Happy Spring Equinox Wonderful Preschool Families!
I know I am a few hours early in wishing this to you but what the heck! It's not like we actually had a real winter or anything!
Noah's Ark and Rainbow week was GREAT! The kids enjoyed the projects, songs and lessons. I will continue some of the color science lessons this week as well!
Thanks to POLAR BEAR Shamus Sutton in convincing our area "leperchaun" to visit our class Friday afternoon! What a super treat.
GYM On Monday/ Wednesday!
What a beautiful day it was today! Today the POLAR BEARS had gym class. We played "Cattail". It was an integration of music, gross motor skills and some spring literacy concepts all wrapped into a 25 minute gym class! Ask your Polar Bear about this P.E activity! PENGUINS will have their gym class on Wacky Wednesday!
Speaking of Wacky Wednesday...
To kick off the Spring Equinox, PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS will have WACKY WEDNESDAY this Wednesday! If you haven't read Theo. Lesieg's book "Wacky Wednesday" you should! Theo. Lesieg is Theodore Geisel's (Dr. Seuss!) alter ego. The book is so adorable and crazy! I will read it to the children on Wednesday along with some other "wacky" surprises! I invite the children to be plain wacky that day. Some ideas are: wear your clothes inside out or backwards or both!, different shoes or socks, crazy hats (one of the few days the students are allowed to wear them to school!) crazy hair, whatever suits your child is great! Please make sure your sweet little one is able to be comfortable during class and able to participate in physical activity.
SHOE policy:
Please remember that ALL footwear that your child wears to school must have a heel strap to ensure your child's safety while we run and play. Flip flops/sandals without heel straps are a safety hazard. (see page 6 of the Parent Handbook) Thank you for your cooperation and support with our safety policy;)
BIG THANK YOU to...
A huge shout out goes out to all the families that donated Clorox wipes to the class. We are working hard to keep that nasty Norovirus at bay by disinfecting, disinfecting, disinfecting!! Hopefully, with the more consistant weather and temperature, this virus will not be a problem here at St. Francis. Thanks again...we appreciate it.
Spring project Donations:
If you feel called or inclined to do so, I am in need of about 2 bags of potting soil, various flower and vegetable seed packets and 1 box of Dixie cups. Our Spring/Easter theme will last about 2-3 weeks and I have some "growing" projects I would like to do.
(Note: please do not get potting soil with growing additives as the children will be handling
the dirt) Thanks so much for your consideration.
SPRING BREAK Next Week!!!!!
St. Francis will be on Spring Break next week starting March 26-30. It is my hope your break is restful and the weather is beautiful for you to enjoy the week!
GREAT QUESTIONS:
Some great questions from our wonderful mommies and dads!
"It is a beautiful day today, why did you not go outside today?"
Many times, after bouts of rain, it takes a couple of days for our preschool playground is muddy and needs to dry out. Due to the kind of early childhood education license we have, we are not permitted to use the larger elementary equipment out in front of the gym. The school and parish administration pointed this out after I used it for a couple of weeks! Ooops! So I apologized to the administration and the students for my oversight. We certainly do not want this oversight to put our license in jeopardy. We will make every attempt to get out for gross motor at some point during class.
This next one is not exactly an outright question, however I feel the need to touch upon the subject of hugging others:
All of our students are wonderful and loving children. Some children show their love by hugging each other. I think this is absolutely beautiful however I have been encouraging the children who want to give hugs to ask the recipent if they can give them a hug. This shows respect of other children's personal space. Simply put, not everyone is a "hugger". Although hugging is a great way to show our Christian love to one another, we must remember that not everyone is comfortable with showing it in this way. I always remind the children to ask; "Can I give you a hug?" and respect the answer their friend gives them.
Thanks so much for these great questions. Keep them coming!
On a personal note....
