Sunday, May 26th
Please remember there is no school for kindergarten only this Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28th and 29th (screening of incoming preschoolers). I will look forward to seeing the children on Thursday, May 30th! :)
Needed:
Each child will need a white teeshirt for tie-dying by Monday, June 3rd. We will wear these tee shirts to our trip to Fort Foster enabling us to have a "team" color and easily identify where each team member is on the beach! You may send an old white tee from home, buy a new white tee to send in to school, or send $3.00 to cover the cost and I will purchase those needed at Michaels in Newington.
What's Going on in Kindergarten this last month of school...
Science
We will continue our study of plants and animals in June with the addition of maine tide pool animals and plants.
Writing
The children will be working alternately on information writing (about plants and animals) and personal narratives.
Math
Our work will involve measurement of time (seconds and minutes), weight and capacity; mapping (creating and following!); practicing double math facts (i.e. 2+2, 3+3); fluency with addition and subtraction facts to 10; writing and solving number stories; and adding to the ongoing number scrolls.
Handwriting
We will be working to finish up our Handwriting without Tears practice.
Reading/Word Work
Children will continue adding new texts to their book boxes, working to read their "just right" kindergarten books with fluency and text comprehension as well as solving for unknown words using the strategies we are practicing:
*using context (what makes sense)
*using knowledge of letter sounds (does it look right and sound right)
Social Skills
We are working hard to remind each other to use kind words and bodies, to solve small problems independently (walk away, ignore, find something else to do), and to get adult help when problems seem BIG!
Events:
Fort Foster Field Trip - Monday, June 10th, 9:30-1:00 (permission slips will arrive home in blue folders on Thursday this week.
Field Day - Friday, June 14th - there will be morning and afternoon activities - times coming soon!
Please email Mr. D if you are available to volunteer your help: [email protected]
Kindergarten Fun Day - Tuesday, June 18th, 9:00-10:30
Rain date - Weds. June 19th, 9-10:30
Last Day of School! - Friday, June 21st (half day) - to first grade, off you go! :)
Sunday, April 28th
I have reposted the events and dates from my previous newsletter for your convenience (at the end of this newsletter).
New: Spring Pictures, Wednesday, May 1st 9 AM
These pictures are optional. Please let me know if you did not receive information about this and I will get a flyer home to you tomorrow (Monday).
Share: Our theme this month is NUMBERS!
Children will bring home directions the week before their turn. Please see the share calendar link above for your child's date.
Celebration of Learning: Following the music concert on Friday, May 24th, parents are invited back to the classroom to celebrate the children's accomplishments! Children will share their portfolios of work as well as their writing, reading books, and number scrolls. The concert is 11:00-11:30 and the celebration of learning will take about 30 additional minutes. Please mark your calendars for this special event!
May and June Curriculum:
We have completed our study of Pushes and Pulls. The children will be bringing home their science journals and a parent participation sheet tomorrow.
Science: Animal and Plant needs (we will begin with animal needs to complement our study of farms.
Social Studies:
We will be exploring farms in general but specifically dairy farms. The children will learn about the many hats a farmer must wear, how farms can be a business, the route of products from the farm to our homes, and the life cycle of chickens.
Writing:
We are completing our work with "How To" writing this week. We will return to writing true stories with the emphasis on creating a beginning, middle and ending to our stories.
Reading:
We will be exploring alphabet books during our reader's workshop. The children will be encouraged "to think, talk, play, and sing with the alphabet, getting to know all the fun ways that letters and sounds go". (Lucy Calkins)
This will help them remember to use all they know about letters and sounds to read the author's words.
Word Work:
The children have been learning about digraphs, the "H brothers": th, sh, ph, ch, and wh. In May we will be reviewing syllables (and how they can help us read new words), learning about consonant blends (i.e. tr, dr, st, ), plurals, and more word families!
Math:
We begin our last unit of math this month! Wow!
