September 26th

This week we will begin our preschool curriculum. The curriculum we are using this year is Opening the World of Learning (OWL). The first unit is FAMILY. In this unit, students will be exploring and talking about families and the many different ways family members relate to and help one another.

Theme Concepts:

• Family members have role names (mother, father, sister, brother, etc)
• Some family members live together, some live in other places but are still family members.
• Grown-ups in a family take care of children. Younger children need more care. Older children can help take care of younger brothers and sisters.
• Families do things together that are fun.

Our Stories for this week include: 
Oonga Boonga - by Frieda Wishinksy
Peter's Chair - Ezra Jack Keats

Handwriting -Working on our coloring book of colors

Small Groups - 

Journal Page
Coloring our House
Adding our families to our house

Choice Time:  
Dramatic Play - Kitchen
Rug - Doll Houses
Art - Open exploration
Sensory - Water Table
Math Center - matching to numerals
Literacy Center - Making words with letter tiles
Easel - Painting Peter's Chair

Music
Head Shoulders, Mat Man, Open Shut Them

What's Coming Up

Preschool Homework - For our first unit we will be asking for 3-5 pictures of their family from each child.  We will be using them to create a project about family in our classroom.  More information will be coming out soon.

Back to School Night - We will have our back to school night on Tuesday, October 18th from 6:30-7:30.  I will give an overview of our classroom curriculum and expectations then parents are welcome to explore the classroom.  This night is for parents only please.


As always please contact me with any questions or concerns, via email, note or phone call.  I look forward to getting to know your children and the great year ahead.

We had a great first week of school!   Pictures will be posted to our Lucky Duck blog this week.  In order to view the pictures, there are a few steps to follow.  First I will send out an email inviting you to view the pictures.  You will need to accept this invitation with your email then log into the Lucky Ducks Picture blog and sign in with the same email.  The intention is to allow only Lucky Duck families to view the pictures and is not open to everyone.  These emails will be coming out this week.

September 19, 2016
Our Stories for this week include: 
Preschool Day Hooray
D.W.'s Guide to Preschool

Handwriting - We will be learning about Mat Man.  Students help build Mat Man with wooden pieces as we sign the Mat Man song.  Students are also given the chance to draw Mat Man while listening to the song as well.

Small Groups - We are continuing the year with "All about me"
Apple Counting
Matching letters in our name
Rolling a dice and adding stickers to a grid.
Matching colors with our ducks in a pond

Choice Time:  
Dramatic Play - Kitchen
Rug - Potato Heads
Art -  Open exploration
Sensory - Sand and construction trucks
Math Center - putting apples on trees
Literacy Center - Magna Doodles
Blocks - colored cardboard blocks

Music
Head Shoulders, Mat Man

What's Coming Up
Preschool Homework - For our first unit we will be asking for 3-5 pictures of their family from each child.  We will be using them to create a project about family in our classroom.  More information will be coming out soon.

Back to School Night - We will have our back to school night on Tuesday, October 18th from 6:30-7:30.  I will give an overview of our classroom curriculum and expectations then parents are welcome to explore the classroom.  This night is for parents only please.


As always please contact me with any questions or concerns, via email, note or phone call.  I look forward to getting to know your children and the great year ahead.

First Day of School!

Thank you for coming to our open house.  It was great to meet so many new friends.

As we start the year, we will be taking some time to learn about classroom expectations and routines while we get to know each other.  Some of the activities will include our morning greeting song - Hello ____. The children have the choice to bounce on or roll a big ball while we sing.

Please remember to send in an extra set of clothes in a ziplock style bag that we may keep here at school.  Please label the clothing and bag.

Preschool Life Skills are an important component of our preschool curriculum.  A complete list can be found at the top of this page.  Our first life skill is Response to Name.  When a teacher calls your name, you stop, look and say 'yes'.

Our curriculum Opening the World of Learning (OWL) - develops an understanding of literacy through reading a variety of stories multiple times throughout the unit.  This provides for students to have a deeper understanding of the story, supports understanding vocabulary as well as retelling familiar stories.

Our Stories for this week include:
Pete the Cat's Rockin In My School Shoes
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Handwriting - We will be exploring a variety of materials during this time to strengthen our hands to get ready to write properly.  Students will progress as they are developmentally ready for this task.  We are starting this week with exploring playdough -squeezing, pulling, and pushing the dough.

Small Groups - We are starting the year with "All about me"
Journal Page about School
Decorating Birthday Crowns
Decorating the first letter of their name

Choice Time:  Students will be taught how to play in each center.
Dramatic Play - Kitchen
Puzzles
Art-  Hand Prints
Rug - Trains
Sensory - Sand
Math Center - number boards
Literacy Center - Magna Doodles


Music
We incorporate music throughout our day as a motor break or transition.  We also set aside some time at the end of the day to dance and sing as well.  Children are typically given the choice of songs to sing.  This week our songs will include Bingo, Wheels on the Bus and 5 Little Ducks


As always please contact me with any questions or concerns, via email, note or phone call.  I look forward to getting to know your children and the great year ahead.

