March 28th, 2014

This week my class was introduced to the letter, "R". Getting a head start on Easter, we made our letter R-Rabbits on Monday.















Then we worked in small groups identifying objects that begin with R, recognizing the printed letter, and using fingerpaints to practice writing our own R's.

Also, meet Miss Erika!  She is my new wonderful, brilliant classroom aid every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!  We're so lucky to have her!

Fortunately, we had a few sunny mornings this week to conclude our rainbow experiment.  We all collectively agreed that the CDs created the best rainbow, with the bubbles following as a close 2nd place.

And, speaking of rainbows, we had a great time mixing shaving cream, glue and different colored paints to make our puffy rainbow art.

r is for rainbow!

Meanwhile, in Miss Gabriella's class, they created their P-Pete the Cats.  As an entire school, we have adored Pete the Cat since September and Miss Gabriella's students were thrilled to make them.

This week, Miss Kim's class learned all about the letter B, including b is for bubbles!

And, this morning, we celebrated an exciting event - the return of Coach Lee from paternity leave.  His super fun P.E. class resumed and we couldn't be happier...

 ...especially because he needs a babysitter as he coaches!

As a surprise for us, Ms. Suzie turned the empty 2nd grade into a jumpy room!  This space will actually be our next classroom opened - projected by next fall - but it's so much fun in the meantime.

We love preschool!

:)

March 21st, 2014

It was a St. Patrick's Day to remember!  In my class, we started the day by making traditional Irish soda bread.

In all honesty, it's not my favorite... and the sentiment was shared by most.  But, the process is so much fun!

We also made some St. Patrick's Day collages...

...and had a green feast!

Everyone had a fine Irish day!













This week we also learned about the letter Q.  We made our Q-Quilts...

...and our q-queen of hearts.

The queen of hearts
She made some tarts
All on a summer's day
The knave of hearts
He stole those tarts
And took them all away

Once I googled, "knave" I could explain it to the children.

We also had an extra special treat - quails!  One student brought in two of his pet quails to show to his friends.  The mommy quail even laid an egg for us.

Meanwhile, in Miss Gabriella's class, they learned about the letter O.  They painted in orange paint, and they even made fresh-squeezed orange juice!

They also practiced matching and sorting.

And, this week, both of our classes began learning about rainbows.  Miss Gabriella's students painted theirs...

...as my students each helped make our hand-print rainbow and cotton ball cloud.

Today my students attempted to find out which object - a CD, a drinking glass, a mirror, a magnifying glass, bubbles, or a glass jar - held towards the sun created a better rainbow.  Unfortunately, it was cloudy this morning and our study wound up being inconclusive.  We'll perform the experiment again on Monday (or the next sunny morning).

 Meanwhile, in Ms. Rebecca's class, they focused their week on friendship and working together.

There's no "i" in team!









:)

March 14th, 2014

P is for Parrot!

This week my students were introduced to the letter P.  We learned that p is for parrot...

...patterning paddies...

















...purple paint...

...potting plants...

...and popping popcorn!

We also prepared for St. Patrick's Day this week.  Obviously, this student was thrilled to have her hands painted orange for the occasion. 

To help get into the spirit, we dyed rice to make a rainbow sensory bin...

...and made green, sparkly playdough.  Despite a run through the wash, a few pre-k students at St. Rose of Lima preschool (see the entry below about my visit) pointed out that that my Dockers still had green glitter stuck to them.

Ms. Rebecca and Miss Kim's class also prepared for St. Patrick's Day by creating their shamrock hats!

They're astonishingly beautiful!  The hats, too.

Today our Sacred Heart Preschool was closed while we teachers partook in a staff development day.  We each dispersed across the county and visited different preschool sites to observe how other classrooms operate.  I visited St. Rose of Lima in Chula Vista and had a wonderful time getting to know their preschool director and pre-k teacher.  I also adored their students and learned so much!  This was definitely an opportunity to gain knowledge through fellow colleagues!

We want the best for your Sacred Heart children!

March 7th, 2014

We started off our week by celebrating Dr. Suess' birthday on Monday.  In Ms. Rebecca's classroom, the 2-year-olds created and displayedtheir Cat in the Hat artwork.

 

At snack time, Ms. Cathy read Green Eggs and Ham as we prepared our special treat...

 ...green eggs and ham!  Despite initial hesitations, it was enjoyed by most.

Back in my class, we played a harrowing game of Dr. Suess Alphabet Twister.

On Wednesday, we observed the 1st day of the Lenten Season by attending the Ash Wednesday Mass.  Father Ron and parish members were delighted to see the whole preschool sitting up in the front and made special preparations just for us.  It's quite an action shot, but we managed to get most of us photographed in front of the parish hall.

Business-wise, my class examined the letter O this week and learned that O is for Octopus...

...and oatmeal!

We worked on number recognition, counting and creating patterns...

...and we planted an herb garden.

We have fun in preschool!