This Week in Our T-Th Pre-3 Class....

Weeks of Nov. 6th, 13th, and 20th!

Where did all that time go??!! And what have we been doing? Well, it’s not that much time – really. Really, that was only 5 classes. But in that time, we continue to be such a wonderfully, busy group of children!

Part of our big fun in the last couple of weeks has been the new stuff we put into the sensory table – CRANBERRIES! Oh, such fun! Did you know that cranberries float?! They are just the best fun to put into a big tub of water, and chase around with a variety of scooping objects!

Now, if you read our little blog on any kind of a regular basis, you should be able to guess which of our friends you can find here! Yes, that’s correct. This is one of Aidan’s favorite spots, especially once our friend Joe Keaton returned (complete with a handsome tan) from Hawaii. Those 2 boys certainly do enjoy each other’s company! Also, Ciaran and Jo-Jo find time to spend here, always happy and excited to check out what’s hanging out in our tub.

Art projects included making turkeys using our hands and some fun feathers, and continuing our experience with glue while making trees with fall leaves on them. We have spent some time at the easels with markers, crayons, and on some days, some paint. Emily continues to enjoy her time on art projects with Mrs. Jaques, but also does some very wonderful independent work at the art easels. And Mrs. Jaques’ art projects seem to also very much speak to our friend, Cecilia, who enjoys starting her days now by checking in with Mrs. Jaques first. This is so exciting!

I find it would be remiss to just end my comments on our art projects here, because what we are seeing more and more of in this classroom is consistent use of art time by all of our friends. Aidan, Michael, Cairan, Gisela and Jo-Jo all consistently check in at the art table to see if the project speaks to their artistic souls. It’s so exciting just how much of the time spent doing art is real interest expressed by so many of our friends! Sometimes, though, there is just so much else going on that we can’t do everything in one day, so we simply don’t have time to get to the art table!

That’s great! That means that there is something else interesting going on! Maybe it’s a puzzle. Aidan is always helpful with a puzzle, as is Gisela, Cecilia, and Michael. Maybe it’s something new in the classroom! This will always be found by Gisela and Michael, and then, by the rest of our friends.

Last week, our friends found babies in the classroom. This was of particular interest to the girls. Mrs. Coleman, who loved her baby dolls as a little girl, was in a space of pure joy as she played babies with Gisela, Cecilia and Emily. This was the first time we could remember the girls in our classroom playing with the same thing all at the same time. I am excited to put the dolls back in the classroom again!

Story time continues to capture everyone's attention! We love things that rhyme, or have rhythm in the language. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! for instance is a perenniel favorite. 10 Little Dinos Jumping on the Bed keeps us all focused as we count backwords, and help Mrs. Jaques with the language that is repetitive. Delightful! Their involvment has us so thrilled!!

Snack time brought us treats last week as we celebrated Aidan's birthday with chocolate cupcakes and purple frosting! Cupcakes are messy; there's just no way around it! But boy are they good! Always interesting to see who can peel off the wrapper, who just goes for the frosting, and who is truly a cupcake conneisseur! We are consisently using some great language in our snack room ("May I have some more please?") and being helpful by taking good care of our own spot (what goes in the garbage can, what goes on the counter).

Music has been sketchy as we have been having a very good time playing in our second (snack) room. These are toys we don't all that much exposure to, so on those days when the kids are really involved with what's there, we don't rush to move them on. But trust me, there is still alot of singing! We sing going down the hall; we sing getting our coats on; we sing to line up! If you haven't heard the Paw Paw Patch song, ask your child if he or she will sing it to you! Ciaran has started to take it upon himself to help Mrs. Jaques sing this to get his friends all lined up for snack! (It's just the best!)

What's coming up?
More art -- now with a "winter" theme.
Stories to talk about snow, and some about Christmas and Hannakuh.
A little Christmas Party. Watch for a notice outside the classroom!

Thanks for your wonderful children, and for all of your support! Have a great week!

Respectfully,
Lisa Coleman

Week of Oct. 30th

It's hard to believe that we have already finished with October and all the stories about pumpkins and costumes and other related Halloween things, and that we are now in the month of November; but it's here, and we are moving forward, full steam ahead!!

This week found us replacing our water in the water table with some rice work. Another "something" to get our hands in. There is such value in getting our whole hands into these different sensory experiences. Our friend Mrs. McArthur had put in some very fun silver pitchers to try pouring the rice back and forth with! Ciaran, Aidan, Joe and Gisela wasted no time in trying this new experience.

Now, with rice (as with sand and water!), we can experience an abundance of enthusiasm! So Mrs. Coleman has introduced a tool to the class, called a broom. (Just to see if there was any interest.) Well, lo and behold, not only did our friend, Aidan, show interest, he showed incredible talent!! Mrs. Coleman has decided to just "park" the broom and stand-up dust pan next to the rice table, so that it is readily available to our friends should they want to use it. Aidan uses it consistently, and has made it an object of interest to his classmates!

