The month of October is full of activity! The class had a ball as we traveled to the pumpkin patch. Williams Memorial Methodist Church was the place to be for fun and education. The students were able to search the pumpkin patch for snow white pumpkins and bright orange pumpkins. We enjoyed a sensory activity as the children felt pumpkins that were smooth or bumpy. The scarecrow told us a wonderful story about pumpkins and we enjoyed a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin. We loved our field trip!

We love to have visitors in the classroom. One special visitor stopped by when she heard we were learning about cloth, and clothing. We were thrilled to have Mary and her lamb visit our class. Mary told us that a lamb can be sheared when they are one year old. As lambs and sheep are sheared we can use the wool to make clothes. Everyone had a chance to pet Mary’s lamb and we noticed that her fleece was as white as snow.

The past few weeks we have explored how clothes were made , and we learned where our clothes come from. Mrs. Kandice is our three day a week primary teacher and she invited her daughter to teach the class about knitting. We were thrilled to watch our special visiter as she knitted for us. The class watched carefully as our guest used a pair of long knitting needles to form loops from one needle to another. A special thank you to Mrs. Kandice and her daughter.

One of our students brought clothing that was crocheted, and blankets that were sewn. The class loved looking at the bright, beautiful colors and feeling the texture of the garments. During these activities your child learned that clothing can be bought from a store or made by a family member.

During one of our math lessons we made AB patterns with colors. Patterns help your child to make predictions based on observations. I used two different colors of shirts for this lesson. Everyone was involved when we made a boy, girl pattern.

All the children love a parade, especially the Accessory Parade! Big hats, beautiful scarves, and sparkling jewelry were the talk of the campus as we marched around the school. Accessories help us to stay warm during cold weather and help us to look our best. Our next topic will be about clothing that people wear to work.

The visit from the fire truck was a blast! We learned to call 911 if we have a emergency and to stop, drop and roll if our clothes catch on fire. Each child had a turn behind the wheel of the firetruck. We discussed the color of the truck and the number on the truck. We noticed that the firemen wear special clothes to protect them as they fight fires. Our fire truck visit fit right in with the start of our clothing unit.

The first week of our clothing unit we discussed the features of our clothes. The children were glad to show the clothes they brought from home. We talked about small, medium and large sizes. The class looked for the letters S, M , and L in the items they brought to school. During circle time the class enjoyed sorting items by size. As children sort items they begin to understand that things can be alike or different. When your child sorted items by size they learned that items can belong and be organized into certain groups. Getting practice with sorting at a early age is important for numerical concepts and grouping numbers into sets when they get older.

How can we take care of our clothes? One thing we all agreed on is that our clothes need to be washed. I filled the sensory bin with water and detergent. I added different sizes of clothes and we had a blast washing our items! Everyone loved hanging the clothes out to dry! Using the clothespins was a great way to get in a little fine motor practice.

I brought out the large mixing bowl and we made our own play-doh. We discussed ingredients and used measuring cups and spoons. Each child loved pouring and stirring the flour and water mixture. Don’t forget the salt! We only needed a teaspoon and a half for our wonderful mixture. After we made play doh we practiced making balls that were small , medium and large. Play doh is a wonderful way to strengthen the muscles in our hands.

Music class with Mrs. Tipton is one of the highlights of our week! We love hearing the piano and we can’t wait for our turn to hold a instrument. This week after we played our instruments we listened to Mrs. Tipton play the piano. We learned about the words major and minor in music class. The main difference between major and minor chords is how they sound. Major chords have a happier sound , while minor chords sound sad.

Our community service project was a huge success and we were thrilled to give twenty-one boxes of food to Harvest Texarkana. All of our St. James students worked together to complete our goal. We were thrilled to welcome a new student to our class. James started this week and he is making friends fast!

The next few weeks we will be discussing how people make clothes and how cloth is made.

The class had a blast as they used wooden lines to form letters. Our Handwriting Without Tears Curriculum has given each child a head start with letter formation. As the class used big and little lines they learned about size, shape and position concepts. Each child was amazed as they used the lines to form letter L, and letter E.

We loved making Mat Man this week! The class watched me put Man Man together and then each child had a turn to build him. As your child builds Mat Man they are learning to listen to oral directions to complete a task. When children know how to build Mat Man, they can easily approach drawing in the same way.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! I could not let September pass by without discussing Johnny Appleseed. I used Johnny Appleseed as a social studies activity. I read a book about him and we watched a video about life in the late 1700’s in America. The class painted apples, ate applesauce and drank apple juice. After all this excitement it was time to put our skills to work . We decorated paper bags and passed out apples to other teachers on our campus. This activity helped your child understand that everyone needs healthy food and we learned about people that work at our school. Our community service project is in high gear as we gather food for the Texarkana Harvest Food Bank. A special thank you to all our families for each donation.

During our unit on ,’’ When do things happen at school? ‘‘ I brought a clock to class. Children do not fully grasp the concept of time until about age six or seven. In the preschool world children understand time as chunks of our day. They understand that we eat lunch after P. E. and that we have a snack after our nap time. Everyone loves to hear me say ,”it’s time for outside play!” The class has learned to listen for a signal , such as a bell or drum to announce that it’s time for a different activity. I used the nursery rhyme, Hickory Dickory Dock to reinforce our discussion of time. Everyone loved using a toy mouse with our clock to learn about spatial concepts such as up, down, over, on and off.

It has been a joy to welcome this new group to St. James! When children begin a new school year it is common for a few tears to be shed. This group started school ready to go! Everyone told their parents good-bye and the room was full of smiling faces. Our topics for the first couple of weeks were , “What names do we need to know at school?,” and “What do we do if we get sad or scared at school?” Our Beginning of School unit used nursery rhymes to help children learn names and express their feelings.

Humpty Dumpty was a hit with the whole class! As the class pretended to be Humpty Dumpty they recited the rhyme and their self-esteem soared! The children felt a sense of accomplishment as they memorized the rhyme and preformed in front of their peers. Nursery rhymes promote a variety of literacy skills including oral language development, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary.

Emotions are strong for early three year olds and one friend named Miss Muffet helped us cope with fear. Children can be afraid of any number of things and we could all relate to Miss Muffet. Everyone was a little hesitant at first , but soon all were asking to be the spider. It was a blast to watch the class take turns and cooperate with each other to preform this rhyme.

Mrs. Nicole was another name we learned at school. Each child learned to listen for an instruction and participate in class. Our gross motor skills were taking off as we learned to pull our bodies forward and backward on blue scooters. It looks like we are off to a great start at St. James Day School!

It is amazing how much each child has changed over the span of a school year! We started the year with a group of children that did not know each other and now those children are great friends. It seems like just yesterday we were starting our Beginning of the Year unit and learning about the school rules. Now we are at the end of the school year.

As I look back I marvel at how each child enjoyed all our activities from each unit.  Each unit was full of hands on activities that encouraged class participation and increased social and physical development. All of the guest speakers, nature walks, fashion parade, holiday celebrations and the programs helped your child to become confident individuals. Watching the class learn letters and numbers is wonderful and important, but even more important is watching the class learn to share, take turns, follow instructions, work as a group, and be kind to each other.

As time goes by the sky is the limit for this class and their  future is bright at St. James Day School!