Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, Oct. 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

We played out on the playground today!

Stay & Play:

We read "Mrs. Smith's Surprising Pet" by Hilery Robinson and Tim Archbold

We did an art project experiment using primary colors to see what new colors we could create when we painted with them. We had tubs of water to clean off our brushes too.

For music, we made a spider web with yarn wound around our feet. then we asked, "What would you catch in your web?

We had a color shape game out today.

We had orange cream cheese, bagels, and raisins so we could make pumpkin faces for snack.

Willow Room:

We are starting to talk about farm animals and farms. We read "Cock a doodle doo! Barnyard Hullabaloo! by Giles Andreae

We asked the children "Have you ever visited a farm with animals in it?


we are bringing in many farm themed activities this month.

We rolled corn cobs back and forth in a box with paper in it- to make a cool print. The corn rolled back and forth.

We sang "Old McDonald had a farm" and "There is a dog in school- then adding farm animals and the sounds they make"

We baked pumpkin muffins and ate them for snack, they were delicious- recipe on BLOG.

Maple Room:

We read "Franklin's Halloween" by Paulette Bourgeois

We made pumpkin faces by gluing items onto a pumpkin shape.

We had pumpkin stencils at the easel and used rollers to roll paint over them.

We sang "The October song", 5 little pumpkins, and scarecrow, scarecrow.

We did letter "D" activities

We did a science experiment Will the pumpkin sink or float? What other things sink or float?

Oak Room:

We read "Arthur's Halloween" by Marc Brown, "The very lonely firefly" by Eric Carle and "Mouses' First Halloween" by Lauren Thompson

We made bats with paper towels and black watercolor. After they dry we will clip them onto a clothes pin to look like a bat.

We did "Very scary pumpkin, 1 smiling pumpkin and pumpkin in the brown straw for music.

We are talking about the letter H this week.

We had the children guess how many seed were in the pumpkin? There were 157!

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, October 28, 2011

We played outside today.

Stay & Play: We had pumpkin muffins, and baked apples today. We also had some graham crackers. We glued colored popcorn onto paper to create some pictures. We went in small groups to the room next door and played a group game.

Willow Room:

Pick pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox was our story and we had a guest reader! Pastor Dan read to the children. He will be coming in every few weeks to read.

We did finger painting with shaving cream with powdered paint.

We had magnetic letters at the easel.

We carved our pumpkin today, we put our hands inside and touched hte slippery seeds. It was very fun.

We sang The fish song.

Maple Room:

We read "The legend of Spookley the square pumpkin" by Joe Troiana

We did a cutting project and made Pumpkin lanterns.

We had circle shapes with glue and fall leaf shapes to make wreaths at the easel.

We sang The October song, Pass the pumpkin, List of dances, and Tommy Thumb

We practiced writing the letter C on dry erase boards and we did a story about "The little orange house" story.

Oak Room:

We read "Nothing at all" Denys Cazet and "While the world is sleeping" by Pamela Duncan Edwards

We made masks from paper plates and a variety of materials

ABC puzzle , and the letter G puzzle were out today. We also hid some small plastic bats in rice and the children used tweezers to find the bats.

We did an opposites matching game, and used rhythm sticks to the song, "The ants go marching"

We asked the children what words start with the letter "G"

We carved a pumpkin, but first the children voted for the face they wanted on the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Muffins- Willow Room

Cooking activities are great for children; they often try foods they help make since they know what goes in them. It also helps with math skills and is also FUN!

Easy Mix Pumpkin Muffins

2 cups sugar (can be cut to 1 and 2/3 cups)
1 cup oil
15 ounce can pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice ( or just cinnamon)

Mix sugar, oil pumpkin and eggs. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add rest of ingredients and beat with mixer for two minutes. Put into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

Can also be put in a 9 x 13 greased pan for 30-40 minutes.

We also had this as our pumpkin bread for Stay & Play and all of the kids loved it- most had seconds and everyone tried it.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, October 27, 2011

It started out a little rainy so the Willow room played inside, but tehn the sun came out so we dried it off outside and went out for the rest of the classes.

Willow Room:

We read Pick a Pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox

We finger painted with red and yellow paint and we made it orange!

We made our own pumpkin muffins today!

We played pass the bean bag, and did some other bean bag games. We did the song, Apple Pie Tree.

