Playing, Learning and Growing in Mixed Age!

Good afternoon everyone!

Our week has once again come to an and, and I am so glad the weather turned out to be so nice today! I hope everyone gets to enjoy it. This week we continued to discuss feelings and emotions, and began learning and talking about the fall. We also began to implicate class jobs this week. Everyone has been really excited to have a chance for a job, and for those who did not have a job this week, they most certainly will next week. Jobs are rotated within the classroom in order to ensure that each child is given multiple opportunities to take part in each one, and we will continue to do this for the rest of the year.

This week's centers included:

Art table: This week we had a build a monkey craft that included gluing "fur",eyes, and a tail onto a paper plate "head". Everyone was also able to decorate card stock leaves for the fall. The children decorated these using a fork painting technique and were able to use glitter as well. 

At the art easel: we included more water color painting this week, which included printed images of Jim from The Grumpy Monkey story, as well as monkey faces. The artistic talent among the class is definitely coming through within these paintings!

The writing table included line tracing, grumpy monkey coloring pages, and blank paper for free drawing.  The children have already begun working hard on learning to identify and  write their names using their name cards, and are doing an amazing job!

At the math table, we had a roll and count muffin activity, where everyone could roll two dice, one with a color and one with a number. The children were then able to count out the specific number of muffins in that color and place them into the muffin pan. 

Our sensory table has changed! In light of the changing season, we have put aside our beach and sand in order to make way for a Halloween themed sensory area. This includes black beans, cauldrons, eyeballs, bats, colorful pom poms, and more. The sensory table has definitely been a favorite during center time this past week.

At the discovery center we had magnetic faces with hair decorating, and sensory bottles. Everyone really enjoyed identifying what they could find in the brightly colored containers. 

The library, playdough, block and puzzle areas will all be gaining some new additions next week for the month of October. 

Our dramatic play center will remain baby dolls and kitchen for now, as this is something each and every child in the class adores and participates in frequently. We did however change a few things, as we have added new baby dolls, new foods, and even a  bassinet and carrier. 

The books we read this week were:

                The Grumpy Monkey

                Grumpy Monkey Party Time

                Grumpy Monkey Up All Night

                Pete The Cat Falling For Autumn

As a side note, I wanted to add that we have many birthdays coming up and we are thrilled to be able to take part in making everyone's day extra special! This being so, I wanted to mention that we do have multiple children in our class with food allergies and dietary restrictions. This being the case, we are not able to allow Lofthouse cookies as a birthday treat in the classroom. The additional snacks that can be sent as well as information on how to do so is located within the parent handbook, but I will provide the notes here in this email. If your child is not able to have any of the listed snacks as a treat, you can send in something for them to have during those times that we can keep in the classroom for future use. This will allow for everyone to still feel included. Thank you very much for your understanding!

Birthdays:

Please let us know at least 2 weeks in advance if you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday in class. The teacher will discuss any classroom allergy restrictions with you. The following items are the only approved birthday celebration treats: Lofthouse frosted sugar cookies, Oreos, fresh fruit, and Rice Krispies Treats (individually packaged). Please do not send in homemade items or items that are not included on this list.

We had another great week in school, and I hope that all of you have a great weekend. We can't wait to see you all again next week! Pictures to follow.

Sincerely,

Mrs.Mackenzie and Mrs.Haynes