Newsletter - April 21st

Star Class News

Week of April 21st

We hope you were able to enjoy your Easter weekend.  Thank you to everyone who came out to support our Family Art Show, Auction and Breakfast.  If you put a bid in on any items you can stop by the preschool office anytime this week to check if you won and to pick up your items. Caroline will be in the office the rest of the year. If you were unable to see your child's artwork it will be in their portfolios at the end of the year.

Star Class, Star Class Books
Each year we like to create a fun book for the kids so they can remember their Star Class friends.  It is a fun book, kind of like Brown Bear, Brown Bear but instead in pictures of each of their Star Class friends.  I would like to create one for your children this year, but will need to ask for help in printing out pictures.  We will have a sample of the book out this week for you to look at, if you are interested in getting one for your child, please pay Teacher Jo or Teacher Jaylene $5 per book.  We will be collecting money through May 16th so we can send the pictures out to get developed and get them done by the end of the year.

2014-2015
If you know of anyone that is looking for a preschool next year we still have openings in some of our morning classes and afternoon classes. So please refer your friends!

Spring Assessments
This week we will be beginning our Spring Assessments on the children.  Feel free to talk to us at any time if you have any questions or concerns, but the progress reports will be going home the middle of next month.  

This week
This week we are going to start our Spring unit by talking about Spring flowers, planting some of our own flower seeds, and discussing what flowers need to grow.  We will also be setting up a flower stand in our classroom for the children to explore.  For a special treat, we will be cooking “Dirt Cups” on Thursday and Friday to enjoy for snack.  We will be heading to Kindred Care on Wednesday to sing to the Grandmas and Grandpas.

Word Wall
This week we will be introducing the letter B for Branch and Blue.  Please have your child bring in items that start with the letter and put them in the pelican so we can share them at the end of the day.

Important dates and events
April 23rd – Kindred 10:15
May 1st -  Tuition Due
May 10th – Tuition grace period ends at noon
May 26th – Memorial Day/No School
June 19th – End of Year All School Picnic

This weeks songs in the Star Class

Flowers Growing

I had a tiny turtle, This is the way we sprout our roots,
Sprout our roots, sprout our roots.
This is the way we sprout our roots,
When spring time is here.

This is the way we pop through the dirt,
Pop through the dirt, pop through the dirt.
This is the way we pop through the dirt
When spring time is here.
Additional Versus:
This is the way we stretch and grow.
This is the way we shoot up so tall.
This is the way we open our buds.
This is the way we bend in the breeze.
This is the way we smile at the sun.

Five Spring Flowers Original Author Unknown

Five spring flowers, all in a row.
The first one said, "We need rain to grow!"
The second one said, "Oh my, we need water!"
The third one said, "Yes, it is getting hotter!"
The fourth one said, "I see clouds in the sky."
The fifth one said, "I wonder why?"

Then BOOM went the thunder
And ZAP went the lightning!
That springtime storm was really frightening!
But the flowers weren't worried–no, no, no, no!
The rain helped them to grow, grow, GROW!


Volunteer Opportunities
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes

Newsletter - April 14

Star Class News

Week of April 14th

Sorry this newsletter is getting out late this week, Teacher Jo's computer is finally up and running again.  We hope you all had a great spring break, the weather was beautiful and we hope it continues so we can enjoy playing outside.

Auction 
Check out our silent auction the week of April 14th-19th.  The classroom “kid” projects will be displayed outside of our classroom and you can bid on them throughout the week.  We will also have several other auction items to bid on in the hall between Maria's office and Sanctuary including our Fire pit basket.  Be sure to check out some of the great items we have for auction!

Family Breakfast
Mark your calender for the family breakfast and art show on April 19th.  Your child's 0artwork will be displayed for your enjoyment while we make breakfast for you!   We will also be taking last minute bids on auction items during this time, from 8:00-10:00.  Come and go as you can but please come check out your child's work.