We continue to work on automaticity of number facts 0-10 to help with addition and subtraction. We will also work on measurement (size, capacity, time, and weight), maps, counting and writing numbers by 1's, 5's, and 10's to 100+, and practice finding combinations that add to 10.
Important Events and Dates
Harris Farm field trip - Friday, May 10th, 9:00-12:30 (this date is for our class and Miss Pattison's)
Kindergarten Music Concert - Friday, May 24th, 11:00 AM
No School (for just kindergarten) - Tuesday, May 28th and Wednesday, May 29th
(screening of incoming preschool students)
Fort Foster Field Trip - Monday, June 10th, 9:30-1:00
Field Day - Friday, June 14th (time TBA)
Kindergarten Fun Day - Tuesday, June 18th, 9:00-10:30
Rain date - Weds. June 19th, 9-10:30
More information will follow as the dates approach! Parents are invited to chaperone the field trips and invited to help with activities for field day and fun day. Mrs. Keating will send invitations for the music concert.
Fun times await! :)
Sunday, March 24th
It was so exciting to welcome Spring with the class this week ! They all pretty much agreed that they are done with winter! I was tempted to send the snow pants home BUT one never knows in Maine when that last snow storm will be! So we will keep them here a couple of weeks longer and hope for the best! :)
I hope your child was proud and excited to share their "Kind Words" from their classmates with you, our kindness share for this month. We have 2 more friends to honor this week before moving on to our next share topic!
We have begun a new science topic - "Pushes and Pulls". The children are investigating how things move (fast, slow, straight path, up, down, etc.) and how the force of a push or pull effects that motion. On Friday, they used their breath blowing through a straw to move a paper clip and a wooden block across a finish line. They recorded the number of breaths it took for each and discussed why one took more breaths than the other (weight and force of the blow). So our
new share theme for this upcoming month is Motion! Children are invited to bring something to school that moves with a push or a pull (not battery operated items please :). Please see the Share calendar link above.
Please remember that this Wednesday is an early release day. If you wish for your child to have a bagged school lunch, I need your request by tomorrow. I have heard from 2 parents thus far. :)
My mother is here visiting from NJ. She spent the day helping in class on Friday and will do so again tomorrow - the children may have mentioned, "Miss Janet".
Many thanks as always for your wonderful support from home!
Sunday, March 17th
We started our day on Friday with a school assembly. Miss Mulqueen, one of our K teachers, demonstrated her expertise at Irish step dancing! We also celebrated all the students with March birthdays (Clive and Lizzie in our class) by singing our school birthday song! Then the whole school sang, "Rattlin' Bog" together which was great fun!
We returned to our classroom to follow the clues to find our treasure box that the crafty leprechauns had hidden - this took us outdoors where everyone was able to take a turn following the clues to the box! The rest of our day included St. Patrick's Day themed activities - measuring shamrocks, estimating pots of gold and writing about the colors of the rainbow!
News and Reminders
*please take a moment to sign up for a parent conference if you have not yet had a moment to do so.
*I have been busy assessing students individually to determine their progress toward end of the year benchmarks. I will continue to do additional assessments this week in math (counting and number recognition), writing (ability to write independently) and word study (adding and deleting sounds in given words). I look forward to sharing this updated progress with you at our parent conference next month.
*Please be sure to send 2-3 snacks with your child each day. The office has extras just in case someone forgets but not for children who are still hungry after they eat their snack. :) Thanks for your help with this.
*Please save your plastic caps from milk, juice and water containers. We will begin a math collection of caps this week and ending next month. We will keep a running tally of those collected, updated as they are brought to school. Thank you!
*I will be posting a Signup Genius for Easter egg hunt donations. Many thanks in advance to those who can help!
We started our day on Friday with a school assembly. Miss Mulqueen, one of our K teachers, demonstrated her expertise at Irish step dancing! We also celebrated all the students with March birthdays (Clive and Lizzie in our class) by singing our school birthday song! Then the whole school sang, "Rattlin' Bog" together which was great fun!