We introduced some animal matching cards to the class, and found that several of our friends could do this using multiple cards at a time! Although almost everyone has had a turn with this game, Emily and Cecilia in particular enjoyed an extended turn with Mrs. Jaques and all the challenges this game provided.

Jo-Jo continues to work on his good-bye ritual with the support of his teachers and his mom. This includes saying "good-bye" to everyone when we leave a room, and "hello" when we return to the room. Jo-Jo and Mrs. Coleman also had a very good time this week building some roads for the animals to walk on. Building blocks are great things, especially when we have someone to build with!

Mrs. Coleman introduced markers to the easels this week for the first time. Emily, our "artist in residence" found these quite useful, creating a picture with multiple colors and shapes! She spent a good deal of time happily involved in this endeavor. Michael was the other person that Mrs. Coleman specifically tried to introduce to this different kind of easel work; and found that Michael enjoys doing drawing work with a friend! He and Aidan created a wonderul work of art together, covering most of the paper, each with their chosen, preferred color! We also discovered that Michael enjoyed using the markers for a little bit of body art! Truth be told, Mrs. Jaques and I heard that Mrs. McArthur might be doing some finger painting in one of her classrooms. I wonder if we might be able to see if Mrs. McArthur might want to "spread the love," so to speak, and bring her desire to finger paint into our class?? My guess is Michael and Mrs. McArthur would have a meeting of the minds.... or would that be fingers?! Stay tuned, 'cause this feels like a good idea, and I'm guessin' the results will find their way to our bulletin board!

Ciaran loves to sing, and has learned many of our little songs already. His ever-present enthusiasm for singing, and music in general, make the whole process of learning and singing that much more enticing for his friends! Thanks so much for your help, Ciaran!

Thanks to all of my students, and also to their parents! The joy I feel in this classroom is unparalleled! It is a privelage to work with children, and a blessing to work with your children. Your trust in me is something I hold dear, and do not take lightly. I hope I remember to thank each and every one of you.

Respectfully,
Lisa Coleman




Week of Oct. 23rd

Well, you heard that our little artists were busy with bats! They have also had fun with decorating pumpkins and ghosts with glitter, giving ghosts faces, and making spider webs with marble painting!! This is truly a creative lot! (Though I believe we have seen enough orange and black to last us at least another 12 months.)

When we are not sitting at Mrs. Jaques' art table, what are we doing?? Well, Cecilia found the sand bucket this week, when Mrs. Coleman invited her to come over and see if she could find the things (little white spiders) that were hidden in there.

Ciaran found the vegetable cutting, and the sand bucket.

Michael, Joe Keaton and Emily did some animal matching cards.

Many of us have been trying out different kinds of peg boards -- most recently, the one with golf tees! That's fun.

My friend Aidan is working on sharing, and he is working hard! He also has shown us that puzzles are great fun, working with Mrs. Coleman on Peter, Peter Pumkin-eater many times!

Jo-Jo and Gisela discovered that Mrs. Coleman replaced the stuffed bunnies in the playhouse with some bears, and they both had great fun -- sometimes separately, and sometimes together -- showing those bears around the room!

We had a fabulous Halloween party on Thursday with some very yummy cookies, pretty napkins, cups and flowers! It was nice to have something special with our friends.

Poem of the week:
5 Little Pumpkins

5 little pumpkins, sitting on a gate.
The 1st one said, "Oh my! It's getting late!"
The 2nd one said, "There are witches in the air!"
The 3rd one said, "I don't care!"
The 4th one said, "Let's run and run and run!"
The 5th one said, "Time for Halloween Fun!"

Happy Halloween Everyone! Be safe. Be warm. Bee-e-e-e-e-e-WARE!!! BOO!

Respectfully,
Lisa Coleman

LUNCH BUNCH COMEDY!!

It's so much fun to tell jokes! It's a common practice in our Lunch Bunch Classrooms.
Here's some from Mrs. Bank's 3-4 yr. old Lunch Bunch Room:

Zev: Why is a seagull called a seagull? It flies over the sea. When it flies over the bay, what is it called? A bagel!! (Bay-gull!)

Stella: What is a ghost's favorite pie? B-0-0-0-0-0 berry!

Dahlia: Knock, knock.
(Who's there?)
Boo.
(Boo Who?)
Don't cry!!

Stella: What does a fish wear to work? A swim suit!

Annie: What does a witch put on her hair? Scare - spray!!

This week in our T-Th Pre-3 Class....

Week of October 16th

This week saw a big change for our class -- we added a new classmate! The T-Th Pre-3's are happy to welcome to our class Mr. Ciaran Walsh! (and the crowd roars!!) Ciaran is a happy child who comes to our class with great language and curiosity. He is a friend to Cecilia, but had no trouble going beyond that connection to saying "hi" and doing his best to make connections with the other students in the class.

