Character Critters are here!

Meet Fran the Fair Frog......

Fran says:
* List to others
* Follow the rules
* Don't blame others
* Share with others

IPS is kicking off Character Education week this with lots of fun activities including a pep rally and an assembly "The NED Show" (Never give up, Encourage others, Do your best!). In our preschool program we will be using the Character Critters curriculum (see link on the right). Every month we will focus on one of the six pillars of character education. The six pillars include fairness, respect, responsibility, citizenship, caring, trustworthiness. Each month you will receive a W.A.R.M. newsletter which includes a story, activities, and tips for promoting character at home...remember We Are Role Models. October will focus on FAIRNESS.

Our letter this week is letter Ff. We have heard many good "f" words such as fish, fair, frog, friend, and flea! We made fruit smoothies for snack. One of our favorite songs is Five Green and Speckled Frogs.

Stories this week include: Fran and Freddy Clean Up, Did You Fill a Bucket Today?, Frank the Monster Who Wanted to Dance , and Ebenezer Flea and the Right Thing to Do.
Clink on the titles above to go to the book websites. Frank the Monster is available on Tumble Books. It is free to our Independence families and has lots of great books for all ages! Check out the link to the right under "Games & Activities".

We will also have an Author Visit this week! Hannah Budic is the author of Ebenezer Flea & the Right Thing to Do. She will be joining our PM class on Thursday to read her story and talk about honesty and foregiveness. Check out the Ebenezer Flea website here and it is also on a link to the right. If you purchase a book anytime and would like it signed by Hannah, please let me know. She is a former college teammate of mine and good friend.

***Important Notices***

- Early Release on Wed., Oct. 19th. All PM preschool will be dismissed at 2:00. IPS will dismiss one hour early.

- End of the quarter is Oct. 28th. Tuition payment for peers is due for 2nd quarter as well as snack fees if you haven't paid them. Snack fees are $10 per quarter/$40 for the year. Most people have already paid, if you haven't please take care of it before Oct. 31st. Someone sent in $40 cash in a white envelope at the beginning of the year without the students name on it...just says "Miss G" on the front. Please let me know if you think this was your child...I have know way of knowing, but I did keep the envelope!


Star Students this week are Victor and Madelyn.
Happy Birthday to Victor and Miss G!

Leaves on the Trees Are Falling Down....

This week we will be learning about the fall season. Leaves, pumpkins, acorns, & squirrels are all signs of fall that we will exploring this week.

Our letter of the week is Ll for leaf as the leaves are changing colors and beginning to fall. Some classroom activities will include Fall Bingo, cooking and decorating leaf shaped cookies (click for recipe), going on a nature walk to collect signs of fall, and making a pumpkin jack-o-lantern for a craft. One of our stories this week is I Know and Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves which will focus on sequencing the items the lady swallows. Other stories include: The Lamb Who Loved to Laugh, Apples & Pumpkins, and When The Leaf Blew In.

Our song this week is "The Leaves on the Tree" (tune of Wheels on the Bus)
The leaves on the trees turn orange & brown,orange & brown,orange & brown.
The leaves on the trees turn orange & brown,all through the town.
The leaves on the trees come tumbling down, tumbling down,tumbling down.
The leaves on the trees coming tumbling down, all through the town.
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish. Swish, swish, swish.
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish, all through the town.

Fall is a great time to have some family fun! Enjoy the changing leaves and cooler air and celebrate the season with some autumn-themed activities, such as fun crafts for fall and great fall recipe ideas. Click here for ideas.

Pumpkin activities to try at home:
Pumpkin Patterning Activity
Pumpkin Sorting Activity
Pumpkin Color Matching Game
Pumpkin Number Game

Some new computer games to check out: Super Why is a class hit! The Fall Puzzles and Games link has lots of memory games for acorns, spiders, and other fall items. Look to the right to find the links under "Games and Activities".

Our Star Students of the week are Lucas & Tommy B.

Happy Birthday to Sam!

Aa is for Apple!

Thank you to all of the parents who came out to Patterson's Fruit Farm on Friday. The weather cleared up just long enough for us to take a tour and have some fun! Pictures are posted and can be viewed here.

This week we will be learning about apples and the letter Aa. We will be making a handprint apple tree for you to see. Other activities include making apple crisp (recipe here), graphing our favorite apple color, drinking apple juice, tasting applecause, and counting/writing numbers for apple seeds, and singing silly songs like Apples and Bananas.

A few stories that we will be reading include Ducking for Apples and Ten Apples Up On Top. Check out this animated video of the story here.

**Parents: Please send in ONE apple with your child on Tuesday for our classroom activities.

Our star students this week are Mark and Joanna.

Happy Birthday to Mark!

All Aboard the Dinosaur Train

This week we will hop on board the Dinosaur Train as we explore these extinct creatures. Dinosaur Train is actually a new show on PBS/WVIZ. Last week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with Dr. Scott Sampson who is the palentologists who helped create this show. Check out the Dinosaur Train website for fun games and activities.

