V is for Valentines and Vacation!

Thanks to all my Lovebugs for the beautiful, funny and creative Valentine's Day cards and candies. 

I hope you are enjoying some time doing  activities together and maybe even relaxing with a good book or seeing some good movies or having some playdates.

I am enjoying some time in Texas with my daughter. Besides getting a new pair of boots, and eating some incredible Texas BBQ, and  going to the Harry Ransom Center,  one of the  highlights of my trip so far has been going mountain biking through some awesome trails in Austin, home of Lance Armstrong's Mellow Johnnys. Some of these  trails brought me through creeks and river beds where I had to maneuver over large boulders. It made me smile because while I was riding the trail I realized I was experiencing a new meaning to "Kindergarten Rocks"!

Later in the week, we then ventured down to South Padre Island where the weather was warm and sunny and a swim in the ocean and long walks on the beach collecting shells were welcomed each day. A quick trip to Matamoras, Mexico was fun as well. The schools there even do car lines!

Before the break, we celebrated Valentines Day and 100 Days of School. Some activities the children  enjoyed were: collecting 100 names, sharing their 100 posters, counting 100 hearts and doing 100 jumping jacks. We visited some of the other kindergartens to participate in activities with them as well. We even tried to keep quiet for 100 seconds!

Thanks to all the Moms who came in and organized great Valentine's Day parties.

Upon our return, we will get back into our routine and look forward to Read Across America Week at the beginning of March. More on this to come when we return to school.

Enjoy your time away from school. I know I am! 

See you on Feb. 23rd!

"HEADS UP"... For those of you who read this before Monday:  for our Monday writing activity

the children are now making "lists". Please help to refresh your child's memory by reviewing some activities they did over the break. They will then choose one to write about. Can't wait to hear all about the fun they had while away from school. 

 

100th day poster assignment

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 

If there are no snow days, we anticipate Friday, Feb. 13th, to be 100 Days of school.

In the past, we have always celebrated this day with some special 100th Day activities. 

Over the next few days, I am asking each child to gather 100 of “something” and glue them onto a poster board or paper (please... no larger than 18x24). Get as creative as you like. Although this may require some adult supervision,  I ask that your child do most of the work, especially the counting. Encourage your child to count in “bundles” of ten.

Please do not go out and spend a lot of money on purchasing items. Have your child put on his/her ”thinking cap” and s-t-r-e-t-c-h their brain.

Some examples: 100 cheerios, 100 M&M’s, 100 pennies, 100 buttons, 100 nails, toothpicks, pictures, dots, names, bows, stickers etc.  I think you get the idea!

You can really have fun with this!

This is NOT an optional assignment. We will share and display all posters. 

Goodbye January, Hello February!

I can't believe that in just a few more days we will be celebrating 100 days of school!

Our time here at Wilson Primary Center has been an environment where we are having lots of fun and where  lots of learning is taking place. Thanks to all of you for your support in helping our time here be a memorable one.

I enjoyed meeting with all of you during our conferences and hope that you found the time worthwhile. Thanks to Mrs. Lenck who took charge in my absence and, among other topics, also introduced the children to our new Social Studies Unit on our place in the world. 

While I see the progress your child has made since September, it was satisfying to see the surprised looks on so many faces when you saw the fabulous writing, spelling and drawing that your child is doing. They are all working very hard and as we begin to "count down" our days to First Grade, I can happily say that everyone is progressing nicely and will be well-prepared for their move to their "home" schools. 

Here's a quick review of things we have done in January. 

The children enjoyed creating flags on the computer to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama. See them on display in the Main entrance. Afterwards, we had a spontaneous snack in  the teacher's Faculty room.  The kids felt "so important" sitting in that teacher's chairs and adult tables. Some "F" centers enjoyed were; finger painting, Go Fish, Franklin letter matching game, stamping funny faces and tickling with feathers, reading Frog and Toad and Franklin books, and studying our high-frequency words. 

We did a lot of wiggling, walking and winking during W week, along with learning how to play the card game, War, making numbers, letters and words with wikki stix, using a dictionary to write words in a wagon and doing word sorts. Reading Where the Wild Things Are, and Wemberly Worried and looking at books about the World, were just a few of the books read this week.

In Math, we continue to estimate objects during the day and on Friday, the children predicted if the groundhog will see his shadow on Groundhog day. We will follow Punxsutawney Phil and hope that he does not see his shadow, bringing warmer weather 6 weeks early! Oh, how I am looking forward to that!

In your child's folder on Friday, you received instructions on how to make a poster for the 100th day of school. Please work with your child to create an interesting math creation. Encourage them to work in counting bundles of ten. Get creative and have fun! All posters will be displayed. This is NOT an optional assignment. 

Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, Feb. 13th. Cards are optional. Have your child sign their cards, but please DO NOT put names on the outside of the envelopes. The children will be distributing them throughout that week. 

Thanks to all who worked together with your child to use technology to research and learn about NJ. We will be sharing the facts that we learned about Summit, NJ, and continue to become more aware of the world around us. 

This week we will take a look at "Q". If you have a quilt in your home, please take the time to show it to your child as we will be creating our own class quilt. If you are interested in quilting, there is a wonderful exhibit called the Quilts of Gees Bend. 

 I was fortunate to see this exhibit "up close and personal"  in San Francisco and it was very moving. Although there are no upcoming exhibits scheduled, there are some books which illustrate the amazing geometric patterns of these quilts that tell a story. 

During February, our reading homework will be focusing on patterns in stories. Try to select books this month that have patterns, see list.

Here's what's happening in February:

Mark your calendars:

Feb. 13th.....  Valentine's Day celebration and 100th Day of School

Feb. 16-20...  Winter Break.. NO SCHOOL

Feb. 23.........  Classes resume