Green week was so great! Letter Ff was fffun to sound out and we also learned the number 9 poem. We twirled around in our green clothes, spelled and sang all about green and then named everything we could think of that was green. Dani even showed us her green underwear, proof of wearing green so she could line up ahead of others. Too funny! The third day to name green things, Lilly said, “Toes!” No! Toes does not begin with F. Then, someone said, “Feet!” Lilly perked up, “See! I told you it was toes!” Ha ha!
Green Poem: G-R-E-E-N spells GREEN! Green like a frog {ribbet!} Green like a tree. G-R-E-E-N spells GREEN! Just like broccoli.
The children had a ball after making the stick frog on Monday. The blow-tongues were non-stop! Navy Eaton was so fun. She giggled and laughed every time she blew her frog’s tongue! We did too!
The rainbow fish was a very fun project as well. The children had a great time gluing the colorful fan-scales on and adorning them with sequins. The room was almost quiet as each child fussed over their fish deciding where to put the next scale or sequin. Very fun!
Thursday, we read the story of The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly. The children drew pictures of what they would swallow if they were the old woman. I don’t know which picture was more fun, Jace’s amazing car or Cannon’s mac & cheese! We laughed and laughed at every one.
We played the candy game and named lots of color words, letters with sounds, numbers with poems, and shapes, too. The children are getting very proficient at all of these things, especially when it comes to getting a candy tossed with the correct answer. We love that game!
Que has grown quite fond of Miss Julie. Yesterday, he called out to her, “Hey, Miss Julie!” and then, he sent his best and biggest wink her way with his winning smile! Ah, that Miss Julie. Everyone loves her! But, you know, it’s hardly fair that Miss Julie gets all the good jobs. She gets to sing, “You have a candy day! La, la, la, la, la, lah!” and then, offers up the candy jar! She smiles and warmly, welcomes the children from their car! She gives them stamps and lays the treats out for them in line each day! No wonder they love her so much! I get to tell them, “Go wash your hands!” Don’t eat your clothes!” “Use your inside voice!” “Push your chair in!” “Sit down!” Stand up!” Don’t forget to close your glue!” I could go on and on! I have to give them 5 times as many affirmations, just to keep them from loathing me! Sheesh! Ha ha! But seriously, we do love our Miss Julie! What would we do without her??? I am very, very thankful for her.
Hey! It would be a great idea to review the letters we have learned thus far in our book, Rhett and The Alphabet. We have learned Oo, Cc, Gg, Aa, Pp, and Ff. We will soon be shedding the shape and color cards and use only the letters. We will also soon be playing, Guess the letter by it’s story and the sound it makes, asking the winner to take a turn at it. We hope that by playing these games and familiarizing the children with the letter stories, they will all be ready to jump into reading by January. That’s our plan. Your help at home is invaluable! Next week, we will be learning letter Tt.
Next week is Brown Week. It will be our last color week and our final number 10, as we move into the holidays. We will not be having Show-N-Tell after Thanksgiving to make time for Christmas songs and dances to prepare for our program. We will then, resume Show-N-Tell after Christmas when we all return back to school, Girls, always on Monday, Boys on Wednesday.
Black Week was the real beginnings of Halloween fun with black bats, witches’ hats and black cats. We learned about letter Cc, the sound it makes and found loads of Cc words by rehearsing the “Crazy Cook” chant. Ask your child what they know about the crazy cook at the corner café and get ready for some great stories and some good ‘C’ words! We also learned the number 5 poem and more about squares.
The children found lots of squares in our room. Adalyn found the black boxes. Lillian said the file drawers. Reagan said the chalkboard and clock and Jace pointed out the squares on the calendar. Clyde had the perfect clothes on; a shirt with a big black square on the front and checkered black and white shoes. We brought him to the front of the class for all to see. It really was perfect. The children also named many black things. Allison said the TV. Sienna said markers. Madden said rats, Mason, bats, Lincoln said witch hair with a black hat. Que said spiders, Chance said jaguars and Jace ended black widows.
