Pre-Kindergarten Monthly Highlights

October Classroom Highlights

Pre-K October Highlights

The pre-kindergarten gathers for a read-aloud of America Is.

This month, pre-kindergarten began studying families and what makes each special and different.  We focused on many great books--  The Family Book by Todd Parr describes the many ways in which families are different.  In Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick by Kevin Henkes, two mouse sisters both want a peppermint stick.  In The Question Song, parents help their children solve common problems that occur in all families.  The pre-k students listened very carefully and had plenty to say about the stories and characters.  We also talked about problems that happen at school and how we come up with solutions. 
 
As part of our unit on family, the children brought in photographs of their own families to show their classmates. We now have a beautiful family photo wall in our classroom. 
 
A big highlight this month was learning about different holidays that people celebrate around the city and world, and also in our CPS family.  At the beginning of October, we celebrated the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah by dipping apples in honey to wish for a sweet new year (pictured on right).  Two of our students shared at Community Meeting about how their families celebrated the Muslim holiday Ramadan.  It was a wonderful opportunity for our school to learn about what makes each family special.

In the middle of the month, we were excited to host the Second Annual Pre-K Tea Party! To prepare for the event, the children created invitations, decorated ties to wear, created colorful tablecloths, and listened to the story Miss Spider's Tea Party.  The tea party helped the class focus on the T sound (as in ties, tablecloths, tea, and toast), but most importantly, was a way for each child to contribute to a community event.  We served caffeine-free fruit tea (with plenty of honey) and delicious toast.  It was a great event enjoyed by all.
 

The pre-k hosts a tea party with CPS faculty and staff.

For the autumn season, we did a lot of learning about pumpkins.  With our very own Pre-K Pumpkin Patch in the classroom, we discussed the features of a pumpkin, measured the circumference of pumpkins (making "belts" with yarn for each pumpkin), and talked about what might be inside a pumpkin.  Next, we will open one up to see the inside for ourselves.
 
One of pre-k's favorite books this month was The Bus for Us, by Suzanne Bloom.  Students loved predicting which vehicle would come next as two children waited for their school bus.  As the class recited the familiar refrain on each page, children took turns pointing out the words with a pointer.  They really enjoyed this practice of reading along.  We used the book in math activities too, as we clapped out the syllables or "chunks" in the names of children in the story and children in pre-k.  Then we made a class graph displaying our findings.  Most students have two (Ja-ya) or three (A-dri-an) chunks in their names, and both teachers have four chunks (Mis-ter Tho-mas). 
 
Another subject we focused on in our math center was the concept of half and whole.  Students matched two halves of an object to make a whole, and we discussed things that we could split in half.    
 
This month, we talked a lot about our class rules. We revised our rules until they really fit our needs.  They are:
1.  Listen carefully. 
2.  Follow directions the first time. 
3.  Be safe and use gentle hands. 
4.  Help your friends and be kind to them. 
5.  Try new things and always do your best.
We're calling this our Pre-K Promise.  The pictures parents drew on "Back to School Night" surround the words, so the children know that their parents and teachers will help them follow the rules. 
 
Coming up, we will go on our first field trip!  Pre-k will go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see a special exhibit called "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of a Quilt."  Students will learn about the community of African-American women in Georgia who have been making the quilts for generations.  We'll also focus on shapes and patterns we see in the quilts.

September Classroom Highlights

Pre-k enjoyed a fabulous, full month!

One of our main goals for the beginning of school was getting to know our school, our classmates, and the teachers. During the first week of school, the children took special tours to visit other classrooms and meet teachers. They also met other important adults like Ms. Jordan (the administrative assistant) and Mr. Jones (Head of School). Pre-k played games to get to know the classroom (like Hot and Cold), and shared interests every morning in Morning Meeting. We discovered that several children have favorite colors and foods in common, and we even have three families with pet turtles! We practiced routines like lining up, waiting for a turn, sharing, and cleaning up after meals.

We had the chance to read several wonderful books together. We read  Manuelo, the Playing Mantis by Don Freeman early in the month. Manuelo has a wish to play an instrument, and with hard work and help from a friend, his wish comes true. After reading this lovely tale, the children discussed their own wishes for pre-k. We worked on generating our classroom rules to help each other make these wishes come true.

We also focused on a story called The Little School Bus by Sharon Roth and Pamela Paperone. This great book includes colors, rhyming words, and math words like first, second, next, last, etc. Later, we had a blast acting it out in our very first pre-k play!

In addition to reading, we studied nature-- in fact, Mr. Thomas brought in two praying mantises! These beautiful insects captivated everybody's attention. We began a science unit focusing on the changing weather.  Each day, we examine the trees on our playground and take note of the temperature. We have some true scientists in our classroom.

The children have also been exercising their creativity-- they worked together to create a cheer for Sprit Day on September 26th. They wrote new lyrics to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," describing what they liked best about pre-k, including the playground, blocks and trains, cutting and gluing, and their friends. Then, pre-k did a fantastic job singing their song in front of the whole school! 

At the end of September, the class began working in centers. Children selected an area to work in (the math center, art center, or letter center, for example) and worked independently.  They took turns working in small groups or individually with a teacher.  We focused on finishing projects, cleaning up, and cooperating with classmates.

It was a fun and productive month in our pre-k classroom, and we are excited about all of the learning to come as the school year progresses.

--Ms. Jamieson and Mr. Thomas