JOANNE'S NV BLOG

Penguins and the Arctic

2011-01-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!

Are you cold enough yet? We are feeling like we are in the Arctic, so what a better time than to talk about how penguins and other animals survive the extreme cold.

We will have fun learning about these funny looking birds that don't fly, but waddle!

Here is a Peek of the Week:

Monday - We will be introduced to penguins by reading and discussing the facts about Arctic animals.

Tuesday- We will make penguins with their bellies full of krill.( fish food)

Wednesday- We will make an Arctic dessert! (Ice blue Jell-o and swedish fish.)

Thursday- We will do an experiment with ice water and how blubber keeps the penguin warm.

Friday- We will be making some adorable Penguin puppets.

Here is some of our vocabulary words for this week: penguin, waddle, krill, slide, Arctic, blubber, chick, insulation, beak, huddle.

Please have your child bring in anything that pertains to the theme, or anything that is black and white.

Show and Tell Days

Tuesday- Henry and Sadie

Wednesday- Allie G. and Deyon

Thursday- Levi and Ally M.

Monday and Friday will be the days we start to practice our reading skills.

Winter Sports and Ice

2011-01-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year dear families!
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful winter break and made lots of new memories with your child.
We are off to a new year and new possibilities and growth.
We continue to embrace Minnesota winters and look for ways to stay active despite the cold weather. Does your family have a favorite activity during these winter months? Please talk to your child and have them come to school with a story they can share.
If your child enjoys a winter sport, maybe they can draw a picture of that and bring it in to talk about.

Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday- Teacher Work Day

Tuesday- We will pretend to go on mini vacations and pack some suitcases, one for the warm temperatures, and the other for a colder climate. We will discuss what activities we can do for each climate.
Wednesday- We will look at an assortment of different winter sport equipment and talk about how to use them. ( If your child ice skates, or plays hockey, goes sledding, etc. this would be a great time to bring in an object to share.)

Thursday- We will have a special guest come in and talk to the group about ice hockey.

Friday- We will have fun learning how to glide and dance on our special ice skates!

Here is some of the vocabulary- ice castle, ice fishing house, ice fishing, ice rink, slide, toboggan, snow tubing, chairlift, downhill skiing, to glide, cross country skiing, bobsled, snow shoes, thin/thick ice, figure skates, ice auger, ice sculptures, figure skating, ice hockey, snowboarding, skis, snow hikers.

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in something that pertains to the theme.
This can be either photos of him/her participating in a winter sport/activity, a book about a winter sport, or an object.

Show and Tell Days
Tuesday for this week- Henry/Sadie
Wednesday- Allie G./Deyon
Thursday- Levi/Ally M.

Happy Holidays! Let it Snow!

2010-12-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
Well this is it! The holidays are here and the countdown begins! I know that the children are all excited, and their little spirits are bursting with joy!
We had fun with the baking theme, and revisiting the story of the Gingerbread Man. Ask your child to tell it to you in their own words.
This will be a short week, and so we will focus on holiday activities.
I want to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone, a blessed holiday season.
May you travel safely to visit friends and family, and may every moment spent with those you love create special memories to last throughout the years to come!

Here is a Peek of the Week:

Monday- We will have fun finishing up on a surprise!
We will also read the original Frosty the Snowman story.

Tuesday- We will create some fesitve stockings
Decorate the room for the holiday. Hang the stockings, and put up lights.

Wednesday- A surprise visit at 9:00 AM!!!

If your child wants to bring in a favorite item for the holidays,( a book, an ornament, a special game, a globe etc.) this would be fun to share.

Monday- Henry/ Sadie
Tuesday- Allie G. /Deyon
Wednesday- Levi / Ally M.

Vocabulary- mistletoe, Santa's sack, delivery, glistening, chop, chimney, frosty, downstairs, carry, holly berries, Christmas lights, Christmas bells, upstairs, icicle,
snow bank

Baking, decorating, and making memories

2010-12-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
Tis' the season for making memories, and filling the home with laughter, and good foods!
Whatever you do for the holidays, children are sure to be excited and want to share in the festivities.
We will be using our culinary skills to make tasty items for the bake sale, and using our creativity to make some sweet gingerbread houses.
I hope you all will enjoy the holiday preparations with your children.

Here is a Peek of the Week:

Monday- We will be making some tasty treats to sell in the bake sale
.
Tuesday- Join us for the creating of Gingerbread Houses!

Wednesday- We will learn about another culture from one of our parents as we explore the customs in Nigeria. (Obi's Mom).

Thursday- We will make some delicious cheesecakes to share with our friends.

Friday- A surprise in the making!