In addition to welcoming Ciaran, we have been very busy with our work! Aidan has been washing pumpkins and other gourds with great enthusiasm, and lately involving our friend Joe Keaton in this work as well. In fact, the enthusiasm was so great that it, umm, "spilled" shall we say, over into other parts of the room, and Mrs. Coleman "put the lid on it!" But we will continue our pumpkin washing as we move into a new week, because with energy around a project like that, you can't just suddenly put it away all together!

Our friend, Michael is working on his language skills, with the help of his family, his teachers, and also his friends in class. He made some great strides in answering questions last week, and making new efforts to be involved with those around him! You go, Michael!! And a special thanks to Ciaran and Joe Keaton for their help in modeling good language for their friend!

Mrs. Jaques continues to bring wonderful surprises into the classroom for those interested in the "fine arts!" Although Miss Emily is always the first one to find her way over to Mrs. Jaques' table, many of our class find their happy way there, and so we have much to show for it! Make sure to take a peek at our bulletin board in the first classroom to see some of the Halloween fun being created by both of the Children School Pre-3 Classes!

Song for the week: Five Little Leaves (to the tune of 5 Little Ducks)
5 little leaves so bright and gay,
Dancing on the tree one day;
The wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Now there's four... (Sing and count backwords)

See you in the classroom!!
Respectfully,
Lisa Coleman

Week of October 9th

In only a few short weeks, this class has shown an immense capacity for settling in and taking advantage of all that we offer them. Between myself and Mrs. Jaques, we strive to make sure that we are identifying what "it" is that really turns each child on.

For Miss Emily that is anything in Mrs. Jaques' magic black bucket -- "ART!!!" The first time we put out an art project, Emily simply lit up! We are challenged now to find things for Emily that will involve cutting, gluing, and creating on a regular basis.
For Lady Gisela it is variety! She enjoys water, painting, sand, puzzles, and the other children. She also enjoys our little playhouse and has learned not only to share it, but to enjoy playing there with her new friend Jo-Jo.
For Mr. Joe K., our quiet but very capable boy, it is things he can manipulate. Several things fall into this catagory - the pumpkin people in the sand, the puzzles, the cars. He is very helpful, and often is the first to respond to my request for helpers, setting an excellent example for his friends.
For Mr. Michael - he has surprised us with his acceptance of us as his teachers, and this new environment. He is happiest if he has something on the floor to go to. That does not mean that Michael stays there, but it is a good place to go back and forth from. He has thoroughly enjoyed the sand and the rice. He loves to play playdough, especially if Mrs Jaques stays to play too.
Our friend, Mr. Aidan has just come back from vacation, so is getting back into the routine. He has successfully stolen my heart, as Aidan not only likes to sweep with our new child-sized broom and stand-up dustpan, but his first question everyday is "Are we going to have music!?"
For Miss Cecilia, it is having a safe place from which she can keep an eye on the rest of the room. She sits on her cushions and watches, sometimes pulling something off of the shelves to play with by herself, and sometimes waiting for story time before she will join the others.
For Mr. Jo-Jo, "it" is the success found in saying good-bye and staying at school. We are touched by his sadness, and moved by his bravery! Jo-Jo always has a good time once we have "mourned" the leaving of MOM. A good fishy cracker goes a long way towards moving forward with the day.

We are wonderful story listeners, and enjoy a good story! We are proving to be patient listeners, who often have comments on the story to share! We are looking at a new book that requires we wait for our turn to touch all the special pages, but it's worth it!

We all like to go to music! This is great, because I love to sing, often to the frustration of my co-workers as I break into song which may or may not use the same words I used just the day before! We sing as we are... getting in line, going down the hall, going out to play, just about anytime. We are learning to sing some songs together in the music room.

The Stretching Song
Stretch your hands up in the air (reaching for the ceiling)
Find your toes; they're way down there (bend over and touch toes)
Stretch your arms out to the sides, a-a-a-n-n-n-n-n-n-d-d-d-d-d FLY (GLIDE, DIVE)!!

Depending on the choice of flying, gliding or diving, we can be jet planes, birds, pteradactyls, or even whales. We follow each other around in a circle making the motion we have chosen, and sometimes discuss what we see while we are ... diving for instance. (We often look for buried treasure when we are being whales deep below the sea!)

We are also learning:
I'm a little Scarecrow (to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little Scarecrow stuffed with straw (pat tummy)
I wear a hat (hands on top of head and up to a point)
And I stand up tall (bring hands down, so standing like a "t")
When the birds come over (wave arms like a bird)
I scream and shout, "Away from my garden; now you get out!" (Point as if pointing at birds to warn them away.)

We are a busy class, but more importantly, we are a happy class!! We hope you will stay tuned here so that we can share more of our news with you!

By the way -- have you seen our bats hanging in our snack room??

Respectfully, Lisa Coleman

Our Preschoolers Say the Darndest Things!!

Friday, Octerber 6th

"I have been waiting all day for you to give me my name so that I could go see that record player!" -- Christopher, MWF Class, to Mrs. Coleman when she was passing out tickets to go across the hall for some marching music.