Weekly Update August 31

Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday, September 1^st and Monday, September 4^th.

It was so wonderful seeing so many of you Wednesday night!  Thank you for coming!  I know you have had lots of information thrown at you during the past couple of weeks.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any clarification.  The kiddos will LOVE to hear your messages of inspiration (we will read them out this coming week.  If for some reason you did not get to do one, let me know and I can send the paper home in your child’s zippy pouch or you can write one when you are here at school.)

This week we celebrated another birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSA!!!!

One point of interest…I have watched your cuties become more and more independent as the days have progressed! Really encourage your child to practice being independent at home as well.  Feeding themselves, starting to help dress themselves, doing up their bags, blowing their noses, and also starting to practice things like using safe scissors to cut will really help them out! J

This week some of our learning included…

*reading the book Mouse Paint (along with quite a few others such as A Color of His Own, Dog’s Colorful Day, Little Rabbit’s Color Book, and Pete the Cat (which has turned into a lot of singing! J) and finger painted with the three primary colors. Can your child tell you what they are? The kids pulled out a basket of color books and we just started reading and doing!!!!

*the kiddos were SO INTERESTED in mixing colors, that we are going to do a special experiment next week…. (we starting looking for the materials…)

*there was a wonderful discovery into our letters and sounds—some of us made name necklaces out of beads, some stamped letters into clay, some used letter stamps, some found different letters in books, there was pointing out of letters in books, making sounds for letters we saw…explosion of learning! We might have to go on a letter walk…

*we had a lot of building going on this week!  We had a group that moved from legos, to magnatiles, to blocks to castle blocks! One group decided to make a castle. J

*we talked about our families and will be presenting our family photos throughout next week.

*some of our students began making a playground for Mango and Oreo Cookie. It was interesting to watch the learners observe the pigs inside then cage and then wonder about what they would love to play with or on outside the cage. They also went to Ms. Harvey, one of the high school art teachers to ask for some supplies.

*we explored light at color using the light tables, overhead projectors, and screens.

*one of the trees on the playground had falling flowers—very interesting natural provocation with some interesting discussions!

And of course…much, much more! J

REMINDERS

*Friday, September 1^st: NO SCHOOL- Hari Raya

*Monday, September 4^th: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS-Faculty Inservice

*Friday, September 22^nd: Early Release Day—11:30 am Dismissal

*Thursday, October 12 and Friday, October 13: Parent Teacher Conferences

*October 16^th to 20^th: Fall Break—No School

*Please send in a family photo and a baby story. J

*Thank you to everyone sending in extra fruit, granola bars, crackers and snacks—the kiddos have been enjoying them, especially first thing in the morning!  Healthy snacks help our brains work better during the day, so thank you very much. J

Week 3 August 28 to 31

70 new photos · Album by Lynsey Howitt

Beginning to Look at Identity

During morning connection time, I wondered with the students…”How can we get to know each other better?” “We have to look at each other because some of us were here at school last year and some were not,” Amelia said. “Yes, our eyes and hair is different,” Shulynne added. “And we have different names, of course. We are not the same so we need to know who everyone is.” The students decided to share their names again, and everyone in the circle was smiling. “You know, we are all happy too!” said ChengQian, throwing his hands up in the air. “I wonder how we are all special and how we are all different,” I said to the class, and there were some very thoughtful expressions.  

Later on in the day, I noticed some students looking carefully at each others’ faces, and Alisa began drawing a picture of herself. “This is me! Look at my face!” she told others. Quickly many of her classmates came over to join her in drawing, and I placed a mirror in front of them for reference. “I have black eyes!” exclaimed Yoonjin. “Me too!” said Rhea. “My eyes look when I am playing with my toys,” Harrison eagerly added. “I love to play with my toys! And all the things in school!” said Alisa. “Like books, and painting and drawing…and Mango and Oreo!” The conversation continued as students pointed out features on their face and body that were the same or different than others, as well as talking about interests and likes. We will see where this leads us next…

“It is through others that we develop into ourselves.”  Vygotsky

Week 2 Update

It was another fantastic week of learning and exploration in Pre K! I am sure your kiddos are tired—the first full week is a hard one!  We are continuing to figure out our routines and get to know each other.  Here are just a few other things that were happening this week.  We…

*brainstormed lots of ways we can be KIND and RESPECTFUL to our friends.

*talked about how we can get to know each other (our names, REALLY looking at each other, talking about how we are the same and different…) and we drew our self portraits (see next upcoming blog post for details. J)

*we started talking about our families (something the students are so incredibly excited to share with others!  Know you are loved and talked about often during our connection times!

*some of us were looking at the number of letters in our classmates names.

*sang some songs together and read some wonderful books (we are on a Mo Willems streak—ask your child about Elephant and Piggy, the pigeon and Knuffle Bunny!)

*spent time in the maker space, reading corner, train area, puzzle corner, block area and dress up in the atrium.

*decided what we wanted on the front covers of our identity/creative writing books

*used ten frames and a 100 chart to count and check 1 to 1 correspondence with objects (one of our students was really interested in using stones to count.)