See recipe on other BLOG listing

Maple Room:

We read "Mouse's First Fall" by Lauren Thompson

We dd leaf rubbings on black paper using oil pastels.

We sang October song, Hands are for clapping, and sticky bubblegum

We played an opposite puzzle game.

Oak Room:

We read "lights out, night's out" about animals out at night.

We dipped objects in glue (cookie cutters in star shape and corks) and then sprinkled glitter on them to look like eyes in the night.

We did some funny face matching, pumpkin face matching, and clay with wooden sticks

We did a nocturnal animal rhyme, and hokey pokey for music time.

We asked the children if their name has a "G" in it?

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, October 26, 2011

We played outside today.

Stay & Play: We had Grilled cheese sandwiches and pears today- yum! The kids enjoyed the grilled cheeese.

We read "Ooops a daisy" by Claire Freedman

We painted with watercolors inside stencils to create a design with paint.

We danced with ribbons.
We played ABC BINGO

The Willow and Maple Rooms visited with a Fire fighter today.

We had a visit from Firefighter Jim from the MT. Prospect Fire Department. He showed us his safety gear, and we got to hear what he sounds like when he is wearing his air mask.

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Fire Engine Man" by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

We decorated out paper fireman hat using tempra paint and stampers.

We painted at the easel using red and yellow paint and bottle scrubbers- we love to paint with unusual objects!

We sang The apple tree and did some bean bag activities- pass the bean bag, and a bean bag activity song.

Maple Room:

We read "No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety for Kids" by Jean Pendziwol

We did marble painting on a T-shirt shape paper (to think about fire safety- stop, drop and roll)

We did wheel prints at the easel- painting with fire trucks.

We sang The October song, pumpkin in the straw, sticky bubble gum, bean bag boogie,and take that bean bag"

We are doing letter "C" activities

We had water in the sensory table and pretend flames with letters on them- we played "Put out the flames"

We had a watercolor station set up too- watercolors at a table with paper and water to clean brushes.

Oak Room:

We read "The little old lady who isn't afraid of anything" by Linda Williams

We worked in our journals and the children practiced writing the letter "G" and drew something that started with the letter "G".

We did some spider rhymes, pumpkin rhymes and played Pass the pumpkin.

We did a science activity today- we made thumb prints and looked at tehm to see how each one is different.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, October 25, 2011

We were able to play outside again today- yea for nice weather.

We had a visit today from Fire fighter Jim from the MT. Prospect police. He talked to the children about smoke detectors, finding a meeting spot outside in case of fire, and he put on his whole suit to show the children what a fireman looks like when they are all geared up. He showed them how he sounds different too, and talked about never hiding if there is a fire. They also learned about when to call 911.

Willow Room: T/Th Class

We read "Flashing fire Engines" by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker

We did a rhyme about 5 little pumpkins

For art we used to Stampers to make design on a paper fire fighter hat.

We had chalk on black paper at the easels.

We sang "over the deep blue sea and did a fun song "pumpkin in the red barn"

We carved our pumpkin today. We have new orange playdough that smells like pumpkin spice.

We have a pumpkin with holes poked in it and the children add Mr. Potato head pieces to it for a face. (See pictures on our facebook page)

Oak Room- Pre-k class

The pumpkin patch by Margaret McNamara was our story today.

We cut out jack-o-lanterns with orange paper and added a black strip for a handle.

Pumpkin in the brown straw, jack- lantern went out to lay and pass the pumpkin was our music today.

We are talking about letter G

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, October 24, 2011

We had a beautiful fall day and were able to enjoy the playground again today.

Stay & Play:

We had macaroni and cheese today, but instead of bananas, we had apple slices and orange slices.
Our macaroni and cheese was from Trader Joe's- it is made with organic pasta and organic cheese made from cows not treated with rBST. It contains no preservatives, or artificial flavors or colors. It is a healthy alternative to the typical macaroni and cheese! Some of the children were a little hesitant to try it- it wasn't orange; but eventually they all tried it, and most had seconds.

We read a book called "Art and Max" by David Wiesner

We had fun twirler brushes (6 different styles) to experiment with for painting today.

We did "Late last night" song, a pretend movement song.

We played colored BINGO and listened to some books on CD's.



