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Swinging into September!

Important dates:

   Sept 6 – NO SCHOOL!! Labor Day!!

   Sept 24 – Hibernation Party! Yay! (See Science/Social Studies for details)

Student of the Month:

   Bella Tipton

Themes:

   Sept 7-10 – Seasons/Spring and Summer

   Sept 13-17 – Seasons/Fall and Winter

   Sept 20-24 – Wild Animals

   Sept 27-Oct 1 – Farm Animals

Our Ooey Gooey Messy Days:

In order to help our parents plan for our messier days, we are going to begin including these dates below. Messy projects include using a variety of paints, playing with shaving cream, and doing messy experiments/cooking projects. I do keep oversized shirts here in my room for children to slip over their clothes, but occasionally the children may still get paint or other materials on their outfits. Please plan to send them in appropriate attire on these days. Thanks a bunch!

   Tues, Sept 7 -  Playing with Playdough

   Thurs, Sept 9 – Drawing letters in Shaving Cream

   Fri, Sept 17 – Using runny glue

Language Arts:

   Here in the P2 Classroom, we use the Animated-Literacy program, created by Jim Stone, to help our children learn reading, letter recognition, and writing with the use of Alphabet Stories, Songs, Gestures and Coloring pages.

   During the month of September, with a little help from our friends Jenny Jaguar, Lizzy Lamb, Crazy Camel, and Ichabod Ichthyosaurus, we will be focusing on the letters “J”, “L”, “C”, and “I”, learning their songs, how to identify their letters, practicing their sounds, and finally, how to trace them.

   Working at home: Remember, parents play a vital role in their child’s education! Working with your child at home is an excellent way to help them succeed and it’s not too early to start! Every Monday your child will be sent home with a coloring page of the Letter of the Week’s Animated Alphabet friend and the words to their song. Please sing these songs at home with your children!

Math:

   We will be focusing on the numbers 3, 4 and 5 this month, recognizing what these numbers look like, how to trace them, and of course, counting. Our goal for the month of September is to count to 25!  We will also be working at recognizing and drawing the following shapes:  Diamond, Oval, Rectangle and Star.

Working at home:  Here are this month’s number rhymes:

#3 - Around the tree, around the tree

That is how you make a three

#4 - Pull down push across,

Pull down once more

That's the way to make a four.

#5 - Across the board, down you dive

Around the pool, that's a five.

Science/Social Studies:

   What are the Seasons? That’s a question we’ll be asking and answering as we go through the famous four: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter! Children will discuss the season’s change in temperature, why they repeat themselves every year, what causes these changes, and how as the weather changes, why our clothing changes, too! And, a little imagination anyone? Because when Wild Animals week comes up, we’ll take a close look at grizzly bears! We’ll be having our very own “Hibernation Party!” Children will be allowed to wear their pajamas to school, bring their teddy bears, and we’ll transform our room into a den of pillows and blankets to “hibernate” for one day. Last but not least, we’ll be discussing why Farms are so important and what kind of animals live on a farm.

Show and Tell:

   Show-&-Tell isn’t just for the children at school. Show-and-Tell starts at home and it is a great opportunity for parents to work with their children and encourage learning! This opportunity takes place every Friday and will always (unless otherwise specified) relate to that week’s theme. Please be a part of this wonderful activity - supervise your children as they make their choice of what they want to bring to show at school, ask them why they chose that particular item and how their choice relates to the theme.

   Fri, Sept 3 – My favorite TOY!

   Fri, Sept 10 –  Something to do with SPRING or SUMMER

   Fri, Sept 17 – Something to do with FALL and WINTER

   Fri, Sept 24 – My favorite STUFFED ANIMAL

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A New Start in August

Important dates:

   Aug 2 – First day of school!!

Themes:

   Aug 2-6 – Testing

   Aug 9-13 – Welcome Back/School

   Aug 16-20 – Welcome Back/Apples

   Aug 23-27 – All About Me!

   Aug 30-Sept 3 – All About Me!

Language Arts:

   Reading is contagious, so we’ll kick off the new school year with the letters “R”, “A”, “S”, and “H”, working on recognizing what these letters look like, how to trace them, and learning their sounds.

Math:

   Counting, counting, counting! We’ll be counting to 15 this month, as well as focusing on the numbers 0, 1 and 2, recognizing what they look like and how to trace them. We will also be working at recognizing and drawing the following shapes: Circle, Triangle, Square, and Heart.