We launched into our Halloween songs. The children loved them. Josh said he knew a song about pumpkins rolling until they cried. Miss Julie said, “I gotta write that one down!” I sang a song about a witch riding high in the sky. When I sang, “So beware! Don’t you dare… to make a boast… or a ghost… to your dismay… will hear you say… you don’t care… say a prayer… or IT WILL COME AND PULL YOUR HAIR!!! Buaaahhahahaha! Madden quickly folded his arms, bowed his head and began to pray as soon as I sang, ‘say a prayer’, and he plead out loud for Heavenly Father to bless him that I would not pull his hair. Too funny and so obedient!
Monday, the children colored a witch with her black hat and then, played Candy Corn Count with Mrs. Walters. Oh, how the children have loved Mrs. Walters. We are indebted to her. Her last day was Wednesday. Several children have continued to ask about her, especially Daphne. “Where’s Mrs. Walters? She’s so fun. I love her!” and then, as an afterthought, “But I love you, too!” So cute! What a diplomat! We got lots of pictures of all the children surrounding her for a group hug! “Thank you, Mrs. Walters!” We are excited to see her again as my sub later this month.
Wednesday, we made black bats. The children loved attaching streamers to their bats and shaking red glitter onto the dots of glue they dropped inside the bat faces. “Ooh! Now, they look spooky!” I told the children to have someone tie their bat underneath a ceiling fan where it could fly all month until Halloween! They couldn’t wait to get them home!
Thursday, we colored a black cat and attached it to a stick with the witch to make a fun flip-stick to use while singing, “The Mean Old Witch” song. We videotaped both classes singing and flipping their sticks.
It feels so good to be back. I have truly missed being with all these sweet children to enjoy all the fun things they say and do. My husband continues to do well in his progress of healing. It took two days to get him home, making stops along the way while avoiding the altitude of an aircraft, but it did give us some really nice time together. I told him we need him. What would we do without “custodial services” in preschool? Ha! Thank you to so, so many for your loving support and faith and prayers.
Next week is Mesa School’s October Break. We will follow the same schedule and break for a week. We will resume on Monday, the 16th with White Week, letter G, ghosts and skeletons; more Halloween decorations for your homes this month! Ha!
Have a lovely week with your families. I heard of some of your get-away plans from several of the children. Travel safe and we hope to see all well, back on the next, next Monday!
White {Gg} Week
Gggolly G! It was gggood! Even gggreat! We found lots of Gg words this week. Chance said, “Graveyard!” Sienna said, “Glasses!” Miles B. said, “Green!”. We also enjoyed so many donning the color white as we again sang about our color, twirled and spelled it in a song. The children loved the part, “Ghosts are white and they say, ‘Boo’!” And, of course, the children found lots of things to list that were white; ghosts, skeletons, paper, snow. Ella said, “Teeth”! Dani said, “A polar bear!” Taeya said, “Mail!” Adalyn said, “Daisies”! Avery said, “People”! And Leisel said, “Stripes on a zebra!” Now, that’s what I call reading between the lines! Ha!
We learned a new number poem to make a 6. The children are really doing a gggreat job on their number poems. I love to hear them rehearse them from the top.
Monday, the children loved making a billowy ghost. (Watch the video at the end to see more fun ghosts!) By the end of class, the boos were raising the roof! So, it was great fun and relief to have all those ghosts float from the room in succession as the line of children filtered out the door, “Boooooooooo!” I always wish the parents could just be here for those precious priceless moments.
Wednesday, we stretched the children to use their creative abilities to construct a skeleton with Q-tips. I had to laugh when Dani’s grandmother, Yah-yah, mentioned, “That’s the greatest use of a Q-tip ever!” Ha! They were all so unique and wonderful!
Thursday, the children fashioned a skull that really captured most of the boys’ interests! “Woah! That is so cool!” “It’s awesome!” Both classes. I couldn’t even write all of their names. They were sufficiently engaged! I love that! I also loved hearing from Josh’s mom, “You are supplying our entire Halloween decorations!” So great!
