October 19, 2012

Dear Parents,

We had a great week in the Quarter Note Class learning about trees, leaves, and the changing of the seasons.  We introduced our unit by reading some books about autumn.  Some of the children’s favorite stories were: It could be a Leaf by Allan Founder, Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber, and Our Seasons by Grace Lin. We also went on a nature walk and collected colorful leaves, flowers, acorns and pine cones.  The children chose acorns and pine cones and added them to our science table.  They sorted the leaves and made a leaf color chart.

The children painted a large tree and leaves.  They then glued the leaves onto the trees.  We even included pictures of the children cut into leaf shapes.

The children painted beautiful watercolor murals, and then they stamped gold leaves onto them.  They look spectacular displayed around our classroom.  Please stop by and take a look at your children’s creations.

During music with Michelle, the children enjoyed dancing while she played the violin.  They also became a percussion orchestra, using tambourines, to shake to the “Body Rock” song.  The children are also beginning to learn basic rhythms.

A dental hygienist visited the school on Thursday.  She gave a demonstration on how to brush and floss teeth, safely.  She also talked to the children about proper nutrition.  This included eating lots of vegetables and fruit and very little “junk food.”  The children were excited when she gave each one of them a packet which contained a toothbrush, tooth paste, and a coloring book.

We concluded our week by making delicious leaf shaped cookies. Baking is not only a fun activity but an excellent learning experience, as well. Most children learn quickly that eating is fun. Children learn best when they are busy and interested in what they are doing.  When they are busy measuring, mixing, kneading, and pouring, they don’t realize that there is a special ingredient that you’re adding:  It’s called learning!

We look forward to continuing our Fall theme next week.

Love, 

Ms. Bonne

Quarter Note Newsletter

October 12, 2012

Dear Parents,

We had another great week in the Quarter Note’s Class.  We finally finished our Pet Houses.  The children put on a wonderful talent show with their pets. Each child demonstrated how talented their animals were.  Jacob’s dog wagged his tail, turned his head and pretended to dig.  Lajos’s penguin walked very slowly.  Caleb’s dog turned his head, wagged his tail and ran very fast.  Julia’s bear hugged her and counted numbers. Eli’s turtle ran very fast and hard. Lyla’s teddy bear sat and smiled.  Kieran’s Eeyore crawled and rolled over.  Rachel’s animal stood on its head.

The children practiced tracing and writing the letter “C.”  We came up  with a list of words beginning with the letter “C.”  Some of the words we came up with were:  clock, cookie, cake, candy, crocodile, cupcake, and cat. 

They also created three-D cats by tracing a template of a cat , cutting it out, and decorating it with googly eyes, whiskers, a nose and a mouth.  Believe it or not, the cats can actually stand up. The children also made spectacular aquariums.  They worked so hard cutting, painting, and gluing stones onto the aquariums.  We hope you enjoyed how hard your child worked on their projects.  They were so proud of their accomplishments. They could hardly wait to take them home, to show them to you. 

We had so much fun this week dancing with Miss Michelle and Yina.  The children danced around the room with scarves.  They danced to “Over the Rainbow” and to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

They were so excited about our new Halloween CD. They just loved dancing to it. They also learned some finger movement songs such as “Where is Thumpkin?”

We concluded our week with a visit from the Newton Fire Department.  Each child sat in the fire truck and even tried on the fireman's hat.  It was so heavy that they needed two hands to hold it on.

Love,  Ms.  Bonne

P.S.  I hope to see all of you at the Harvest Fair on Sunday

Quarter Note Classroom Newsletter

October 3, 2012

Dear Parents,

We had quite a busy week making pet houses and various types of animals including birds and cats. We introduced our pet theme with a discussion about the different needs of pets versus human beings.  Some the similarities that the children came up with were:  Animals and people both need food, water, sunshine, exercise and friends.  The differences were: dogs bark, cats meow, and people talk and sing.

The children did a great job sitting and listening to animal stories.  Some of their favorites were:  Dog, by Matthew Van Fleet, Carl’s Afternoon in the Park, by Alexandra Day, and Old MacDonald by Jane Cabrera. They also sang “Bingo,” and “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,”

The children had a lot of fun learning many different animal songs with Michelle and playing the piano with Yina. We used "If You're Happy and You Know It" with animal actions, as well.

One of the highlights of the week was when Bo (parrot) visited our classroom.  He sang “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!, roller skated, played basketball, put money in a piggy bank, played the ring toss game, and rolled over.  We also had a discussion about birds.  We learned that parrots come from the rain forests, where it is hot and humid. We also talked about what birds eat.  They mainly eat fruit, vegetables, seeds, and occasionally nuts.  

I think Bo had almost as much fun performing for the children as they did watching him.  Did you know, according to bird experts, some parrots have the reasoning skills of a three year old child?  I am not sure if that is true but, it only took Bo two weeks to learn each one of his tricks.  Bo is twenty- five years old and is expected to live another seventy years.

After seeing what a parrot looks like, the children made their own version of a bird.  First they traced a template of a bird, then cut it out and finally decorated it with eyes and feathers.  The children seem to like using scissors and are working on their cutting skills.

We will continue our animal theme next week.  So please have your child bring in a small stuffed animal, if they have not done so already.

We concluded our week by baking delicious animal cookies.

Love, 

Ms. Bonne