2014_08_29 Friday

From Elise's former teacher, who subbed today: I was so lucky to have 4 great helpers from Ms. H's class today.  Elise helped X work on writing her name.  X  showed X how to make the bottom of your block structure big so you can build higher.  X loved singing "Bought Me A Cat" in music with kids who knew ALL the words and ALL the motions!  X did a fantastic job naming the colors in German.  During center time X and X stayed in one center the whole time so they could finish the (30pc)  kitty puzzle.  On top of all that we got to celebrate X's birthday!  She brought beautiful flower cookies for everyone.  Have a great long weekend!

2014_08_28 Wednesday

From Elise's class: Hello, Today we talked about careers and community helpers. We discussed what officers, teachers, dentists, doctors, farmers, mail carriers, bus drivers, veterinarians do. They shared stories about going to the zoo when we were talking about farm animals. We made police hats and badges for art. We worked on finding the letter Aa. I read Max's Checkup and At The Firehouse. They had Italian today.  

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Elise- I would like to be a teacher when I grow up because I want to be a teacher who teaches people. 

From Elise's Reading Club: Hello, On Monday, we worked on the sight words me, can. We wrote and illustrated the sentence I can______. On Tuesday, we worked on the words is, like. We also read a sheet with short sentences focusing on the word like. Have your child read this at home for you! On Wednesday, we worked on the color word black. We went over flash cards and letter sounds. We added the word black to our 2 coloring sheets. On Thursday, we worked on the word the. We listened to the vowel song that is the tune of If You're Happy and you know it. We went over flash cards. We rolled some dice and wrote the number that it landed
on for some math number writing practice.

2014_08_27 Wednesday

From Elise's school: Hello, Today we talked about being responsible for our own belongings such as backpacks. We made school supplies out of different shapes for art. They had French today. For Science, we learned about magnets. We all got to experiment with magnets and test out objects that repel or attract to the magnet. We discussed north and south pole. We talked about compasses. Each student walked around the classroom and found something that did not stick to their magnetic stick and one thing that did. They did a great job finding small things that were magnetic such as my clipboard or a table leg. 

What is one thing your magnetic stick attracted to in our classroom?

Elise- I sticked my magnet to your paper holder (my clipboard (: ) 

2014_08_26 Tuesday

Today was Fancy Clothes Day for Elise: Good afternoon, Today we discussed taking care of our teeth, brushing our hair, and getting clean and dressed. We talked about going to the dentist and how they help us take care of our teeth. We discussed what cavities and plaque are. We talked about gums and flossing. We discussed good foods vs bad foods. We brushed a pair of lips with toothbrushes to practice brushing. We also counted out 20 beans to represent their 20 teeth they have. We talked about how adults have 32 teeth. We also worked on the AB pattern and making patterns. 

They had Spanish today. 

What is something you learned about teeth today?

Elise- brush your teeth so you don't get cavities 

I was a panelist again on Ebola today. 

2014_08_25 Monday

From Elise's school: Hello, Today we talked about the word responsibility and cleaning up after ourselves. We talked about littering and why we should not do it and why we should clean up after ourselves.  We talked and practiced pushing in our chairs after we get up during lunch or in the classroom. We talked about our 5 senses and made a book. We went over letters A and B. I read the book Please Play Safe Penguin's guide to playground safety. I also read There's A Big Beautiful World Out There. 

They had Mandarin today. 

Elise- because if you throw trash on the ground that's called littering 

I had a meeting today with the Assistant Principal at Jonathan's school to chat about security issues and grant opportunities. So funny that we were all so afraid of the asst/principals as kids; they're lovely people now!

2014_08_23 Saturday

We walked up to our local breakfast joint, only to find out that our 'favorite' waiter is moving to NYC and today was his last day serving! bummer. Reminds me of losing the old ladies at our diner in Maplewood.

just don't see this THAT often. 

Dave is doing dad/man fantasy football thing today, so we are flying solo. He's hardly got anything with him this year, so hopefully nothing goes missing again.

2014_08_22 Friday

From Elise's class: Hello! Today we talked about taking turns and sharing. We played hot potato and took turns passing a beanie bag. I read Llama Llama Time to Share. We created a big mural picture and each person contributed something to it by waiting their turn and drawing on it one at a time. We made the letter B with play-doh today and then created other objects. No German today. 

Why is sharing and taking turns important?

Elise- sharing is nice...because it's nice and respectful 

Next Tuesday is Fancy Day!

From Elise's Reading Club: Hello On Monday, we worked on the word blue.  We also talked about rhyming words. We drew a picture on yellow paper and then filled in the blank for the sentence.. I go to the ____. On Tuesday, we worked on the word up. We used 'up' in a sentence. On Wednesday, we worked on the words red, go. On Thursday, we worked on distinguishing between vowels and consonants. We discussed which ones are vowels and how the rest are consonants. We also worked on beginning sounds. There is a game where they put picture cards in little tubs that start with that letter. The girls started to sort out some picture cards. Also, everyday we went over flash cards for the sight words we've talked about so far. We do this one-on-one. We are practicing finding color words by sight on worksheets and coloring that part of the picture and adding color tissue. Once we learn all the colors, you will see the papers they have done.