BRIGHT BEGINNINGS PRESCHOOL


Experienced Quality Child Care Since 1984


www.brightbeginningsva.com  

Millcreek Newsletter


May 14, 2010

Upcoming Events:

Monday, May 31^st, Closed Completely for Memorial Day

Friday, June 4^th, Children’s Night Out, “Space Adventures”

Wednesday, June 9^th, Pre-K Graduation and Sundae Social, 11:00 am

Friday, June 11^th, Closed Completely for Staff Development and Training

Financial Memo:

Pay the 2010-2011 re-registration fee now to ensure your child a spot in our

program.

Be sure to use your pass card upon entering the building. If you forget your

card, please sign in at the front desk.

Speech Weekly

Toddlers and young 2’s

We began by reading a repetitive story while acting out the movements in the story.  We also fed our baby cookies that were in the shape of a circle, rectangle, heart, semicircle, triangle, and square. Next we focused on a sharing activity in which the children sat in a circle and requested a toy by using at least 3-4 words.  We read “Buddy Bear Goes on Vacation” and described all the places Buddy Bear went such as the desert, ocean, jungle, forest, etc. We worked on sign language throughout the entire session.

Older 2’s

We began by reading “Polar Bear Polar Bear” and described several animals as well as actions.  We then read “Buddy Bear Goes on Vacation” and described places such as the forest, jungle, beach, desert, ocean, etc.  We also fed our talking baby shape cookies.  The children did a great job with the different shapes.  We also worked on a sharing activity in which the children requested a toy from their friends using at least 5-6 words. 

3’s and 4’s

  This week we focused primarily on phonemic awareness.  The children received a plate filled with shaving cream to practice their letters.  I made a sound and the children had to “write” the corresponding letter in the shaving cream.  Then we discussed words that began with specific sounds as well as came up with rhyming words.  Next we began blending sounds to make words.  We used the tabletop to make simple words and integrated several letters to make new words.  The children are going to have a great start to Kindergarten.  In the upcoming language groups I would like to continue the “Road to the Code” phonemic awareness program to continue sound blending. 

Have a great weekend.   
 

                                    Stacy Torrence M.S. CCC-SLP

Reading Weekly

On Tuesday, May 18th, an appropriate book for the rainy day was read a-loud, The Rainy Day, by Anna Milbourne.  The Pre-kindergarteners used the literacy skill of letter knowledge to match the seven letters of the word “rainbow.”  Matching the letters also matched the seven colors to form a class rainbow! It may have been rainy outside, but it was beautifully bright inside!

Edith H. Fisher

Class Notes

Starfish

This week in the Starfish class, we had so much fun. First, we were farmers on the farm and we pretended to grow corn. We counted farm animals, and made a finger puppet out of a paper bag, and the children had a blast decorating it! Ms. Stacy came to visit and read, “Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?” We also practiced feeding a baby with shapes and using our words to express what we were doing.

Towards the end of the week, we talked about our pets. We made cats, and the children picked out their own colors and gave their cats a name! There was also a cooking project this week and we made “Cheese Cats,” with english muffins and string cheese. They created different faces and it was really yummy!

Seals

Hello again from the Seals! The Seals had a lot of fun this weekend at the family picnic. The Seals and all the classes did a terrific job on their songs and skits! Great job everyone, you were great! This week we reviewed our farm animals, counting, ABC’s and opposites. We graphed our pets and talked about our pets. The Seals were back into the cooking mode on Friday whipping up something yummy. We practiced the skills of follow directions, fine motor, gross motor, listening skills, sharing, manners, etc.

In art the seals were hard at work. We made a farmer and decorated him with watercolor paints. The children also made a finger puppet rooster. Then we made a photo frame for our pets. The Seals made a cat lunch bag puppet. The last thing we made was another class photo “tree.” The Seals are so creative!

During gross motor time we danced and played with the bubbles. We also did exercise and played, “Follow the Leader.” The children also played, “Ring Around the Rosy.” We practiced the skills of hand eye coordination, running, jumping, hopping, and following directions.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! See everyone next week! We are going to have a lot more fun! Some dates to remember:

We will be CLOSED Monday May 31 and Monday July 5.  

Ms. Cheri

Dolphin

This week, the Dolphin Class has talked about animals! We counted the animals in a picture, graphed our pets, created our own pets, and made cats. We have had so much fun!

We have so much fun during our day and we want that to continue it at home. It is hard to do that when their routine is interrupted and you do not know it. I am going to start writing on Day Notes whenever there is an irregularity in your child’s day. If your child does not sleep or eat on a given day (and s/he usually does), then I will write it on his or her Day Note. Also, I will write if they have had accidents, complained of feeling sick, or looking tired. This will hopefully help with stuff at home.

In math/science, we graphed our pets, counted animals in a picture, talked about waste reduction/recycling for Project Green, and made a chart of descriptive words.

In letters, we talked about the plot of a story, had reading class with Mrs. Fisher, speech activities with Ms. Stacy, and wrote in our journals.

In art, we created farmers with shapes, drew and made finger puppets, created our own pets, and made cats out of paper plates!

In social studies, we did a unit on Serbia. We learned what continent it is on, found out Ms. Kimberly has been there, saw it on the map, looked at its flag, and learned about its language.

We also had a fun field trip to the strawberry patch at Chile’s Peach Orchard on Friday! Thanks for all your help with transportation and chaperoning.

We have had a busy, fun-filled, energetic week, and we cannot wait for next week!

Ms. Kimberly and Ms. Missy

Walrus

The Walrus Class had a busy, but really fun week. Thank you to everyone who helped out with the Chile’s field trip; it was so much fun! The students broke down into smaller groups this week to work closely on their counting, building, and complex patterns skills. We had our last visit of the year from Mrs. Fisher and we read a great book about the rain and rainbows.  Mrs. Fisher created a cute activity that involved spelling the word rainbow and going over the correct color order of the rainbow.  Ms. Stacy was also able to join us this week and go over our letter sounds by drawing them in shaving cream. She also introduced “blending words,” which we are going to spend more time on in the weeks to come. The book mobile came for its usual visit and we were able to fill our classroom with fresh, new, and exciting books! Our list of “O” words continues to get longer, and we wrote several of them in our journals.

As we review our artists, the students have noticed that each of them have a, “self portrait.” We decided to draw our own self portraits and they turned out amazing! Check them out in the hallway. For Project Green this week, we talked about wasted materials and ways we could not waste things. Some of the items the students came up with were paper, water, napkins, buying more things than needed, and food.

The weather cleared up towards the end of the week and we were able to get outside and play! We ended the week with a picnic and getting the garden prepared for our vegetables! Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Ryland and Ms. Emily