Week of the Young Child
During week of the young child, each day your child can come to school dressed in our theme of the day, and we will have special guests and special snacks throughout the week.
Monday – Superhero Day
Tuesday - Silly Sock Day, with Jabba the dog our special guest
Wednesday - Class color day, with Officer Johnson as our speical guest
Thursday - Silly Hat Day, Cement Truck and Dump Truck visits
Friday - Wild and Crazy Hair Day

This week
This week we will be doing some fun and creative art projects as we settle back into the routine of school. We will be hosting guest throughout the week and doing some fun art projects like spin art, upside down art, and painting with different types of material while creating different projects to show of at our art show this week.

Word Wall
This week we will not have a letter of the week, instead the children can bring in some of their favorite things to help us celebrate week of the young child.

Important dates and events
April 14th – Tuition Grace Period End @ noon
April 14th – 19th Silent Auction!
April 19th – Family Breakfast and Art Show
April 23rd – Kindred 10:15
April 25th – Family Fun Night


This weeks songs in the Star Class

Tiny Tim

I had a tiny turtle, his name was Tiny Tim
I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim,
He drank up all the water, he ate up all the soup
And when he tried to talk he had a bubble in his throat
Blub blub blub,
Bubble, bubble bubble,
Bubble Bubble bubble
Bubble Bubble Bubble
Bubble Bubble POP

Classroom needs
Wipes

Volunteer Opportunities
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes

Newsletter - March 31st

Star Class News

Week of March 31st

We are sorry for any inconvenience last weeks power outage caused on Thursday and we really missed the kids!  This is our last week of school before Spring Break which means this is the last week of our author series.  When we return, we will be celebrating the week of the young child with fun projects, guests and snacks, then moving on to our spring unit.  We will then be doing a fun transportation unit, mostly with trains, since that has been a common theme this year in our class free play.

Library Field Trip
Our Library field trips will be this Thursday and Friday.  We will have a sign up sheet out this week so we know which kids to expect which days.  You are welcome to come either day or both days.  The stories will be different each day and the downtown library is always a hit with the kids to play and learn in.  We will be doing “preschool in the library”  after the story time, for any of the kids that still have projects or work from class to catch up on.  We suspect that this will mostly be the Thursday kids that missed class last week due to the power outage, but may include some of our friends that like to work harder on projects as well.  If we get everything done Mon, Tues, and Wed, we will just use that time to explore and play in the library.

Auction 
We will be having a silent auction the week of April 14th-19th.  The classroom “kid” projects will be displayed outside of our classroom and you can bid on them throughout the week.  We will also have several other auction items to bid on in the hall between Maria's office and Sanctuary including our Fire pit basket.  Be sure to stop by and see if there is anything you want to bid on the week after Spring Break.

This week
We still can not believe that this is the end of our book unit.  We hope you will all be able to join us at the library on Thursday and Friday!  This week we will be catching up on the work that we have left to do from last week and exploring colors with Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  We will also be creating some of our own books where we are the authors and illustrators.

Word Wall
This week we will be introducing the letter P for Panda and Peach.  Please have your child bring in items that start with the letter and put them in the pelican so we can share them at the end of the day.

Important dates and events
April 1st – Tuition Due
April 3rd – Library Field Trip
April 4th – Library Field Trip
April 7th-11 Spring Break – NO SCHOOL
April 14th – Tuition Grace Period End @ noon
April 14th – 19th – Book Fair
April 19th – Family Breakfast and Art Show
April 23rd – Kindred 10:15
April 25th – Family Fun Night


This weeks songs in the Star Class

Whats the Color (Sing while hoping up objects or pictures)

Whats the color, whats the color?
Do you know, Do you know?
Its the color of the ____, its the color of the ______
Whats the color, whats the color?

Color Hokey Pokey

You put blue in,
You take blue out.
You put blue in
And you shake it all about.
You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!
Continue with each color

Classroom needs
Wipes

Volunteer Opportunities
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes

Newsletter - March 24th

Star Class News

Week of March 24th

Library Field Trip
Our Library field trips will be the Thursday and Friday before Spring Break (which also happens to be next week!)  The times are currently posted outside of our classroom and I will have them in our newsletter next week!   We hope you can all come, it will be a great way to end our author units before moving on to Spring and Trains after Spring Break.