Willow Room: MWF class

We read the book "Popcorn" by Frank Asch

We used our sense of smell to smell popcorn today; popcorn is a seed and we have been talking about seeds. We popped popcorn and used it for art, the teachers mixed it up with powdered paint to make it colorful. (See some pictures on our facebook page). We also watched the popcorn pop in an air popper and it didn't bounce into a bowl, it bounced onto a big sheet. We played with it in a tub with scoops, and cups.

We glued colored popcorn onto yellow paper for art today. AT the easel we had chalk and black paper.

We sang "Over the deep blue sea and the sneezing song,

We had out Mr. Potato head pieces and small pumpkins. We made Mr. Pumpkin Head! First the teachers poke some holes in the pumpkin for use to push to potato head pieces to make funny faces.

We have new orange playdough that smells like pumpkin pie.

Maple Room: MWF class

We read "The little old lady who was not afraid of anything" by Linda Williams

We did painting using pumpkin cut in half and dipped in orange paint to make a print.

We had ABC stampers at the easel.

We sang "Wheels on the bus", "Itsy, Bitsy Spider", and "Jack and Jill"

We did letter "C" activities"

Oak Room:

We are beginning to talk about Nocturnal animals. We asked the children if they new any animals that are nocturnal- they sleep during the day and are awake at night? They did a good job thinking of some. We read "Stella Luna" by Janell Cannon

We made bat prints in the night. We painted with bat cookie cutters dipped in black paint on dark blue paper.

We are talking about the letter "G".

We did a rhyming game; the children found the matching rhyming words and put them in the same group.

We also did a bat hunt....we had several bats hiding in our room and the children had to find them.

We sang "Come and buy a pumpkin", 5 green and speckled frogs, and the wheels on the bus- a book by Jane Cabrera.

Color mixing

In the Maple room they are exploring colors and making new colors by combining other colors. They have been using clear egg cartons, which work good because the children can see through easily. They used liquid watercolors and gave the children the three primary colors and allowed them to combine them with eye droppers to create new colors. On another day, they put a little white tempra paint in each spot, they then gave the children new colors to add to see what would happen.

Multi day art project- paint, oil pastels, and watercolors

In the Willow room the children did a project over the course of three days. The first day they Painted on a big sheet of paper with potato mashers, and other kitchen utensils. The second day, they colored over the picture using oil pastels and the final day, they did watercolors over the whole picture. We hung it in the hall for every one to see.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, October 21, 2011

It is getting colder! But not too cold to enjoy some outside fun! We played on our playground today!

Stay & Play :

The children helped make snack today! We made English Muffin Pizzas! We used whole wheat English muffins and added pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. Baked them and enjoyed! We also had some applesauce, and milk.


Willow Room:

We read "There was an old lady who swallowed some leaves!" by Lucille Colandro

We asked the children if they have any leaves on the ground by their house?

We made leaf wreaths using paper plates and real leaves. We painted using leaf stencils at the easel.

We cut open some fruit and vegetables to look inside at the different kinds of seeds in each.

We sang Teddy Bear Teddy Bear, Two little blackbirds, Can't sit still, and Brown bear, Brown bear for music today.

While we were outside we collected some leaves for our wreaths we made for art.

Maple Room:

We are talking about colors and having fun mixing colors to see what we get.

We read "I spy with my little eye" by Edward Gibbs

Each child created their own colors of paint using white paint and adding red, yellow and blue paint to it. Each creation was truly unique.

We painted on paper with a negative space- we cut a circle out of the paper so it looked like our book.

We sang The October song, Scat the Cat, Ten in the Bed (a color rhyme) , Pass the Markers (like hot potato- for color recognition) and There's a dog in school.

We did Letter b practice on our dry erase boards

We learned the sign language words for teh colors

We had primary colors in the water table- a red tub, yellow tub and blue tub with that color toys in each tub.

Oak Room:

We read "The apple pie tree" by Zoe hall and "Apple Countdown" by Joan Holub

We cut out circles to make an apple tree picture. The children used corks dipped in paint to make "apples"

We had red and yellow modeling clay out today.

We did a song called "Going apple picking" and used rhythm sticks to the songs "Row, row, row your boat", and "Grease lightening"

We had a real pumpkin out and the children took turns painting it. We would wash it off and start again.

