Lions, Crocodiles, and Princesses, oh my!

My goodness the children had a blast this morning! We changed into our costumes and buddied up with our buddies in Betsy's class. We ended up with a lion, Tinkerbell, 2 fairies, Daphne from Scooby Doo, Cinderella, a princess, and a crocodile. They loved being in the spotlight while all of the older children awed at them. The children have a bag full of Halloween goodies from our party. They have ghosts, bats, spiders, and stickers. Ashlynn brought in bags for everyone as well. Special thanks to Ashlynn and her mom for bringing those in. Be sure to ask your child what we did during our party. After the party, we paraded around campus in our costumes. I have a slideshow coming soon.

Please have a safe and fun Halloween weekend! I'll see everyone on Monday.

Happy Halloween!

Thursday

     Hello All! Even though I was only gone one day, it was so nice to get back to your sweet children and their smiling faces and generous hugs.
     Today's morning meeting was lead by Sylvia. We then decorated our "treasure bags" for the Halloween party tomorrow given to us by Kim's and Betsy's classes. Don't forget to send your child in their normal clothes for the day - I will help them change into their costumes for the parade.
     Later this morning we had music class with Kim and came back to class to do a "painting project". I let the children pick between a bat or a spider and they colored them with markers. After they were finished coloring, the magic happened. We painted over the marker with water and watched as the colors bled together. These are wooden, like the leaves sent home earlier last month. We let them dry and I put magnets on the back. The children also put googly eyes on them(I didn't have enough to put 8 on each spider, but we did talk about how spiders have 8 eyes, not 2!). They turned out great and I'll be sending them home today. Half day students will bring theirs home tomorrow.

Reminders:

• TOMORROW(Friday) is the Halloween Parade and celebration. Please remember to send a costume for your child to wear in the parade. Teachers will help your child change into their costume, so please send them in clothes they can comfortably wear the remainder of the day. Kim's and Betsy's classes have planned several events for the children and they will collect some "treasures" to bring home. The parade will be after the celebration leading us into recess.
• Do you know what's more fun than spring cleaning? Waiting until fall to do it! Our board is hosting a C.S. family yard sale November 6 at CS. Think of it as an opportunity to declutter for the upcoming holidays and guests. You get more space in your house, the school earns money which will be spent on the children, the local economy gets a boost and everybody wins. What an easy way to help make the world a better place. You can even unload your treasures this Saturday (9-1) at the corner of Lamar and Williamson Road, next to the log cabin. People will be there to unload your car (or semi).

• Have you checked your child's conference time? The schedule was sent out in Tuesday's Quick Notes. Click here to view the schedule. Please note, your child comes with you to their conference. Please let me know if your time doesn't work. I am willing to meet you before or after school any day of the week if Nov. 9th won't work for you. 

Questions? Let me know!

Halloween Party and Yard Sale

Although I'm not at school today, I do have a couple things to share with you. 

Friday is the Halloween Parade and celebration. Please remember to send a costume for your child to wear in the parade. Teachers will help your child change into their costume, so please send them in clothes they can comfortably wear the remainder of the day. Kim's and Betsy's classes have planned several events for the children and they will collect some "treasures" to bring home. The parade will be after the celebration leading us into recess.

Do you know what's more fun than spring cleaning? Waiting until fall to do it! Our board is hosting a C.S. family yard sale November 6 at CS. Think of it as an opportunity to declutter for the upcoming holidays and guests. You get more space in your house, the school earns money which will be spent on the children, the local economy gets a boost and everybody wins. What an easy way to help make the world a better place. You can even unload your treasures this Saturday (9-1) at the corner of Lamar and Williamson Road, next to the log cabin. People will be there to unload your car (or semi).

Questions? Let me know!

Thanks so much!

