Newsletter for 3's
It seems like September just began and now it is almost finished. After we finish each month we will be sending home a newsletter sharing with you our main activities for the month. We try to keep the curriculum the same for both classes; however, there will be times this is impossible.
This newsletter will be a bit longer than usual because we’d like to acquaint you with our daily schedule and program. This is not rigid and it does change if changes are necessary to fit in with our weekly theme and special events. The day begins with the children being greeted at the door, then putting coats, library books, and bags away. They can play until we have together time and all the children have arrived. We sing a song of introduction (“Here we are together...”) then share plans for the day and any special topics. Once a week we have our together time with the other classes and share a Bible Story and a song. Next is free time for the children. During this time many things happen. One day is library day, many times we do painting, sometime large motor activities, or other things that require one
to one attention. Next is “picking up time,” restrooms and snack. After snack is our story time including a nursery rhyme, story and fingerplays. Next we have music time and we do singing, rhythm instruments, and records. Then we do some small motor development which is to help the child use his/her fingers with coordination. We give these small muscles a workout using markers, scissors, glue, puzzles, bead stringing, sorting and other craft-art activities. Next, we exercise the other or large motor muscle by doing hopping, jumping, balancing etc... Sometimes this is by way of movement exploration with bean bags, hoops, balls, balance beams, mazes, and so forth. Many of the records we use combine music with large muscle development. This sounds like a busy day and it is! With a relatively short attention span, things are simple and move quickly. We probably all could use a nap after all that! (Teachers, too!)
Our opening theme this year featured the “Cat in the Hat” and good old Dr. Seuss. The children have enjoy reading and learning about the Cat and his friends.
September themes also included “Getting Acquainted,” “Caring and Sharing,” and “I am Special.” We learned two new games to help us get acquainted with each other. They were “Hello Susie” and “Do you know this friend of Mine?” Our first Bible Story told the children about the Bible and what a special book it is. It tells of Jesus’ love for all of us. We ended the lesson with the song “The B-I-B-L-E.” Last week’s story was “The Beginning of God’s Beautiful World.” Our song was “He’s Got the Whole World.” We learned that we are “thumb-one” special!
We have been learning our shapes. On circle week we met a puppet named, “Cindy Circle,” and painted round circles on paper and glued circles on a cute little school bus. We also played with hoops and did a record entitled “Birds in a Circle.” On square week we will meet “Sammy Square” and make neat things with squares. Next we will have “triangle week” and we will meet “Tracy Triangle” and sponge paint with triangles.
For small motor development we made collages, painted with large brushes and red paint, fingerpainted with blue paint and made bubble art. Large motor activities included the records “Hello World,” “Sammy,” and “Birds in a Circle.” Music time included “Wheels on the Bus,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “I’m a Little Teapot,” “Old MacDonald,” and “Open, Shut Them.” Other fingerplays that we have not mentioned included “Two Little Blackbirds,” “Here is Bunny,” “Way Up High in the Apple Tree,” and “Friendly Shapes.”
We also talked about apples, and learned a bit about Johnny Appleseed. The children had a wonderful time picking apples at Miss LeaAnn’s house. We even heard a special story about the star in the apple.
We try to play outside as much as possible while we still can. It won’t be long before old Jack Frost will be trying to nip our noses, again!
October will be another busy month. On October 11th we will begin our color days. This is a really fun activity to help the children learn their colors. Many already recognize colors but it’s a great way to reinforce this and SO MUCH FUN!
On Thursday, October 27 we will have our Halloween Party. Your child should come dressed in costume on party day. Shortly after the children arrive at school we will walk downtown to “surprise” the town folk. We will come back and remove costumes for the party if they are uncomfortable.
Thank you for all the yummy, nutritious snacks. We sure enjoy them!
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