Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,
At the outset, "WELCOME, KENDRA NOONAN", our new Puppy!!
And, "Happy Birthday!!" to our April celebrants, including Mrs. Dolham and Kevin!!
Our last full week of Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes has come to a close . . .
The abovementioned theme is well-loved by teachers and high-school and pre-school students, as well, and, I must say that, this year, the children truly optimized their many opportunities and valuable resources for role-playing, with beautiful costumes, a fabulous puppet theater and, most importantly, their imaginations, and, we exchanged stories not only by reading books and story telling, but also by utilizing additional means, such as song and dance, felt boards and puppets, to name but a few.
Although much of the week was rather cold and wet, the Butterflies and Puppies achieved a very good balance of both outdoor and indoor gross motor activities -- on Tuesday, the gymnastics mat and an obstacle course were, again, set-up in the "Royal Ballroom", and, on Wednesday, Miss Downing spear-headed a discussion about weather and led the kids on a walk during which they discovered sprouting buds, a bird nest and a chipmunk hole.
As well, during the earlier part of the week, Kelly and Liz successfully brought the outdoors inside by planning planting activities, measuring rainfall and plopping mud into the sensory table.
In addition to the multitude of activities outlined in the curriculum, we prepared food and decorated for the "Royal Feast", which was held on Thursday -- the children made english muffin pizzas, decorated plastic goblets and hung crepe paper -- and -- we were treated to our first wonderful experience with Freshman project planning -- While Kate hung spider-webbing along the stand and a backdrop on the wall, Erin made colorful "spiders" and Jeanetta made glittery stars with the children -- great fun was had by all!!
In addition to the spiders and stars displayed toward the back of our classroom, the beginning of our quilt has been hung, along with new theme-inspired artwork and the "Question of the Week", on all three bulletin boards.
In closing, while we await the delivery of this month's Scholastic book order, new forms will be placed in mailboxes, this week.
Please enjoy the remainder of the week-end!!
Much Love Miss Peacock XOXO
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
"A FABULOUS DISCOVERY!!"
Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,
At the outset, please know that all of those, affected by this week's flooding, are in our thoughts, and we wish you a good start to Spring . . .
Water aside, Monday's Preschool Association of Lexington, (PAL), Conference was, for the third year in a row, a huge success, and, upon returning to school on Tuesday, John noticed that Mrs. Goell's Forsythia was in a full and beautiful golden yellow bloom!!
As our immersion into the world of Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes continues, so does a myriad of related activities in oh so many areas of learning and fun!!
On Tuesday, Kiana asked the Butterflies and Puppies what they saw when they looked into their magic mirrors -- the results of her project are displayed on the bulletin board located in the front hallway -- and -- Andrea assisted the children in creating a pot of gold, which has found its home by the sign-in and out book . . . the next morning, Kira debuted her "matching glass slippers" game -- a great big "thank you" to our friends, from LHS, for sharing their lesson plans!!
Both Tuesday and Wednesday, especially, were very busy days, with lots of visitors and a great deal of preparing for the St. Patrick's Day festivities -- Liz was busy helping the kids to make green-colored play-dough, a giant pudding-filled green cupcake, (pan courtesy of Kelly -- :)), and Irish Soda Bread and Muffins!!!!
Our own high school students, (the Sophomores), enthusiastically guided their little friends in "comparing" short and long "curls" -- thank you, Krista :) -- making brown paper bag puppets, keyboarding themed words, and engaging all in a variety of math, science and literacy/language-based activities, while our Word Wall currently displays the letters "P" and "Q".
On Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, the teachers took loads of photos of the very many students wearing green -- it was "easy being green", (?! -- :)), on that day!!
Victoria arranged a sinking and floating activity, on the deck, Elise designed a math game of wands and wings and Brianna set-up an obstacle course, while Amanda gave a lovely tea party, complete with miniature plates and cups and crepes and jam, (!!), and Krista, Haley and Andrea planned and implemented additional and wonderfully themed projects, as well -- thank you, ladies!!
This week, we have spent a great deal of time playing outdoors, and, both inside and outside, the children have, as well, initiated and enjoyed dramatic play -- for example -- acting out Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and Miss Muffet, after Mrs. Goell and Liz presented the stories, interactively -- and -- many dragons surrounded the castle, outside, ably protecting their kingdom!!
We have had great fun sharing fairy tales, nursery rhymes and social stories, as well as utilizing our great big puppet theatre for themed and related role-playing.
As well, we have completed our fire-breathing dragon, made out of cardboard boxes and other recycleables and art supplies and begun making quilt squares for the project, which will, hopefully, be finished by the middle of next week.