When we read the story of “The Class Pet From the Black Lagoon”, it spurred on a discussion about everyone’s pet. After listening to many share about their pets, Preston reported that he had a pet penguin. I responded by saying, “Penguins need it to be very cold.” He replied, “I know. He lives in the snow!” Too cute!
That will be Orange Week and Letter Aa with spiders and Frankenstein and scarecrows; perfect for scaring letter A, who is so afraid, “Ahhhhh!” Have fun!
Halloween Party and {Pp}urple Week
Holy Crow! We are already 5 days into November! Time is racing by.
Our Halloween days are gone but OOOH, did we have fun! The video does a better job of covering the events than I could never tell in words. You must log on and see for yourself; the trick-or-treating, frosting jack-o-lantern cookies, the boo bingo, the parade and Halloween songs, the spooky crafts! Ahhhhh! Too much to tell. Go watch it…NOW! You’ll love it!
While making spiders, Madden announced that spiders have 1030 eyes. Ms. Walters said to Kohl, “You need 1 more leg!” He replied, “Oh no! COME ON!” Ha, ha! Kohl cracked us up all week. We were playing the candy game, recognizing number, color and letter cards. When I got to Kohl, to have him tell us what his card was, he could not remember. I told him it was a #5. He shouted, shaking and slapping his head, “That number 5 is going to kill me!” So cute!
Purple and letter P were short lived with only two days, but we did manage to pppick out P words in our Purple Pickle song and learn how to spell purple. Que was so cute, “I love your purple shirt, Miss Julie!” PURPLE SONG: (I love you, you love me tune) P-U-R-P-L-E Purple has two P's you see Like the grape on the vine, or the plum on the tree. P-U-R-P-L-E
We made a great pirate and learned about pilgrims. I asked, “Do you know what pilgrims are?” Hendrix answered, “No! but I have a book about a magic tree house!” Ha!
I showed the children a picture of a cornucopia and asked if anyone knew what it was. Lincoln said it looked like a pinecone. Sienna guessed, “Snake?” Mason, “It’s a pie!” Boston and Ryder both thought it looked like a snail. Avery guessed, “A snail house?” Hendrix said, “Hive!” Dani, “A lion?” Navy H., “An acorn!” Leisel asked, “Is it a turkey?” I laughed out loud as I said no and told them all what a cornucopia was. Too funny!
I love getting the chance to hang with these sweet children once again. I love them so. Some are full to the brim waiting to explode with all they want to tell us, while others charm and delight us with their surprise remarks and genuine perfection. She, who must not be named, is always filled with drama, drama, drama, “My mom gets mad at me and it breaks my heart!” Ha ha! They are priceless.
We hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend as we move into the holidays. Christmas is just around the corner. Please mark your calendars for our Big Christmas Program December 20 at 10:00am. You won’t want to miss it. It is the best thing we do all year with songs and props to allow the children to perform and show off their adorable selves. I love it so much.
Yellow Week was lots of fun, especially when with so many of yellow shirts showing up at school. We spelled yellow while dancing, swirling and singing and named lots of yellow things.The children also learned the #4 poem. We introduced the letter O and circles. We learned the sound that letter O makes and found lots of O words; octopus, Ollie, olives, owl.
YELLOW SONG (If you're happy and you know it tune)
Y-E-L-L-O-W spells yellow.
Y-E-L-L-O-W spells yellow.
Like the early morning sun
When the day has just begun.
Y-E-L-L-O-W spells yellow.
Daffodils and baby ducks are yellow.
Lemonade and scrambled eggs are yellow.
I like the smiley face that's yellow,
he is such a happy fellow.
Y-E-L-L-O-W spells yellow.
The children colored an octopus yellow and glued Fruit Loop O's on all the arms. Mason and Rustin were working hard to pull a few of their O's apart before gluing them on. Rustin said, "The struggle is REAL!" Ha! Mrs. Walters and Miss Julie laughed and laughed. They also said Nash colored his particularly nice and dark. Great job, Nash!
