This week we learned about Thanksgiving! We briefly covered the history of the day, and how Thanksgiving is a holiday that is celebrated at different times all over the world to give thanks for the harvest in the Fall. We also discussed how this is a time for us to be grateful for all that we have. We talked about what makes our hearts happy, and then told the class what we’re most grateful for. Mom, Dads, sisters, brothers, and pets were at the top of the list!
We also celebrated the holiday with some fun activities including a game of “Turkey Says”, following along with a directed drawing, and creating our own “Recipe for Cooking a Turkey.” We hope you enjoy these recipes for years to come, they truly brought us so much joy! Your children are hilarious!
Community Helpers!
We had a surprise visit from some Community Helpers on Monday! Officer Davis and Officer Dennis from the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department came to talk to us about dog safety. We then got to meet a very special K-9 named Dan! But the best part was making the sirens and lights go off on the police car!
O-H-I-O!
We wrapped up the week with Mr. John’s favorite day of the school year! We all wore our OSU colors to help the Buckeyes get ready for the Big Game this weekend!
We are Thankful for YOU!
Thank you to each of our families, from the bottom of our hearts, for all your help and support. We couldn’t do what we do each day without you. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday full of yummy food and beautiful memories!
Peek Into Next Week:
Focus Lesson & Preschool Lesson: Reptiles and Turtles
Kindergarten Lesson: Addition with Golden Beads
Important Dates:
Friday, Dec. 2: Bring Your Parent to Work Day (all spots filled)
Our Blossoms discussed Community Helpers this week! We learned that Community Helpers are people in our community that help us or help others. We learned about firefighters, police officers, doctors, dentists, paramedics, counselors, mail carriers, teachers, and more! We learned how these people help us, what tools they use to help, and what clothing they wear in their jobs.
We wrapped up our week of Community Helpers by helping others ourselves. We were very happy to participate in Operation Christmas Child. We discussed how there are children in other places of the world that either don’t have the things we have at home or won’t receive many items for Christmas. We learned that we can help those children through Operation Christmas Child! We packed boxes full of gifts for others and imagined all of the continents our boxes could go!
Kindergarten Lesson:
Kindergarteners learned about coins with Mr. John this week. They even brought in coins from home to sort and count. In Handwriting, our Kindergarteners finished learning to write loop letters, and will be practicing writing words that contain loop letters next! Both in Reader’s Workshop and Writer’s Workshop, our Kinders learned about subjects and predicates. Our Readers learned how to find the subject within in a sentence and find the part of the sentence that tells what the subject is doing. And our Writers practiced “writing out the whole thought” in their new books, so that we can tell who and what happened within their stories!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Brrrrr! It’s Cold Outside!
Our Ohio temperatures changed quickly this week! We will continue to play outside, weather permitting, as long as the feels like temperature is above 25 degrees. Please send your child to school with a coat, hat, gloves or mittens, and appropriate outdoor shoes each day. Hats and gloves can be kept in your child’s backpack! Thank you for your help!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – THE CHRISTMAS SHOW!
A Journey to the North Pole Christmas Show will be Friday, December 16! (Rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 14!) The Blossoms will be singing about Christmas Trees! Your child will need a plain, long sleeve, green shirt , black or green bottoms, and tennis shoes. PLEASE BRING YOUR CHILD’S GREEN SHIRT TO SCHOOL BY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1. We will be decorating our shirts to look like Christmas Trees here at school and will return them to you the week of the show.
This week the Blossoms studied Mammals. We learned the characteristics of a mammal – they are vertebrates, they are warm blooded, they are covered in hair or fur, they give birth to live young, and babies drink their mother’s milk. We talked about many different mammals, but focused on three. We learned the parts of a horse, the life cycle of a human, and had a very special rabbit visitor!
Kindergarten Lesson:
Kindergarteners continued their study of telling time. They are now practicing telling time to the hour, the half hour, and the quarter hour. They finished learning how to write loop letters in cursive this week, and will be practicing more next week. In Reader’s Workshop, our young readers practiced rhyming and word families, and read books to Ms. Kelley! Writer’s Workshop saw the end of another writing unit, our young authors celebrated with an Author Share Day! They read their true stories to their friends, and we celebrated the details in their pictures and the words that they have written!
Book Share Fridays:
This school year we added Book Share Fridays to our weekly routine. At the end of each week one child is able to bring in their favorite book and their favorite stuffed animal. They tell us all about their special friend and then help Ms. Tonya read their favorite book to the class. We LOVE sharing these special stories with your child and can’t wait to keep Book Share Fridays going!
Peek Into Work Time:
Peek Into Next Week!
Focus & Preschool Lesson: Community Helpers! (If you would like to stop in and tell us about your career, let Ms. Tonya or Ms. Sam know! We would love to have you!)