Many of you have asked about my mother. She is doing well considering all that she has had to face recently. This weekend, she let us know that she was not going to do any chemical treatment/therapy for the melanoma. There is no cure for her type of cancer and she knows that any chemical treatment will not allow the quality of life she wants for the remaining time God has put in front of her. Thank you all so much for your prayers. I know it is because of these prayers that helped her have the strength to make this very difficult decision. I humbly ask you to continue these prayers. The power of prayer is such a wonderful thing! My family feels so blessed to have you storming heaven for us.
May the last few days of Lent continue to strengthen your bond with our Lord.
Educationally yours,
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Top O' the Day !!!
Top O' the Day Preschools Families~
Just a few reminders before week start our week.
**** We have our Rainbow & Noah's Ark theme this week. To celebrate the colors of the rainbow- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, please have your child wear a different color of the rainbow each day. (Remember...pink is not one of the colors of the rainbow;) We will graph what color shows up more each day...great math activity!
*****On MONDAY, Mrs. Svatora, will be treating our PENGUINS to a Fruity Rainbow Snack. Thanks so much Mrs. Svatora!
*****On Thursday & Friday, we will include our St. Patrick's day theme. I anticipating some leperchaun activity on Friday too! I would like for the students to wear GREEN on Friday if they have something with green in it.
God bless!
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
Just a few reminders before week start our week.
**** We have our Rainbow & Noah's Ark theme this week. To celebrate the colors of the rainbow- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, please have your child wear a different color of the rainbow each day. (Remember...pink is not one of the colors of the rainbow;) We will graph what color shows up more each day...great math activity!
*****On MONDAY, Mrs. Svatora, will be treating our PENGUINS to a Fruity Rainbow Snack. Thanks so much Mrs. Svatora!
*****On Thursday & Friday, we will include our St. Patrick's day theme. I anticipating some leperchaun activity on Friday too! I would like for the students to wear GREEN on Friday if they have something with green in it.
God bless!
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Do YOU like green eggs and ham??????
Hello and happy hoodle doodle dear fantastical parents!
Okay...I epically fail to rhyme like dear old Dr. Seuss but I tried! What a super duper week we had reading just a few of the many Dr. Seuss books. If you haven't already, feel free to pop into the classroom to see our "Seuss Station". The kids think it is pretty fun.
In the halls are just a few samples of the kids' work they did this week.
After reading There's a Wocket in my Pocket, the Penguins created their own "ocket" creatures that would be in their pocket. They named their creatures to rhyme with the word pocket. Check out their pockets on the bulletin board. Friday they will make cookie Cat in Hats after reading Cat in the Hat! Yum!
After reading Green Eggs and Ham, the Seals, worked on patterning using green eggs and ham. They had to "stump Mrs. Burd" with their own ham and eggs patterns. Some of them were pretty complex and they certainly tried their hardest to stump me! The Seals also did some counting with Dr. Seuss! Check out their flip books!
After reading Hop on Pop, the Pre-K Polar Bears made their own "op" family rhyming words. Some of them are quite silly sounding! We also graphed our favorite Seuss character.
After reading And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street, the Polar Bears wrote their own addresses and drew what they would see on THEIR street! On Tuesday, the Polar Bears made cookie Cat in the Hat hats! Yummy!
These are all just a tiny samples of what the kiddos did this week. I truly hope they all enjoyed the wonderful whimsical wacky rhymes of Dr. Seuss.
We will be doing a dual theme next week. We will start the week out with a "Noah's Ark and the Rainbow" theme. We will then add in St. Patrick later in the week.
WELCOME to another new Preschool friend!
We would like to welcome Sadie Blazsyk to our Penguin class family. Sadie started this week. Welcome to St. Francis Sadie! We are so blessed you are with us.
"SPECIAL ME" :
A wonderful suggestion from one of our fabulous parents was to post the upcoming Special Me friend for the week. Great idea! I also have it posted it on our board by the entrance to our room.
Week of March 12th- Marissa Anabella Richards
We feature the following on our "Special Me" board":
* Picture of Me
* My family
*My favorite animal
*My favorite place
*My house
*My favorite toy
***Also, your child can bring in their favorite book for me to read to the class.
Your child can bring photos of these catagories OR they can draw them OR a combination of both. Please bring the pictures in on the first day of the week of their assigned week. They will have the opportunity to talk about the pictures and introduce us to their family and "favorites".
