I wanted to share with my extended family and friends some of the wonderful things Brady is doing in his PreK class. For those of you who have previously seen this (the grandmas already get the weekly newletter), my apologies. Bill and I are so proud of Brady's great efforts and achievements this year!
And in case you are wondering, Mrs. Carter (below with Brady) brought in ice cream for the kids this past Monday morning to celebrate their fabulous behavior last week!
Here is last week's Tiger newsletter:
We had a fun week this week. Tracey Waddell was our Parent of the Week. It made for a very special week for Meadow. Mrs. Waddell was able to spend time in our class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Meadow’s dad, Matt, came in Wednesday morning and read a funny story “There Once Was a Coyote That Swallowed a Flea.” After he left Michael, Mekhi and Greyson said it was so funny they almost exploded.
Monday was Brandon’s 5th Birthday. He was very excited, as was his mom who was able to bring cupcakes to celebrate. Seth arrived without wheelchair and is now bearing weight on his boot. Mrs. Waddell read two stories. One was about a dancing giraffe. Afterwards the children danced around the room. All except Mekhi, who reported to be too shy to dance. It was our first experience with Mekhi being shy at all.
This is Audrey's mom reading a book during the Valentines Day party:
In phonics, the long o was introduced. The Tigers continue to do terrific with phonics. They breeze through our sentences on Monday morning. Olivia especially surprises us as she leaves her quiet voice behind when it is her turn and she proudly reads her sentence. Erick did an excellent job reading this week and Greyson was very motivated to raise his hand and answer questions. In math we completed pages with the number 13 and started working with 14. In art, we finished our coins project. Mekhi was very kind to bring a pencil to me for “a surprise gift.”
Tuesday Mrs. Waddell and I started our science project that will last several weeks. She and I both planned to plant seeds. I shared with her that I planned to sprout the seeds in a glass so we could watch them grow roots. She had the perfect idea and purchased adorable pouches that have suction cups so they stick right to the window. The students each put a wet paper towel in their pouch and added several lima bean seeds. They are in our windows now. Each Tuesday we will note the growth of roots or a stem. We will measure the growth and record it. We will also record the progress with a drawing. We also prepared a seed pouch without adding water and one with water, but it is kept in the dark. We will compare these seeds to ours. Mrs. Waddell read “The Little Seed” book that was a nice introduction to our project. Tuesday for snack we enjoyed bananas brought by Brandon.
Brady and his "true love" Olivia during the Valentines Day party:
Wednesday Seth was not with us at all. Brady joined us late after a dentist appointment. Mrs. Shamanski was also unable to attend school. I had a helper teacher in the room next door to assist me anytime I needed her. However, the Tigers WERE SO GOOD AND SO HELPFUL that I only needed her assistance 1 time while I filled water cups!!! We made the very most of our day. We had a music lesson, which I will be bringing back to the class weekly, we played a silly game, we completed all of our work, we spent time in the kitchen and had plenty of time outside. I managed the order of the day a bit differently and that made all of the difference.
Brandon brought whole apples and an apple slicer for snack. We all went in the kitchen and washed the apples. Then we used the apple slicer to cut the apples and Erick helped carry them back to the class. It was a great experience for the kids. Erick did get a bit choked up on one piece of apple so we discussed what to do when choking. When I asked, no one was sure how to react if they were choking. So I demonstrated that they should bang on the table loudly until someone sees them. Then they put their hand on their throat. They thought it was great fun banging the table. They also learned a lesson that can save their lives. We will practice more so it sticks in their minds.
Wednesday we also read a story Meadow brought about an acorn. It led us into our art project involving acorns. We have hung them in the hallway and will send them home when our next project is complete and ready to hang. Olivia was chosen to feed the frogs Wednesday. She must have done a great job because they laid eggs! Our tank floor, filter and decorations are covered with frog eggs. However, they usually do not survive. I told the kids it was because the conditions weren’t just right for the African frogs eggs, but truly the mom’s appetite gets the best of her.
Below is one of Brady's Spanish-speaking teachers, Mrs. Calero. She also spends time working with Parker's class on colors, family members, numbers, etc.
Thursday we finished our art project first. Usually, we will do our spelling test first. Try to be here in plenty of time. Our spelling test will start at 9:05 am. Everyone did terrific this week. Unless you were told otherwise already, your child made a 100%. After the test we discussed this week’s words. They are a little tricky. Then we had Show N Tell. Audrey brought a book she made! It was titled, “Olivia’s Lost Jacket.” She wrote the words herself and illustrated every page. During phonics, Brady asked if he could read the instructions on page 68. He did read them – every bit!! It was amazing. Check out page 68 and see what he read. Several other students asked to do the same so we assigned half of the class to a day next week to read the instructions on one page. The next week the other half will do it. For snack we finished the bananas and had Pop Tarts. What a treat!!
We are working on our next field trip. We will go to the Fernbank Planetarium at 10:45 am on Thursday, April 16th. More details will come. Our theme for next month will be Space. We will study it all of March. Then, after we return from Spring Break, we will go to the Planetarium. Thank you, Mrs. Plummer, for arranging this field trip.
Spanish this week focused on body parts (Partes de el cuerpo). Head – cabeza Foot – pies Shoulders – hombros Legs – piernes Eyes – ojos Ear – orejas Mouth – boca Nose – nariz
You may notice that some math pages are skipped. We have started eliminating pages that are duplicates. We also are skipping pages that deal with concepts that all of our students have already mastered. There is no need to do work that they are not benefiting from. It allows us to focus on concepts that need more practice. We are also able to do more fun learning activities. We have noticed a difference in our students immediately. The children are enjoying themselves more and doing better work. Lessening their work load has certainly had a positive effect. They are not learning any less. We have simply catered our lessons to their needs. If you have questions about this let me know.
And finally, all Tigers had perfect behavior this week. It was the first week ever. I will bring a surprise to reward them on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!
The ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon reached it's goal of 15,000 runners for the race Sunday, and Bill was happily among them. The heavy rains of Friday and Saturday gave way to clear skies and dry air Sunday morning, leaving the temperature cool and refreshing.