October 2011 newsletter - Vol 2

Important dates:

Tuition for November is due your child’s first class day of the month. Thank you for being prompt in your tuition payments. You can give it to the teacher or drop it off in the school office.

Monday, Nov. 21- Parent Conferences for Pre-K class and MWF classes.

Tuesday, Nov. 22- Friday, Nov. 25: No Classes- Thanksgiving Break

Planning ahead:

Thur., Dec. 15: Terrific 2’s and 3’s Holiday Program

Fri., Dec. 16: Pre-K class and MWF classes Holiday Program

Winter Break: Monday, Dec. 19-Monday- Jan. 2, 2012- NO SCHOOL

SPECIAL NOTE: Classes resume: TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2012

Trinity Preschool Silent Auction fundraiser: Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pest Control:

The church pest control service is done the 2^nd Wednesday of each month. No spraying is done in any of the preschool areas.

Stay & Play:

We are having fun with our new Stay & Play extended care program! Right now we offer it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only- but if enough parents want it on Tuesday and Thursday we will be happy to add those days too! The children stay until 1:45 and we do an art activity, small group games, choice time activities, music, storytime, and additional large motor time (either outside or gym). We also all sit together and have a social time for snack. We are serving healthy, hearty snacks- often homemade or the children help us prepare them.

Let me know if you would like your child to join Stay & Play on a regular basis, or an occasional basis.

If your child is currently in Stay & Play and you plan to change the days, add more days, let me know in advance so I can plan accordingly.

Parent Conferences:

We do a fall conference for children in our pre-k class and our MWF classes on Monday, Nov. 22. This will be a 15 minute meeting with one of your child’s classroom teachers and at that time, they will discuss with you how your child is doing in school and what they are working on with your child. Sign up sheets will be posted outside the classrooms the first week of November.

We do conferences in the spring for the children in Terrific 2’s and 3’s class.

Thursday Class:

If your child is in either one of the MWF classes and you would like to add Thursday- they can join this class too. See Mary for more information.

Early Drop Off:

If you want early drop off (for an additional fee); please let me know- if we have enough interest we will offer an early drop off option. (8:30 a.m. would be the earliest we would offer)

Lending Library Books:

Please remember to bring back the books we have for children to borrow.

LOGO shopping Bags:

We gave all of our families one bag, but if you want additional ones, they are available for $2.00 each. They come in Red, blue, green and orange. See Mary

Special Visitors:

We are having a Fireman from the Mt. Prospect fire department come to the classes to visit the children and talk about fire safety. We do fire drills every month to teach fire safety to the children.

He will put on his fire fighting gear and show the children what he would look like and sound like if he ever had to come help them in a fire emergency. You should have your own fire safety plan at home as well.

In early November, we will also be having one of the Mt. prospect librarians come to each class to read stories to the children.

Scholastic Books:

Thank you to everyone who has ordered books, we receive credit for free books we use in the classrooms. For every parent who places their order online we get $3.00 worth of free books, plus we get points for every dollar spent to buy more books! Last year we got over 200 new books for school FREE. October book orders are due soon.

Outside:

We play outside if the weather is dry and above 40 degrees. Please remember to send in jackets, hats, etc. as needed.

Recall notices:

Sign up to get alerts from the consumer product safety commission. There are so many recalls and they will email you the information so you can be sure you have nothing unsafe in your home. There have been numerous toy recalls lately- including one for a Fischer Price Tool Workshop- sign up today to get list emailed to you.

www.cpsc.gov

Email notices:

If you prefer, I can email the newsletter to you instead.

Email me at: TrinityPreschool@aol.com

And write “Newsletter” in the subject line- put your child’s name in the body of the email.

School Dist 59 “Ready for Kindergarten” Parent Classes Program:

If you live in School District 59 boundary area, you can attend this free class to learn some fun, easy educational activities to do with your child to help prepare them for kindergarten. Parents with children age 0-5 can attend, but you must live in Dist. 59 boundaries. The first class meets in early November.

“Ready for Kindergarten” is not a Trinity Preschool program- enrollment is through the school district. You must pre-register. Call the district at 847-593-4306 to register. Fliers are on top of the cubbies and posted on parent bulletin board outside preschool office.

