Happy Holidays!!!!! (And pictures!)

Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the party and Sing-A-Long yesterday! Thank you for joining us!!  It felt so festive to have all of you singing together with us!

I wanted to let you know that today is Ellis' last day with our class as he will be joining a new class of cuties at a different school.  Please echo me in sending him off with hugs and love!  We will miss you so much Ellis!  Come back and visit us!

Don't forget that the day we come back to school (Monday, January 13th) is a late start day--we start school at 10.  

  I wish you and your families (and especially my darling cuties) a very happy holiday, Merry Christmas, and safe travels for those going away. What a fantastic semester we have had, and I look forward to another one!

Lynsey

GINGERBREAD MAN!

Dear Parents,

Just to give you the heads up on our gingerbread...

We have been reading stories about the Gingerbread Man, Boy, Baby etc, and have been talking about the stories("Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man".)

Yesterday we made the little individual gingerbread boys & girls for our cuties, as well as a HUGE Gingerbread Man!  Luckily we were able to eat the little ones (and some are coming home for you to taste) and during snack time we threw the BIG Gingerbread Man in the oven to bake, but when we returned to class he was gone... he ran away!  He left us some notes to find and follow, and we found some crumb clues leading out of the oven, in our classroom, by the office and on to the playground.  Our cuties were very excited and concerned and really tried to find him but we found out from Ms. Rosita (and another note he left) that he is in a taxi to the airport to travel the world!  He left some pictures of him making mischief!  

The note said, "Dear Girls and Boys in Ms. Lynsey's Pre-K Class, Thank you for making me with your love!  I did not want to be eaten so I decided to run away.  I am going to travel around Singapore and then the world to have many adventures.  I will write postcards from places that I have visited and to let you know that I am ok.  Have a Merry Christmas and lots of love, the Gingerbread Man."

I just wanted to give you the heads up that the kids are excited and the Gingerbread Boy is off on an adventure!

So...

Now that I have a Gingerbread Man traveling the world, could I ask a favor (if you are able - OPTIONAL) that YOU (THE GINGERBREAD MAN) please send US (Ms. Lynsey's Pre-K Class) a postcard from the places that you are going to visit over the Winter Holiday and any other holidays for the rest of the year?  It can be a quick note stating where you are and an adventure you are having, signed from the Gingerbread Man.

Example:

A post card from Japan:  "Dear Pre-K Students in Ms. Lynsey's Class, I am here in Japan.  I saw Mt. Fuji and traveled on the bullet train - it went so fast, we went 300 km/h!  I ate some sushi and lots of rice.  I miss you!  The Gingerbread Man (or GBM)"

Please do not mention a certain time (like New Years or Christmas) - it will be hard to explain how he could be on a train in Japan and Skiing in the Swiss Alps on New Years the same day.  :)

You can send it to our class:

Ms. Lynsey HOWITT

c/o Singapore American School (ECC)

40 Woodlands St. 41

Singapore 738547

THANK YOU in advance for your help and involvement!

Lynsey

Week 17 Pictures December 9 to 13

Learning about Hanukah
Christmas/Winter crafts
M&M counting/graphing
Marble painting
Tree Pictures
Snowflakes...and much much more fun in the Yellow Starfish class! :-)

Friday Update December 13

December 13, 2013 

                                                  

SICK CHILDREN

We have had a lot of students out this week, all over the ECC, mostly with fevers, green noses, sore throats, coughing and HFMD. Please help us keep our class healthy by reminding your child to wash hands regularly, cough into the shoulder or elbow and keep fingers out of mouths.  Please be sure to keep your cutie home if they are not feeling well/don’t seem like themselves or are exhausted—that seems to be the first sign.  So many families are heading on long plane journeys for the winter break and we want it to be an easy trip! J

Dear Parents,

We are in the holiday countdown stretch!!!  This week we…

*learned the sound, letter formation and hand motion for the letter Mm.  (and have been practicing the “mmmmmm” sound instead of “muh.”

*added macaroni to our feely letter Mm.

*wrote words/cut out pictures of things that begin with and contain Mm in our journals.

*have been making snowmen, Santa, reindeer, snowflakes and tree crafts.  Lots of sparkles, cutting practice and gluing!  Tons of fun!

*learned about Hanukah, played the dreidel game, and colored a “magic” dreidel.

*Read “If you take a mouse to the movies,” “If you give a moose a muffin” (m books J) and many holiday favorites such as Bear Snores On and The Gingerbread Man.

*continued to read fiction and non-fiction books on reindeer.  We learned quite a few interesting facts about reindeer—our favorite is that they make clicking noises!

*we made Christmas light patterns with Zoey, our Tuesday VIP, and counted and graphed M&M’s with Jonas, our Wednesday VIP (the most fun part was eating them of course!)