For Show and Tell:
We will be exploring baking so have your child bring in any kind of utensil from the kitchen to share.
Monday- Henry/Sadie
Tuesday- Allie G. /Deyon
Wednesday- Levi/ Ally M.

Vocabulary will include some of these words: chef, spatula, rolling pin, bake, apron, baker, decorate, frosting, stir, melt, sweets, Nigeria, globe, surprise, present, Christmas tree,ornament, garland, sale, purchase,

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
As we wrap up our Fall with giving thanks, I just wanted to express my gratitude to all of you for entrusting your precious child in my care. I enjoy spending my days with each one of the children and marvel at their perseverance as they strive to better their spoken language. Their joy and laughter bless me.
This will be a short week, as we prepare for our feast on Tuesday.
May your family truly enjoy your Thanksgiving Day as you gather around the table with your loved ones. We have so much to be thankful for!

Here is a short Peek at the Week

Monday- We will be making the delicious Pumpkin pies for the feast! Your child might come home tinted orange today!

Tuesday- We will be getting ready for the feast as we prepare all the trimmings and setting the tables for our guests! We look forward to seeing you all here! Today will be a half day.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Enjoy the long break! Safe travels wherever you go!

Let's Give Thanks!

2010-11-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
We all had so much fun learning all about the farm, role playing farmers and seeing real chickens in our school! Our culmination was making a delicious Farm breakfast! Ask your child about how they milked a cow!
After all that, we move into our Thanksgiving week. We will be exploring the reason why we celebrate the holiday as well as having some hands on experience making some tasty creations!

Here is a Peek of the Week

Monday- Read the Thanksgiving story and discuss.

Tuesday- Role play grocery shopping for a feast.

Wednesday- Make Pumpkin Pudding

Thursday- Bake bread and make homemade butter

Friday- Make stick puppets of Pilgrims

Show and Tell
Discuss at home things your child can be thankful for.
Please bring in a food item that they can share with their friends. Healthy foods please. ( a box of raisins, a piece of fruit, to be share with 2 other students in the group.) Bring in any books about Thanksgiving.

Monday- Henry and Sadie
Tuesday- Allie G. and Deyon
Wednesday- Levi and Ally M.

Down on the Farm!

2010-10-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Howdy Families!
Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween!
The children really enjoyed the party and so did the staff!
Thanks to all of you for working so hard to make it a fun filled day!
It is hard to believe that we say goodbye to another month and enter into November. As Thanksgiving is close at hand, we are going to explore where some of our food comes from and look at a variety of animals on the farm.
Perhaps, you grew up on a farm, and would be a great wealth of information to our students.
Here is a Peek of the Week

Monday- No school! Teacher Work Day
Tuesday- Read a book about the Farm and act out the role of the farmer.
Wednesday- We will create our own farm!
Thursday- We will make some mud pudding!
Friday- We will have fun milking a cow!

Vocabulary for this week includes these words: farm, plow, fence,pond, garden, silo,tools, haystack,tractor,pig pen,pasture,overalls,chicken coop,farmer,hay bale, sheep, goats,rooster, udders,stall, fertilize, manure

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in a farm animal, tractor, or book about the farm.

Tuesday- Henry and Sadie
Wednesday- Allie G. and Deyon
Thursday- Levi and Ally M.

Syntax targets for Deyon, Levi and Sadie- if, would, past tense( jumped, crowed, pecked, worked, played) conjunctions: but, until prepositions: under, between, behind, near, by, through.

Syntax targets for Henry, Allie G. and Ally M.- if, might Conjunctions:when,unless
May I? Why? questions Indirect discourse Mom told me.

Farm Week 2

Dear Families,
We will continue to have fun down on the Farm!
The children love learning about the animals and some of the chores that a farmer needs to do to keep a farm running.
Here is a Peek of the Week

Monday-We will make a feathered friend!

Tuesday- We will create some muddy buddies! We will paint a pig!

Wednesday- We will squeeze some fresh orange juice for our farm breakfast on Friday.

Thursday- We have the opportunity to have a real farmer bring in chickens and learn all about the different chickens. We will collect their eggs for our farm breakfast.

Friday- Yum! We will make a farm breakfast of fresh farm eggs and bacon!

For Show and Tell
Please continue to bring in anything that relates to our theme.