What next week will bring:
Letter of the Week: Z
Word Family of the week (P. Bears)- "ug"
Theme: Noah's Ark/Rainbows/ St. Patrick
Number Focus: SEALS: 10 PENGUINS: teen numbers
POLAR BEARS: numbers to 100
Concluding Thoughts:
I want to thank you all for the prayers for my mom. My family and I sincerely appreciate you all storming heaven for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit! God is good!
Just a reminder that our SPRING BREAK is March 26-30th
May God bless the remainder of your week and your weekend.
Many blessings to you all,
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
Okay...I epically fail to rhyme like dear old Dr. Seuss but I tried! What a super duper week we had reading just a few of the many Dr. Seuss books. If you haven't already, feel free to pop into the classroom to see our "Seuss Station". The kids think it is pretty fun.
In the halls are just a few samples of the kids' work they did this week.
After reading There's a Wocket in my Pocket, the Penguins created their own "ocket" creatures that would be in their pocket. They named their creatures to rhyme with the word pocket. Check out their pockets on the bulletin board. Friday they will make cookie Cat in Hats after reading Cat in the Hat! Yum!
After reading Green Eggs and Ham, the Seals, worked on patterning using green eggs and ham. They had to "stump Mrs. Burd" with their own ham and eggs patterns. Some of them were pretty complex and they certainly tried their hardest to stump me! The Seals also did some counting with Dr. Seuss! Check out their flip books!
After reading Hop on Pop, the Pre-K Polar Bears made their own "op" family rhyming words. Some of them are quite silly sounding! We also graphed our favorite Seuss character.
After reading And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street, the Polar Bears wrote their own addresses and drew what they would see on THEIR street! On Tuesday, the Polar Bears made cookie Cat in the Hat hats! Yummy!
These are all just a tiny samples of what the kiddos did this week. I truly hope they all enjoyed the wonderful whimsical wacky rhymes of Dr. Seuss.
We will be doing a dual theme next week. We will start the week out with a "Noah's Ark and the Rainbow" theme. We will then add in St. Patrick later in the week.
WELCOME to another new Preschool friend!
We would like to welcome Sadie Blazsyk to our Penguin class family. Sadie started this week. Welcome to St. Francis Sadie! We are so blessed you are with us.
"SPECIAL ME" :
A wonderful suggestion from one of our fabulous parents was to post the upcoming Special Me friend for the week. Great idea! I also have it posted it on our board by the entrance to our room.
Week of March 12th- Marissa Anabella Richards
We feature the following on our "Special Me" board":
* Picture of Me
* My family
*My favorite animal
*My favorite place
*My house
*My favorite toy
***Also, your child can bring in their favorite book for me to read to the class.
Your child can bring photos of these catagories OR they can draw them OR a combination of both. Please bring the pictures in on the first day of the week of their assigned week. They will have the opportunity to talk about the pictures and introduce us to their family and "favorites".
What next week will bring:
Letter of the Week: Z
Word Family of the week (P. Bears)- "ug"
Theme: Noah's Ark/Rainbows/ St. Patrick
Number Focus: SEALS: 10 PENGUINS: teen numbers
POLAR BEARS: numbers to 100
Concluding Thoughts:
I want to thank you all for the prayers for my mom. My family and I sincerely appreciate you all storming heaven for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit! God is good!
Just a reminder that our SPRING BREAK is March 26-30th
May God bless the remainder of your week and your weekend.
Many blessings to you all,
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Sugarbugs and toothpaste and floss...Oh My!!
Hello Wonderful Preschool Parents!
As we wind down our Dental Theme on Friday, we finish it all off with a visit from a dental hygentist Katrina, of Drs. Wing, Mack, and Smith in Newark. She will visit and share her talents with both the Penguin and Polar Bear classes on Friday. She is our community helper of the month as well! Welcome Katrina.