*used marbles and paint to decorate mittens—so much fun!!!!!

*made snowman Christmas ornaments with our handprints.

*used our great oral language skills in the North Pole dramatic play area.

*had a visit/lesson from Mr. Pearson, the primary school counselor.  He taught the children about responsibility.

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will review all of the letters introduced this semester.  We will make gingerbread cookies and do lots of other activities with gingerbread to make the room smell festive!  

THE WEEK OF 14 JANUARY 2013

We will introduce the letter Dd and begin a unit on Nursery Rhymes and on Chinese New Year. The children will be writing about their holiday in their journals so please send a photo that shows something about your holiday/winter break.

REMINDERS

*Please return library books on Monday.

*VIP sign-ups for the rest of the school year will be available again at the party on Friday.  Bring your calendars so you can mark the dates!

*Thursday, December 19: Santa Visit, Prek Holiday Party and Sing A Long J HOLIDAY FREE DRESS!!!!!

-This is a big day, and we hope you can all make it for the Sing-A-Long.  Please let me know if you cannot come so I can have someone ready to sit with your child and snuggle. J

Santa Visit:  9:20  (Please remember to send in book donation for Santa)

Early Lunch: 11:30-12

Class Party:  12:00-12:45

Sing-A-Long:  12:45-1:15

*Friday, December 20 : Have your child wear cozy clothes to school—we are going to watch a short movie with popcorn and hot chocolate in the middle of our day. J

-----LOOKING AHEAD TO JANUARY!!!!!!-----

*Monday, January 13 (FIRST DAY BACK) :  Late Start Day for students (10:00am) Buses will pick up like last late start day

*Please send a photo to school on Monday, 14 January, of something your child did over the holiday.  We will use this as an inspiration for writing about our holidays in our journals.

*Report cards will go home on Friday, 17 January 2014. 

Hope to see you all next week at the party and Sing-A-Long!! J

Thank you!!!  Have a wonderful weekend!!!!  Lynsey and Aidah

Pictures from Week 16

winter/Christmas crafts
Jacob's birthday
bringing out the tree and santa costumes 
reindeer sandwiches
and much, much more :-)

Friday Update December 6

December 6, 2013 

                                                  

Dear Parents,

The holiday season is in the air!!!  We are talking about Christmas and Hanukah, and comparing them with Diwali—our cuties are noticing a lot of similarities between our celebrations (they noticed a lot about candles and lights and time with family—we have very smart cuties!)  I love that we come to a school that celebrates the diversity of our children, and we learn all about each other’s holidays and family cultures.  Please continue to let me know if you want to share anything about a tradition or holiday you and your family celebrate. J  Here are some of our activities from the week….

*learned the name, letter formation and sound for the letter Rr.

*added rainbow rice to our feely letter Rr. Please add this to your feely letter ring and review all of the letters.

* wrote words that begin with the letter Rr in our alphabet journals, and found pictures of things that start with the letter. Many of the children are now trying to

s-t-r-e-t-c-h the words and write the sounds that they hear…they are so proud of themselves when they do their own inventive spelling!

* read fiction and nonfiction books about reindeer.

*made reindeer treat bags to use at our party on the 19^th.

*painted pictures of reindeer.

*made reindeer tree ornaments.

*spread peanut butter on bread and made reindeer sandwiches.

* learned the songs Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Up on the Housetop and added  them to our Songs and Poems folders.

* found all the r’s (upper and lower case) in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and circled them.

*Made handprint reindeer, trees and holiday wreaths (this will explain why your child might still have different colors under their fingernails!!!) J

*Practiced counting and patterning and will use these skills to make holiday lights next week.

UPCOMING EVENTS and REMINDERS

*There is a note attached about book donations for Santa, please read J

*We are very very low on fruit.  Can you send in some fruit with your child on Monday to get us through the last couple of weeks?  We appreciate that!  J  I bought a whole bunch at the beginning of the week but it is already eaten by our hungry munchkins!

*Please return library books on Monday.

*Thursday, December 19: Santa Visit, Prek Holiday Party and Sing A Long (SAVE THE DATE for this one—come and sing with your child after our party—it is an event you don’t want to miss!!!) J HOLIDAY FREE DRESS!!!!!

Santa Visit:  9:20  (Bring book donation for Santa)

Early Lunch: 11:30-12

Class Party:  12:00-12:45

Sing-A-Long:  12:45-1:15

*Friday, December 20 : Have your child wear cozy clothes to school—we are going to watch a short movie with popcorn and hot chocolate in the middle of our day. J

Thank you!!!  Have a wonderful weekend!!!!  Lynsey and Aidah