We returned to our classroom to follow the clues to find our treasure box that the crafty leprechauns had hidden - this took us outdoors where everyone was able to take a turn following the clues to the box! The rest of our day included St. Patrick's Day themed activities - measuring shamrocks, estimating pots of gold and writing about the colors of the rainbow!
News and Reminders
*please take a moment to sign up for a parent conference if you have not yet had a moment to do so.
*I have been busy assessing students individually to determine their progress toward end of the year benchmarks. I will continue to do additional assessments this week in math (counting and number recognition), writing (ability to write independently) and word study (adding and deleting sounds in given words). I look forward to sharing this updated progress with you at our parent conference next month.
*Please be sure to send 2-3 snacks with your child each day. The office has extras just in case someone forgets but not for children who are still hungry after they eat their snack. :) Thanks for your help with this.
*Please save your plastic caps from milk, juice and water containers. We will begin a math collection of caps this week and ending next month. We will keep a running tally of those collected, updated as they are brought to school. Thank you!
*I will be posting a Signup Genius for Easter egg hunt donations. Many thanks in advance to those who can help!
Sunday, March 3rd
Kindness Share
You will be happy to know that our share theme this month is "Kind Words" and is a project that we will complete in the classroom together each day for the next 3 weeks. Each day we will celebrate one child by sharing words that describe what makes them special. I will scribe their responses and send home this keepsake with each student You get a vacation this month!
Writing
We are currently working on opinion writing, telling what we like/prefer, and then providing reasons to support our choice: "I like kittens because they are soft and they like to play with me".
We will move on to persuasive writing where the children write for "change". They decide what they would like to fix (a problem) or to convince someone that they need something - so be on the lookout for a letter written to you with a response sheet attached! :)
Science
Our next unit of study is Motion - the children will be exploring pushes and pulls. They will be making predictions, testing their ideas, and recording the results. They will be collecting their work in a science journal which will be shared with you at the end of the month.
Math
We will begin a new math unit this week. Here are a list of the topics that we will be covering:
*demonstrating, writing, and reading, addition and subtraction stories
*comparing teen numbers
*comparing 2 and 3 dimensional shapes
*using calculators as counting tools
*using a pan balance as a tool to explore and compare weight
*creating a survey to collect, analyze and record data
*making and checking estimates of quantity
*using a growing collection to record data
*playing games to develop fluency with addition facts
*children ask questions about attributes to determine who are what is being described
Parent Conferences
I will be inviting you to meet with me the 2nd week of April for a parent conference. We will discuss your child's progress and goals for the remainder of the year. You will be receiving a Signup Genius in your email sometime this week.
St. Patrick's Day
We will enjoy some special activities on St. Patrick's Day. Most notably we will be searching for our treasure chest that the leprechauns typically hide the night before the big day! I will have a 2nd Signup Genius for those who may wish to help with a few "treasures" for the hidden chest!
That is all for now! Many thanks for staying informed!
Saturday, February 2nd
Happy Groundhog Day!
Pancakes for the Food Pantry - 68 boxes!
Thank you for your continued support sending in pancake mix! The children are so proud of their contributions and the growing number chart! We will be collecting through this week.
Pinata
The children made a pinata with papier mache on Friday for our Marketplace Day. The best part of a pinata is of course - the prizes inside! I have purchased prizes for the pinata and welcome any donations from parents as contributions for this purchase. A $2-$3 dollar donation per child is most appreciated! We will be taking the pinata out to the playground (weather permitting) and tying it to the monkey bars - plenty of room out there to swing that stick!
Student Teacher Volunteer
We welcome Kristin Johns to our kindergarten program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week from 8:30-10:30. Kristin is a former student at VES a few years back. :) . She is also the parent of students in grades 3,8, and 11! :) Kristin is working on her Master's program in Special Education and as part of her coursework is encouraged to be involved in a classroom on a weekly basis. We are thrilled that she has agreed to share her experience with us. I suspect you will be hearing all about this week as she begins on Monday! Welcome, Kristin!