Dinsosaur Dudes is a great couting book for little ones. You can read the animated online version here.

We will be reading the following stories this week:
* Dinosaur Friends (wh questions)
* Dinosaur Roar (opposites)
* The Dinosaur Who Lost His Roar
* Ten Terrible Dinosaurs (counting)

We will have our first letter of the week...letter Dd for dinosaur. On Tuesday, we will make dino dip for snack (veggies & dip). Check out the recipe here.

Our Star Students of the week are Mary Estelle and Kyle.

Happy Birthday to Sasha!


Reminder...Family Fun Friday is this Friday. Hope to see you at Patterson's Fruit Farm. Please arrive between 11:30-11:40. It is $4 per person. Please pay at the barn and then ride the wagon back to the Fun Fest area. We will meet at the gate to the Family Fun Fest area for our tour at 11:50.

Early Dismissal

Tuesday, September 20th is an Early Dismissal Day. Preschool will dismiss at 2:00, while the rest of the Primary School will dismiss at 2:15. This only affects the PM session.
If you have any questions please contact either Miss G (642-5870 x 1412) or the Primary School Office (642-5870 x 1401)

Thanks!

Information to Go!

The following information will be coming home with your child this week.

............................ .....................
* Family Fun Fridays: “Family Fun Fridays” are opportunities for the preschoolers to enjoy some fun with their family, friends, and teachers outside of the classroom. These events are not school sponsored field trips as preschoolers do not have school on Fridays; however I will attend the events. These events are not mandatory and parents are responsible for transportation as well as any admission fees. I will try to get a group rate when possible. All admission fees will be paid at the event. Please do NOT send money to school. I will send home directions and complete information prior to each event as well as an RSVP to help with planning/coordinating. Families, siblings, and friends are all invited to join us and have some fun!

Our first “Family Fun Friday” will be on September 30, 2011 at Patterson’s Fruit Farm. The event will include a tour of the apple orchard, (participants receive and apple and cup of cider), wagon ride, and play in the Family Fun Fest area. The cost is $4.00 per person (pay at Patterson’s when you arrive). Please arrive between 11:30-11:40 and take the wagon back to the Fun Fest area. We will meet at 11:50 by the entrance gate to the Family Fun Fest area to begin our tour of the orchard. The tour will last approximately 15 minutes. We will then return to the Family Fun Fest area to play. You may stay as long as you would like (they are open until 5:00 pm).

Family Fun Fridays:
September 30th (11:30-1:00?) Patterson’s Fruit Farm (Apple Orchard/Wagon Ride/Play Area)
November 11th (11:30-2:00) Lake Farm Park (Stone Soup Activity/Explore Farm Animals)
Januarary (date/time TBA) Brecksville Nature Center (Animal Tracks Activity)
March (date/time TBA) Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Ride
May (date/time TBA) Cleveland MetroParks Zoo

....................................................

* Birthday Club: We would like to celebrate your child’s birthday in our preschool classroom. We ask that parents provide a special snack for the entire class. Parents may choose what they would like to provide. Some parents will provide the snack such as cookies, popcorn, or Rice Krispie treat as well as special themed napkins, cups, or juice boxes. You do not have to provide these extra items if you choose not to as we have cups, napkins, and juice in the classroom. Please NO CUPCAKES (they make a big mess!). If you child’s birthday is on a school day, we can celebrate it on that day. For those that do not coincide with a school day, I have chosen a date close to celebrate his/her birthday. Several students have summer birthdays so we can celebrate their ½ birthday. Please let me know if the day does not work for you so that we can find better day. You are welcome to join us for the party if you choose or you could send in the snack with your child.
AM Birthday Club: 10:00 (11 children)
PM Birthday Club: 2:00 (13 children)


.............................................
* “Star Student of the Week”: Info will be coming home this week. This activity is a great way to get to know each other and provides another opportunity for speech and language. We will begin this week as I share some things about myself with the children. I have a space available to display pictures, favorite color, special toys, or other “favorites” that your child may have.

When it is your child's turn, please send in at least 5 pieces of information for your child so that they have some information to share. Items may include but are not limited to the following: Picture of self, Picture of family and/or pet (please send in names, Picture of home, List of favorites: favorite food, color, book (if you send it we will read it), TV show/movie, etc, What your child likes to do (ex. Fishing, ride bike, go to beach. Please send in the week prior to your child's special day so I can prepare the display.



................................................................................
* Book helper for classroom library: I am looking for a parent volunteer to help me organize our classroom books. I have started an excel file and a labeling system but there is just no way I am going to get it done anytime soon. If there is a parent who is willing to help me, please let me know. You can take your time and go at your own pace! If you want to come into the classroom for a small chunk of time each week that is great, Friday’s are an option (your little one can come play…we would have to schedule around meetings though), or I can even send home a crate at time. I will provide you with a list of themes, stickers to color code/label them, and the excel file to record (title/author/theme/#/etc). Please let me know if you are up for the challenge. I appreciate any help!

**SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS ARE DUE ON TUESADAY, SEPT. 20th. You can send in the paper order OR register online at Scholatic.com (Class Code: HHZ7D)

Colors in the Sky, Colors Passing By

COLORS WEEK 2: Week of September 19th:
Monday- PINK/PURPLE day
Tuesday- YELLOW day
Wednesday- ORANGE day (every Wed is orange day for Character Counts)
Thursday- GREEN day
................................................................................
This week we will continue exploring colors as well as begin handwriting. We will begin with just the simple strokes of a straight line, emphasizing "starting at top and pulling down". Everyone will be working on writing their names with nice school writing.

Our stories this week will include:
Elmer's Colors (we will make our own patched elephant for a craft)
A Color of His Own
Little Blue & Little Yellow
One Blue Fish (SMARTboard activity for matching numbers with this)
Duckie's Rainbow (sorting and/or graphing skittles by color)

This week's cooking lesson will be another easy one as we mix yellow and blue jello to make a suprise color.....can you guess what color it will be?

Our song this week is Five Green Speckled Frogs. Click here to watch and sing along!

........................................................................

Colors Colors Everywhere!

The next two weeks we will be doing a unit on COLORS. Each day we will designate a color to focus on. If possible, please have your child wear that color.

Week of September 12th:
Monday- BROWN day, wear good walking shoes for our “Safari” Scavenger Hunt.
Tuesday- RED day
Wednesday- RED/WHITE/BLUE day as it is National Anthem Day!
Thursday- BLUE day

Week of September 19th:
Monday- PINK/PURPLE day
Tuesday- YELLOW day
Wednesday- ORANGE day (every Wed is orange day for Character Counts)
Thursday- GREEN day

WEEK ONE:
On Monday, the preschoolers went on a Safari Adventure. Marty the monkey was in the school and made a mess in our room. We followed the color clues to find the BIG monkey. Marty was hiding in the motor room and was kind of nice to bring us some yummy treats...we ate the bananas for snack. Pictures will be uploaded soon.

............................................. ......................
We will be reading some of my favorite stories this week including: Eight Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Llama Llama Red Pajama, White Rabbit's Color Book, and once again we will read Brown Bear, Brown Bear (it's so good we will read it again!).




................................................................

On Tuesday, we will be doing our first cooking lesson. We will make chocolate pretzel cookies (rolos on pretzels). The recipe can be downloaded here.

We are still working on learning are peers names but we are all having lots of fun! Our day goes by so fast and we just never seem to have enough time!

Parents- be on the lookout for information coming home this week for Scholastic Book Club, Star Student, Family Fun Friday's and Birthday Club! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at 216-642-5870 x 1412 or tgruskiewicz@independence.k12.oh.us

Hanging Out In Preschool

Welcome Back to School! If you haven't been in the preschool room this year, I have gone "bananas" with the monkeys! Our preschoolers love the monkeys and we spent the first week doing lots of fun activities around the "Monkey" theme.

.............................................

We read a few stories, including Cliffords First Day of School, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, and Brown Bear Brown Bear. After reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, we made a class book which is very similar but has everyone's picture in it and it is called Monkey Monkey Who Do you See? Look for it to come home with your son/daughter sometime in the next two weeks. Please return it once you have shared it with your family so everyone has a chance to see it. We also worked on a sequence activity with the story If You Give a Pig a Pancake. We LOVE our SMARTBoard! Your child brought home a paper version of the sequence activity for homework. I will try to send home homework on Thursdays so they have something to do on Friday since school is not in session. I hope parents encourage their child to complete the homework and return it the following week and will give students a sticker/stamp for completion. I would like the students completes the homework rather than the parents doing it for them. I am not looking for correct work, but trying to instill the importance of working on things outside of the classroom. Thank you for your support with this.

We had a great first week and enjoyed going to computers, library, and gym. Our gym day is Thursday so please have your child wear comfortable clothes and athletic shoes. Our song for the week was "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree". Sing it at home and I am sure your child will sing along. They loved the alligator puppet who SNAPPED the monkeys.

ONLINE ACTIVITIES FOR HOME:
Check out this link for an online monkey story and a counting game. You can also print off a craft to do at home.

**Mystery Bag will be coming home with your child soon. Please put 1 item in the bag along with 3 clues about the item (You can write all three clues on the same piece of paper). If you have a chance to rehearse "reading" the clues, that would be great. If not, I will help them read them.

Plant a seed.....April is Garden Month

This week we our learning about seeds and plants since April is Garden month. With all of the rain that we have been getting, plants should be sprouting up everywhere!

Our letter of the week is Ss for seed and our color of the week is green. On Tuesday we will be planting seeds. Let's hope they grow!

Our song that we are learnign this week is called Dig A Little Hole.
Dig a little hole
Plant a little seed
Pour a little water
And pull a little weed

Check out these fun activties:
Dottie's Garden (online story)

Games for number concepts

Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (video)

Last week, your child should have brought home a password card for Reading Eggs. Click here for the Reading Eggs website. I would suggest going to "The Playroom". This is a great way to help your child keep up with their letter identification and letter sounds during the summer.