September
Character Counts – “I Keep on Trying!”
Our
Theme for September is “All about Me!” so this month we are going to discover
all the very special things that make us unique. We will be exploring our
similarities and differences, measuring our weight and height, find out how
high we can jump, and identify the parts of our bodies. We will be discussing
our families and even our pets. We are going to start an “All about Me” book
that we will add to all year long to document our growth and development. We
will be discussing our likes and dislikes and learning about one another’s families.
Our Special activity for the month is “Bubble-ology 101” a fun and interactive
assembly all about the science of bubbles. Our students will learn how to make
bubbles with creative tools like spatulas, netting, and their own hands. They
will even have the opportunity to stand inside a real bubble!!
One
of the stories we will be reading is “The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn. In the
story a little raccoon is going to school for the first time. He is very
nervous about leaving his mother so she kisses the palm of his hand and sends
him to school with a kiss he can keep all day. Separation is a stressful
situation for preschoolers. When your child is having a hard time coming into
school try leaving them with a very special kissing hand of their own!
October
Character
Counts- “I am Positive!”
This
month’s theme is “Imagination Celebration” We will be learning about community
helpers and careers. We will be asking the questions “What do I want to be when
I grow up?” and “What are my Parents jobs?” Parents can help by talking to your
child (and possibly even the class) about your job, and showing the types of
tools you work with. For example, a nurse uses a thermometer and stethoscope.
We will have lots of time to explore these concepts by dressing up in different
career costumes and using career tools.
We
will be exploring our imaginations and creativity. We will pretend to stomp
through the forest like Max in the book “Where the wild things are” by Maurice
Sendak. In the book “If” by Sarah Perry
we can see what it would look like “if children had tails” or “if the moon was
square” and we are going to create our very own “If’s!” The pumpkin patch will be coming to our
school and we will be carving class pumpkins.
Our
special activity for the month is our “Spooky Spectacular” During
Halloween, Children come dressed in their Costumes and we have an all school
Parade, Carnival games with prizes, “Bobbing for Ghosts” activity, & class
potluck. Instead of trick or treating for candy, our students practice large
and fine motor skills in games and earn prizes and Books. Dressing up is lots
of fun and dressing up with your friends is even more fun!
NOVEMBER
Character
Counts- “I am Respectful!”
This
month’s theme is “Harvest of Helpers” we are going to learn about ways we can
help others in our classroom and community. Parents can help by bringing in can
food donations for the Second Harvest outreach program. We will be using the
food pyramid to learn about healthy eating habits and nutrition. We are going to
practice using our manners and even learn how to say please, more, and thank
you in American Sign Language.
This
month’s special activity is a visit from “Big John Fire Truck.” We’ll be
learning all about fire safety and when " Big John" talks about fire
safety to the children he "cries" real water from his headlights
because he is sad when children are injured by fire and he "smiles and
waves" by his light bar lighting up because the children are learning to
be fire safe.
We
are also going to be having our rehearsals for the fall program. We are going
to focus on learning and singing a new song and practicing a group dance
routine. So as you can imagine we will be doing a lot of practice with learning
our left from our right!
One
of our books for the month is “Stone Soup” by Ann McGovern. In the story a
stranger arrives in a village and is very hungry with no money to buy food. He
asks everybody in the village if they would share some food with him, but
everyone tells him that they have no food to spare. So the stranger tells them
that he will make stone soup. There’s a fun twist in the story, so if parents
haven’t read it we will have mini-book copies to send home. In the end we learn
an important lesson on giving. After we read the story we are going to reenact
the story with the whole school. The students will be going from classroom to
classroom asking for food, and when everyone tells us no, we will make our very
own batch of stone soup.
DECEMBER
Character
Counts – “I Am Fair!”
Our Theme for December is “All Kinds of Kids” and this month
we will be learning about acceptance and tolerance. We are going to learn about
our multicultural world by exploring holidays and celebrations from around the
world. We are going to play music and instruments from different cultures and
sample different types of foods. If your family has a special holiday or food,
we would love to have you share them with our class! In addition to our
cultural understanding, we are also going to be learning about our friends with
special needs. We are going to experience what it is like to sit in a
wheelchair and try using crutches to walk. We have different types of glasses
that we will try on and we are going to have lunch one day wearing blindfolds
and one day wearing earmuffs.
We are going to be making our own dolls just like Elizabeti
from the book “Elizabeti’s Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodean. We even have
blending paints to mix and match to create our individual skin tones. The
children usually get a big surprise to find out that even when we look a lot
alike our skin tones are usually different! Ms Cindy’s skin tone is beige and
crème with a dash of cinnamon! We will have lots of fun finding our own match.
