Lots of Links!

Hey PreKPals and Families-

This week we will be learning about Community Helpers in PreK. Talk to your PreKPal about all of the different people who help our world work. We have lots of Community Helpers here at RQES! (Fun fact- the PreKPals always ask the teachers “what is our job”? They don’t realize that being a teacher is our job! They also think we live at school…… So funny!)

We will work on identifying and making letter sounds beginning this week. We will work on M and O. We will also be clapping syllables so we can hear the different parts in words.

A great resource for letters and sounds is the Letter Factory by Leap Pad. You can find them all on YouTube or in DVD’s. All of the Leap Pad videos are great and the songs stick in your head! Here’s a link for you to use at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ID9ucqKtsE&list=PLC5F928D32C3E270D&index=2

In math, we are going to be working on patterns. We will make patterns with toys, blocks, clapping, snapping stomping. Can you make patterns with your PreKPal at home? Look for patterns on clothing, in nature – everywhere!

Recently, you received a paper in your child’s binder that asked you to set up an account through Powerschool-SIS. Some of you have asked about the “Progress Report” Section that may have listed “grades” such as A+. This Powerschool-SIS document should be used for attendance only for PreK. Attendance is verified the week AFTER the absences, so you really don’t need to worry about that part either. 😊 PreK does not do grades or progress reports through Powerschool-SIS. Sorry for the confusion. Just disregard any mention of Progress reports or “grades”. We will have a Fall conference later this semester and we will go over all PreK progress then. PreK does not “grade” in letter grades (A,B,C,D,F) I am so sorry for the confusion this generated. (I was confused as well since I wasn’t there when the sheets went home!). This is an example of a system-wide procedure that does not apply to OSR PreK.

We need a wooden jenga game for our classroom. We do NOT have to have all of the pieces. We will use these thin wooden blocks for our “people blocks” in the block center. We tape pictures of the children to the blocks and they can build homes, towns and castles for their wooden friends to play in. If you have a few pieces, or a whole box that you aren’t using, we would love to have them! Thanks so much!

We do have a donors choose project for our laminating pouches and cardstock for items we make and use in the classroom. If you’d like to donate, we would appreciate it so much! This project benefits all 3 PreK classes at RQES.

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/learning-mats-for-prek/5834858/

Your PreKPal may have told you about Go Noodle. We love using Go Noodle for brain breaks in class, for music and movement, for indoor recess and calm down. They particularly love “melting” for calm down. You can create a parent account at home that your PreKPal can enjoy anytime. Go to www.gonoodle.com to create your free account! Enjoy!

Save the Date! Make Plans NOW! PreK is going to the Tuscaloosa Barnyard! We’d love to have you with us! More details are coming soon.

Date: October 28 from 8:30-1:30 pm.

All students will ride the bus. All 4 year-olds will be in 5-point harness car seats on the bus. Parents will follow in cars and meet us there. This is always such a fun day!!  And as always, fieldtrips are FREE for OSR PreK students. Parents pay at the gate. Look for the permission slip and more info coming in the next week or so! We cannot wait!

Please remember to pack a water bottle with a VALVE, your ROCKET binder, your backpack and your napmats and your 5-6 snacks in a gallon ziplock bag. Each child will store the snack in their individual cubby.

Please do NOT store snacks in the lunchbox. This only confuses the PreKPals. We have had some kiddos taking items from their lunchboxes for snack. Please review with your PreKPal that they will get their snacks from the ziplock bag in their cubby. We will have them keep their extended day snacks in their backpacks.

Alicia

Hello!!!

Hey PreKPals and Families-

I am so  glad to be able to do the blog post this week! I am still on oxygen, still super dizzy and not allowed to do much, but I am missing all of you! Great news- Mrs. Dunn will be back this week! She and I are texting and working together to make sure our PreKPals are having a good week. If you need to send a message that needs to be read quickly, please email or dojo Mrs. Dunn this week.

Please remember to pack a water bottle with a VALVE, your ROCKET binder, your backpack and your napmats and your 5-6 snacks in a gallon ziplock bag. Each child will store the snack in their individual cubby.

Please do NOT store snacks in the lunchbox. This only confuses the PreKPals. We have had some kiddos taking items from their lunchboxes for snack. Please review with your PreKPal that they will get their snacks from the ziplock bag in their cubby. We will have them keep their extended day snacks in their backpacks.

This week, you are getting a name practice sheet and a dry erase marker for your PreKPal to practice name writing. We sign in daily in PreK and our names are a huge part of everything we do. Please help your child trace his name and then practice writing his name in the blank space to the right-hand side. We want to make sure we are using capital letters only where needed, so be mindful of starting this good practice now. You can use the back side of the page for extra practice with letters or numbers. A small piece of magic eraser works well to erase and all of this practice strengthens our hand muscles!

In science, we will be learning more about dinosaurs this week! Always a fun adventure in PreK!

In math, we will classify and sort items into 2 or more categories. You can practice this at home by having your PreKPal sort all of the toys by color, then switch and have them put all cars in a pile and all blocks in a pile, regardless of color. You can also practice counting from 1-5 by touching each item ONCE when you count. We call this “counting in an organized fashion” and we practice daily during our morning message.

I hope to see all of you so very soon! Have a wonderful week and remember that we love you!

Alicia