100th Day of School project
Please let me know by tomorrow if your child will be ready to share this coming week. I will add them to this week's calendar and then the rest for the next week! Directions for this project went home last Monday. Please let me know if you need another copy. :)
Donations
Thanks to those who donated paper towels! We are all set now!
Thank you for your continued support sending in pancake mix! The children are so proud of their contributions and the growing number chart! We will be collecting through this week.
Pinata
The children made a pinata with papier mache on Friday for our Marketplace Day. The best part of a pinata is of course - the prizes inside! I have purchased prizes for the pinata and welcome any donations from parents as contributions for this purchase. A $2-$3 dollar donation per child is most appreciated! We will be taking the pinata out to the playground (weather permitting) and tying it to the monkey bars - plenty of room out there to swing that stick!
Student Teacher Volunteer
We welcome Kristin Johns to our kindergarten program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week from 8:30-10:30. Kristin is a former student at VES a few years back. :) . She is also the parent of students in grades 3,8, and 11! :) Kristin is working on her Master's program in Special Education and as part of her coursework is encouraged to be involved in a classroom on a weekly basis. We are thrilled that she has agreed to share her experience with us. I suspect you will be hearing all about this week as she begins on Monday! Welcome, Kristin!
100th Day of School project
Please let me know by tomorrow if your child will be ready to share this coming week. I will add them to this week's calendar and then the rest for the next week! Directions for this project went home last Monday. Please let me know if you need another copy. :)
Donations
Thanks to those who donated paper towels! We are all set now!
Sunday, January 27th
I think today's weather is quite delightful! I took my dog for a walk down to the "pond" where she thought it was a perfect day for a swim! Lovely breeze that didn't freeze my face and "warm" sunshine to renew the spirit! I hope you are having a good day as well!
A few reminders and updates follow...
*This Wednesday, January 30th, is our early release day. Children will be dismissed at 12:30.
Please remember there is no school lunch this day unless you are ordering a bagged lunch in advance. I am happy to order this for your child if you let me know by tomorrow. The kitchen staff is not here on the early release day.
*100th day of school is slated to be Friday, February 8th,
we will enjoy special activities on this day in the morning and afternoon. Please let me know if you would like to join us and help - 9:30-10:30 or 1:30-2:30.
*February Share calendar - 100th day!
Children are invited to bring in a share that incorporates 100 items in any creative way they choose! I will send a calendar home tomorrow that describes this project and indicates which day your child will present their share to the class.
Mexican Marketplace, Thursday, February 7th, 9:15-10:30
Just a quick reminder that this is our special day of presentation for parents! We will begin promptly at 9:15 so please plan to arrive shortly after 9 to secure a parking space and to sign in at the office. The children are so excited to share this culminating activity with you! If you are unable to attend please do your best to invite a relative or family friend in your place. We hope everyone will have a special someone to watch them perform and to shop in our marketplace!
Thursday, February 14th is our Valentine's Day party. Children are asked to bring one valentine to share with each classmate. I encourage you to have your child label them with classmates names and to sign them! Many children need several days to accomplish this so you may wish to start early! I will send home a class list tomorrow. Parents and siblings are invited to join us for the activities.
Food Pantry Collection - Pancakes!
We currently have 35 boxes of pancake mix - many warm thanks for your generosity to date!
Other donations
Thanks also to those who donated tissues and markers- We are all set!
We could still use a couple of rolls of paper towels! :)
That's all for now folks! Thank you for all you do to support our kindergarten program and most importantly, your child!
Sunday, January 20th
”Oh the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful!...”
I’m hoping that this newsletter finds you all safe and snug in your homes! It is delightful to finally have some snow for the children and us big kids to play in but also hope that the freezing rain doesn’t spoil it!
Here are a few reminders and updates to peruse on this snowy day before the big Patriot’s game tonight!