Science/Social Studies:

   Who was Johnny Appleseed? And what makes us tick? That’s right, we will be reading about Johnny Appleseed, an American legend and pioneer nurseryman, as well as taking a closer look at our bodies – specifically our brain, heart and lungs!

Health & Safety:

   How do we get from here to there? In a vehicle!! Whether it’s a car, truck, SUV, or mini van, we ride in vehicles every day, so we’ll be discussing safety rules in and around ANY moving vehicle.

Show and Tell:

   Here in the P2 classroom, Show-&-Tell isn’t just for the children at school. Show-and-Tell starts at home and it is a great opportunity for parents to work with their children and encourage learning! This opportunity takes place every Friday and will always (unless otherwise specified) relate to that week’s theme. Please be a part of this wonderful activity - supervise your children as they make their choice of what they want to bring to show at school, ask them why they chose that particular item and how their choice relates to the theme.

   Fri, Aug 6 – Free Choice!

   Fri, Aug 13 – What I did over SUMMER VACATION!

   Fri, Aug 20 – Something RED

   Fri, Aug 27 – A baby PICTURE

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Gettin' Jiggy With July!!

 

Note to Parents!! We'll be bringing back Summer Splash Days! Yay! And there will be lots of splashing going on when we hook up our sprinklers! Please remember to send your child to school on Mondays with a swim suit, towel, and sunscreen. All suits and towels will be sent home at the end of the week to be washed and ready for the following week!

 

Important Dates:

 

   June  28-July 5 – NO SCHOOL!! SUMMER VACATION!!  

   July 12 - Teamwork Assembly

 

Summer Schedule:

 

Mondays - Arts & Crafts Day

Tuesdays - Spash Day

Wednesday - Simple Science Day

Thursday - Splash Day

Friday - Fun Day

 

 

Themes (and Notes!):

 

   July 6-9 – Summer Fun!

It's BEACH TOWEL WEEK! Please bring your child's favorite beach towel to school to sit on during Circle time and to use during special activities. (This towel should not be your child's Splash Day towel.)

   July 12-16 – Sports/Exercise

It's a sports-filled week, so be sure and send your children in their favorite sports attire!

   July 19-23 – Camping

You can't camp without flashlights and sleeping bags! Each child may bring one flashlight to play with and a sleeping bag to nap in for the week!

   July 26-30 – Shadows

 

Language Arts:

 

   Summer is a time for fun, but we'll be learning, too! We'll be running through the entire alphabet during the month of July. Look out letters, cause here we come!

 

Math:

 

   It's back to basics for the summer! We will be working on identifying the numbers 1-10, as well as counting, counting, counting!!!

 

Science/Social Studies:

 

   Oh boy, do we have some fun stuff planned! We'll be examining Sea shells under a magnifying glass and studying the differences between Salt Water and Fresh Water, then we'll move on to talking about Teamwork and how important it is! We'll make ice cream and recycle crayons to make new ones, then play with Shadows!

 

Show and Tell:

 

Our Show & Tell will be every Friday and it will relate to the week’s theme. Children need to bring as follows:

Fri, July 9 – Something to do with the OCEAN or BEACH!

Fri, July16 – Something to do with SPORTS!
Fri, July 23 – Something to do with CAMPING!

Fri, July 30th - Something that will make a cool SHADOW (when placed in front of a flashlight!)

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June, June, and guess what……JUNE!!!

Student of the Month:

   Camdon Stiffler

Important Dates:

   May 31-June 4 – 4^th Quarter Testing
   June 20  – Father’s Day

   June 25 – Picnic/Graduation

   June  28-July 5 – NO SCHOOL!! SUMMER VACATION!!  

Themes:

   May 31- June 4 – Testing

   June 7-11 – Opposites

   June 14-18 – Rhymes

   June 21-24 – Kings and Queens

Language Arts:

   For our last month of school we will be focusing on the letters “F”, “B”, and “E”, reviewing their sounds, what they look like, and how to write them.

Math:

   We will be focusing on the numbers 18 through 20 this month, also reviewing what these numbers look like, how to trace them, and of course, counting. Our goal is to be able to count to 60 by the end of the month! We will also be working at recognizing and drawing the following shapes: Rectangle, Star, and Circle.

