PreK Press
COLORS BOOK: The PreKers were all very excited to “read” their color books together in class and even more thrilled to be able to take them home and keep them “forever and ever.” We hope you enjoyed looking at them with your child as well.
MAT MAN: Those of you who joined us on Back-To-School Night heard us mention the “Handwriting Without Tears” program. This is a readiness program that introduces and reinforces many important concepts including (but not limited to) letter and number recognition and formation, color and shape recognition, body parts, and pencil grip. The children have been introduced to Mat Man - a happy guy that the children get to “build” while listening to a song and using big lines, little lines, big curves, and little curves. All of these wooden pieces are also used to form letters and we will be focusing on these in the months ahead. Be sure to check out our PreK blog for some photographs that will help you visualize what the children are doing and what Mat Man looks like.
PENCIL GRIP: Along with Mat Man, we are also focusing on helping all the children develop and/or refine an accurate pencil grip. The importance of doing this early in the year, in combination with daily activities that help strengthen finger and hand muscles, cannot be underscored enough. Learning “The Crayon Song” and consistently using the words “pinch and flip” (we will demonstrate this for you if you are interested) are instrumental in helping the PreKers gain both skill and confidence in their abilities.
SOFT LOCKDOWN EXPERIENCE: As you are all aware by now, TCS did experience a soft lockdown for several hours on Friday. The PreKers did an amazing job of just “going with the flow” and they didn’t miss a beat! We explained that during a soft lockdown we continue our day as usual except that we need to stay in our classroom. While we were unable to have STEAM, we did have more table choice time, additional circle time activities, lunch, rest time, free choice time and stories. The day went very smoothly and the children seemed comfortable and at ease throughout. If you haven’t yet had a chance to read the email from John Fixx dated October 8, 2016 regarding last Friday’s soft lockdown, we recommend that you do so.
SIGN-UP FOR e2CAMPUS ALERT: An important follow-up is this message taken from Mr. Fixx’s email: “Our emergency management network is e2Campus. All parents should be registered with this platform in order to receive alerts via phone, text and/or email. e2Campus registration can be found here: http://www.thecountryschool.org/about/e2campusregistration. If you have not registered, please do so today. Questions may be directed to Bill Leidt (bill.leidt@thecountryschool.org).”
SELF-CONTROL: As part of this year’s school wide focus on self-control, we have on-going conversations in the classroom about what it means to have self-control and what that looks like. Many of these talks are a normal part of what we discuss on a daily basis in PreK, and others are inspired by a variety of children’s books that we read in class. Titles include: Have You Filled A Bucket Today, Stand In My Shoes, We Can Get Along, and What If Everybody Did That?” We will continue brainstorming, talking and demonstrating examples of self-control in the months ahead.
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT: We were happy that so many of you were able to join us for at least part of the classroom time on Back To School Night and we thank you for making the effort to be here. As always, whether you were here or not, if you have any questions, please ask!
VOLUNTEER FORMS: Many parents received volunteer forms on Back To School Night. Thank you to those who have already filled them out and returned them. If you have not filled yours out or have misplaced it, we have included another copy at the end of this newsletter for your convenience. Please take the time to fill them out and return by the end of this week.
NO SCHOOL: There is no school this coming Wednesday, October 12th. Owl’s Nest care will be available (pending adequate enrollment). Please contact Owl’s Nest directly for information.
PARENT CONFERENCES: TCS parent conferences are scheduled for Friday, October 21st. Thank you to all who have signed up already. For those needing Owl’s Nest care either during your conference time or for a portion of the day, again, please contact Owl’S Nest for additional information and registration.
PICTURE DAY RESCHEDULE: For clarification purposes, the Picture Reschedule Day does not apply to PreK, as we all successfully had our pictures taken prior to the soft lockdown last Friday. We are also very proud to report that Joe, the photographer, was very impressed with the behavior and cooperation of all the PreKers as they followed directions, did what was asked of them and waited patiently. Kudos to them all!!
READING BUDDIES: The PreKers and Fourth graders have already spent time together sharing stories, creating and building with a variety of manipulatives, and enjoying each others’ company. In addition, a few of the fourth graders have begun sharing talents and learning the Reading Buddies song. Since it sometimes takes a little while for the PreKers to remember their Buddies’ names, we are attaching your child’s group to this newsletter so you can more easily engage in conversation about them and help reinforce names with your child.
HALLOWEEN: Halloween is fast approaching and so is our annual TCS Halloween Parade and celebration. Attached to this newsletter is important information that will hopefully answer all of your questions concerning Monday, October 31st. Please let us know if you have additional questions or need clarification! Be sure to mark your calendar and we will look forward to seeing you at 8:30 for the parade. In addition, please watch for the Halloween snack sign-up sheet that will be posted soon right outside our classroom door. Thanks in advance for your help!
PLAYGROUND: The PreKers are very excited about their time on the playground and have enjoyed playing outside and exploring all the components. As a class, we have talked about ways to stay safe while outdoors, and also what parts of the climbers are available to PreKers. We want parents to know this information also. Specifically, PreKers may use all parts of both climbers except for the following:
1. both climbing walls
2. the series of high suspended rings
3. the high horizontal steering wheels
In addition, there are school-wide rules that all children are expected to follow while on the playground, both during school and after school. We need constant vigilance and cooperation from all parents to ensure the safety of your children. Please refer to the TCS handbook for those specifics.
BACKPACKS: As we continue to encourage your children to become independent with many skills, we are asking for your help. Please make sure your child’s backpack is big enough for them to be able to pack up papers, projects, library books, their snack bag, an extra sweater or jacket when needed, and their water bottle. Also, when you and/or your child put their backpack on their hook in the morning, please hang them on the back side of the hook with the main zipper compartment opening toward the front. This makes access to their belongings easier and it also means they can pack things in it more successfully. Thanks!
PLANNING AHEAD FOR THE SEASON OF GIVING: While you are grocery shopping over the course of the next several weeks, please keep in mind that The Country School actively collects cans and non-perishable foods for local food banks with delivery to these food banks scheduled for just before Thanksgiving. We will gladly accept any and all contributions whenever you have a few extra items in your shopping cart. We will also be having conversations with the class about the importance of helping those who are less fortunate than we are and hope to contribute generously to this very worthy and important cause. Thank you in advance for your help.
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION: We are still collecting box tops for education and ask that you put any that you have in the little container on the table just outside our classroom. Thank you!
YOGA NIGHT: Please plan on joining our school community for the PTA sponsored Yoga Night on Friday, October 14th. Please check The Little Hoot for additional information.
NO SCHOOL: As we look to the weeks ahead please note that TCS will be closed to students on Tuesday, November 1st for a Professional Development day.
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