Being Healthy is Fun!

This week we will our unit about healthy bodies. We will spend this week exploring how to keep our bodies healthy with nutrition and exercise. Our letter of the week is Xx for x-ray and for eXercise. Check out starfall.com for more letter the week words. We will be making Trail Mix. Another great X snack is CheX MiX and is always hit with the kids. Visit chexmix.com for several recipe varieties you can try at home.

Dole has a great website for kids......check out SuperKids for fun way to get healthy. Here are two games on their website:
1. Catapult Game
2. Drop & Catch

Many activities in the classroom will relate to our story, The Very Hungry Caterpiller. Watch this great video version of the book. There are so many great concepts in this story including sequencing, days of the week, numbers, food groups, and the life cycle of a butterfly. Click here for website #1 that has lots of great ideas you can do with your child. The ideas are endless. Here is website #2 with more activities from DLTK. The kids loved reading this story.....let them help you read as they can repeat the phrase "but it he was still hungry."
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We are really working hard to learn our numbers 1-5. You can reinforce this concepts at home very easily. Check out this link that has information regarding Math Activities for Preschoolers.

Here are some ideas you can try at home:
Egg Crate Counting
Take a simple egg crate and number the bottom of each space with permanent marker from one to five. The extra spaces can be cut off or left blank. Give your preschooler a plastic bag full of any small, interesting items like mini-M&Ms, jelly beans, beads, dried peas, pebbles, etc. Have your child match the number of items to the corresponding number in each space. To make the game more fun and challenging and to develop small hand coordination, have the child use child's-sized plastic tweezers to place the items in the cups. Children can also use the same items to fill plastic Easter eggs with numbers on them.

Sticker Chart
Take a piece of butcher block paper and write the number symbols from one to five vertically on the paper. Give your child an inexpensive book of stickers. Have the child put the correct number of stickers next to each number. Children may also enjoy drawing the correct number of pictures or gluing the correct number of pompoms or buttons on the paper.

Patterning: Fruit Loop Necklace
Making necklaces by stringing fruit loops on yarn is a preschool math activity that can reinforce many skills. First have your child sort the fruit loops by color. Then use the different colors to create patterns. String a pattern on yarn first and then ask your child to create the same pattern. Have your child create a pattern for you to create. When a necklace has been strung, have the child count the loops as he slides them. Children love to practice counting backwards as they eat the cereal off their necklace. Make sure to wash hands before this activity!


Check out READING EGGS! It is a fun way to learn pre-literacy skills that are key for reading! Your child was given a username and password which they will need to access the program. If you have any questions please let me know. This is a great program that tracks students work so please make sure that siblings are not doing it for them!

Family Fun Friday Pics

Check out the pictures from our Family Fun Friday at the Land Lab. Thank you to Mr. Maretka for helping us learn about the animals. It was so much fun!

Click here for the link to the photo album.

Penguins and Polar Bears

Pp is our letter of the week and out theme is Arctic Animals (penguins/polar bears) but we can't do Pp week without making yummy pizza! We will be making pizzas for our cooking lesson on Tuesday. It's simple and easy! Use an English muffin for the crust, put on the sauce, add some cheese and other toppings, and bake in the toaster oven until the cheese melts.

Other stories we will be reading include The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly, Penguin Pete, and Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?

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Below are the songs/finger plays that we will be doing this week.
Peter Penguin
Peter, Peter Penguin, marching by (March)
Toes turned out and head held high (Stand Tall)
A long black coat (Point Like Coat)
And a clean white vest (Rub Chest)
Peter, Peter Penguin, you're the best (Do Tony Tiger Their Great Gesture)

Six Little Penguins
Six little penguins off an iceberg did dive,
One bumped his beak, then there were five.
Five little penguins swam the ocean floor,
One saw a whale, then there were four.
Four little penguins spun around, whee-ee!
One spun off, then there were three!
Three little penguins, with nothing to do,
One went fishing, then there were two.
Two little penguins, having lots of fun,
One fell of, then there was one.
One little penguin, when the day was done,
Went home to sleep, then there were none.
Looking for some ideas at home? Check out these fun activities:

Ice Cube Painting
Wou will need: Penguin pattern, powdered paint, ice cube with Popsicle stick.
Directions: Freeze Popsicle sticks into ice cubes. Have the children sprinkle powder paint on white paper and paint with an ice cube on a stick.

