Do you know how to pick up a piece of ice using just a piece of string? They do!! They also discovered that more children in our class do not like to eat the food that penguins eat. We tasted tuna and salmon. The crackers were the best part of the food activity and penguins do not eat them. In one art activity they put on polar bear paws (thick athletic socks) and painted a snow scene using only the paws and white paint. Then, with a little magic cutting, the snow scene changed into a polar bear. So remember, if you see your child waddling around your house or in the community, they may be practicing to walk with an egg on their feet or just practicing their penguin walk.

FYI- Penguins live in different regions and climates below the equator.

Polar bears only live in cold weather regions above the equator.

OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

This week we will be moving to the rainforest. Our story is Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes is a poem that can also be sung to the tune of "Over in the Meadow". The story illustrates the relationship of the rainforest to the different animals, insects, birds and plants that inhabit it. Some concepts the children will work on are numerals and counting; rhyming words; animal attributes such as sounds, shapes and patterns and movements; and prepositional words.

 

VOCABULARY:

snake, parrot, monkey, ant, frog,

tree, rain, rainforest, spots, stripes

 

HOMEWORK:

1. Look at pictures (images) on the internet of rainforests and the animals that live there. If you have a globe point out where we live and where the rainforests are located. (Brazil has the world's largest rainforest.)

   Higher thinking question-

   What animals live in the rainforest?

   If you lived in the rainforest what animal would you like to be?

2. Go to http://christiananswers.net/kids/sounds.html to hear sounds from the rainforest. (Please note I am not endorsing this website. I found the varied rainforest sounds featured on this website work well for this unit.)

   Higher thinking question-

   What sounds do you hear in the rainforest?

What sounds do you hear when you are outside your home?

1. Create a rainforest trail mix. Measure and count the different amounts of the ingredients that are mixed together. Rainforest ingredients can include chocolate chips, dried bananas, dried mangos and papayas and coconuts.

   Higher thinking question

   What is your favorite ingredient?

   Using blocks, legos, or whatever is easy to use for graphing find out what your family members' favorite ingredients are.

    

Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter Time)

Our letter this week is letter Dd. Be looking for the vocabulary sheets to come home on Monday. Make sure that you go over these sheets and other activities with your child. As a teacher I can see how your efforts at home really make a difference at school. Thanks from me and your child!!!

 

More activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-

 

1. Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
2. Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
3. ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
4. Practice writing the letters.

   Strategies to use-

   a. Using a shortened normal sized crayon or pencil will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. The shortened length requires your child to have to hold the writing instrument using a more appropriate grasp. A crayon helps the writer increase pressure when writing. Pencils tend to slip easily and may not be the best instrument to use for beginning writers.

   b. Writing on a slanted surface such a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed. c. Writing with chalk on an easel encourages correct arm and hand position PLUS it increases the need to add pressure.

   d. While they are writing say the chants I sent home with your child will help remember the correct way to form the letters.

   1. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach. This is another way to reinforce the correct position for the arm and hand when writing.

 

Speech and Language- Miss Allison

Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.

 

Georgia Pre-K Content Standards Link

Here is a useful link to the Ga. Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years.

http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/ContentStandards.aspx

January 31- February 4

 

 

 

Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley's Class

A BRIEF REVIEW

We really enjoyed our unit on penguins and the other animals found in the colder regions of the earth. We discovered Antarctica on the globe and watched a penguin documentary to help the children get a better understanding of these fascinating creatures and their habitat. The children were intrigued with the salt and ice experiment. Do you know how to pick up a piece of ice using just a piece of string? They do!! They also discovered that more children in our class do not like to eat the food that penguins eat. We tasted tuna and salmon. The crackers were the best part of the food activity and penguins do not eat them. In one art activity they put on polar bear paws (thick athletic socks) and painted a snow scene using only the paws and white paint. Then, with a little magic cutting, the snow scene changed into a polar bear. So remember, if you see your child waddling around your house or in the community, they may be practicing to walk with an egg on their feet or just practicing their penguin walk.

FYI- Penguins live in different regions and climates below the equator.

Polar bears only live in cold weather regions above the equator.

OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

This week we will be moving to the rainforest. Our story is Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes is a poem that can also be sung to the tune of "Over in the Meadow". The story illustrates the relationship of the rainforest to the different animals, insects, birds and plants that inhabit it. Some concepts the children will work on are numerals and counting; rhyming words; animal attributes such as sounds, shapes and patterns and movements; and prepositional words.

 

VOCABULARY:

snake, parrot, monkey, ant, frog,

tree, rain, rainforest, spots, stripes

 

HOMEWORK:

1. Look at pictures (images) on the internet of rainforests and the animals that live there. If you have a globe point out where we live and where the rainforests are located. (Brazil has the world's largest rainforest.)

   Higher thinking question-

   What animals live in the rainforest?

   If you lived in the rainforest what animal would you like to be?