Classroom Basket
Thank you Mindi and Jennifer for putting together a wonderful basket.  We are anxious to see how it does at the silent auction after Spring Break.  Thank you to all the families that helped donate to help them out.  It is beautiful!

Auction Dinner - Cancelled
We have decided to cancel the dinner portion of the auction.  If you are one of the few folks who did purchase tickets for the dinner or childcare we are very happy to provide a refund.  We will still hold the silent auction portion most likely the week after spring break with a location in the building to be announced.  There are many church events going on during the next few weeks due to the approaching holiday.  More details will follow as they are available.

This week
This week we are going to be exploring the art of Eric Carle as we create our own Eric Carle paper.  We will mix colors and textures to create our own Eric Carle creations and attempt to find different ways to explore the animals that we read about in our favorite Eric Carle books. We will continue singing our color songs this week since we are still exploring with different colors!

Word Wall
This week we will be introducing the letter D for Dog and Doodle.  Please have your child bring in items that start with the letter and put them in the pelican so we can share them at the end of the day.

Important dates and events
April 1st – Tuition Due
April 3rd – Library Field Trip
April 4th – Library Field Trip
April 7th-11 Spring Break – NO SCHOOL
April 14th – Tuition Grace Period End @ noon
April 14th – 19th – Book Fair
April 19th – Family Breakfast and Art Show
April 23rd – Kindred 10:15
April 25th – Family Fun Night


This weeks songs in the Star Class

Find the Color (to the tune of: The muffin man)

Oh, can you find the color______,
The color _____, the color _____?
Oh, can you find the color _____,
Somewhere in this room?

Color Hokey Pokey

You put blue in,
You take blue out.
You put blue in
And you shake it all about.
You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!
Continue with each color

Classroom needs
Wipes

Volunteer Opportunities
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes

Newsletter - March 17th

Star Class News

Week of March 17th

Paddy Day Parade
Monday March 17th, we will be releasing early for the annual Paddy Hough Parade.  Our students will get the opportunity to walk with us (and their parents) in the parade.  Please join us even if you don't attend school that day.  We can wear our class shirts, if you can find them!  We will release at 11:30 that day to give us time to meet up in front of Hough Elementary School.  We won't be having that snack that day, but pack a lunch.  There is an hour from when we have to release until the parade starts so it will give the kids something to do.

Classroom Basket
This year Chloe's mom (Mindi) and Drew's mom (Jennifer) are going to help put together the Class auction basket. We will be doing a "fire pit" theme. The picture they showed me of their idea is WONDERFUL, and we need your help. This year we are looking for a money donation to help purchase items for the fire pit and they will take care of the rest. We are hoping you can donate at least $5 (however any amount would be helpful). If you could give the donation to Teacher Jo by next week it would help give them time to get the items and put it together.

Auction Dinner
The Auction dinner has not had a very popular response. The low ticket sales has prompted a thought to cancel the event. Please help us get enough interest in this so we can continue with this fundraising evening. We need to sell more tickets so invite your friends, family and neighbors. The auction has many great items and need people to come bid on them! We do have limited childcare still available at a very reasonable price. I know we ask for your support often and appreciate so much what you have done for the class and our school. This is the last fundraising event for the school year and proceeds will be going to classroom materials and scholarships. Thank you in advance for stepping up and giving us your support.

This week
This week we are going to be learning with Lio Lionni.  We will be learning about sharing, friendship, teamwork, color matching and begin color mixing.  We will also be creating some green necklaces on Monday to wear to the Hough parade.  We also have some new toys in our room this week, the light table is back and we have use of the pipe wall from the old Kindergarten class.

Word Wall
This week we will be introducing the letter U for Umbrella.  Please have your child bring in items that start with the letter and put them in the pelican so we can share them at the end of the day.