I hope the brushing chart was a helpful motivator tool for the students to brush often and be more aware of their dental health. As you go through our preschool hall, please take the time to notice your children's wonderful work from the last couple of weeks. What super scholars they are! Great work kids;)
SEUSS WEEK:
Next week, in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we will have "Dr. Seuss" Week!!
Lots and lots of WACKY and Fundoopolous activities planned!
*** We will have "Wacky Sock" Day next week in honor of the book: Fox in Socks!
PENGUINS and POLAR BEARS: can wear WACKY socks on WEDNESDAY!
SEALS: can wear WACKY socks on THURSDAY!
**We will be making some fun Dr. Seuss snacks as a station, working with rhyming words, matching socks, patterning green eggs and ham, and other Seuss-y games! I think it will be a fun week for all.
If any family has any Dr. Seuss books on CD that we can borrow for the week, please let Mrs. Burd know. THANKS so much in advance!
Welcome Spencer Boyette and Mason Block!
We would like to welcome 2 new friends to our preschool family; Spencer Boyette in the Pre-K Polar Bears class AND Mason Block in the SEALS class! Welcome to our school Spencer and Mason! We are so blessed to have you!
PRAYERS:
I have had a few more moms and dads request the prayers be published on the blog. Here they are. Thank you so much for helping us make prayer such an essential part of your child's day.
Morning Opening Prayer: (all classes)
As I start another day, keep me close to You I pray. Be with me both day and night, help me follow Christ our light. AMEN
Snack Prayer: (all classes)
Thank you for the food we eat. Thank you for the world so sweet. Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you GOD for everything. AMEN
Closing Prayer: (Penguins and Polar Bears only)
Angel of God my guardian dear, to whom GOD's love commits me here. Ever this day, be at my side. To light, to guard, to rule, to guide. AMEN
Work Folders:
Please remember to check your child's folder after they have been to school. Many times important notices, invoices, or reminders are put in there for you to see. More importantly, your child's wonderful art masterpieces and other work for you to see is put in there as well. Thanks so much;)
Questions regarding Kindergarten, kindergarten screening, and St. Francis Elementary:
If any you ever have any questions regarding kindergarten, kindergarten screening, or just overall questions on the "going-ons" at the elementary, please jot it down and I will post the question on the blog with the answer. I know when my own children first started at SF, it was assumed that I knew the "typical" school things. Not true! So if I can help in anyway with giving answers, please do not hesitate to put it down. I will post the questiona and answer on the blog.
Our School Doorbell:
Please remember to give me a little wait time when you ring the doorbell when you come in the morning. Many times I am trying to help a child or children and have to weave my way back to the front of the room amid toys and scattered children to get the door button. Also, it is a school wide policy that we know exactly who is coming into the building so sometimes when I do not see a parent or adult, I will wait until I know exactly who is entering the building. This policy is for the safety of your child as well as for the children in the rest of the classrooms of the Early Childhood building.
Also, just a reminder that morning class door opens at 8:05 am (at the bell) and afternoon class door opens at 11:55. Thanks so much for your understanding and patience on this;)
Concluding Thoughts:
I hope that your Lenten season is bringing you closer to the Lord. I have always loved Lent because of the closeness it brings one to Christ. What a beautiful gift this is!
On a more personal note, I am asking for your continued prayers for my mother. Last week, my mother found out she is in Stage 4 Melanoma. As a result, there will be many weekends where I will be helping with her care and being with her as she lives alone in northwestern Ohio (near the Indiana border). If I am not always on time with the blogs, please just know it is because I have been with her for that weekend (and she doesn't own a computer) My priority is the school lesson preps and plans before the blog. Thank you so much for your support and understanding with this.
I constantly remind myself that faith makes things possible...not easy.
May God's love and peace be with you all throughout this Lenten season.
