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