It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The children have made ornaments and decorated the little tree in our homeliving center. Each student has worked on a gift for their parents and I can't wait for each parent to see these special gifts.

Stick Letters - Letter Recognition Skills

We searched our playground for sticks to make letters. We learned that we needed straight sticks to make our letters. We combined sensory play with fine motor skill development for this lesson. This was a wonderful way to use a tactile experience to reinforce letter recognition.

Landscape Art

This week we talked about how trees change and grow. Each child took a turn at the easel as they painted a beautiful landscape. As they painted the landscape they fostered a deep connection to nature. We learned patience and persistence as we completed our task. Our classroom is beaming with these beautiful works of art.

The real reason for Christmas

Each week on Tues. morning your child attends a chapel service. During chapel we sing hymns , listen to bible readings and we have a chapel talk. We are blessed to be at a christian school where we can learn the true meaning of Christmas. All parents are invited to attend our chapel service every Tues. at 8:30.

A Special Visitor

Everyone had a great time at the Christmas Party! A special thank you to Mrs. Kuhn for putting our party together. Thank you to everyone that brought food and made this a special day for the children.

We loved the visit from Santa and the presents were wonderful.

Shape Art

We made triangles, squares and rectangles with straws this week. During this activity your child learned to problem solve and recognize shapes.

P. E. On A Rainy Day

We had P.E. in our classroom this week due the cold, rainy weather. We learned how to listen and move.

The children walked , jumped , skated, and galloped to the instructions on the song. We used our listening skills during this activity.

Handwriting Without Tears - Wet - Dry - Try

The children used a wet sponge and chalk to make a letter on a chalkboard. This activity is visual, auditory, and tacktile.

Social Studies in Action

This week your child participated in a dramatic reenactment of the first Thanksgiving. Mrs. Bailee and I used this adventure to teach your how to be grateful and cooperate with others. We focused on kindness and friendship. The children loved learning about England and sailing to the new world.

Enjoy the video

The Tree Unit

During this unit we will be observing and comparing trees to learn about what lives in them, what they're made of, and who cares for them. As we study trees, we will use literacy , math and the arts to explore our topic.

TREE ART - Why do we use the easel?

1. Using an easel helps with hand-eye coordination , as well as core strength and balance.

2. Standing at an easel builds shoulder, arm and trunk strength.

3. The vertical position encourages the wrist to bend upward, similar to handwriting.

We are thankful for our veterans

St.James had a special Veterans Day chapel to honor all our veterans.

Building a foundation for math

Primary students used hands on math skills this week. As your child learned the meaning of more or less they built a foundation for addition and subtraction as they get older. Comparing quantities helped your child gain an understanding of numbers and their meaning.

Obj. 20 Which Has More - Uses number concepts and operations

The class had to determine which bag had more items.

Nature Walk

We took a nature walk this week to look at the trees on our beautiful campus. We discussed the types of trees that live in our community. Our observation skills were enhanced as heard the birds and looked at the beautiful leaves.

Ms. Diane

We had a blast with a great book from the clothing unit! A special thank you to Mrs. Lisa Norton for acting as grandmother and to Emilee Northcut for playing the part of Red Riding Hood. Mrs Lisa is a retired teacher from

St. James and Emilee is a student at St. James. This dramatic presentation helped your child with language skills, vocabulary, comprehension and expression

THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO WAS NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING - INTERACTIVE READ ALOUD

During our story , a little old lady is walking home when she is startled by different types of clothing.

She helps the pieces of clothing turn into a scarecrow.

As the students participated in the read aloud their memory was enhanced

The Fall Fashion Show

As your child sings on stage they are enhancing their cognitive skills. Language and memory skills are improved. Confidence is gained. I am proud of every child. A special thank you to Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Kuhn. H and N provided the flowers. Mrs. Denise, Emmett, and James were lifesavers.

Everyletterhasasound

Same Sound Sort - Obj. 15 - Demonstrates phonological awarness

The children had to sort the objects according to the beginning sound of the objects' names.I chose letter S and letter B for this activity.

Ms. Diane