Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley’s Class
IMPORTANT EVENTS
Friday, May 6th is the 20 Anniversary celebration for Timber Ridge. Please join us for the festivities. Your teachers will be involved in the annual Relay for Life kickball game that night. Don't miss out on that entertainment!!!
FYI- May 24 and 25th are Early Release days. Elementary school releases on those days at 1:30.
OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK
WOW!! Where has the year gone??!! May 2 begins the last month in the 2010- 2011 school year. We are continuing our unit about insects with the story “Over in the Garden” by Jennifer Ward. This story provides a nice transition to our previous week about caterpillars and butterflies. We will be still “see” butterflies in this story but we will also introduce the children to other insects found in a garden. The key concepts in this story will be counting and making sets using “bugs”; recognizing many familiar and maybe not so familiar bugs; number recognition; patterning; and we will touch on estimation. Of course we will be sorting, singing, dancing, doing science and playing.
So, how are our caterpillars doing, you are wondering? They have really grown this week- doubled in size- but none have started to make their cocoons (chrysalises). It looks like by Monday or early next week they will. It takes approximately 2 weeks for the butterflies to emerge once they are in their temporary “homes”. Then we will have our annual butterfly release.
Vocabulary Words:
garden praying mantis ladybug dragonfly snail bee poly-poly ants firefly pounce crawl zip slither buzz nibble roll march glow shady
Homework:
- Look in your yard or garden for the insects found in our vocabulary words. Can you find any of them? Where did you find them- under leaves, in the grass, in bushes, under rocks? Did they make sounds? How did they move?
- Look at pictures or videos on the internet of the vocabulary words bugs you were unable to find in the yard or garden. Ask and answer the same questions as in #1 if possible.
- Get a jar and try to catch a firefly one evening or night. Make sure the top has holes in it so the insect can breathe. Does a firefly light up when it is daytime? Make sure to release the firefly the next evening.
- Look under some rocks in a moister area to find some roly-polies (sow bugs). Touch it on its back. What happens? Why is it called a roly-poly?
- Find other bugs to examine with your child. Get a magnifying glass and watch how much they love to investigate what they find!
Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter and Number Time)
We have almost finished our alphabet. Please practice ALL the letter sounds with your children. This is one of the first steps when learning to read.
Our letter this week is letter Yy. The numbers this week will be the numbers 7 and 8.
Make sure you review the vocabulary sheets with your child. You can make this fun by making up riddles or descriptions about the pictures. Have your child guess which word is the one you are describing. Make an extra copy, cut both up individual pictures, turn over and play Concentration or a matching game. Be creative and have fun teaching your child.
Please review the numbers 7 and 8 daily. If they seem to be having any challenges with the previous numbers continue to incorporate those numbers into your daily reviews. Find numbers in books and magazines. Look for them on mailboxes, on the speed limit signs and in stores that you visit. Count and make sets with your child. To make numbers real and relevant to your child you must create awareness of them in their world.
More activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-
- 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.)
- Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
- ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
- 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.
f. Roll playdoh or other modeling clay into snakes and the letters.
g. Practice writing the letter shapes with their fingers on sandpaper; in rice, sand or flour; or hair setting gel in a sealed plastic bag.
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