Mrs. Walters read the children a great story, "Everybody has a bucket!" What a great story! Ask your children if they know what a dipper is!
Wednesday, the children made octopus puppets and Mrs. Walter told the children she was going to name her octopus, Ollie. She pretended to have Ollie munch olives! Then, she asked the children what they were going to name their octopus. Madden said, "I'm naming mine, Bloodgrog!" Trig said, "Bladecrack!" Dani said, "Joe Moe!" Allison said, "Emoji!" Navy E. said, "Cupcake!" Mason named his "Taco Bell because he likes to get burritos there. Mrs. Walters later said, "Madden, keep coloring Bloodgrog pretty yellow!" Madden said, "He's NOT pretty!" Ha! Mrs. Walter talked about using coloring muscles. "Are you getting strong coloring muscles like Captain America?" "Like Iron Man?" Ryder said, "I have normal coloring muscles!"
At recess, the children were pretending to gas up to run faster. Lilly said, "My gas is all blowed out!" Ha!
Thursday, the children all made owl pictures. Sooo cute!
I am happy to announce that I am coming home later this week. My husband got an early release and we are thrilled with his progress. Much thanks to all who have been so supportive and helpful during this time in our lives. Especially, I wanted to thank Gracia's family for volunteering to take care of my yard. I heard all of her children wanted to help. That means so much to me. Maximus, Rockwell, Steele, Francesca and now Gracia have all been my students. They are so dear to me. I see Ken at the temple nearly every week and adore Amberlee. Thank you so much. So sweet! Thank you!
I am excited to see everyone again and sleep in my own bed!
I am reporting to you from a hospital room in Utah. We hope to be released by tomorrow. My husband, Chuck, is doing well in his progress after surgery. We have a few more weeks of recovery and then we will finally be able to travel home. I have heard that the children had great fun with blue week. I am so very grateful to Mrs. Walters and Miss Julie for carrying on in my absence. The children learned the number three poem and the blue song. They had the chance to name many blue things and things of three ie: Three Little Pigs, Three Bears, Three Musketeers, etc.
B-L-U-E SONG (To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
Monday, the children had fun making their boats and floating them outside in a small pool. They had great fun blowing their boats across the water. “Look at mine!” “Mine is going the fastest!” Luckily, no one dove in to retrieve their boat! Ha! Mrs. Walters made it fun by playing some fun games like “What Has Changed?” sending children off to change something in their appearance or clothes for the children to guess. Oh, my goodness! The children loved this game!
Wednesday, Mrs. Walters painted their hand with brown paint and the children decorated the handprint with white sails, fluffy clouds and a blue ocean with lots of whoopee-dos! Mrs. Walters had a fun story to read to keep the children all entertained and laughing. Thursday, they all made shark hats. Mrs. Walters once again had fun stories to read and keep the children happy. The shark hats were so darling. Miss Julie sent me several pictures with all the “sharks” growling! So fun! I didn’t even know sharks could growl!
We didn’t get a lot recorded, but I did get a few reports. While passing out cookie treats, He Who Must Not Be Named had someone come to the front of the line. “I don’t want to give her cookies! She’s mean to me!” Miss Julie assured him that it was OK to give her cookies. “But I don’t want to! She’s mean!” Ha! We may have to dig a little deeper into this. Ryder found a feather in the backyard during recess. Oh, that’s cool. Ryder said, “No, it’s not! It has guts on it!” Oooh! Toss that puppy! Where’s a wipe? Ha! And Chance said, “My baby is in my mom’s tummy!”, which made Mrs. Walters and Miss Julie giggle and raise an eyebrow! Don’t you just love four-year olds? They are the best!
Next week is Yellow Week, so be sure to wear something yellow.
Thank you for all your well wishes, your patience with me and faith and prayers on my husband’s behalf.
Much, much love and many thanks to our wonderful teachers taking such good care of things!