*investigated clay using real art tools.

*played shape and color Bingo.

*made “soapy playdoh” (a bit hit!) and slime! Our secret recipes! J (ok not so secret J)

*found insects in our courtyard and then realized that we have a beautiful banana tree…we are going to have to do something with them soon…

*continued to explore the classroom and materials in it…and much, much more!

  

REMINDERS

**Wednesday, August 30^th:  School Pictures and Back to School Night! (See e-mails already sent for details.)

*Please send in a FAMILY PHOTO if you haven’t yet—each child is talking about their family and we want to put them up in the room—it doesn’t need to be a special photo—feel free to send us one off of your phone J I can print them out if you need me to. J Also start thinking about those baby stories as well. J

*If you are out shopping and see fruit, granola bars, crackers, cheese etc, please feel free to get some for our classroom!  We set fruit out in the mornings for when the kiddos arrive, and keep snacks in the baskets and fridge to nibble on throughout the day.  You can send these things in at any time (separate from your child’s snack or lunch.)  Thank you so much!

*Please check zippy pouches each time they come home (and empty them.) This week book orders are there—please return the forms (following the instructions) if you want to get any books for your child.

*MANGO AND OREO COOKIE- Please let me know if you would like to take them home for a weekend or holiday. (I have a care letter of instructions for them and I will put together a schedule for having them.) This will probably start in late September some time, to let the kiddos learn how to take care of them and for the piggies to get used to everyone. I just noticed that their travel cage is looking worn, so I will try and see if I can find a new one… I will let you know when that is done.  You are also welcome to send in cucumber, romaine lettuce or carrots for them. The students love feeding them a little of these things as a treat.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 2 August 21 to 25

141 new photos · Album by Lynsey Howitt

Week One Update

What a fantastic first week we have had!  We spent most of the time learning the routines of Pre-K; finding the bathroom, getting used to the flow of the day, how to get to the cafeteria, playground, our room, where all the supplies belong and how to clean up the room! Your little ones did a great job. Our cuties are probably going home really tired!  It takes awhile to get used to the day!

We have also spent a lot of time reading books together, singing, dancing, visiting Mango and Oreo Cookie, exploring the different areas of our hub, and playing games. We made slime, gave Mango and Oreo baths and haircuts, and it is was lovely to see friendships already developing!!!

We also celebrated our first birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMELIA!!!!!!!!!!

Because of the very yummy cupcake treat for Amelia’s birthday, we are saving the “Friday ice-cream” for Monday. J

There have been quite a few students out sick this week throughout SAS.  We hope that everyone who has been ill is back healthy and happy on Monday, and don’t forget to remind your kids about how important it is to cover their coughs and sneezes and wash their hands! J If your child is feeling unwell, please do keep them at home.

Please see pictures from the week at

http://mslynseysas.blogspot.sg

I will talk you through the rest of the blog at Back to School Night.

REMINDERS

* Don’t forget to check your child’s “zippy pouch” daily as it may contain important information.


*Please leave bus tags attached to backpacks.

*Lunch menus should be returned to school each week.  Please have your child’s name on them.  Please state on that form if your child is to have ice cream/popsicles or not.  You should get an e-mail if the money is low on the card. We keep the cards at school.

*If you are out shopping and see fruit, granola bars, crackers, cheese etc, please feel free to get some for our classroom!  We set fruit out in the mornings for when the kiddos arrive, and keep snacks in the baskets and fridge to nibble on throughout the day.  You can send these things in at any time (separate from your child’s snack or lunch.)  Thank you so much!

*If your child is being picked up, please make sure that the person picking them up (Mom, Dad, helper, grandparents) make eye contact with Ms. Jaya, tell her their name and the child’s name so she can check you off. This helps ensure the safety of all of our students.

*Don’t forget to encourage independence at home! You should see these rock stars at school!  They can put away their snacks and lunches, help clean up the room, and eat by themselves! Encouraging them to do the same at home would help them out a lot!

 *BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT on Wednesday, August 30^th

6:00 to 7:15

We start in the bottom level of the high school library for introductions to the entire ELC and a short message from our ELC Deputy Principal Ms. Jo.  We will then walk back to our classroom where we will introduce each other to start building our classroom community and I will have you write a letter of inspiration for your child.  (I will explain that evening. J)  We hope everyone can make it!

Have a fantastic weekend with your little ones!  We can’t wait to see them back here on Monday!!!!! J

Week 1 August 16 to 18

100 new photos · Album by Lynsey Howitt

Pictures from our first day!

Dear Parents,
Please click on the picture below to see all of the pictures from today. We had a lot of fun!

First Day 1718

40 new photos · Album by Lynsey Howitt

Welcome to Pre K!

Welcome to our 2017-2018 Pre K School Year!  Ms. Aidah and I are so excited to share this year with your children! Please stay tuned to this blog to see pictures of our learning as well as updates and information. We are going to have a great year!

Lynsey :-)

The 100 Languages of Children

The child is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.

A hundred.

Always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.

-An excerpt from Loris Malaguzzi’s The 100 Languages of Children-