Ms. Kiersten’s March Newsletter
Sent out March 6, 2017
March started off with a laugh this past week as we celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday as part of the Read Across America celebration. Between crazy hats and funny cat noses we all had a good time. Ms. Connie and I even got a request for another day with a snack of green eggs and ham! We plan to keep the fun and learning going with our STEM unit Making Music. We’ll practice listening to the sounds all around us, experiment with how sound travels and even make our own instruments. Additionally, we’ll be experimenting with color and learning about rainbows as part of our St. Patrick’s Day fun. Read on to find out more about what is going on in our room and at Spark!
Important Dates:
Tuesday, March 7: Library day. Make sure your child returns their previous book so they can get a new one. *
Thursday, March 9: Parenting with Love and Logic class from 6:00 – 7:30. See below for details.
Saturday, March 11-Sunday, March 12: Daylight Savings Time – move your clocks AHEAD 1 hour.
Monday, March 13: All School Movement at 8:45 and 12:45. Come join us!
Thursday, March 16: Pajama Day: Bring a $1 donation for PTO and come to school in your cozy PJ’s!
Tuesday, March 21: Library day. Make sure your child returns their previous book so they can check out a new one. *
Tuesday, March 21: Scholastic book orders are due. (Flyers will go out March 9.)
Thursday, March 23: PBIS reward – Dance party in the gym!
Friday, March 24 – Sunday, April 2: Spring break! Enjoy!
*As you probably know, our attendance clerk and librarian Ms. Vicky is pregnant and due soon. Our library schedule is going to need to be a bit flexible this month depending on Ms. Vicky’s availability.
Simple Machines STEM Challenge:
As part of our unit we had explored the 6 simple machines (inclined plane, wedge, wheel & axle, pulley, screw, and lever) through hands-on experiments and play, videos, and books. Last week we read a story about two people who have a problem – Rapunzel and the prince from the story Falling For Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox. In the story, distance makes it hard for the two characters to hear each other correctly leading Rapunzel to throw down a variety of rhyming things instead of her hair. As a class we talked about how both characters felt when they couldn’t communicate and decided we needed to find a way for them to be closer to each other when they talk.
Each child then thought of a way to help the characters, drawing a picture and telling teachers what their plan was. They had lots of great ideas: a slide for Rapunzel to come down, a pulley to lift the prince up, a ladder or even wedges in the wall for them to climb. Students then worked in groups with similar ideas to try to build their machine. We learned the hard way that it is much harder to create a good working pulley than expected but ladders and slides were much easier to build as a group. Students came away satisfied that even if their construction didn’t work quite as hoped, they had come up with a good way to help our characters.
Parenting with Love and Logic: How to avoid power struggles and guide children to solve their own problems.
Do you need some parenting strategies to end arguing, backtalk, begging, or whining? If you could use some support with family goal setting in this area, this is a FREE opportunity to get support.
Cost for the class = FREE
Cost for childcare = FREE
Cost for pizza dinner = FREE
Evening schedule:
5:45 – 6:00 pm Check-in of children / get set with dinner*
6:00 – 6:15 pm Spark Parent-Teacher Organization meeting
6:15 – 7:30 pm Parenting classes with Cheryl Hamilton
*Participants or children with special dietary conditions will need to plan on their own for dinner.
St. Patrick’s Day
Our class will be doing exploring rainbows and other St. Patrick’s Day themes the week of March 13-16. We will not however be talking about mischief-loving leprechauns. Children this age can sometimes have trouble telling the difference between make-believe and reality and so become very frightened. Rather than risk scaring anyone, here at Spark we will be avoiding the kind of leprechaun mischief that sometimes occurs at elementary schools.
Curriculum Focus:
STEM: Making Music. We will be exploring how sounds are made and how we hear them. Our first explorations will include listening to the sounds outside and seeing if we can guess what is making them. Soon we’ll be making our own sounds with our bodies, various objects, and finally instruments. We are hoping to arrange opportunities to see musicians perform in real life. If you or someone you know (older siblings too!) performs music (singing or instrumental) and would be willing to perform for us, please let me know!
Literacy: In March we will be reviewing the names, sounds, and formation of letters as well as learning sight words. These are high frequency words that children’s rapid recognition of will help them become readers.
Week of March 6: whole alphabet review and “it”
Week of March 13: Ll, Ff, Ee, Hh and “am”
Week of March 21: Tt, Ii, Uu, Cc and “me”
Math: We will be continuing to work on learning our numbers, including recognizing the written numeral, being able to count out the correct number of items for the numeral, and being able to count up to that number. We will be measuring instruments and comparing the sizes of different things.
To Practice At Home:
Zoophonics – Help them recognize the letter and say the sound it makes. Also, have your child practice naming the letters in his or her name. Use the name cards sent home in December for them to practice writing their name. Use string or pretzels to ‘write’ the letters for their name.
Math – Help them practice counting. Encourage them to find patterns (in clothes, etc.). Talk to you child about your morning routine – what happens first after they wake up? See if they can tell you what is next. Practicing talking about routines help children recognize daily patterns and understand that things happen in order.
STARpower: be Safe, use Teamwork, Act responsibly, and be Respectful.
Registration
Registration for both fall classes and also summer and 2017-2018 childcare are ongoing here at Spark!. For greatest selection, please register early. Our school newsletter has some excellent information about our various programs as well as information about kindergarten. If you deleted your school newsletter, let me know and I’ll send you a new copy.
Winter Hand Washing
Here in preschool we wash our hands a lot – usually more than 4 times per class! All this hand washing does help us avoid sharing germs but it also tends to dry out skin, especially during winter. School staff are not allowed to put hand lotion on children. Instead, please have your child put on hand lotion at home. Good times to do this include before bedtime and right after they get home from school.
Donations request:
Our sensory table is very popular which means we are always needing more things for it. If you are looking for a way to help out then consider making a donation of one of these items: shaving cream, baking soda, flour, and baby oil. Also useful would be more small Dixie cups and lined post-it notes. Thank you!
Want to help out?
We are looking for volunteers to do art projects with students during choice time (10:05 in the morning class and 2:00 in the afternoon). This is a 30-45 minute commitment of time for the day(s) you sign up for and would need to be adult-only. Most days this will be an art activity so be prepared for paint!
Please remember!
The weather is COLD! Please be sure your child is prepared – send them in long-sleeve shirts and closed shoes with a coat. We will be going out when the temperature is in the 20s. Be sure your child can stay warm!
For students’ safety, plastic bags should not be placed in your child’s backpack.
Remember to have your child write their name on their homework. This lets them practice and helps me know who turned in the work.
Please have your child use the restroom before bringing him or her to school if possible.
Colorado’s weather changes often. Please put sunscreen on your child before school and send them in weather appropriate clothing.
Please check your child’s backpack for their Thursday folder each week and return it on Monday. Valuable information from the school and the classroom is put there every week.