Vocabulary- udders, stall, manure, pitch fork, fertilize, crops, farmer, sheep, rooster, lamb, piglet, duckling, chick, foal, calf

Syntax: Levi, Sadie & Deyon*** We will continue to review the syntax targets from last week as well as added new targets: until, before/after, near, by, besides, past tense, irregular past tense( ate, laid, flew) comparatives, longest, shortest, tallest, smallest, most, least, sequencing

Henry, Ally,& Allie*** if/ might, may, unless, comparatives, longest, smallest, shortest, tallest, most, several, least, only if, sequencing

Halloween Fun

2010-10-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of October! Where did the month go?
The students had fun last week collecting beautiful colored leaves, raking leaves, and of course jumping into the pile of leaves!
As we finish up this month we will have fun talking about Halloween, costumes, trick or treating, and of course carve a pumpkin!
Here is a Peek into our Week!
Monday- We will weigh and measure pumpkins.
Tuesday- We will make some edible pumpkin faces!
Wednesday- We will create some silly pumpkin faces out of a paper plate.
Thursday- Boo! We will have fun creating some flying ghosts!
Friday- We will play some fun Halloween Games!

For Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in something that pertains to the Halloween theme.
This can be a favorite book, a costume, a pumpkin, or any small item. Please no scary items.

Show and Tell Days
Monday- Henry and Sadie
Tuesday- Allie G. and Deyon
Wednesday- Levi and Ally M.

We will review the Fall vocab from last week.
New Vocabulary will include these words: fairy wings, spooky/scary, ghosts, pumpkin seeds, skeleton, candy corn, owl, carve, jack o'lantern, squash, mask, witches, trick or treating, vine, make-up, wig.

Syntax for Levi, Sadie, Deyon
Questions: Are you going to?
How?
Who?
before and after
since
prepositions: near, by, through, above, below, beside
Indirect discourse: Levi told me.. Deyon told his Mom.. Sadie told Levi..

Syntax for Henry, Allie, and Ally
if
might, might not
Prepositions: near, by, through, above, below, beside
whenever
after/before
Which?
Indirect discourse: Henry told his Dad... Allie told her grandma.. Ally told her Mom

Autumn and the falling leaves

2010-10-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
We have just completed 2 weeks of learning how to eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. The children learned about making good choices in eating foods which will help them grow. Our culmination was reading the story of Stone Soup and making it for our friends at N.V.
This week will be a short week due to MEA on Thursday and Friday.
We will be exploring the Fall season before the leaves are all gone!

Here is a Peek of the Week
Monday- We will take a Fall walk, look for squirrels, acorns, pine cones, rake some leaves and collect leaves.

Tuesday- We will have fun making leaf people.

Wednesday- We will create some colorful leaf prints with paint.

Thursday and Friday- NO SCHOOL !

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in an item that relates to the Fall theme.
Look at the vocabulary words for suggestions.

Vocabulary will include these words: autumn, scarecrow, squirrel, acorn, rake, tree branch, bonfire, oak leaf, maple leaf, hayride, football game, apple orchard, apple cider, pumpkin patch.

Healthy Living

2010-10-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
We are back in the swing of things after a 3 day weekend.
I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Fall weather we are experiencing.
As we discuss healthy living this includes a well balanced diet and plenty of fresh air and exercise.
We will continue this theme for 2 weeks.
Here is a Peek at the next 2 weeks!
October 5th-8th
Tuesday- Sort pictures of healthy food vs. Junk Food

Wednesday- Read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk

Thursday- Continue the story of Jack and the Beanstalk
Examine some green bean vines and discuss.

Friday- Make a healthy veggie salad.

October 11th-15th
Monday- Read the story of Stone Soup

Tuesday- Plant sweet potatoes

Wednesday- Wash and chop up vegetables.

Thursday- Make a sequence story about stone soup.

Friday- Make a big pot of stone soup to share with our friends.

For Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in either a vegetable, fruit, or another healthy food choice to share with their group( for the small classroom- 3 students total).

Just a reminder to please sign up for Fall Conferences.
There is a sign up sheet by my door.
Thanks for all you do to help your child learn!

Community Workers Week 2

2010-09-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,

Last week we learned all about some important people in the community. We checked out books from the school library. ( A reminder if you are done reading the book, please return it to school as this will help your child learn responsibility.) We mailed letters to your home, learned about fire safety, and police officers.

Here is a Peek of Week 2

Monday- Doctor Day - We will role play how to care for a sick person and learn how to stay healthy.

Tuesday- We will make a doctor's bag.

Wednesday- Dentist Day - We will learn how to care for our teeth.

Thursday- Hair Stylist Day We will have fun learning how to create a new look!

Friday- Carpenter Day - We will have fun building a house.

Show and Tell-

Please have your child bring in items related to the theme. Having a small item which is theme related helps to reinforce the language that your child is learning as well as the concepts. Thanks so much for helping in this way!