Report Cards
Children will bring home report cards on Friday, February 8th. These will include the results of recent academic assessments, observations of behavior, social skills, independent work skills, and citizenship. Although we do not schedule parent conferences at this time, I am happy to do so if you find it would be helpful.
Fiesta Day! Friday, January 25th, 1:40-2:40
Not to be confused with our Mexican Marketplace on Thursday, February 7th, to which you are invited and encouraged to attend! On Fiesta Day, children will be enjoying games, crafts, and song with two other kindergarten classes as a celebration of our learning thus far. Our class will be divided into 3 groups, joining students from Mrs. Gallagher/Ms. Ellis’s class, and Mrs. Collins class. They will rotate through all 3 activity spaces in the hour long festivities!
Pancake Mix needed for the York Food Pantry
We currently have 11 boxes of pancake mix - thanks to those who have contributed! Our goal is to reach 100 boxes or as close as we can come. We are collecting until the 100th day of school which should occur around February 8th.
Would you like to donate classroom supplies? If you are in a position to do so, we welcome the following supplies for our classroom:
*crayola markers (fat not skinny)
*tissues (the school does supply these but they are rough for tender noses) *paper towels
Red, White, and Blue Day! Friday, January 25th
At a recent York Education Foundation Auction, Cooper Woods (first grade student) secured his role at Village Elementary as “Principal for a Day at VES”. He will be our administrator for a variety of jobs on Friday, January 25th. Cooper has requested that all students and staff wear their Patriotic red, white and blue clothing that day. He has chosen a special treat for our lunch that will be vanilla ice cream with a choice of blueberries and strawberries or rainbow sprinkles.
Snow Gear for Outdoor Play
The children will be so excited to get outdoors in the snow when they return on Tuesday! Please be sure they have snowpants, boots, hats, and WARM gloves or mittens. It is often helpful to pack a spare pair of gloves or mittens in the chance that they get wet at the first recess. Snow gear can be brought to and from school in a Hannaford type shopping bag that they can hang on their coat hook. This often helps keep everything together and gives them more room in their backpacks.
Snacks Some children have LOTS of snacks at snack time while others are looking for more. :) The office has extra snacks for the children who forget their snacks but cannot feasibly supply extra snacks for all. Please pack 2 or 3 snacks for snack time each day especially if your child is a quick snacker!
Many warm thanks for reading to the end!
The rest of these adorable winter children are on the "What Did You Do Today?" page. Happy New Year!
2019 Here We Come!
Welcome back! I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays and is anxious for their little ones to return to school! I am excited to see those sweet faces again!
What's coming...
Our New Classmate - Parker Rand!
Please join me in welcoming Parker and his family to York and to our Village School! We can't wait to meet you Parker!
Mexico!
We will begin our study of Mexico in earnest this week. The children will be learning some simple spanish phrases and words to accompany this unit of study.
We will explore the many aspects of this large and interesting country - traditions, geography, music, stories (folk tales), products, and the people.
The culmination of this project will be a Mexican Marketplace and performance in February. I will send this date along to you shortly as parents are not only invited but encouraged to attend! Your children will be making crafts to "sell" to you at our marketplace (pesos provided at our classroom Banco de Mexico! :) They will also perform a short folk tale and sing a few songs! It is quite the special occasion - you won't want to miss this!
New Share Theme
Our theme for January is the Mystery Share. Please consult the share link above to find your child's date to present. Here's how this works:
On you child's date, please have them bring ONE item hidden in a box or bag - this can be almost anything they choose to bring! They will receive a sheet to record (or dictate) 4 clues to "read" to the class. The object is to help the class guess what is in the bag or box (not to trick them!) Good clues often lead to successful guesses! The blank clue sheet will be sent home in the blue folders on Wednesday. I hope this makes sense but if not, please feel free to ask for clarification.