Our adventures at the Discovery Museum, on Friday, were truly joyous -- (my own children and I were members, there, for years, {in a land far, far away in space and time . . . } -- please ask your children about "Bessie" the Dinosaur and all of the differently-themed rooms in the victorian house turned museum!!
What follows is a list of what each child enjoyed most at The Discovery Museum:
Nicky The Train
Nyah The Train
Juliana The Train
Kirsten The Train
Molly The Train
Phil The Boat
Orion The Alligator in the Safari Room
Tyler The Food in the Kitchen
Charlotte All of it (!!)
Sheena A Squeaky Toy
Gryffin Train Tracks
David The Choo Choo
Kolby The Choo Choo Train -- the Big One (!!)
John The Pirate Ship
The bulletin board on the far end of the classroom will soon display paintings done, that day, at the Museum.
Please do remember that the Royal Feast will take place next week and to enjoy the beautiful weather, today!!
Love Miss Peacock XOXO
At the outset, please know that all of those, affected by this week's flooding, are in our thoughts, and we wish you a good start to Spring . . .
Water aside, Monday's Preschool Association of Lexington, (PAL), Conference was, for the third year in a row, a huge success, and, upon returning to school on Tuesday, John noticed that Mrs. Goell's Forsythia was in a full and beautiful golden yellow bloom!!
As our immersion into the world of Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes continues, so does a myriad of related activities in oh so many areas of learning and fun!!
On Tuesday, Kiana asked the Butterflies and Puppies what they saw when they looked into their magic mirrors -- the results of her project are displayed on the bulletin board located in the front hallway -- and -- Andrea assisted the children in creating a pot of gold, which has found its home by the sign-in and out book . . . the next morning, Kira debuted her "matching glass slippers" game -- a great big "thank you" to our friends, from LHS, for sharing their lesson plans!!
Both Tuesday and Wednesday, especially, were very busy days, with lots of visitors and a great deal of preparing for the St. Patrick's Day festivities -- Liz was busy helping the kids to make green-colored play-dough, a giant pudding-filled green cupcake, (pan courtesy of Kelly -- :)), and Irish Soda Bread and Muffins!!!!
Our own high school students, (the Sophomores), enthusiastically guided their little friends in "comparing" short and long "curls" -- thank you, Krista :) -- making brown paper bag puppets, keyboarding themed words, and engaging all in a variety of math, science and literacy/language-based activities, while our Word Wall currently displays the letters "P" and "Q".
On Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, the teachers took loads of photos of the very many students wearing green -- it was "easy being green", (?! -- :)), on that day!!
Victoria arranged a sinking and floating activity, on the deck, Elise designed a math game of wands and wings and Brianna set-up an obstacle course, while Amanda gave a lovely tea party, complete with miniature plates and cups and crepes and jam, (!!), and Krista, Haley and Andrea planned and implemented additional and wonderfully themed projects, as well -- thank you, ladies!!
This week, we have spent a great deal of time playing outdoors, and, both inside and outside, the children have, as well, initiated and enjoyed dramatic play -- for example -- acting out Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and Miss Muffet, after Mrs. Goell and Liz presented the stories, interactively -- and -- many dragons surrounded the castle, outside, ably protecting their kingdom!!
We have had great fun sharing fairy tales, nursery rhymes and social stories, as well as utilizing our great big puppet theatre for themed and related role-playing.
As well, we have completed our fire-breathing dragon, made out of cardboard boxes and other recycleables and art supplies and begun making quilt squares for the project, which will, hopefully, be finished by the middle of next week.
Our adventures at the Discovery Museum, on Friday, were truly joyous -- (my own children and I were members, there, for years, {in a land far, far away in space and time . . . } -- please ask your children about "Bessie" the Dinosaur and all of the differently-themed rooms in the victorian house turned museum!!
What follows is a list of what each child enjoyed most at The Discovery Museum:
Nicky The Train
Nyah The Train
Juliana The Train
Kirsten The Train
Molly The Train
Phil The Boat
Orion The Alligator in the Safari Room
Tyler The Food in the Kitchen
Charlotte All of it (!!)
Sheena A Squeaky Toy
Gryffin Train Tracks
David The Choo Choo
Kolby The Choo Choo Train -- the Big One (!!)
John The Pirate Ship
The bulletin board on the far end of the classroom will soon display paintings done, that day, at the Museum.
Please do remember that the Royal Feast will take place next week and to enjoy the beautiful weather, today!!