Fall Fun at Trinity Preschool:

This has been a fun fall; the teachers have all been doing such fun, creative activities with the children- I love hearing all the happy voices as I go in the rooms!

I do post the classroom activities on our BLOG daily (or most days anyway) and I post pictures on our Facebook too. Check it out!

Trinity Preschool Silent Auction:

You will start to hear from me more and more about our one fundraiser we do to raise money to buy new classroom equipment and also to help provide the great program we offer here at Trinity.

We get donations of new items or gift certificates from local businesses or/and families and have an “auction” where people can buy them. We already have a few items for our auction, some jewelry, and an antique telephone, but we will begin to solicit donations starting in December. We like all parents to get involved- stuffing envelopes, baking for our bake sale, donating time or items to the auction, and attending the auction too.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, October 20, 2011

We played in the gym today.

Willow Room- T/th class

Our story today was "The biggest pumpkin ever" by Elizabeth Bennett and we did a pumpkin rhyme

We made mini pumpkin prints by using real pumpkins dipped in orange glitter paint and pressing onto paper. We had dry erase markers at the easel.

We sang "Buy a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch" where each child gets to come up and pretend to buy a pumpkin. We sang "Tommy Thumb", and Looby Loo- a movement song.

We had leaves in the sensory table with dinosaurs and hidden pumpkins.

Maple Room- Thursday class

We read the story "Mouse Paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh

We painted with Karo syrup- the children were given small amounts and food color dripped onto it to mix and make new colors.

We did the October song, the freeze dance, the bear hunt using instruments, 5 little pumpkins, and colored leaves song.

We did some sorting activities and we brought in a big tube and rolled cars through them to see how far they could go.

Oak Room- Pre- K class

We read "Leaf Trouble" by Jonathan Emmett

We made leaf prints today. We put real (and some plastic) leaves on paper, put paint on them and pressed paper onto them to make a print.

We had sparkle paint at the easel.

We did "This old man" with actions and some opposite cards - match them with a partner, who has your opposite action?

We had modeling clay and a nursery rhyme story set out today.

We asked the children is they had an "F" in their name?

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, October 19, 2011

We played in the gym today with the soccer nets and balls, the balance beam, hoops, and balls.


Stay & Play: We read a book "Nuts to you" (about squirrels)
We painted with prickly ball rings and glitter paint

We sang Walking shoes, and deep in the jungle and used our drums to make the jungle beat.

We had fresh homemade zucchini blueberry bread (but we just called it bread for the children- all but one child ate it and most had seconds). We also had cheese slices and applesauce.


Willow Room: MWF class

We asked the children if they had ever seen a squirrel?

We read a book called "The busy little squirrel" by Nancy Tafur

We painted pumpkin designs on paper. We had mini pumpkins cut in half cross wise and we dipped them in orange paint and pressed it onto paper to make prints.

We had dry erase markers at the easel.

In our sensory table we had leaves with dinosaurs and mini pumpkins

We did a song called "Come and buy a pumpkin" where each child gets to come up and pick a pumpkin form our pumpkin patch; and we danced to Looby loo"

Maple Room- MWF class

We did the story "Brown bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Eric Carle

We did a 3 D art project today using paper towel rolls and squirt paint. The children used small bottles to squirt paint onto a tray. Then they rolled the paper towel rolls through the paint to get them all colorful.

We had red, blue, and yellow paint at the easel too.

We had out a color mixing project at the table today too. The children could take two colors and combine them to see what color they made mixed together. We did this at circle time too and made predictions of what color we thought each combination would make and then after we mixed them, we could see if we were correct.

We did letter B activities and a color recognition game.

We also acted out the brown bear song at music time. Children got to play the different parts and as we sang that part of the song, they came up. We also did the October song.

Oak Room: Pre- K class

We read "The bumpy little pumpkin" by Margaret Cuyler

We worked in our journal notebooks - we drew pictures of things that start with the letter F.

We had out modeling clay today- this is great because it is a different sensory experience than playdough, feels different and take different pressure to make it mold into shape. This is good for children's fine motor hand muscle development.

We had writing boards out, words around the home- they are dry erase boards and word pictures of things children will find around the home.

We did an opposites song, and "There's a spider on the floor"- we used spider rings for this song.

We did a science experiment today of mixing cooking oil, dish soap, and tinted water. When you shake it up, it mixes, then separates back into layers.