Science/Social Studies:

   Opposites are totally IN! Big/Little, Hot/Cold, Hard/Soft, Tall/Short, Left/Right…need I say more? We’ll also break out the magnifying glasses and study “jewels” up close and personal. Then we’ll discuss jewels' many shapes and facets and how a diamond is the hardest surface on earth!

Show and Tell:

Our Show & Tell will be every Friday and it will relate to the week’s theme. Children need to bring as follows:

Fri, June 4 – NO SHOW AND TELL

Fri, June 11 – FREE CHOICE
Fri, June 18 – Something to do with Rhymes/Nursery Rhymes

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Marvelous May!

Student of the Month:

   Logan Howerton

Important Dates:

   May 9 – Mother’s Day!!

   May 14 – Hibernation Party (see Science/Social Studies for details)

   May 31 – Memorial Day!! NO SCHOOL!!!

Themes:

   May 3-7 - Machines

   May 10-14 – Wild Animals

   May 17-21 – Weights/Measurements

   May 24-28 – Zoo

Language Arts:

   We will be going back over the letters "C", "J", "N" and “T” this month, reviewing their sounds, what they look like, and how to write them. Yes, that’s right – I said write! From now on we’ll be practicing writing on our own!

Math:

   Our counting goal for the end of the month will increase to 45 and we will be going over the numbers 16 through 19, focusing on how to identify them and how to match the numbers to objects. We will also be reviewing the following shapes: Square, Heart, Diamond, and Oval.

Science/Social Studies:

   A little imagination anyone? Because we’ll be starting off the month of May discussing what machines are, why they are important, how we use them, and then use our tools, toys, and imaginations to build our own! Next, look out grizzly bears!! We’ll be having our very own “Hibernation Party”. Children will be allowed to wear their pajamas to school, bring their teddy bears, and we’ll transform our room into a den of pillows and blankets to “hibernate” for one day. Other subjects we’ll be discussing and playing in the sandbox with: weights and measurements, what is heavy/what is light?, and common characteristics of animals (i.e. what animals have fur, what animals have feathers, scales, etc.)

Show & Tell:

   Our Show & Tell will be every Friday and it will relate to the week’s theme. Children need to bring as follows:

   Fri, May 7 - Something that runs like a MACHINE (Example: a talking toy)

   Fri, May 4 – My favorite STUFFED ANIMAL!

   Fri, May 21 - Something LIGHT or something HEAVY

   Fri, May 28 – Something you would find in a ZOO

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Awesome April!

Student of the Month:

   Kaliya Fulton

Important dates:

   Mar 29-Apr 2 - Third Quarter Testing

   Apr 5 - NO SCHOOL!! Parent/Teacher Conferences

   Apr 23 - Trike-A-Thon (Children may bring their trikes AND helmets to school! Please make sure they are properly labeled with your child's first and last name.)

Themes:

   Apr 5-9 – Birds

   Apr 12-16 – Friends

   Apr 19-23 – Outdoor Safety

   Apr 26-30 - Weather

Language Arts:

   Congrats to all my kids!! We’ve officially gone through the entire alphabet, one letter per week! Having done that, it’s time to start over. We will be focusing on the letters “S”, “H”, “L”, and “I” this month, reviewing what they look like, how to write them, and reviewing their sounds.

Math:

   We will be focusing on the numbers 11-15 this month, reviewing what they look like, how to write them, and of course, counting to 40. We will also be reviewing the shapes: Rectangle, Star, Circle, and Triangle.

Science/Social Studies:

   A lot is going on this month! They say if you don’t like Kansas weather to wait 5 minutes and it will change, so we’ll be cataloguing the weather for all of April to see if that’s true! We’ll discuss what makes a kite fly and learn about the different kinds of birds -- even go bird watching! We’ll discuss why we should appreciate having friends and how it’s good to be different, but also identify some of the things we have in common with our classmates. 

Show and Tell:

   Our Show & Tell will be every Friday and it will relate to the week’s theme. Children need to bring as follows:

   Fri, Apr 9 – Something to do with BIRDS

   Fri, Apr 16 – A GIFT for a FRIEND (1 gift per child. Please, don’t spend any money! Be creative!)

   Fri, Apr 23 – NO SHOW AND TELL!!!

   Fri, Apr 30 – FREE CHOICE