Tuesday

     We had a quick morning meeting lead by Henry this morning. We then we wrapped up our apple unit by baking apple muffins! I've added pictures to the right - check them out! We talked about the different ingredients we were adding and what the difference between wet ingredients and dry ingredients was. We then each took a turn stirring and I scooped them into the muffin pan. The children then had fruit break and recess followed by drama class and Spanish class. In drama, the children read and acted out The Little Old Lady who wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. I believe they each got to act out several parts so if you ask your child which character they were, they may answer with more than one.
     While the children were in their enrichment classes, I put the muffins in the oven. By the time they had arrived back to class, the muffins were cooled and ready to be eaten. The children were so eager to eat them they could hardly wait. We all gobbled them up (must have been good, huh?), and even saved one for Holly. The verdict was in...they passed the 3 & 4 year-old test! We finished up just in time for recess.
     During lunch, we had a fire drill today. You may hear about it because it was the first time we've had one by surprise. All of the others were planned and the teachers were aware they were happening. It caused quite a commotion! Ashlynn ended up with yogurt all in her hair and on her shirt and Dawson lost a boot. Needless to say, we all made it out. Whew!

YUM!

• Just a heads up, I will not be here tomorrow. Lynn is my substitute and all of the children know her. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I've also told the children so they're prepared as well.
• Also, BIG THANKS to Susie, Sylvia's mom, for coming in to read to us last Friday. The children loved sharing that time with you and can't wait for you to come back. 

See you all Thursday!

Rainy...Not so rainy Monday

     The weather can't make up it's mind today! I certainly know how it feels sometimes. We've been getting a couple minutes of heavy downpours followed by the warm sunshine. Needless to say, the children haven't been outside to play today (other than during morning drop-off).
     We began our day with Ashlynn leading us through morning meeting. We then read some poems from the book A Little bit Scary by Gill Davies.

We then took images from the book (a dancing skeleton, a bat, a box of tissues, a monster, etc.) and decided if they are real or make-believe. We then charted them - they went on one side if they were real, and the other side if they were make-believe. The children did great! I'll leave the chart in our room for a while for the children to look at. Please come in the room and take a look at it for yourself. The children sorted over 30 items.

     Afterwards, we had fruit break and played in the room for recess. We then headed off to music class and back to our room for reading buddies with Katie's class. Our buddies read us a story and we told them our favorite thing from the book. They wrote it down and we worked together to draw a picture from the book.

     Before recess, we took a few minutes to make a chart of our apple tasting from last Thursday. I made a chart with their names and a picture of all 4 apples we tried last week. I gave the children a picture of themselves and they were to find their name and place their picture in the column of their favorite apple. We totaled them and discovered the Grimes Golden was the top pick (there were 6 votes for this one!). If you happen to see these at the store or market, please pick some up and give them a try - after you buy them, of course. They're similar to a Golden Delicious, but sweeter (if you can imagine). This chart is hanging on the cabinets in our room, above the children's cubbies. Alongside the chart is our apple stampings from last week with our buddies in Betsy's class. Please, come in and look! :)

Friday

       This morning, our morning meeting was lead by Jenna. We then had only a few minutes to read a book before Spanish. We read How do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro. This book lives by it's title and teaches children how apples grow. It starts off in the winter with bare-branched trees and goes throughout the year, showing the children what apples look like as they grow up. We then had early fruit break and Spanish with Bernie. The Bolivian students have arrived at Community School and Elena was doing a special project with them today. The Bolivians will be here for 6 weeks and are so eager to work with your children! You may begin to hear about them soon.
     Later this morning, we had buddies with Betsy's class. We continued our apple theme and made apple prints. We first read a story about a little boy who gets bored and his mother sends him on a mission to find a little red house with no windows or doors but a star inside. To read the complete story, click here. As you can conclude from the ending, the little boy finds an apple in an orchard and brings it home to his mother. She cuts it open to discover the star inside(this only happens when you cut it horizontally, not vertically). The children were amazed! We then partnered up and painted our apples (and some of our clothes - no worries! It washes out!) and made prints on our paper. They'll need to dry over the weekend but I'll hang them next week. Pictures should be posted soon as well.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! See you on Monday.

Tasty Thursday!