Our special activity this month is our All School Program. An All School Extravaganza! Live and On Stage! We Perform
at the lovely "Women’s Club of Orange" The Children Perform Songs
& Dances in “Custom Made” Costumes with Beautiful Backdrops! It's the
Show of the Season!!!
Example: When we performed our "Disney
Extravaganza" our Butterfly class dressed up in satin "Jasmine"
and "Aladdin" costumes hand made by Ms Debbie. Hmm... Did I mention
the Lion King's, Dalmatian’s, and some adorably tiny "Mickey’s" and
"Minnie's" dancing around?
JANUARY
Character
Counts – “I Am Kind!”
This month’s theme is “Wonderful Weather” and we will be
exploring how seasons change. We are going to discuss which clothing we wear
during each season and what kinds of places we visit when the seasons change;
such as the mountains when it snows and the beach in the summer. We are going
to ask for our parents help in making a season collage of us! We are going to
collect pictures of us taken during all four seasons and contrast and compare
them. In the book “It looked like spilled milk” by Charles G. Shaw we see how
sometimes the clouds in the sky look like bunnies and sometimes they look like
flowers. We are going to have an experiment to see how many shapes we can see
in the clouds!
We are also going to be starting our kindness curriculum
this month. It is a program where we practice the skills it takes to be a good
friend. We practice using kind words and what are the appropriate ways to
handle our differences. Our Event this month is a special visit from the Police
Department. They are going to be talking to us about stranger safety “We never
talk to Strangers!” and car safety “Buckle Bear says good job kids for riding
in your car seats!”
February
Character
Counts – “ I Have Integrity!”
This month’s theme is “Mother Goose Rocks!” and will be
rocking out to some of our favorite nursery rhymes and poetry. Mary’s little
lamb has gotten lost and we are going to go on a hunt to find him. The Itsy
bitsy spider made a huge sticky web on the playground and we are going to see
how strong it is by throwing bug beanbags onto it. We are going to build a wall
out of blocks and see it we can balance an egg on it without the egg falling
off like Humpty Dumpty.
Our special activity this month is the “Book-It Beginners”
program by Pizza Hut. Students will be taking home cut outs where they will
records the books that they read at home with their families. They bring the
cut outs back to school and we will add them to the class reading chart. At the
end of the month each student who participates will receive a coupon from Pizza
Hut for his or her very own mini-pizza. When the whole school reads 1000 books
we will have an all school ice cream party! Parents, while you are reading to
your children it is important that you tell them the author and illustrators
name and remind them what an author and illustrator does!
MARCH
Character Counts – “I Am Dependable!”
The Theme for March is “Down on the Farm” and we are going
to be learning all about farm animals and where they live. We will be reviewing
animal sounds, and experimenting with the textures of wool, feathers, fur, and
scales. We are going to be matching animal babies (lambs) to their mothers
(sheep). We are going to be hatching Chicks in an incubator in the front office
so be sure to check on their progress throughout the weeks. We are also going
to be practicing our animal movements like crawling, hopping, and jumping.
Our special event this month is an on-site field trip to the
farm. We will have a chance to pet pigs, goats, sheep and bunnies, hold
chickens, and even feed the animals. Parents are always encouraged to attend
our special events and we appreciate volunteers. In the book “A mother for
Choco” by Keiko Kasza, a little Bird is all alone until he is adopted by a
special family (which includes a Bear, a Turtle and an Alligator!), and we are
going to be talking about how we are all part of a family. We are all different
and unique and very special too!
APRIL
Character
Counts – “I Control Myself!”
The theme for this month is “Growing Things!” and we will be
planting a spring garden on our play yard. We are going to plant the seeds,
care for our sprouts and watch our seeds grow. We are also going to see how
much we have grown since September! We are going to measuring our weight and
height and find out how high we can jump now. Guess Who? We going to be asking
parents to bring in a baby photo of their child and we are going to post them
and see if we can identify our friends from their baby photos.
One of our books this month is “What a wonderful world” by
George David Weiss and is based on the song by Louis Armstrong. We are going to
be learning the song in American Sign Language and we will videotape our
performance. Our Students Love to watch themselves perform, over and over and
over again. We are also sending home the “Our class is Wonderful” book and each
family will be able to write a page about what is wonderful about their child.
MAY
Character
Counts – “I Am a Good Citizen!”