Love Miss Peacock XOXO
Sunday, March 14, 2010
"A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE, FOR ALL, AT WALTHAM CROSSINGS!!"
Hola, Families, Friends and Blog Followers,
The week-end may be very, very wet, but, this past week was filled with one sun-shiny day after another!!
We were blessed with weather that allowed us to be outside for a substantial amount of time, and, per my last "blast", the CDC community looks forward to the new playground, scheduled for completion by the end of April -- just after the onset of Spring -- WOO HOO!!
As many of you already know, the Butterflies and Puppies were a big hit at "Papa Joe's" place, (Waltham Crossings)!! The children sang and danced the morning away, and their kindness was rewarded with cupcakes and juice and baseball bats and balls -- it was truly a beautiful experience, the melding of the young and old.
Other special treats, this week, included Miss Amy's, (and "Oreo"'s), presentation of a jumbo, (Zoo), Animal book and Arianne's and Olivia's wonderfully interactive portrayal of singing and dancing kings and queens, resplendent with glittery crowns and much laughter -- as always, thank you, ladies!!
And, thanks to our lovely Mrs. Dolham, as well, our "royal bakery", (aka the kitchen), and its little bakers, made both apple and strawberry muffins, while singing verses from "The Muffin Man" and a variety of other nursery rhymes.
The kids have thoroughly enjoyed playing in their hand-made castle, as well as building said, and, will begin working on a dragon made primarily out of recycleables, this week.
In addition to all of the wonderful projects available at Activity Time, such as "trash" art, sensory exploration, math games and literacy activities, our little friends have enjoyed fashioning, primarily out of construction paper, fans and jewelry, beanstalk leaves and dragon puppets, some of which is on display in the front hallway.
We continue to review the calendar, letters of the week, word wall and practice our skills at Handwriting Without Tears, (HWT), as well as read some wonderful children's literature, much of which is partnered with music and movement.
And, in the Cubby Room, where our Science Table is newly located, the Forsythia branch, donated by Mrs. Goell, begins to bud!!
Please remember that the teachers will be attending a full day of Early Childhood Education workshops at the annual PAL Conference, on Monday, and that, on Friday, we will all be heading over to the Discovery Museum, in Acton, for a morning of learning and fun with "Bessie" the Dinosaur!!
I do thank you all for continuing to build home libraries, for your children, with Scholastic Book Orders!!
Lots of Love, Miss Peacock XOXO
The week-end may be very, very wet, but, this past week was filled with one sun-shiny day after another!!
We were blessed with weather that allowed us to be outside for a substantial amount of time, and, per my last "blast", the CDC community looks forward to the new playground, scheduled for completion by the end of April -- just after the onset of Spring -- WOO HOO!!
As many of you already know, the Butterflies and Puppies were a big hit at "Papa Joe's" place, (Waltham Crossings)!! The children sang and danced the morning away, and their kindness was rewarded with cupcakes and juice and baseball bats and balls -- it was truly a beautiful experience, the melding of the young and old.
Other special treats, this week, included Miss Amy's, (and "Oreo"'s), presentation of a jumbo, (Zoo), Animal book and Arianne's and Olivia's wonderfully interactive portrayal of singing and dancing kings and queens, resplendent with glittery crowns and much laughter -- as always, thank you, ladies!!
And, thanks to our lovely Mrs. Dolham, as well, our "royal bakery", (aka the kitchen), and its little bakers, made both apple and strawberry muffins, while singing verses from "The Muffin Man" and a variety of other nursery rhymes.
The kids have thoroughly enjoyed playing in their hand-made castle, as well as building said, and, will begin working on a dragon made primarily out of recycleables, this week.
In addition to all of the wonderful projects available at Activity Time, such as "trash" art, sensory exploration, math games and literacy activities, our little friends have enjoyed fashioning, primarily out of construction paper, fans and jewelry, beanstalk leaves and dragon puppets, some of which is on display in the front hallway.
We continue to review the calendar, letters of the week, word wall and practice our skills at Handwriting Without Tears, (HWT), as well as read some wonderful children's literature, much of which is partnered with music and movement.
And, in the Cubby Room, where our Science Table is newly located, the Forsythia branch, donated by Mrs. Goell, begins to bud!!
Please remember that the teachers will be attending a full day of Early Childhood Education workshops at the annual PAL Conference, on Monday, and that, on Friday, we will all be heading over to the Discovery Museum, in Acton, for a morning of learning and fun with "Bessie" the Dinosaur!!
I do thank you all for continuing to build home libraries, for your children, with Scholastic Book Orders!!
