Thanksgiving Newsletter

 November 21, 2020

Dear PreK Families, 

Last week, the whole school practiced doing a LOCKDOWN drill. We practice these throughout the school year with the Hartford Police Department to prepare for emergency situations. During a drill we shut and lock our classroom door, pull the window shades and turn off the lights and sit quietly in our classroom until the drill is over (usually less than 10  minutes). The students all did a great job practicing. Please let us know if you have any questions. 

Last month, the class enjoyed learning about pumpkins and Halloween. We did many art projects, and we learned the song Five Little Pumpkins. We read books such as: Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington, It’s Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall, Spookly the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano, Go Away, Big, Green Monster by Ed Emberly, There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro, and Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. The students really enjoy hearing stories and we usually discuss our favorite parts of the story. If you do not have copies of these stories, you can often find read alouds on well known children’s books on YouTube. 

Earlier this month, we learned about farms. We did art projects about several different farm animals, painted and made paper barns, and did a class project on Mrs. Whishy Washy based on the book Mrs. Whishy Washy's Farm by Joy Cowley.  We made a graph about our favorite farm animals and discussed that we get our food from farms.  The class had fun learning nursery rhymes about farms such as, BINGO, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. We also read many books about farms, including: Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise, Inside a Barn in the Country by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Click, Clack Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin. 

Currently, we have been learning about the Thanksgiving holiday. We have read many books so far, such as I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson, This is the Turkey by Abby Levine, and Thank You, Thanksgiving by David Milgrim. Your child can retell the story of I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie with his or her story kit in a paper bag. This coming week is a special time at WRS, it’s the week of the Feast. In a normal year, the whole school has a Thanksgiving dinner together in the gym served family style. It is a memorable event for everyone at school. This year we will still have the Feast, but we will be eating in our classrooms instead. If you are able to, please contribute a jar of applesauce towards the Have Foodshelf.  

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Miss Taylor

IMPORTANT DATES

11/25-11/27 NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving

12/18 NO PreK - ECP In-Service

12/22 PreK Pajama Day

12/23-1/3 NO SCHOOL Holiday Break