Welcome to the Lucky Ducks!

On Thursday, September 8th, Lucky Duck families are invited to come and see the Lucky Duck classroom. You can explore our classroom from 9-9:30.  We look forward to meeting all of our new friends.

Camping

Our Last Day of School is Thursday, June 16, 2016

Camping

We have begun our final unit for the year; camping. With the end of the year being so hectic and busy- I will post the books and activities for the entire unit at once. I want to make sure that you have all of the unit information in case time gets away from me! Please remember to check the “Reminders” page for any extra important information such as upcoming dates for the rest of the year!

Here are the theme concepts for this unit:

Theme Concepts

1.        Camping is an activity when people stay overnight in a temporary structure.

2.       You need to prepare for a camping trip in advance.

3.       There are many different places to go camping.

4.       There are different activities you can do on a camping trip.

5.       You need to take precautions to stay safe on a camping trip.

Questions

1.        What is camping?

2.       What supplies do you need to bring on a camping trip?

3.       Where do people go camping?

4.       What do you see on a camping trip?

5.       What activities do you do on a camping trip?

Books for the week:

Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer

Bailey Goes Camping by Kevin Henkes

Absolutely Not by Matthew McElligott

Curious George Goes Camping by Margret Rey

Molly Goes Hiking by Ruth Shaw Radlauer

We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Small Groups:

1. Patterns

2. Camping memory

3. Build a campfire art activity

4. Telling Campfire Stories

5. Just Me and My Dad Sequence

6. Tent Positional Book

7. Nature walk

8. Rhyming words

9. Camping sequencing

10. Campfire game

11. What goes camping? What does not go camping?

Choice time:

Our choice time activities will vary but will include: lacing, games, dramatic play area, blocks, puzzles, coloring, books, and sensory table.

Songs, Word Play and Letters

Our song selection will remain a secret as we are now working on our choices for our end of the year performance.

5 Senses Week 1

5 Senses Week 1

This week we will begin our next unit on the 5 Senses. Here are the theme concepts for this unit:

• There are 5 Senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell
• Each sense has a different job and sometimes, they work together
• Different body parts are associated with different senses
• Senses give us important information about the world around us
• Some people do not have full use of all of their senses
• Senses can be enhanced artificially

The questions we will be answering in this unit are:

• How do we find out about the world around us?
• What are the five senses?
• How do you use your five senses?
• What body parts are connected with each sense?
• How do our senses work together to get information?

April 26th

Books for the week:

On My Way to Buy Eggs by: Chih-Yuan Chen

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Hero Cat by Eileen Spinelli

I learn with my senses by

Small Groups:

1. Journal Page

2. Elephant and mice (retell of Seven Blind Mice story)

3. Mixing Colors - Mouse Paint

4. Guess my Rule

Choice time:

Art Table: coloring Seven Blind Mice

Manipulatives: Lite Brites

Blocks - lego

Library Area: Spring and 5 Senses
Sensory Table: colored grass and monkeys

Writing Table:

Dramatic Play: Finding letters in a cave with a flashlight

Rug Toy: Puzzles

Transportation

Transportation

We are sending home the houses that were made as part of our last unit.  They had a blast using the houses with the roads they made to make neighborhoods and driving to each others house. I apologize as some of the houses are not being return in the same condition as they were sent in as they were played with for several weeks by the Lucky Duck friends. 

Transportation Weeks 1 & 2

During the next two weeks we will begin our unit about Transportation. Here are the theme concepts for this unit:

• There are many different modes of transportation
• Transportation is a way of moving people or things
• Transportation changes over time
• The choice of transportation depends on where you are going and what you are transporting
• There is public and private transportation
• There is land, sea and air transportation

The questions we will be answering in this unit are:

• What is transportation?
• What are the different modes of transportation?
• Why would we use different modes of transportation?
• Where would you find different kinds of transportation?
• How is transportation powered?
• What gets transported and how?

Week of March 21-25th - This week we are focusing on land travel

Books for the week:

Mr. George Baker by: Amy Hest

Freight Train by: Donald Crews

Small Groups:

1. Handwriting without Tears Traffic Light
2. Transportation Bingo
3. Cars counting book

Choice time:

Art Table:  Making Hats

Easel: Closed

Manipulatives: car counters
Library Area: Books about transportation
Sensory Table: water

Dramatic Play: kitchen

Rug Toy: Doll Houses

Block Area

Playdough

Week of March 28th

Books for the week:

Taxi Dog by Debra and Sal Barracca

Freight Train by Donald Crews

Small Groups:

1. Name Trains

2. Sorting same/ different

3. Transportation Vocab Book

Choice time:

Art Table:  build-a-tracks

Manipulatives: car counters - sorting by different attributes
Library Area: Books about transportation
Sensory Table: water

Dramatic Play: kitchen