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
As we wind down our Dental Theme on Friday, we finish it all off with a visit from a dental hygentist Katrina, of Drs. Wing, Mack, and Smith in Newark. She will visit and share her talents with both the Penguin and Polar Bear classes on Friday. She is our community helper of the month as well! Welcome Katrina.
I hope the brushing chart was a helpful motivator tool for the students to brush often and be more aware of their dental health. As you go through our preschool hall, please take the time to notice your children's wonderful work from the last couple of weeks. What super scholars they are! Great work kids;)
SEUSS WEEK:
Next week, in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we will have "Dr. Seuss" Week!!
Lots and lots of WACKY and Fundoopolous activities planned!
*** We will have "Wacky Sock" Day next week in honor of the book: Fox in Socks!
PENGUINS and POLAR BEARS: can wear WACKY socks on WEDNESDAY!
SEALS: can wear WACKY socks on THURSDAY!
**We will be making some fun Dr. Seuss snacks as a station, working with rhyming words, matching socks, patterning green eggs and ham, and other Seuss-y games! I think it will be a fun week for all.
If any family has any Dr. Seuss books on CD that we can borrow for the week, please let Mrs. Burd know. THANKS so much in advance!
Welcome Spencer Boyette and Mason Block!
We would like to welcome 2 new friends to our preschool family; Spencer Boyette in the Pre-K Polar Bears class AND Mason Block in the SEALS class! Welcome to our school Spencer and Mason! We are so blessed to have you!
PRAYERS:
I have had a few more moms and dads request the prayers be published on the blog. Here they are. Thank you so much for helping us make prayer such an essential part of your child's day.
Morning Opening Prayer: (all classes)
As I start another day, keep me close to You I pray. Be with me both day and night, help me follow Christ our light. AMEN
Snack Prayer: (all classes)
Thank you for the food we eat. Thank you for the world so sweet. Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you GOD for everything. AMEN
Closing Prayer: (Penguins and Polar Bears only)
Angel of God my guardian dear, to whom GOD's love commits me here. Ever this day, be at my side. To light, to guard, to rule, to guide. AMEN
Work Folders:
Please remember to check your child's folder after they have been to school. Many times important notices, invoices, or reminders are put in there for you to see. More importantly, your child's wonderful art masterpieces and other work for you to see is put in there as well. Thanks so much;)
Questions regarding Kindergarten, kindergarten screening, and St. Francis Elementary:
If any you ever have any questions regarding kindergarten, kindergarten screening, or just overall questions on the "going-ons" at the elementary, please jot it down and I will post the question on the blog with the answer. I know when my own children first started at SF, it was assumed that I knew the "typical" school things. Not true! So if I can help in anyway with giving answers, please do not hesitate to put it down. I will post the questiona and answer on the blog.
Our School Doorbell:
Please remember to give me a little wait time when you ring the doorbell when you come in the morning. Many times I am trying to help a child or children and have to weave my way back to the front of the room amid toys and scattered children to get the door button. Also, it is a school wide policy that we know exactly who is coming into the building so sometimes when I do not see a parent or adult, I will wait until I know exactly who is entering the building. This policy is for the safety of your child as well as for the children in the rest of the classrooms of the Early Childhood building.
Also, just a reminder that morning class door opens at 8:05 am (at the bell) and afternoon class door opens at 11:55. Thanks so much for your understanding and patience on this;)
Concluding Thoughts:
I hope that your Lenten season is bringing you closer to the Lord. I have always loved Lent because of the closeness it brings one to Christ. What a beautiful gift this is!
On a more personal note, I am asking for your continued prayers for my mother. Last week, my mother found out she is in Stage 4 Melanoma. As a result, there will be many weekends where I will be helping with her care and being with her as she lives alone in northwestern Ohio (near the Indiana border). If I am not always on time with the blogs, please just know it is because I have been with her for that weekend (and she doesn't own a computer) My priority is the school lesson preps and plans before the blog. Thank you so much for your support and understanding with this.
I constantly remind myself that faith makes things possible...not easy.
May God's love and peace be with you all throughout this Lenten season.
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
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