Important dates and events
March 14th – Early Bird ticket sales for Auction - END
March 17th -  Early Release @ 11:30 for Paddy Hough Parade @ 12:30
March 20th – Kindred @ 10:15
March 21st -  Auction Tickets Sales END
March 24th–28th - Silent Auction for student made items
March 29th - Annual Dinner Auction 5:00 – 8:00

This weeks songs in the Star Class

Find the Color (to the tune of: The muffin man)

Oh, can you find the color______,
The color _____, the color _____?
Oh, can you find the color _____,
Somewhere in this room?

Colors (to the tune of: The farmer in the dell)

Oh, (name) is wearing orange,
Oh, (name) is wearing orange.
High Ho the derry oh,
(name) is wearing orange.
(Change name and colors accordingly)

Color Hokey Pokey

You put blue in,
You take blue out.
You put blue in
And you shake it all about.
You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!
Continue with each color

Classroom needs
Wipes
Glue Sticks

Volunteer Opportunities
Auction Help – Sign up are on Maria's door
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes

Newsletter - March 10

Star Class News

Week of March 10th

This weekend we lost an hour!  We hope you all remembered to push back your clocks for Day light savings.

Paddy Day Parade
Monday March 17th, we will be releasing early for the annual Paddy Hough Parade.  Our students will get the opportunity to walk with us (and their parents) in the parade.  Please join us even if you don't attend school that day.  We can wear our class shirts, if you can find them!  We will release at 11:30 that day to give us time to meet up in front of Hough Elementary School.  Monday parents please let us know what works best for you for snack that day.  Teacher Jo will try to get an idea when we are all together on Monday.

Classroom Basket
This year Chloe's mom (Mindi) and Drew's mom (Jennifer) are going to help put together the Class auction basket. We will be doing a "fire pit" theme. The picture they showed me of their idea is WONDERFUL, and we need your help. This year we are looking for a money donation to help purchase items for the fire pit and they will take care of the rest. We are hoping you can donate at least $5 (however any amount would be helpful). If you could give the donation to Teacher Jo by next week it would help give them time to get the items and put it together.

Auction Tickets on Sale Now!
Early Bird Auction Tickets sale ends this Friday!  Make sure to pick up your tickets as soon as possible. Tickets are $15.00 per person and $25.00 per couple.  We will also have Reserved Tables at the front of the action for auction.  Tables have a 4 couple capacity and will go for $150.00 a table.  Ticket prices go up March 17th so get your tickets early!!  Your ticket includes:  dinner, beverages, dessert, entertainment, and access to all live and silent auction items.

Auction Night Day Care
This year Little Acorn is offering childcare during the auction with some of the teachers they have gotten to know.  We will provide dinner, crafts, large motor, and group activities for your children while you are playing upstairs and enjoying a child free night.  The cost is only $12 for the night, $20 if you have two preschoolers.  Space is limited to just 20 children, and is limited to children currently enrolled at Little Acorn.  You mush sign up and pay when you purchase your Auction tickets and childcare payment is non-refundable.

No Food in the Playroom
We have children with life threatening allergies and need to keep all food and drinks out of the playroom.   Please make sure that when you are hanging out before or after school all food and drinks remain out of the playroom.

This week
This week we are going to be learning about cause and effect with some of our favorite books by Laura Numeroff. We will be creating projects from “IF you give a Mouse a Cookie” “If you give a Pig a Pancake” and “If you take a Mouse to School”.  We will be creating our own animals and creating cause and affect stories, as well as creating some fun counting projects.

Word Wall
This week we will be introducing the letter G for Goat and Grill.  Please have your child bring in items that start with the letter and put them in the pelican so we can share them at the end of the day.

