November 13, 2023
Dear PreK Families,
It was so nice to see you all at the PTC earlier this month. In November, we did a science unit on balance, building and balls and ramps. In the classroom we built structures with different types of blocks. We used ramps and built ramps. We took pictures of what we made and drew pictures of our structures. This week, we will have a lesson from Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), on the topic of Loose Parts. We will have 2 more visits later this year.
In October we finished our work on fall leaves and learned about the pumpkin life cycle. We looked at real pumpkins and sorted them by their sizes. We also tapped a real pumpkin with pegs and hammers, then we cut it open and looked at the seeds. We even counted some of the seeds. We will make a class book about pumpkins. We read many books about pumpkins including Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington, The Littlest Pumpkin by R. A. Herman, and The Legend of Spookly the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano. We learned the song The Five Little Pumpkins and we made a mini book about it too. At the end of the month, we also read stories including: Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro, and Five Little Bats Flying in the Night by Steve Metzger.
At our school, we use the Bridges PreK Math Program. Bridges is the same math program that is used by the other grades in our school. In the first unit during September, students focused on sorting, counting, patterning, graphing, and comparing. In October, we continued with that same work, but also started graphing and measuring. Currently, we are in the middle of our November work around shapes to make designs, pictures, and larger shapes. Students will also count, sort, pattern, and graph shapes.
It seems as though colder weather is here to stay. When we have snow, please send in your child with full snow gear: hat, mittens, jacket, snow pants, and boots. You may send in a pair of indoor shoes for your child to keep in their cubby in the classroom. We will also begin our day with playground time after the Thanksgiving break on November 27th, so you may send your child dressed in full snow gear in the morning. This will probably be our routine until spring. If there is a delay of school or cancellation, you will get a phone call from the district. Or, you can check WCAX.
Next week, we will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with a school wide Feast. The whole school will all eat a Thanksgiving lunch on Tuesday, November 21st. Each child is welcome to eat the Feast lunch, but if your child would rather eat their home lunch, they can bring that with them as well. Each class is responsible for contributing to the Feast in some way. PreK brings in applesauce for the meal. Please send in a jar of applesauce with your child by Monday, November 20th.
We will have one more book order before the holiday break. Please have orders in by November 29th. Go to Scholasitic Book Clubs.
With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).
Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/K3677
Shop Digital Flyers for Our Grade with Your Child: https://clubs.scholastic.com/prek
Class Code: K3677
Thank you,
Amy
IMPORTANT DATES
11/15 - Visit from VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science)
11/17 - NO PREK - ECP In-Service
11/21 - Thanksgiving Feast
11/22-24 - Thanksgiving Break
11/27 - Picture Retakes