Fall scarecrow bulletin board- Oak Room

This fun fall bulletin board uses the children's art as a focal point. The children painted on bubble wrap with fall colors and then pressed paper onto the paint to make a print. We cut the paper into corn shapes and added the husks.

Watercolor Leaf Prints- Maple Room

These beautiful prints are truly a work of art. They are a great process and the end product is one to treasure. One of our favorites.

First we laid various leaves on paper, back side up ( thick vein showing on top) then the children use Liquid watercolors to paint on the real leaves. They then press a piece of paper on top of the leaves and pull it off carefully. The result is this beautiful picture.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Oil Pastels on brown paper bags and then a wash of brown paint is added. We will crumple the paper and cut into leaf shapes to hang in the Oak room- see Oak room art for today below.




















We played outside today. Please remember to dress for the weather- we go outside if it is above 40 degrees.

We did a practice fire drill today- we all went outside to make sure we know what to do in case of a fire. We have a fire fighter visiting our school next week to talk about fire safety.

Willow Room- T/Th class

We read Perfect Pumpkin by Jeff Bauer

We asked the children if they had ever picked a pumpkin?

We glued orange pieces of paper onto small paper plates to make our very own pumpkin.

We did a pumpkin song, hokey pokey, and clap, clpa clap your hands

Oak Room: Pre- K class

We read "Arthur's First Leaf" by Steve Metzger

We also read "There was an old lady who swallowed some leaves" by Lucille Colandro

We made leaves to hang around the room, we took brown paper bags cut into squares; then we crumpled them up to make them look crinkly, then we colored them with oil pastels and finally took a brown watered down paint and painted that over the surface. Then they will be cut into a leaf shape.

We sang "animal actions, and did a people, place and things matching game.

We are talking about the letter "F".

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, October 17, 2011

We played outside today- the wind was blowing and the temperatures are getting cooler, make sure your child has hat, jackets, and mittens when needed.

Stay & Play-

We had pretzels and cheese dip for snack today with milk and apple slices.

We painted with roller balls over leaves to make a negative space where the leaf had been.

We read "Giraffes can't dance" by Giles Andreae

We did some leaf rhymes and some spider rhymes.
We played a sounds at home listening Bingo game. The children listen to a CD with sounds like they might hear in a house and put their marker on the one it matches.

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Perfect Pumpkins" by Jeff Bauer

We asked the children if they had been to a pumpkin patch

We snipped orange strips of paper into pieces and then glued them onto a paper plate to make pumpkins. Good cutting practice, and for those who had a hard time cutting, we tore the paper- a pre- cutting skill.

We did a pumpkin rhyme song", "Tap your toe and follow me" and "If you're happy and you know it"

We used foam stickers to decorate our mini pumpkins
We have leaves in our sensory table.

Maple Room:

We are talking about colors and color mixing- We finger painted with two different colors to create a new color. We made handprints of our color mixes.

We sang "Brightly colored leaves, "letter sounds", and "Jump Jim Joe"

we are doing letter B activities this week.

We did a science experiment of color mixing with water and oil.



Oak Room: Pre- K class

"The falling leaves and the scarecrow "written by Steve Metzger was our story today.
We also read "We're going on a leaf hunt" by the same author

We painted with fall colors of paint on bubble wrap, then we made a print on yellow paper of the paint design. We will cut the print into the shape of corn cobs and add it to our bulletin board for our scarecrow to guard from crows.

We are talking about the letter "F" this week.

We did "Leaves falling down," "Find the squirrel behind the tree" and "Stick to the glue" for music today.

Oak Room Science- Color Mix with red, yellow and blue

The children were first shown how to do this at group time, and then a teacher sat with two children at a time so they could try it out. Each child was given three colors (red, blue, and yellow)and two empty cups.

They were instructed to take two of the colors and pour a little of each into one of the empty cups (you could also let them use eye droppers). They then talked about what new color they created. They repeated the process with two different colors in the other empty cup. They emptied the cups, rinsed them out and tried a new combination of colors.

Apple Window Sun Catchers

We used to do this with plain white glue but have found the color in the glue adds another dimension and also encourages the children to cover more of the paper. In addition, for those children who don't cover the wax paper with tissue, it still has a great look.
We did red apples, but you could do the same process with green, or yellow apples too. Also works great with leaf shapes for fall.