Penguin Puzzle (Online Game)

ONLINE STORIES:
Penguin, Penguin (Non fiction)
Rumble, Grumble, Gurgle (fiction)

Did You Know........
• What kind of animals are penguins? (birds )
• Do penguins fly? (no)
• Are penguins found south or north of the equator? (south)
• How long can a penguin hold its breath under water? (about 3 minutes)
• What do penguins eat? (fish )

Penguin Ice Experiment : Freeze a long pan of water and have several objects, some that will slide on the ice and some that will not (cotton balls, dry beans, piece of felt, plastic penguin figurine, etc.). Predict and then test .... “Will It Slide?”

Movie Night! Cuddle up with a blanket and watch these great penguin movies: Happy Feet and Madagascar.

Scholastic Orders are due by Feb 1st.
Report Card will be coming home on Jan 27th.

Happy Birthday to Madelyn!

A Dolphin's Tale

Check out this website for some fun activities with Winter the dolphin from the movie Dolphin's Tale.

Watch Winter on a webcam here.

Play some games with Winter.

Welcome Winter!

I hope Santa found his way to everyone's house and you had a wonderful holiday season. Welcome to the New Year and back to school!

Our theme this week is WINTER and will focus on the season of winter. Our letter of the week is Ii for ice. On Tuesday we will make homemade ice cream for our letter Ii...brrr just like winter! Our stories this week will include A Little Bit of Winter, The Jacket I Wear In the Snow, Iguana on Ice, Hibernation Station, and The Mitten. The kids will be retelling The Mitten as they each had a mask to pretend to be one of the animals squeezing into the mitten.

Click here or on the links below to check out the Jan Brett link for some activities/games related to her stories.

Animal Matching Game (Printable)
Numbers Game (Printable)
Mouse Concentration (Online)
Print Animal Masks to retell story

For our craft, we will be coloring and decorating a pair of mittens to go along with our story.

Our songs this week include Snowy Pokey and Chubby Little Snowman.

Chubby Snowman
I had a chubby snowman, he had a carrot nose.
Along came a bunny, And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny, looking for his lunch,
Ate that snowman's nose. . . NIBBLE, NIBBLE, CRUNCH!!

Snowy Pokey
You put your right mitten in, You take your right mitten out,
You put your right mitten in and you shake it all about.
You do the Snowey pokey and you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about.
Continue with additional verses:
You put your left mitten in
You put your scarf in
You put your right boot in
You put your left boot in
You put your hat in
You put your snowself in

Here are some other computer game you might enjoy!
Snowman Puzzle
Dress up snowman

If your looking for something to do at home....make homemade ice cream in a ziploc bag. It is easy and lots of fun! Click here for directions.

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* Family Fun Friday at the Land Lab this FRIDAY. If you plan to attend please RSVP by Monday, Jan 9th! You can email or call me to let me know how many will be attending.

* Scholastic Book orders for Jan/Feb are due by Feb 1st. There is a link under the "Resources" tab at the top of this page.

We have lots of birthday celebrations...Happy Birthday to Rylee! Happy 1/2 Birthdays to Evan, Joanna, & Mary Estelle!


* Look at the NEW tab "Learning Links". There are links and info that you can do with your child at home to help them with pre-academic skills. Students that know all the letters and have strong pre-academic skills are going to begin learning some sight words. I will introduce a few new words each week. I will post links, books, and other activities on this page so you can practice at home.