Important dates and events
March 10th – Tuition grace period ends at NOON
March 14th – Early Bird ticket sales for Auction - END
March 17th -  Early Release @ 11:30 for Paddy Hough Parade @ 12:30
March 20th – Kindred @ 10:15
March 21st -  Auction Tickets Sales END
March 24th–28th - Silent Auction for student made items
March 29th - Annual Dinner Auction 5:00 – 8:00

This weeks songs in the Star Class

The kids have been enjoying some of their favorite songs lately so we will continue singing some of our favorites this week..and maybe see if we can create a song of our own from the books

Classroom needs
Wipes
Glue Sticks

Volunteer Opportunities
Auction Help – Sign up are on Maria's door
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes

Newsletter - March 3rd

Star Class News

Week of March 3rd

Wow we have a lot going on:

Paddy Day Parade
Monday March 17th, we will be releasing early for the annual Paddy Hough Parade.  Our students will get the opportunity to walk with us (and their parents) in the parade.  Please join us even if you don't attend school that day.  We can wear our class shirts, if you can find them!  We will release at 11:30 that day to give us time to meet up in front of Hough Elementary School.  I will be asking parents this week what they want done for snack that day.  We could bring our own snack lunches and eat them at school, save them for the parade route, or do a lunch cooking project that day that would fill us up for the afternoon!

Donations Needed
We are currently seeking donations for the Auction. We are in need of items for both Silent and Live Auction. If you have anything you would like to donate or know someone with a business who would like to donate items or service we would love to accept them. We would also be very happy to provide a receipt for tax purposes. Thanks for your support.

Auction Tickets on Sale Now!
Early Bird Auction Tickets go on Sale on the 3rd – 14th.  Tickets are $15.00 per person and $25.00 per couple.  We will also have Reserved Tables at the front of the action for auction.  Tables have a 4 couple capacity and will go for $150.00 a table.  Ticket prices go up March 17th so get your tickets early!!  Your ticket includes:  dinner, beverages, dessert, entertainment, and access to all live and silent

Auction Night Day Care
This year Little Acorn is offering childcare during the auction with some of the teachers they have gotten to know.  We will provide dinner, crafts, large motor, and group activities for your children while you are playing upstairs and enjoying a child free night.  The cost is only $12 for the night, $20 if you have two preschoolers.  Space is limited to just 20 children, and is limited to children currently enrolled at Little Acorn.  You mush sign up and pay when you purchase your Auction tickets and childcare payment is non-refundable.

Parents Welcome
Dr Seuss is known for bring out the love of literacy, so if any parents want to come in and read to the children in small groups while we work on projects, you are more then welcome.  You can bring in your own books, or use some Dr Seuss books in our class.  This time will not count toward any volunteer time, but the Star Class loves to hear stories and if you have the time and enjoy reading just let us know what days work best for you this week.

This week
This week we will be celebrating with Dr Suess.  There are so many fun activities that Dr Suess can lead up to, we may have overplanned but what we don't get to we can try for next week!  Monday and Tuesday, we will be enjoying Green Eggs and Ham. We will also be making Gertrude McFuzz birds, and working with shadows and the shapes of the star class and other stuff, with the help of the Shape of me and other things by Dr. Seuss.  We are going to be looking at some of my favorite Dr. Seuss books...one fish, two fish and the Foot book.  We will be exploring math ideas with fish while we sort, match and create fish patterns, as well as play a math fish game.  We will also try to get to our the Lorax.

Word Wall
This week we will be introducing the letter C for Cat and Cute.  Please have your child bring in items that start with the letter and put them in the pelican so we can share them at the end of the day.

Important dates and events
March 3rd – Tuition Due
March 3rd – Early Bird Ticket sales for Auction Begin
March 9th – Daylight Savings Time Begins
March 10th – Tuition grace period ends at NOON
March 14th – Early Bird ticket sales for Auction - END
March 17th -  Early Release @ 11:30 for Paddy Hough Parade @ 12:30
March 20th – Kindred @ 10:15
March 21st -  Auction Tickets Sales END
March 24th–28th - Silent Auction for student made items
March 29th - Annual Dinner Auction 5:00 – 8:00

This weeks songs in the Star Class

Rhyming words

Cat and Hat are Rhyming words, Rhyming words, Rhyming words
Cat and Hat are Rhyming words, Cat and Hat

Continue with other words that rhyme...even words that are created can be fun!

Classroom needs
Wipes
Glue Sticks
Pictures if not in yet -
Cubby picture
All About Me books

Volunteer Opportunities
Auction Help – Sign up are on Maria's door
Recycling – 15 minutes
Washing toys – 30 minutes