     This morning's morning meeting was lead by Ezperanza. Afterwards, we had math workshop buddies with Katie's class. We continued our study of Mexico with chocolate by writing numbers in chocolate pudding. The big buddies taught their little buddies how to write the number and guided them through it. They really seemed to enjoy using the pudding as a medium (what pudding they didn't lick off of their fingers!). It has been so heart-warming to watch the big buddies develop a sense of nurturing and endearment towards your children. Your children LOVE their buddies!
     We then had fruit break and recess, followed by music with Kim. The children are learning all kinds of spooky, scary songs for Halloween. They seem to really be getting a kick out of them.
     After music class, we stopped in Ruth Ann's class for an apple tasting. We tasted four different types of apples: Fuji, Gala, Grimes Golden, and Winesap. We took votes on the favorites and recorded their answers.  While tasting them, we discovered some are sweet, while others are sour. We also discovered that some are hard in texture, while some are mushy. Ask your child which was their favorite. We'll be making a graph with their likes/dislikes of the different varieties.
     We will continue to talk about apples for the next few days. Tomorrow, with our buddies in Betsy's class, we'll be doing some apple stamping. Next week, we'll hopefully get to make apple muffins.

I hope everyone had a good day and I'll see you soon.
    

Tuesday

     Short post today! Our internet company has a scheduled outage soon this afternoon for some maintenance.

     This morning's morning meeting was lead by Sylvia. Afterwards, we had math workshop where we built something, but it had to be a certain color and it had to be completed in 4 minutes. We started with our leader of the day, Sylvia, and let her pick the color. We then rotated through the room letting all children pick a color for building.
     We also had fruit break and fruit break recess followed by Drama with Julie and Spanish with Elena. We had just a few minutes in the room for some free play before heading out for recess.

See you tomorrow!

Monday

     I hope everyone had a great extended weekend with their child/children. After the fun-filled week we had last week, I sure needed an extra day! I hope everyone has had a chance to look at our slideshows posted above from Fall Festival. If you have any pictures you're willing to share, please send them my way. You can give me a cd, or a usb drive with them on it or email them to me. Thanks in advance!
     This morning, our leader was Lindsay. Lindsay lead us through morning meeting and into literacy. In literacy workshop this morning, we practiced writing our first name. The children get a piece of paper with their name written out, then written out in dashed letters for them to trace. They trace them, then write their name on their own underneath. I've have a few of these to show you at your child's conference on November 9th.
     After fruit break, we had music class with Kim. Reading buddies (with Katie's class) soon followed. Today in reading buddies, Katie's class had a picture book and a piece of paper. They came up with a story with your child and wrote the words. We will continue working on this during reading buddies in upcoming weeks.  

Fall Festival Fun

Whew! What a wonderful week it has been! We finished up our Fall Festival this morning with a few different activities. The children rotated through the following groups:

1. RockBand group in the music room with Kim M.
2. Planted Basil plants with Xan's mom, Kim
3. Ate hanging apples with Brady's mom, Jenny
4. Played with pumpkin spiced playdough with Jahanvi's mom, Rita
5. Made gourd stampings with Sylvia's mom, Susie
6. Went on a scavenger hunt with Tulie - and found a treasure!

The children (and teachers and parents) had a great time this morning.Thanks so much to all of the parents who came to help us today. We couldn't have done it without you, and your help is truly appreciated.

Be on the lookout for more pictures to come of the past two days. If you went along with us to Jeter Farm and have pictures you'd be willing to share, please let me know and I'll add them to the rotation for everyone to see. I know parents who didn't get to go would like to see as many as they can of their child's day. Thanks so much!

Sleep items will come home today - remember, NO SCHOOL TOMORROW, Friday Oct. 15. I'll see everyone on Monday. Have a great extended weekend with your child. :)

Fall Festival Reminders

• Please remember to email me or let me know this afternoon if you're joining us to Jeter Farm. I've only heard from two parents. Please refer to yesterday's blog post for information I need from you. It is  important that I know before loading children tomorrow morning. Thanks.
• We will begin loading children at 8:45am tomorrow so please be here on time. We will depart CS around 9am.
• PEANUT-FREE lunch! This includes parents.
• Please keep the weather in mind when preparing for tomorrow. Weather.com says the forecast high is 76 degrees, but it will be anywhere from 60-70 degrees while we're at Jeter's. I recommend a light jacket LABELED with your child's name. The children will also do some walking and climbing, so tennis shoes are recommended. Please, no sandals or flip flops.
• Parents will pay their fee at Jeter Farm. $6.00 each. Want more info? Go here.
• Need directions to Jeter Farm? Go here for a map and enter your address for directions.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything! I'm very excited and the children can't wait. We've been talking about the pumpkin patch a lot the past couple of days. Happy Fall!