Kindergarten Lesson: Currency
Important Dates:
Wednesday, November 16 – Bring Your Parent to Work Day (all spots filled)
November 23-25 – No School for the Thanksgiving holiday
We learned about Trees this week in the Cherry Blossom Class! We learned about the parts of a tree and what each of those parts does for the tree. We know that the roots suck up water and nutrients like a straw, the trunk holds the tree up, the branches hold the leaves, and the leaves make food for the tree! We also know that trees start out as small seeds but can grow for years and years and get very big!
Preschool Lesson:
Our younger Blossoms not only learned about trees this week, but they also studied leaves with Ms. Sam! They learned the different parts of a leaf – blade, veins, petiole, and stipules. Children observed leaves up close to observe the parts. We also made leaf rubbings and watercolor resist leaves.
Kindergarten Lesson:
Our older Blossoms continued their plant studies in Kindergarten Lesson with Mr. John! They studied trees, leaves, and flowers! In Handwriting, children practiced connecting letters together on the baseline to write words in cursive, this was very exciting stuff! In Writer’s Workshop, our young writers continued their work of writing true stories.
Enrichment Spotlight – Science with Mr. John!
Our science experiment this week was about density. Mr. John placed blue food coloring in a bottle of water, and then added baby oil. We shook and shook and shook the bottle to mix the water and oil, but they just won’t mix! Water is heavier than oil!
Peek Into Indoor Recess!
Peek Into Next Week!
Focus Lesson: Fall!
Preschool Lesson: Halloween!
Kindergarten Lesson: Telling Time
Bring Your Parent to Work Day! – https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090b48a8a92da6f94-cblossom
Important Dates:
Friday, October 28: Trunk or Treat!
Friday, November 11: Parent/Teacher Conferences – No School for Students https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090b48a8a92da6f94-20225
This week the Cherry Blossom Class continued their study of Animal Classification by focusing on Amphibians! We learned the characteristics of an amphibian: vertebrates, cold blooded, wet/moist skin, born from jelly eggs, live in the water and on land. We also learned the life cycle of a frog and the parts of a frog. Ask your child about the life cycle of a frog, they all know it!
Preschool Lesson:
Our younger Blossoms learned about the different types of amphibians this week. They studied frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and axolotyls! They talked about what makes each amphibians different and how they are the same. Ms. Sam also read Frog on a Log to the class and the children practiced their rhyming skills!
Kindergarten Lesson:
Our older Blossoms studied Animal Classification this week during Kindergarten Lesson. They learned the characteristics of a horse, turtle, frog, bird, and fish! They learned the last of the curve letters in Handwriting and will be reviewing these letters next week. Reader’s Workshop and Writer’s Workshop continued hard work!
Enrichment Spotlight – Music with Ms. Lisa!
Peek Into Worktime!
Peek Into Next Week!
Focus Lesson: Trees
Preschool Lesson: Leaves
Kindergarten Lesson: Parts of a Plant
Important Dates:
Wednesday, October 19: Bring Your Parent to Work Day! 1 spot left! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090b48a8a92da6f94-cblossom1
Friday, October 28: Trunk or Treat!
Friday, November 11: Parent Teacher Conferences – No School for Students.
This week we started talking about Animal Classification! We introduced Vertebrates and Invertebrates. We learned that Vertebrates have a backbone and are classified into 5 main groups – mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish. We learned that Invertebrates do not have a backbone and are classified into many groups. We introduced some of the groups, but will focus on insects and arachnids this school year.
Preschool Lesson:
Our younger Blossoms learned about spiders this week! They talked about the life cycle of a spider, the parts of a spider, they counted spiders, and made spider books. We were very excited to make the connection between our Invertebrate lessons and our Spider lessons! And there was a visit from a friend of Mr. John’s…
Kindergarten Lessons:
Mr. John introduced Kindergarteners to Land and Water Forms this week. My favorite landform is an island… somewhere warm. Ms. Tonya introduced our older Blossoms to curve cursive letters this week, practicing a, d, and g. Then they surprised Ms. Tonya by writing cursive words all week long!
In Reader’s Workshop, the children continued to be sound detectives to sound out words and reviewed color sight words. In Writer’s Workshop our young authors completed their first writing unit where they learned to be writers and learned how to make books! We wrapped up the unit by sitting in the author’s chair and reading one of our books to the group!
This week we studied pumpkins in preparation for our trip to Ramseyer Farms! We talked about the life cycle and parts of a pumpkin. We also tasted some more delicious treats – this time all pumpkin flavored! Using our 5 senses we determined that most pumpkin treats look brown, smell like pumpkin, sound like nothing, feel squishy, and taste delicious! Thank you again to all of our parents that donated special snacks to our class, we appreciate you!
