Geologists rock!

We went on a rock hunt today!  We found smooth, rough, very large, and small rocks!

Honalee is off to a great start!

We have had a great first week in Honalee. The kids are getting to know each other, the teachers, and the classroom. We have read some back-to-school books like Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton, Clifford's First School Day by Norman Bridwell, and Boomer Goes to School by Constance W. McGeorge. The students have also visited the Hugh Stephens Library for the first time and had their first art lesson with Ms. Catherine! We have been busy!
Also, since we are in the land of Honalee, we are learning the words to the song "Puff the Magic Dragon". Ask your child about it!
This week we will discover some more about each other and our families and learn where everything goes in the classroom.  Here are some snapshots from the first week:

 Karl doing some building

John looking very grown up!

Painting outside

Max playing teacher

 Dante's geometric shape creation

A little morning yoga

Frank finding the letters in his name

First Week of School

First Week of School

The First Week In Wonderland!

We had a great first week in Wonderland.  The children slid right into the routine and are already amazing us with all their knowledge.  We are all officially readers, writers and illustrators.  We hope through the year you start hearing these terms from your child, because it is something we talk about on a daily basis.  We have already been introduced to several authors including Pat Hutchins, Robert Munch and Kevin Henkes.  There is an area in our Literacy area where we will be hanging pictures of authors and illustrators we are learning about.  Who knows, your child's picture might end up on the wall as well.

We spent most of the week getting to know each other as well as doing some community building.  You might have heard your child singing several getting to know you songs like, 
Higgity Biggity bumble Bee.  Can you say your name for me? or
_________is his/her name.  ________is his/her name.  Hi Ho It's Preschool. _________is his/her name.

Ms. D, Hannah, Elliot and Lucas are enjoying a Robert Munch favorite, We Share Everything!

Beckham, Grace and Mika are exploring the dry erase boards in the Literacy Area.

Wonderland Preschool is acting out The Farmer and the Dell.

A BIG, HUGE thank you to all the families who have donated games, school supplies, etc. to our class.  We are enjoying everything, including the Little Pet Shop game.

Set the Table

Miss Tiffany played an "old school" favorite today--Set the Table.  It's a great pre-reading game that encourages children to pay attention to small details.  It's fun to play when you are waiting in a restaurant, doctors office or of course at home.  To play, get several familiar objects (blocks, puzzle pieces, crayon or marker, scissors, etc.) and arrange them in front of everyone.  Then ask everyone to close their eyes and while their eyes are closed, move ONE thing in the arrangement.  Ask everyone to open their eyes and see if they can figure out which thing you changed. 

And we're off and singing!!

We are having a musical start to our preschool days in Roxaboxen!  We have learned so many songs we had to write them down.  Here's one that has been stuck in our brains.

We worked in small groups building a group tower.  As we were building, we tried different blocks and experimented with balance and the size of the blocks.  We also talked about respecting each others work.

And if you haven't heard your child talking about  Pete the Cat, be sure to check in out (it's on our bookshelf at school and at the library)  Here's a fun website:  http://www.petethecat.com/