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Hello Spoede Pre-K Parents!

Again, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to attend our Parent-Teacher Conference. It was wonderful to sit down with you and share the progress your child is making in our Pre-K class. I truly enjoy working with your child every day. Their curiosity, energy, and unique personality make our classroom a fantastic place to be. Seeing them learn new skills, make friends and grow their confidence is the best part of my job. We are making great strides in getting them ready for the transition to kindergarten next year, and your support is so important in that process, Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions as the year continues.

Apple Week 2

This is the last week of our Apple Unit. The Apple theme was popular with the students, especially the apple tasting, apple volcano experiment, and building apple structures with our 4th Grade Buddies last week and the apple measuring this week.

The next two weeks will be about fall and Halloween. We have started decorating for Halloween and the students are getting excited for the Halloween parade and Party.

Monday- We painted a fall tree using a wine cork and multiple fall colors chosen by the students. We talked about the colors in fall leaves, and they came up with brown, green, red, yellow, orange and purple. The kids and Ms. Courtney were so engaged in the "hands on painting process" that photos were not taken. However, the pictures were sent home in Friday Folders. We also did a math activity based on the book, 10 Apples Up on Top. The students chose a number of apples that they wanted on top of their own head. They put that many stickers on top of a picture of their head that they glued to the bottom of their paper. Then they counted how many apples they put on top, to see if the number matched the number they chose and wrote on their paper.

Tuesday- We did a graphing activity also from the book, Ten Apples Up on Top. The students used Q-tips to stamp round, red "apples" on top of each animal's head. Each animal had a specific numeral (out of order) that the students had to recognize and then add the correct number of apples to the graph. This activity worked on number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, quantity-number association, graphing concepts and fine motor skills.

We also completed an Apple Sequencing Activity: How to eat an Apple. The kids had to cut out 4 pictures and sequenced the event in order. Sequencing teaches children that events occurr in a predictable order (cause and effect) and builds the foundation for logical reasoning. The ability to undersand and carry out multi-step directions is essential in a classroom. Practingin simple sequences like eating apples, washing hands, or getting dressed builds the skills necessary to follow ore comples instructions later on. Sequencing supports language development by helping children organize their thoughts and retell events clearly. They learn to use trasitional words like "first", "next", "then", and "finally" which are vital for clear communication and narrative skills. We follow a daily routine in certain sequence, that gives childen a sense of security and control. And sequencing is essential for retelling stories in order, key to reading comprehension, as well as understanding number order and counting steps in math.

Wednesday- We did Apple Partner Measurement: How Many Apples Tall Are You? Before apple measuring with a partner, we had an whole-group math discussion at circle time to prep for the activity. We made predictions on how many apples it would take to measure our tallest and shortest students. We used the term non-standard measurement (rather than measuring with a ruler, yard stick. or measuring tape), and compared using bears to using apples. Which would take more to measure a student? Apples or Bears. We used the tems "more" or "less" and "equal" or "the same" number of apples when measuring the partners. We pointed out that the apples needed to be about the same size for accurate measuring purposes. Finally, the partnerships counted how many apples tall each of them were. This activity allows students to practice the concept of length, height, comparison, and one-to-one corerspondence while working together. We introduced the letter H, which we will continue to work on next week in our Handwriting without Tears workbooks and other activities around the letter Hh.

Thursday- Ms. Travers stopped by unexpectely with Jag, our service dog. We got to pet Jag and he was able to hang out with us for a little while before he had to go and visit more classes. We used this day to complete any activities the students had not completed throughout the Apple Unit. At snack time, we also had an impromptu apple tasting of the Honeycrisp apples we used for the measuring activities. We discovered that Honeycrisp apples are crispy and juicy in texture, sweet to taste, have yellow-red skin (we decided they were red apples) and medium to large in size. Thursday was an early release day.

Friday- NO SCHOOL

Questions to ask your child?

How Many Apples Tall Are You?

* Do you remember how many apples tall you were?

* Who was taller, you or your partner?

* Who measured more apples?

* Were you the sam number of apples tall?

What word rhymes with cat?

What word rhymes with dog?

What word rhymes with hen?

What word rhymes with bug?

Upcoming Dates to Remember: