Dear Parents,
Happy SPRING!!! With cold air still pushing through and winter making an unwelcomed comeback this past Tuesday, Spring might take a while to fully win out!!! We can’t wait to welcome those warm gentle breezes and strip off those heavy coats!
The letter-sound association we learned last week was the letter “Tt. What a fun letter! Examples of words that start with that letter such as tiger, turtle and tulips were given. A tea-riffic way to introduce “Tt” was with a tea party! On Wednesday we sat down to a beautiful table with tiny china cups and flowery table accents and practiced our manners. The children learned the proper sitting position, courtesy and kindness. They also learned that the napkin goes on your lap and absolutely NO slurping! With pinkies in the air, they sipped tea and enjoyed a visit from Miss Tallulah T. Tuttles (aka Miss Sheryl) who brought smiles to all with her rousing rendition of “Tea for Two” and a tray of tasty T-shaped cookies! With widened eyes, the children eagerly demonstrated their newly acquired etiquette skills and shouted “Ta, Ta for now!” to Tallulah. A special thanks to Miss Sheryl who baked around 300 (peanut-free) cookies for the Red Robin children! She must have stirred that big wooden spoon until her arm hurt! We appreciate her help in creating happy moments!!
In order to strengthen speech skills and have some more FUN, we tried reciting some simple tongue twisters! Have a go at saying these out loud… “Irish wristwatch”, “Greek grapes”, “toy boat” and “quick kiss”. Most of the children were laughing too hard to say them! So…. “If you tell Tom to tell a tongue-twister his tongue will be twisted as tongue-twisters twist tongues!” It’s funny, if people REALLY knew how much fun teacher’s have by being around children everyone would want to be one!!!
In the craft department we reinforced the letter “Tt” by decorating our pre-cut letters with triangles. We also explored the world of turtles and made some from paper bowls.
Our group discussions this past week taught us about tornados! The force of a tornado can be a scary yet fascinating phenomenon for a child. Using our smart-board the children saw the tremendous destruction a tornado can cause and even learned a few safety tips.
We also watched how the tornado snaked back and forth churning up the Kansas corn fields in a short clip from “The Wizard of Oz.” That video gave us an opportunity to discuss how we can protect ourselves in extreme weather. Ask your child what they would do if a tornado threatened their area. (Go to the basement. If you don’t have one, go to a room without windows such as a bathroom or closet.) We CONSTANTLY reiterate that weather events such as tornados are rare occurrences on Long Island.
We have been selecting songs for the End-of-the-Year Show. (Say it isn’t so!!!!) The children are having so much fun putting a playlist together! Their enthusiasm is so infectious!!! To keep you in the loop and SINGING, our letter “Tt” flip-chart song went like this….
Tt (to the tune Reuben, Reuben)
Tina takes tap-dancing lessons.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
She taps all day.
She has no time
For toys or games.
She’d really rather tap than play.
On Wednesday and Thursday we brought the magic of Ireland and the fun of St. Patrick’s Day into our Classroom. We used leprechauns, rainbows and pots of gold to spark the children’s imaginations! While they were out looking for him, Liam Leprechaun had a wee bit of bad luck playing in our classroom. He lost his shoes! We were NOT surprised because he left such a mess!!!! Liam did however leave a note, and promised us a treat if someone could just find his shoes. Naturally the children never gave up. The shoes were found and placed outside. Liam was most appreciative and as promised, left a bucket of sweet treats! I’m sure he noticed all the shamrocks we finger painted by mixing yellow and blue paint. It was more than a wee bit of fun. The children truly believe that those little green clad, pointy eared fellows exist! Now FINALLY I have someone to blame for those senior moments!!! Throughout the day we played Irish music and read books on Irish folklore and fairy tales. It was all very magical.
This week we will learn to recognize the letter “Uu”. On Wednesday we will celebrate a Royal Wedding as Letters Q & U join in Matrimony! In order to fairly put a Wedding party together, this past Monday, we picked random names from a hat! I am happy to share the results with you! Our bride, representing letter “Q” will be Markela. Our groom, representing letter “U” will be Josef. Marco will have the important role of “ring bearer”, and Vihaan and Cydni will be our petal throwers!!! The rest of the class will represent all other letters of the alphabet and be among the guests at a marriage ceremony. Formal attire please!!
Enjoy the week!!!
Warmly,
Miss Joanne and Miss Sam
Birthdays in March:
Fiona Guo 3/23
Dates to Remember:
March 22nd The Royal Wedding of Letters Q & U!!
(Dress appropriately