2. Go to http://christiananswers.net/kids/sounds.html to hear sounds from the rainforest. (Please note I am not endorsing this website. I found the varied rainforest sounds featured on this website work well for this unit.)

   Higher thinking question-

   What sounds do you hear in the rainforest?

What sounds do you hear when you are outside your home?

1. Create a rainforest trail mix. Measure and count the different amounts of the ingredients that are mixed together. Rainforest ingredients can include chocolate chips, dried bananas, dried mangos and papayas and coconuts.

   Higher thinking question

   What is your favorite ingredient?

   Using blocks, legos, or whatever is easy to use for graphing find out what your family members' favorite ingredients are.

    

Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter Time)

Our letter this week is letter Dd. Be looking for the vocabulary sheets to come home on Monday. Make sure that you go over these sheets and other activities with your child. As a teacher I can see how your efforts at home really make a difference at school. Thanks from me and your child!!!

 

More activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-

 

1. Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
2. Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
3. ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
4. Practice writing the letters.

   Strategies to use-

   a. Using a shortened normal sized crayon or pencil will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. The shortened length requires your child to have to hold the writing instrument using a more appropriate grasp. A crayon helps the writer increase pressure when writing. Pencils tend to slip easily and may not be the best instrument to use for beginning writers.

   b. Writing on a slanted surface such a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed. c. Writing with chalk on an easel encourages correct arm and hand position PLUS it increases the need to add pressure.

   d. While they are writing say the chants I sent home with your child will help remember the correct way to form the letters.

   1. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach. This is another way to reinforce the correct position for the arm and hand when writing.

 

Speech and Language- Miss Allison

Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.

 

Georgia Pre-K Content Standards Link

Here is a useful link to the Ga. Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years.

http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/ContentStandards.aspx

January 24-28

Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley’s Class

OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

The story for our last week of our winter unit and the first week of our environments unit will be “Penguin Pete’s New Friends” by Marcus Pfister. We will be learning about penguins that live in the colder regions of the earth and the animals that they may encounter. Our activities will include waddling races, balancing “snowballs” on our noses like a seal(with and without extra help from a paper cup) and tasting different types of canned fish to experience what the animals eat. We will also be measuring and comparing ourselves to the size of a penguin. Also, we will discover finding why penguins and some cold weather animals do not get cold while in the water.  Our key concepts will include environments, friendship, and sea animals this week.

Vocabulary Words:

penguin   whale   island   seal   sea lion   dream   fishing  

hole   balance heaving/ hauling

Homework:

 

1. Look at pictures or short videos on the internet or in magazines of the   penguins, whales, seals (in our story an elephant seal is featured) and sea lions. Listen to the way they sound and watch the way they move.
2. Look at pictures of people with their friends. Look at how they act with each other- caring, helping, sharing, smiling, etc. Discuss how to be a friend to others with your child.
3. Look at the cold environments in which these animals live- the frozen sea, icebergs, the frozen lands. Our story does include animals from both Polar Regions.  
4. Look at or watch people ice fishing on the internet.

Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter Time)

    Our letter this week is letter Jj. We will be reviewing this letter again next week. If they have not received the vocabulary and letter find sheets they will be coming home in their notebooks.

 More activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-

 

1. Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
2. Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
3. ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
4. Practice writing the letters.

Strategies to use-

a. Using a shortened normal sized crayon or pencil will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. The shortened length requires your child to have to hold the writing instrument using a more appropriate grasp.  A crayon helps the writer increase pressure when writing. Pencils tend to slip easily and may not be the best instrument to use for beginning writers. 

b. Writing on a slanted surface such a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed.  c. Writing with chalk on an easel encourages correct arm and hand position PLUS it increases the need to add pressure.

d. While they are writing say the chants I sent home with your child will help remember the correct way to form the letters.

5. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach.  This is another way to reinforce the correct position for the arm and hand when writing.

Speech and Language- Miss Allison

Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.

Georgia Pre-K Content Standards Link

     Here is a useful link to the Ga. Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years.

                    http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/ContentStandards.aspx

January 10-15

Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley’s Class

OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

The first week of our winter unit is completed. One of the activities the boys enjoyed was playing with the dump trucks and bulldozers to clean up the cotton ball snow from the road. During dramatic play time they dressed up in the winter clothing like the ones found in our story. They especially liked the boots – “too big for me”, the mittens and gloves and the stocking caps. They also were fascinated by our science experiment. Everyone helped to fill an aluminum can with ice and salt to create frost. We explored ice using the senses of touch, taste, sight and hearing. One way they discovered ice is made from water was by watching it melt.

This next week in our unit will focus on snowmen and outside winter activities. The story we will be reading is “Snowmen At Night” by Caralyn Buehner. The little boy wonders what snowmen do at night because his snowman does not look the same the next morning as it did the day before. Our key concepts from this week’s story will be winter activities, cold and hot, rhyming words and seasons. Some of our activities will include making snowman treats, having “sled” races, going “ice skating” and having a “snowball fight”. (Hopefully not with real snow but the weather may decide to provide the real thing.) For science we are going to do an "Ice Magic" experiment using salt, string and ice. We may even try to make some special snow using a shaved ice maker.