Volunteers
Please check the link above to see if the information for this month is accurate. I try to keep up with the changes as they happen but am not always 100% successful! I continue to be immensely grateful for your gift of time to our students - 'tis a priceless gift! :)
Winter Playground Garb
Children are welcome to leave an extra pair of snowpants or boots at school for those chilly or snowy days so they do not need to haul them back and forth (if this is possible :) . If they are to stay at school please let me know with a note so that I won't be insisting that they bring them home each day.
Reading
We will begin regular reading groups this week. The children will be introduced to 3 new books each week and asked to practice reading them during our Reader's Workshop. This is a very exciting time! On occasion the children may bring their books home to read to you.
Spelling
The children will be introduced to the remaining spelling words this month. They have been introduced to: the, and, like, is, in, it. Our newest words to come are: we, my, to, on. If you help them practice at home, please include writing the words (not just oral practice). We will be practicing here at school so please only include the home piece if it would be fun/engaging for your child! Some children LOVE homework (or so they tell me!)
Writing
To accompany our study of Mexico, we will be moving to informational writing. This turn away from personal narratives should be a fun change but one not too far from our current practice (spaces between words, end punctuation, writing all the sounds we hear in a word, and capitals at the start). These skills are all in the practice stage!
I will be sending home the narrative writing from November and December sometime in the next week - please be on the lookout! :)
Math
Our topics this month include:
*100th day of school (counting 100 objects by 1's, 5's, 10's)
*generating combinations that add to 10
*describe and draw shapes
*explore teen numbers (10 and some more)
*introduction to number sentence symbols: +, -, =
*counting milestones: count from 1-70; 10-100 by 10's
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School - Monday, January 21st
Sunday, December 2nd
Native American Study
We have concluded our study of Maine Native Americans this past week. The children worked with me in the library to create a short video using a "green screen" to incorporate our Native American village mural in the background. They were confident and proud to share short snippets of what they have learned. As we had 2 classmates absent, we will wait a few days to add their ideas before I share the video with you at home! The children are quite excited for you to see it (they feel famous!:)
December News
We have a classroom advent calendar of sorts - a wooden box with doors counting down the days to Christmas. Inside each door is a student name! We will open a door each day and discover who gets to choose a small gift from our Christmas basket. The gifts are small indeed but are typically received with great excitement and appreciation. So if your child arrives home with a new trinket from school you will know from whence it came. :)
Tomorrow, December 3rd, the children will bring home a Christmas gift certificate from Mrs. Toohey and me. It invites them to choose one book on the gift certificate list from the accompanying book order. Please help them choose their gift and return the certificate to school. You are welcome to order books from the book order as well if you wish! Please return the gift certificates and the book order forms (if you are ordering) by Friday. As you may know, you are also welcome to order your books online using the teacher access code on the order form.
This month the children will participate in reading many versions of the "Gingerbread Man" and related activities that will incorporate reading, writing and math!
I am excited to make gingerbread playdough with the children so that they can create a special holiday surprise for you!
During the week of December 10th, we will once again be walking to the York Public Library. Here we look forward to seeing the gingerbread creations on display and to enjoy holiday stories with Miss Kathleen. I am awaiting word from her for a mutually agreed upon time and date. I will keep you posted!
On Monday, December 10th, we will enjoy several Hannukah activities as we learn some simple information about this holiday.
Early Release Day - Wednesday, December 19th
Our class Christmas party will be on Thursday, December 20th from 9:15-10:30. Parents and siblings are welcome to attend!
Holiday Recess - December 24th - Wednesday, January 2nd
Ho! Ho! Ho! Off we go!
Monday, November 12th
October Writing
The children are bringing home their writing work from October tomorrow. Please be on the lookout for their collection as well as my letter and reflection about their writing to you!