Lots of Love, Miss Peacock XOXO
Sunday, March 7, 2010
"BEAUTIFUL WEATHER CLOSES THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH!!!!"
Ciao, All . . .
What a beautiful week-end, &, fine close to the first week of March -- ENJOY!!
The introduction to fairy tales, nursery rhymes and Spring has gone very smoothly, this week, and has included, as well, a second sweep of pajama days, celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss -- complete with hand-crafted "Cat in the Hat" hats -- and Read Across America Day, and, parent breakfasts, for which our Butterflies and Puppies enjoyed preparing!!
Fairy tales and nursery rhymes, together, create an optimal environment for dramatic play, language-based learning and art exploration, and, so, Monday morning opened with a new supply of themed books and a myriad of related activities, such as glueing candlesticks, (using recycleables), painting kingdoms, (referring to visuals), building castles, (with blocks and boxes), and telling stories, (utilizing felt boards) -- a great big thank you to Nyah, who has loaned our school many wonderful costumes, and, to Gryffin, as well, who has nicely shared his "talking" tool set!!
Miss Downing and Mrs. Dolham spear-headed an experiment based on "Humpty Dumpty", which required the kids to think like scientists, and, resulted in the breaking of many not-so-hard-boiled eggs, (?!).
Beginning on Wednesday, the children began decorating colorful foam crowns and gold paper stars, for our themed tree, now, fully loaded, and, located in, the Cubby Room -- stellar job, children!!
(Our Science Table is, as well, now located in the Cubby Room, and, our Listening Center has been moved into the main classroom.)
Many of the Center's high-school students rose to the occasion of both planning and implementing a grand selection of wonderful theme and learning center-based projects -- in the giant-sized puppet-theatre/castle, for example, the children donned period clothing, tiered crowns and glittering wands -- and, by week's end, the little ones were dancing, with each other and to joyful music, at the Royal Ball!!
As well, our small princesses and princes tried on Cindarella shoes, drew related pictures with captions, matched castles and royal symbols, and played "Prince, Prince!!", (outdoors).
We gathered together to view an elaborate pop-up book of Alice in Wonderland and to read "In the Castle", several times -- a(n) (Usborne) favorite, in addition to other stories with happy endings!!
Scholastic book order forms have been distributed, and, feature many fabulous selections!!
Love Miss Peacock XOXO
What a beautiful week-end, &, fine close to the first week of March -- ENJOY!!
The introduction to fairy tales, nursery rhymes and Spring has gone very smoothly, this week, and has included, as well, a second sweep of pajama days, celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss -- complete with hand-crafted "Cat in the Hat" hats -- and Read Across America Day, and, parent breakfasts, for which our Butterflies and Puppies enjoyed preparing!!
Fairy tales and nursery rhymes, together, create an optimal environment for dramatic play, language-based learning and art exploration, and, so, Monday morning opened with a new supply of themed books and a myriad of related activities, such as glueing candlesticks, (using recycleables), painting kingdoms, (referring to visuals), building castles, (with blocks and boxes), and telling stories, (utilizing felt boards) -- a great big thank you to Nyah, who has loaned our school many wonderful costumes, and, to Gryffin, as well, who has nicely shared his "talking" tool set!!
Miss Downing and Mrs. Dolham spear-headed an experiment based on "Humpty Dumpty", which required the kids to think like scientists, and, resulted in the breaking of many not-so-hard-boiled eggs, (?!).
Beginning on Wednesday, the children began decorating colorful foam crowns and gold paper stars, for our themed tree, now, fully loaded, and, located in, the Cubby Room -- stellar job, children!!
(Our Science Table is, as well, now located in the Cubby Room, and, our Listening Center has been moved into the main classroom.)
Many of the Center's high-school students rose to the occasion of both planning and implementing a grand selection of wonderful theme and learning center-based projects -- in the giant-sized puppet-theatre/castle, for example, the children donned period clothing, tiered crowns and glittering wands -- and, by week's end, the little ones were dancing, with each other and to joyful music, at the Royal Ball!!
As well, our small princesses and princes tried on Cindarella shoes, drew related pictures with captions, matched castles and royal symbols, and played "Prince, Prince!!", (outdoors).
We gathered together to view an elaborate pop-up book of Alice in Wonderland and to read "In the Castle", several times -- a(n) (Usborne) favorite, in addition to other stories with happy endings!!
Scholastic book order forms have been distributed, and, feature many fabulous selections!!
Love Miss Peacock XOXO
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