ALL ABOUT LETTER D

A special thank you to Lynley , Waylon, and Catherine Joyce for taking time out of their day to make our day special.

Everyone loved meeting Ruthie, Pepper , Zeus and Rhea. We were thrilled to have these dogs visit our classroom.

D IS FOR DUCK CALL and DUCK DECOY

The children were fascinated by the sound of the duck calls. Each child had to wait patiently for their turn to shake a duck call. We counted duck decoys and duck calls , and we learned that a duck hunter needs camouflage clothes. A special thank you to Mr. Ribble for giving us a WOW moment.

Hide and Peek - Recognize Quantities Without Counting

This week we played Hide and Peek. This game was a hit! One child hid the blocks under a tub and the other child peeked. The peeker had to tell the class how many blocks were under the tub. We played this game several times this week.

Benefits of this game -

The ability to recognize quantities at a glance is an important skill for preschool children to develop. When children can identify a number without counting it , they understand and have internalized it. With this skill they move easily to performing operations with numbers.

Alphabet Cards Obj. 16 - Demonstrates knowledge of the alphabet

We rolled play doh to make the letter D. The students had to make a long line and a curved line to form our letter of the week.

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