Monday

     Ashlynn lead our morning meeting today. We then had literacy centers, where I introduced a new concept to them. I gave them cubes with the letters to their names on them and they had to figure out what order to put them in to spell their name. For example,:

     They did a wonderful job with it! After they have their first names mastered, we'll work on their first and last names. Then, we may try our friend's names and see how we do. We also had music class this morning and came back singing about flying bats and dancing skeletons. The children are very interested in our Halloween books, so I read a few poems from a spooky book and we discussed real verses make-believe. We will begin a more detailed unit on real vs. make-believe next week.

Please let me know if you're going to be joining your child to Jeter Farm Wednesday. Jot me a note or email me (katlync@communityschool.net) and include:
                                 1. If you are meeting us there, or following the group from CS.
                                 2. If you're providing transportation for your own child.
If you have volunteered to be a parent driver, you don't need to leave me a note or email me. Thanks!

Friday

     Today's morning meeting was lead by Jenna. The children are really beginning to recognize their name during attendance. They've learned to look at more than just the first letter and soon they will begin learning their classmate's names as well.
     After an early fruit break, the children headed to Spanish class. The children tell me they learned about shapes today with their Seminar buddies. Afterwards, they went out for the second half of fruit break recess. We came back to discover we had "new" books on our shelf. The children had an exciting time looking through fall and Halloween books. We finished up just in time for buddies with Betsy's class. We created leaf people. What's that you ask? Well, we went exploring outside and discovered all kinds of leaves on the ground. Each buddy set collected different leaves and came back to the room to create a person out of them. They even added eyes and mouths for a finishing touch. They're drying and will be hung up in the room soon.

Sleep items will come home today. Sylvia's mom donated reusable shopping bags to our class and I've decided to use them for your child's sleep stuff. Each week I'll send it home with their sleep things in it and if you could please send it back on Monday with their clean sleep items. I will label the bags with their names. Thanks so much to Sylvia's mom!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you all on Monday!

Thursday

      This morning's morning meeting was lead by Essie. We then continued our journey through North America and talked a little bit about Mexico with our math buddies in Katie's class. We then discovered that children in Mexico drink hot chocolate with cinnamon in it. Well, having discovered this we had  to try it. Katie's class helped our class measure out their water, cocoa, cinnamon, and marshmallows. We then had fruit break and fruit break recess.
     Afterwards, we had music class with Kim and came back to the room to free choice floor toys.  They build so many social skills during play. I love watching the children interact with one another and figure out how to solve a problem.

Thanks to everyone for turning in your child's Fall Festival Fee!

Tuesday

         This morning, our morning meeting was lead by Tallulah. Afterwards, we worked in MWS groups, building different things. One group built houses, while another built cars. They also rotated through a "free build" center, where they were to use their imagination and build whatever they could come up with. We had some very fancy castles, a tower, Pizza Hut, and a cat, to name a few.
     After fruit break, we had Drama class with Julie and Spanish with Elena. When the children came back, they were all very interested in looking at books. We looked at books until time for recess.


REMINDER: I haven't received anyone's money yet! The $12 Fall Festival fee is due to me tomorrow, 10/6. You can send in cash or make a check payable to Community School. Thanks!

Friday

     Happy October! Our windy day started off by Lindsay leading us through morning meeting. We then had our  early fruit break and headed to Spanish class. Elena tells me they have been working on learning numbers en Espanol up to fifteen. They've also been learning colors and singing songs in Spanish. Right now, they're learning a song about a red apple and a green apple.
     After Spanish and a quick fruit break recess, we took a break and had our pictures taken. After the photographer takes their picture, they get to get a prize from the treasure chest she brings. You may see a new toy, pencil, or bouncy ball in your child's bag today. No worries, they're theirs to keep. :)
     Later in the morning we had buddies with Betsy's class. They found a comfy spot in the room and read to your children. They seem to really be enjoying spending time with them. I love watching their friendships evolve in and out of the classroom. During recess, you can find several buddy sets playing together. Community School is such a magical place to be and I'm so glad your children are a part of it.

Sleep items are coming home today. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll see you Tuesday.

REMEMBER: NO SCHOOL MONDAY, OCT. 4TH!