Vocabulary Words:

snowman   night   slide   sip   race   ice skate   giggle  

throw   sled   hot chocolate   sleepy   crooked   

Homework:

    1. Find items in your home or in the community or on the internet that are hot and cold. Examples of this include the floor vents; hot cocoa; the freezer and refrigerator; the oven and stove; ice cubes; snow; and soup. This is also good time to discuss any dangers some of these objects present to increase their awareness.

    Higher level thinking questions-

    What would happen if you walked in the snow without your shoes and socks?

    How do your feet feel when you stand on the vent when the heat is on? How does it feel with your shoes on and off?

    2. As a family activity make hot chocolate and cold chocolate milk. Make a chart to graph who likes the hot chocolate better and who likes the cold chocolate milk better. Which one did more family members like and which one did less family members like? Did all family members like both drinks (same)?

    3.As a family have snowball races with brooms. Everyone gets a broom (using whisk brooms is interesting way to play and can be less dangerous) and a paper snowball. Starting on a line everyone must sweep their snowball to the finish line. You can work on counting skills by taking turns and counting how many sweeps it takes each person to get from the starting line to the finish line. Be creative and have fun.

    4. Make snowmen out of construction paper. When completed measure them using different types of items such as cookies, paper snowballs, carrots. If you are making more than one, make them different heights. Which is longer? Which is shorter?

 Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter Time)

Our letter this week is letter Jj.

Be looking for the vocabulary and letter find sheets

coming home in their notebooks.

 More Activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-

1. Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
2. Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
3. ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
4. Practice writing the letters.

Strategies to use-

a. Using a shortened normal sized crayon or pencil will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. The shortened length requires your child to have to hold the writing instrument using a more appropriate grasp.  A crayon helps the writer increase pressure when writing. Pencils tend to slip easily and may not be the best instrument to use for beginning writers. 

b. Writing on a slanted surface such a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed.  c. Writing with chalk on an easel encourages correct arm and hand position PLUS it increases the need to add pressure.

d. While they are writing say the chants I sent home with your child will help remember the correct way to form the letters.

  e. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach.  This is another way to reinforce the  correct position for the arm and hand when writing.

 Speech and Language- Miss Allison

Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.

 Georgia Pre-K Content Standards Link

     Here is a useful link to the Ga. Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years.

                    http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/ContentStandards.aspx

January 4-7

Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley’s Class

 

OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

 

Happy New Year to 2011!!!

WOW-- can you believe we had snow during the break???!!! That will really make the next unit much more meaningful to each student. I hope everyone got to play in it before it melted.

January begins our winter unit. Our focus this week will be the clothes we wear in the winter, particularly in the snow. The story we are reading is The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel. In this story a little girl gets dressed to play in the snow and undressed to enjoy a warming treat after coming into the house. The sequenced rhyme describes what she is wearing and where each piece of clothing is worn. This is written using a form called rebus. The author first writes the word then uses pictures to represent the word as the story progresses. This style makes it fun for the children to be able to "read" along. It helps to increase their awareness that letters create words and that written words have meanings.

Some of the key concepts include hot and cold, winter activities, clothing, seasons and sequencing. Our art projects this week will be centered on several of the items of winter clothing found in the story. In science we are going to explore ice and frost. We will play some dressing games, sing some winter songs and use scooter boards for classroom sled races. For the weekly food activity we are going to make hot chocolate- yum!

 

Vocabulary Words:

jacket   zipper  scarf  stocking cap  mittens  sweater  jeans  boots 

socks  long underwear  snow  wear  hot  cold  tears

 

 

Homework:

 

1. Help your child learn to put on his coats or other outwear  independently if unable to do so.
2. Practice learning to fasten fasteners on clothing. Practice buttoning, zipping and snapping. This can be done while they are wearing the clothing or not.
3. Look at pictures on the internet or in magazines of the way people dress during the winter and the summer. Discuss the different and the same pieces of clothing worn in the pictures.

Higher level thinking questions:

What do you wear in the winter? What do you wear in the summer?

Is it hot or cold outside in the winter (in the summer)?

How would you feel if you wore a swimsuit in the snow? How would you feel if you wore a coat to the pool in the summer?

 

 

        Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter Time)

    Our letter this week is letter Ss. Be looking for the vocabulary and letter find sheets coming home in their notebooks.

 

         More Activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-

1. Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
2. Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
3. ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
4. Practice writing the letters. Using a shortened crayon will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. Also, writing on a slanted surface such as writing on a chalkboard or a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed. Saying the chants I sent home while they are writing will help them remember the correct way to form the letters.
5. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach.

 

Speech and Language- Miss Allison

Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.

 

Georgia Pre-K Content Standards Link

     Here is a useful link to the Ga. Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years.

                    http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/ContentStandards.aspx