The theme for May is “It’s Tough to be a Bug” and this month
we are going to get buggy! We are going to go on a bug watching expedition and
learn about caring for and having respect for all of nature’s creatures. We
will be going on nature walks and making nature collages. We will be learning
about the caterpillar life cycle, and have a chance to witness the magical
transformation. We will also be learning to identify the parts of a bug such as
the thorax and antennae. We will care for our caterpillars and watch them grow
until they hatch from their chrysalis’ as painted lady butterflies. We will
then let them fly free on our play yard.
Don’t Forget our annual Snail Races (We are serious… we
really do watch live snails race! It takes all day and is more fun than you’d
think)
We will be able to dress up as our favorite insects and dance
the day away at our “Ugly Bug Ball.” This special assembly is presented by
JULES music for kids. Jules will entertain and delight the students with his
voice, guitar and props. We will march like the ants in the book “The ants go
marching” by Jeffery Scherer. Do the jive to his original song “Holy moley, I’m
a Roly-Poly!” and go on an exciting new adventure with the itsy bitsy spider.
JUNE
Character
Counts – “I Am Patient!”
This month’s theme is “Deep in the Jungle” and we are going
to go on a safari to learn about wild animals. Lions, Tigers and Bears Oh
My! In the book “Alligator Baby” by
Robert Munsch, Kristen’s parents take a wrong turn on their way to the hospital
and they accidentally have their baby at the zoo! When they get home to show
Kristen her new baby brother, she is shocked to find that they brought home an
alligator baby instead. Her parents try three times to bring home the right
baby but each time they bring another animal baby instead. So Kristen decides
to go to the zoo to find her baby brother herself. In an activity created
specifically for our students, we will help Kristen and search the zoo to find
her baby brother!
Our special event this month is our Cool Critters Assembly.
Is your son or daughter fascinated by lizards, snakes, tortoises, frogs and
salamanders? How about huge tarantulas, scorpions, millipedes and giant hissing
cockroaches? We are going to have a chance to observe and interact with these
different kinds of insects and reptiles. We will be able to feel what a lizards
skin is like. We will even be able to take a picture with a giant snake!!
Including our show stopper: Sunshine, the albino Burmese python! (It takes 10
of our students to hold her straight)
June is the end of our regular school year and we will be
reviewing what we have learned. All 26 letters: uppercase and lowercase. Our
colors: primary, pastel and blends. Our shapes, numbers, counting, large and
small motor skills. At the end of the
month we will have an official Graduation Ceremony. Parents, Family and Friends
are all invited to joins us as our students walk across the stage in their caps
and gowns to receive their diplomas.
JULY
Character Counts – “I Am Brave!”
This month’s theme is “Dino-mite Dinosaurs!” and we are
going to have a Roaring fun time. We will be learning the names of the
dinosaurs and we will classify them by size and shape. We are going to discuss
the difference between real and pretend. We are going to learn the definition
of extinct. We are going to build a
volcano and make it erupt with flowing lava, and we are going to excavate
dinosaur bones during our all school “Dinosaur Dig” Assembly by Full-Spectrum
Educational Entertainment.
Summer is a very special time at our preschool; since the
school year is out we’re going to add a special theme to every week!
Little Chefs Week: “What’s Cookin Kids?” you’ll find
out everyday this week!
Olympics Week: The hurdles, the races, the
trike-athon, gold medals and baseball cards.
Patriotic Week: The Stars and Stripes and All School
Train Rides!
Pets Week: Whats your favorite pet? All School “Puppy
Party” Assembly.
AUGUST
Character
Counts – “I Am Honest!”
Our theme
for August is “Under the Sea” and we will be diving into a wet and wonderful
world. We will be learning about volume and density. For science we will
experiment with whether items will sink or float. We are going to learn about
the different creatures that live in the sea. In the story “How I became a
Pirate” by Melinda Long, a little boy goes on a pirate adventure but learns
that being a pirate might not be as much fun as he thought. We are going to go
on a Pirate adventure too! We are going to build our own pirate ship and follow
a map to find the treasure. We are going to make pirate hats and eye patches
and we may even walk the plank!
To celebrate
the last days of summer we will have an all school luau. We will be making our
own aloha fruit salad and pineapple shakes. And we are going to learn how to do
the hula and play the game of limbo. How low can you go?
Summer is a very special time at our preschool; since the
school year is out we’re going to add a special theme to every week!
Pirate Week: Treasure Hunts, Learning our Pirate
Names, Captains Hook and more.
Luau Week: The Island Dance Company Luau (Featuring
Dancers from 4-14yrs old)
Western Week: YeeHaw! Its time to saddle up for some
Pony Rides! And photos!
End Of
Summer: Time to get the last of our wiggles out! The Bounce House is
coming.
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