York Food Pantry
The children watched a short video at our school assembly last Thursday about how the York Food Pantry helps those in need in our community. They are invited to help the York Pantry fill their shelves for the upcoming holidays. If you are able, please keep canned goods for the food drive coming to school this week. You may send items along until Friday. The Food Pantry says their most needed items are:
canned vegetables (corn, carrots, peas)
canned fruit
pasta sauce
jams/jelly
salad dressing
ketchup
mayo
sugar
vegetable oil and gluten free items
Highlights Children's Magazine
I hope you don't mind that I am sending a Highlights order form home with your child tomorrow. Please return it whether you are interested or not as I am eligible for free items for our classroom whether you say "yea" or "nay" when I return the slips. Many thanks for your help with this paperwork!
Pajama Party!
Perhaps you have heard that the children wanted to earn a pajama party (like our neighbor Mrs. Collins's class). They have been working very hard together to show expected behavior while waiting for a teacher during our class meetings. They are precious reminding each other to sit and talk quietly while I make my way over to begin our meeting! They have almost achieved their goal of filling our gem jar - I suspect tomorrow will be the day! I will keep you posted about when the special day will happen. :)
Tooth Fairy Pillow Project
The children have been learning about life long ago through our study of Maine Native Americans. We have discussed how they had make, grow, or gather what they needed to survive. This week the children will begin a project to make their own tooth fairy pillow and experience the process of making something from beginning to end! We will use cranberries to create a natural dye for one side of the plain cotton fabric, decorate the other plain side with fabric markers, stitch a tooth pocket on one side, sew the 2 pieces together, stuff them and sew the closed! It is amazing to see what incredible sewers young children are! These should be finished by the end of the month. If you should have 45" free any morning of the week between 8:30 and 9:15, please let me know that you will stop in to help with the sewing! I do not need advance notice. :)
Parent Contact Sheet
I will be sending home a new parent contact sheet this week as the first one I sent had a few errors! I have heard from a few parents about corrections - please let me know if I need to adjust any information for you.
October Writing
The children are bringing home their writing work from October tomorrow. Please be on the lookout for their collection as well as my letter and reflection about their writing to you!
York Food Pantry
The children watched a short video at our school assembly last Thursday about how the York Food Pantry helps those in need in our community. They are invited to help the York Pantry fill their shelves for the upcoming holidays. If you are able, please keep canned goods for the food drive coming to school this week. You may send items along until Friday. The Food Pantry says their most needed items are:
canned vegetables (corn, carrots, peas)
canned fruit
pasta sauce
jams/jelly
salad dressing
ketchup
mayo
sugar
vegetable oil and gluten free items
Highlights Children's Magazine
I hope you don't mind that I am sending a Highlights order form home with your child tomorrow. Please return it whether you are interested or not as I am eligible for free items for our classroom whether you say "yea" or "nay" when I return the slips. Many thanks for your help with this paperwork!
Pajama Party!
Perhaps you have heard that the children wanted to earn a pajama party (like our neighbor Mrs. Collins's class). They have been working very hard together to show expected behavior while waiting for a teacher during our class meetings. They are precious reminding each other to sit and talk quietly while I make my way over to begin our meeting! They have almost achieved their goal of filling our gem jar - I suspect tomorrow will be the day! I will keep you posted about when the special day will happen. :)
Tooth Fairy Pillow Project
The children have been learning about life long ago through our study of Maine Native Americans. We have discussed how they had make, grow, or gather what they needed to survive. This week the children will begin a project to make their own tooth fairy pillow and experience the process of making something from beginning to end! We will use cranberries to create a natural dye for one side of the plain cotton fabric, decorate the other plain side with fabric markers, stitch a tooth pocket on one side, sew the 2 pieces together, stuff them and sew the closed! It is amazing to see what incredible sewers young children are! These should be finished by the end of the month. If you should have 45" free any morning of the week between 8:30 and 9:15, please let me know that you will stop in to help with the sewing! I do not need advance notice. :)
Parent Contact Sheet
I will be sending home a new parent contact sheet this week as the first one I sent had a few errors! I have heard from a few parents about corrections - please let me know if I need to adjust any information for you.