Special Education Preschool Newsletter
Afternoon Edition
March 2016
Dates to Remember:
Feb. 29-Mar. 4 Dr. Seuss Study
Mar. 7-11 Zoo Study
Mar. 8 Early Dismissal Day, No Preschool/PREP
Mar. 14-18 Zoo Study
Mar. 21-25 Zoo Study
Mar. 24-29 Schools closed for Spring Break (watch for changes)
Mar. 30-Apr. 6 Zoo Study
Reminders:
Reminders:
· Be sure your child wears appropriate footwear, sneakers are best. We plan to play outside on the tot lot daily as weather permits and have PE every Thursday.
· Read all school correspondence and respond in a timely manner by placing papers in the pocket of the communication book or paper clip them to the book. Students unpack and pack as independently as possible; we do not check bookbags.
· Be sure all clothing and materials from home are marked with your child’s name. This helps us stay organized and insure your personal items get back to you and that there is no confusion with which items belongs to which children.
· Be sure to review your inclement weather policy. If we have an early closing the afternoon session is cancelled.
Absences
Send a note to school every time your child has missed a day of school explaining the reason for the absence (school requirement), or you may choose to call or email the school @ . Absence notes are included in your school folder.
Media
We visit the media center every Thursday. Mrs. Wirick reads to us and we get to choose a book to take home. Please be sure to return media books every Wednesday. If your child forgets, we will allow him/her to choose a new book; however, we will keep it in class until the previous book is returned. Thanks for helping with this process.
Literacy Folder
Blue folders are due every Wednesday. We have been singing and adding songs/poems to the folder. Practice those that fit our theme and revisit your child’s favorites. Keep it fun by giving your child choices of how to sing/say it. “Do you want to sing it loud or soft, fast or slow, or use a silly voice?” Repetition is great but doing the entry the same way gets boring. As your child learns the entry, leave off the last words for him/her to complete the rhymes.
Letter Rings
Each week we focus on a new letter which we practice daily. At the end of the week, we apply what we have learned about the letter and sound to complete literacy activities. Your child was given a letter ring and each week a new letter will be placed in the blue folder’s front pocket. In March we will focus on the letters: Aa, Vv, Mm, and Nn.
Vocabulary
We’ve chosen 20 new pictures that are related to the zoo. Be sure to read the letter for ways to extend activities at home. Try saying the syllables slowly and having your child blend them to say the word. If they can do this well, try segmenting or breaking the word into parts (zebra= ze bra). Can you find words that start with the same letter or same sound?
Book Buddies
Our second grade buddies will come and share books about zoo. They will come every Friday from 2:30-245 to read to us. They are modeling great reading skills!
Green Folders
Please return the green folder the first Wednesday of each month for the next fine motor skill. We hope you are using this resource to support fine motor skills at home. Completing fine motor work and reviewing vocabulary can help you establish a great homework routine while helping your child improve skills needed for kindergarten. Practice makes permanent, so please, have your child practice correctly. Read each monthly sheet carefully to understand the skill and process of teaching/reinforcing it. The other activities are designed to easily fit into your home routines and extend learning. This month is advanced cutting skills.
Theme
This month we will begin by celebrating Dr. Seuss and exploring concepts of rhyming. Then we will turn our focus to the zoo. We’ll talk about the job of the zookeeper, name animals and compare and contrast the characteristics of each. We will explore fiction (made up stories for fun) and non-fiction (books we learn facts from) texts and continue to develop our concepts of print and text features. At centers we will focus on pretend play, cooperative play, and making representations using blocks, art mediums, and other materials. The children will continue to work on illustrations and adding details to their drawings and using knowledge of letters and sounds to write words. We’ll be reviewing the concepts and skills we’ve worked on throughout the year and extending these. For example, we’re using what we know about 5 frames to subitize 10 frames. We will also explore sets of 6-10 and using math language to compare sets (more, less, most, least, same, different). We will continue to use measurement words to compare the animals with words like long, longer, longest, short, shorter, shortest, tall, taller and tallest and add words to compare weight (heavy, light). We will also begin to solve word problems.
Extensions
We’ve had some positive feedback about the calendar activities and that the fine motor folders and support materials are helping build skills for cutting and writing. In media we explore Pebblego to learn about animals and tumblebooks are the source of our stories for the word of the week. Check these out; logins and passwords are on the resource page sent home earlier this year. Please continue to share feedback on how your child is doing with these activities and share any ideas, activities, or websites you have found. Two websites shared by a parent are: www.kidport.com and www.prekinders.com . I have not yet had a chance to check them out, so please let me know how you like them.
DID YOU KNOW?
A sharing of developmental information and ideas to promote learning at home.
*Books that follow a child’s interests will hold their attention and support developing vocabulary.
*A variety of activities, along with descriptive language by an adult, helps a child build vocabulary.
*Experimentation with the sounds of language enables children to learn the basics of literacy later on.
*Children increase their understanding of language by meaningful conversations with a caring adult.
*Predictable books use children’s intuitive understanding of patterns and sequencing and provide a natural connection between intellectual development and language.