Preschool Lesson:
Our younger Blossoms also learned about pumpkins this week! We sang pumpkin songs, danced pumpkin dances, read pumpkin stories, traced pumpkin shapes, and created a special pumpkin craft that you’ll see on the bulletin board very, very soon!
Kindergarten Lessons:
Our older Blossoms discussed where they live in the world with Mr. John this week. They learned that our galaxy is called the Milky Way and promised to bring Mr. John a Milky Way candy bar! They reviewed planet, continent, country, and state. They also practiced their address and completed learning how to form swing letters in Handwriting. Kindergarteners continued to grow in both Reader’s Workshop and Writer’s Workshop! They were sound detectives and practiced reading color words and number words with Ms. Kelley, while they worked on finishing their informational books in Writer’s Workshop with Ms. Tonya. Next week, our writers will read their books to the class and bring them home!
Enrichment Spotlight – Music with Ms. Lisa!
We have settled right back into our music lessons with Ms. Lisa. We have reviewed our vocabulary words of piano, forte, adagio, and allegro. We sang some of our favorite songs and marched around the room.
We learned about Apples this week! We talked about the life cycle of an apple from seed, to tree, to blossom, to apple! We also observed the parts of an apple and made our own books showcasing the different parts. We touched apples, looked at apples, smelled apples, and then cut them open to see the different parts on the inside. We even found the special star!
Preschool Lesson:
Ms. Sam introduced our younger Blossoms to the Farm this week in preparation for our upcoming field trip! They sang songs, played games, and practiced writing skills all while learning about different animals you would find on a farm.
Kindergarten Lesson:
Our Kindergarteners learned about our state of Ohio this week, as well as the states that surround Ohio. They found Ohio on the United States Map and learned about our state bird, flower, and tree.
Enrichment Spotlight – Library with Ms. Lindsey!
We had our very first Library Time with Ms. Lindsey! We talked about Library expected behaviors and each chose a book to add to our class library!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Apple Week Treats!
This week we used each of our 5 senses to explore delicious apple treats! We tasted apple muffins, apple cider, apple oatmeal cookies, and apple pie! Thank you so much to the parents that brought in treats this week, we appreciate you!
Peek Into Next Week!
Focus Lesson: Pumpkins
Preschool Lesson: The Farm
Kindergarten Lesson: Me in the World
Letter of the Week: Tt
Important Dates: Field Trip to Ramseyer Farms is on Friday! Wear green!
This week we learned about what makes something Living or Non Living. We know that Living things needs food, water, and clean air. Living things also change or grow, can move on their own, and can reproduce. We really enjoyed thinking of all of the living things we know of and looking for nonliving things in our classroom.
Preschool Lesson:
Our younger Blossoms studied “Me in the World” this week with Ms. Sam. We also made books to show where we live, from our planet Earth, all the way to our school.
Kindergarten Lesson:
Our older Blossoms were introduced to the continent of North America this week with Mr. John in Kindergarten Lesson. They practiced labeling the countries of this continent and the oceans that surround it. In Reader’s Workshop, the Kindergarteners continued being “sound detectives” to practice their reading skills. In Writer’s Workshop, our young writers practiced stretching out words like a rubber band and writing down the sounds that they hear!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
What are we working on in the classroom?
Teachable Moments!
Peek into Next Week!
Focus Lesson: Apples!
Kindergarten Lesson: Ohio
Preschool Lesson: The Farm
Letter of the Week: Ss
Important Dates:
Wednesday, 9/21, is PICTURE DAY! Bring your smiles!
September 30: Field Trip to Ramseyer Farm – wear green!
This week we learned all about our 5 Senses! Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching! We know that we use our 5 senses to explore the world around us every day. We use our sense of seeing when we match our matching cards or complete patterns in Language. We use our sense of hearing to match Sound Cylinders in Sensorial. We use our sense of touching to match our fabric box with a blindfold and to feel different temperatures with the Thermic Tablets. But our favorite activities this week were smelling spices and tasting foods! We took turns voting if we liked the smells and tastes!
Preschool Lesson:
Our younger Blossoms learned about Emotions this week with Ms. Sam! We talked about feeling words, showed feelings on our faces, and were introduced to our new Feeling Pages in the classroom. Whenever we are having big feelings we can take a Feeling Page, color the feeling, and draw a picture of why on the back! These pages will come home in folders and can be a great start for conversations at home!
Kindergarten Lesson:
Our older Blossoms continued their study on Cardinal Directions with Mr. John this week, as well as added information about hemispheres. They were very proud to tell us about the Equator and the Prime Meridian.
Reader’s Workshop is working on either beginning sounds or picture to word matching, while in Writer’s Workshop students are creating a class book about the playground as well as their individual books. In Handwriting, students learned how to form lowercase i and t in cursive.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
What are we working on in the classroom?
Enrichment Spotlight – Science!
Peek into Next Week!
Focus Topic: Living and Non-Living and North America