First make some glue red

you can do this :

• by using liquid water colors (from Discount School supply)
• use food color
  
• drop the tip of a dried out red marker into white glue for a few days to dye the glue red.

Give each child some wax paper and cut up pieces of tissue paper. The children brush the glue onto the wax paper and place tissue pieces anywhere they want.

After it is dry, we frame it with an apple shape and hang on the windows.

Welcome to our "school" Fish Bulletin Board

The children painted fish shapes with liquid watercolors (we buy them from Discount School Supply- see more at bottom of BLOG). We tied this into the Rainbow fish story and friendship, making friends at school. We like to include the children's art into our classroom bulletin boards.

We love to use the liquid water colors from Discount School supply for everything!

We dilute them and use them for watercolors, we add them to our Home made play dough for bright colors, we color macaroni for stringing or gluing onto paper at free art. We also add a few drops to school glue to make colored glue. Add a couple of drops to white paint to give it a new color too.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, October 14, 2011

We played outside today- it was very windy and we got to see the leaves blow around.

Stay & Play:

We read "Ten Black Dots" by Donald Crews

We did dot painting for art.

We sang some bean bag song, "Pass the bean bag" and Bean Bag alphabet rag"

We played on the playground again it was even windier.

We played an alphabet matching Bingo game.

We had flour tortillas sperad with cream cheese and rolled up tight. We had strawberries, apples and bananas along with a fruit dip.


Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Mouse and the Apple" by Stephen Butler

We asked "Have you ever had to wait and wait and wait?"

We glued "seeds" to an apple shape for our apple tree.

We had pumpkin shape cookie cutters to decorate our pumpkin shape paper.

We sang Jump down, turn around, and Pass the pumpkin

We looked at different color apples, red, green and yellow and guessed how many seed might be inside each kind. Then we cut them open and counted all the seeds. We compared that number to our guess.

Maple Room- MWF class

We read Fletcher and the falling leaves" by Julia Rawlinson

We used dry powdered tempra paint and dipped our brush in water then in the paint and onto the paper.

We had pumpkin shapes at the easel with orange paint and black paper cut into pieces to make faces.

We sang the October song, We acted out the 5 pumpkins sitting on a gate, and brown bear, brown bear.

We practiced writing the upper and lower case letter "A"

Oak Room- Pre- K class

We read The growing story" by Ruth Krauss

We thought of words that start with the letter "E"

We did some pages for our all about me book, what is our favorite color and our sefl portrait page.

We had fall colors of paint and leaf shapes at the easel today.

We had out magnetic letters, with magnet boards
Color matching puzzles, and inch blocks for measuring.

We sang "Zip i- dee- doo- dah- a letter sounds song. and "Leaky umbrella" using maracas

We did weighing and measuring objects in our room.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, October 12, 2011

We had our first rainy day of October- oh well, the wonderful weather could not last forever. We played in the gym today.

Willow Room- Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "The mouse and the apple" by Stephen Butler

We asked the children "What letter does your name begin with?"

We used glue to decorate our tree tops with apples.

We had pumpkin shape cookie cutters and paint at the easel.

We danced to a song by Greg and Steve called "Jump down, turn around"
We played "Pass the pumpkin" and sang "Sticky Bubble Gum"

We put out individual dry erase boards and dry erase markers for the children ot draw and erase.

We played a game of hiding the apple worm behind the apple. The children guess which apple the worm is hiding behind.

We looked at a catalpa seed pod and opened it up to see the seeds inside.

Maple Room- Thursday class

We read "Froggy rides a bike" by Jonathon London

We painted with leaf shape cookie cutters to make designs in fall colors.

We had shape stampers at the easel.

We sang "Put your finger in the air, the October song, Funny fall animals, Little fish, Five little leaves and on the count of five.

We played a sequencing game and we had the puppet theater in the classroom with puppets.

Oak Room:

We read "I like me" by Nancy Carlson and "I am Me" by Karla Kuskin

We did finger painting today and we made a handprint for our All about me books. They will go home Friday.

We had letter bead stringing and dry erase boards to write on out today.

We did "the rock and roll freeze dance" while wearing jingle belts and we did "The body rock"



We asked "Does your name have a letter "E" in it. We did a graph and made comparisons.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, October 12, 2011

We had fun watching the leave float to the ground today and to hear them crunch under our feet. We ran and slid on the slide too.

Stay & Play:

We read "I love you, Blue Kangaroo!" by Emma Chichester Clark

For art we wet paper with a sponger and then drew on it with chalk.

We sang along with the "Little Bunny Foo Foo " Book

We had out dry erase boards with markers - the children could draw or write and then erase it.

Willow Room: MWF class

We asked the children "Do you like apple pie?" We read Apple Farmer Annie" by Monica Wellington

Creative art- we used fun foam paint brushes in unusual shapes to paint our pictures today. We used fall colors of paint.

We had watercolors at the easel.

We sang 5 little apples
And we danced to the song "List of dances" by Jim Gill

We baked our own individual apple tarts today and had them with our snack.

Maple Room:

We read "The falling leaves and the scarecrow" by Steve Metzger

We made leaf prints- we painted on real leaves with watercolors and made a print of the design.

We used the letter "A" stampers with paint at the easel.

For music we did our October song, 5 little pumpkins on a gate, 5 little pumpkins, Ready, set, dance, Alphabet forwards and backwards.

We played a number recognition game of which number is missing 1-6
We did letter A activities

Oak Room- Pre- K class

We read the book "Even more parts" by Tedd ARnold

We worked in our journals, we wrote words that start with the letter E and drew pictures too.

For music time, we did an activity song, "Come and get a smiley face", "When I was a little fish", and "Hands are for clapping"

We did a science experiment today: Making markers bleed different colors with water. Did you know that colors are made up of different colors? Take a Black marker and put a mark on a paper towel, add some water and see which colors "bleed" out of it. Do the same with a green marker- what colors "Bleed " from it? We have the results hanging in the hall.
Try it at home with other markers.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, October 11, 2011

We had fun running around the playground and climbing on the climbers outside today.

Willow Room- Terrific 2's and 3's class

Our story was "Apple Farmer Annie" by Monica Wellington

We did a rhyme called about an Appleworm- a number rhyme

We painted with unusual brushes with fall colors of paint.

We used watercolors at the easel.

We danced to Jim Gills' List of dances
We did a rhyme about 5 little apples
We also did "The Apple Tree" by Carole Peterson

We baked apple tarts today and ate them at snack time. YUM!

Oak Room: Pre- k class

We read the book "Parts" by Tedd Arnold
and we read "Down by the Station" by Jennifer Rigga Vetter

We made the covers for our All about me book. We marble painted the paper by rolling marbles that have been dipped in paint around in a box.

We are talking about the letter "E" this week.

For music we did "Old MC Donald had a band and we used instruments
We moved and danced to the pirate song and sang "Today is Monday"

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, October 6, 2011

We enjoyed another beautiful fall day out on the playground. They are predicting a bad winter, so enjoy all these good days while you can!

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Ten Apples up on Top" by Theo Leseig and we did a counting rhyme that goes like this:

"Mr. Appleworm" (5 little apples hanging in a tree, teasing Mr. Appleworm "You can't catch me, you can't catch me"; Along comes Mr. Appleworm, as quiet as can be..... "CRUNCH"...4 little apples hanging in a tree and continue the rhyme. Make sure you crunch loud and make a quick grabbing motion with your hand like you just grabbed an apple.

We scrunched up tissue paper and glued it onto paper cut in an apple shape. We will use them to decorate our room. We had magnetic gears at the easel.

We sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" ( an exercise and body parts song)
"Put your finger on" ( also about body parts) and Little Fish

Maple Room:

Froggy plays in the band" by Jonathan London, was our story today.

We did marble painting for art today and we had leaf shapes with water colors at the easels.

We sang "The October song", and "Old MC Donald had a band"- we used instruments!

We played a Bingo bears game in small groups today.

Oak Room:

We read the book "Rain" by Manya Stojic This is a great book to finish our 5 senses series as it recaps all the senses. The hear the rain, feel the rain, smell the rain, touch the rain and taste the rain.

We painted a picture and then sprayed it with "rain".

We had out the 5 senses puzzle, bead sequencing, 5 senses lotto

We danced to the song "List of dances" and we did the 5 senses song.

We read a book about the letter "D" and we made a list of words that started with the letter "D".