Community Workers

2010-09-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
We are moving out of the family and neighborhood theme and taking a look at those people who work in our Community. It is important to have the children understand who people are in their community and the jobs they perform to be a help to your child.
Here is a Peek to the Week:

Monday- We will take a walk to our school library and understand how to check out books and create a book to take home.
Tuesday - We will role play the Grocery Store and how to make wise decisions selecting healthy food.
Wednesday- Firefighter Day- We will learn about fire safety and the role of the firefighter.
Thursday- Mail Carrier - We will learn about letter writing and mailing a letter. Keep your eye on your mail!!
Friday- Police Officer Day- We will create a model of a police officer and talk about the important role they play within our community.

Show and Tell
Monday-Henry and Sadie
Tuesday- Allie G. and Deyon
Wednesday-Levi and Ally M.

Here are some ideas for show and tell-
Do you have any items related to the theme?? A small cash register, firefighter hats, fire trucks, police cars, police hats, badges, stamps, envelopes, your child's favorite book to share, any book with community workers. Thanks for contributing to your child's education!!

Home and Family

2010-09-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
We have already made a good start to the school year. The children adapted well into the school environment and the transitions have been smooth. Your child is growing and learning and this is an exciting time to see new development in social and language skills.
We had fun learning about each other, as well as learning how to be a good friend. This week we will learn more about your home and family.

Here is a Peek of the Week.

Monday- We will construct a paper house using different shapes and sizes.
Tuesday- We will read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and act out the parts.
Wednesday- Construct a Family Tree
Thursday- Family Collage using magazine pictures.
Friday- We will construct and Edible House!

For Show and Tell-
We would love to learn about your family! If possible, please send with your child family photos.
Do you have baby photos of your child? Family vacation photos, grandparent photos, a picture of your house etc. Photos are a great way for the children to use their verbal skills to tell stories while developing their conversational skills. All photos will be returned. Also, if your child could bring in a item they had as a baby would be great! Thanks you so much for being involved in your child's learning.
Show and Tell Days
Monday- Henry and Sadie
Tuesday-Deyon and Allie G.
Wednesday-Levi and Ally M.
Vocabulary- backyard, front door, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, family, front yard, chimney, windows, family room, garage, sidewalk, basement, roof, porch, sharing, grandparents, chores, kindness, address, neighbor, neighborhood, family reunion

Back to school!

2010-09-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back to School!
As we start another school year, I am excited to hear the possibilities with your child! I hope that you will use this Blog to inform you of the themes in our small classroom and that it will serve the purpose of communicating what your student is learning throughout the year.
I am looking forward to teaching your son/daughter as we work on skills needed to build language.
In this Blog you will be able to get a Peek of the Week, the vocabulary used for that week, and Show and Tell days.
9/7/10 -9/10/10
Theme - Back to School
Tuesday- Take Students Photos
We will get to know each other and familiarize your child with classroom rules.
We will talk about their backpacks and have fun looking at school supplies.
** Make sure your child has a backpack and put something interesting in it for discussion.

Wednesday- We will make a cut-out person with your child's face on it. We will hide them around the school and search for each person in order to orientate your child to the school environment and other classrooms. We will work on introductions to other teachers.

Thursday- We will read " How to be a Good Friend" and continue to reinforce N.V. rules. We will make a rule book to take home. Please let your child tell you about the rules by reading the book together.

Friday- We will have fun creating a special school bus snack!

Show and Tell Days-
Each week your child will have the opportunity to bring in something special to share with the class. These Show and Tell times are important for your child to be able to practice their conversational skills, asking questions, and answering questions. Items selected for Show and Tell should relate to the theme we are working on for that week. Please follow the schedule as this will be throughout the school year. Mark it down on your home calendar to remind you of your child's day.
Monday- Henry and Sadie
Tuesday- Deyon and Allie G.
Wednesday- Levi and Ally M.
Thursday- Teacher Day
Friday- Game Day

Vocabulary for this week is as follows: calendar, eraser, backpack, writing, markers, notebook, office, hallway, lunchbox, teacher, students, bookshelf, classroom rules, whiteboard, line, playground, school, hand washing, friends, school bus, lunchroom, globe, computer, chalkboard, hand raising.

Zoo

2010-05-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
Here we go as we slide home into the last few days before summer break! The children have grown in so many ways! They are all maturing physically, emotionally, and developing good communication skills! I am so very proud of all of them! Thanks to you as parents, for all the support for your child both at school and at home! It has been an exciting school year and all the hard work has reaped many benefits!
Our last theme will be all about the Zoo. Now that the weather has warmed up, this is a great chance to take your child to the zoo! Como Zoo offers an opportunity to view animals at no cost and it is a great way to reinforce some of the language that you child is practicing at school.
Here is a Peek at the next 2 weeks:
Week 1
Monday-(5-31) No school. Happy Memorial Day

Tuesday-(6-1) The N.V. teachers will perform another great skit! This will be all about animals and learning the zoo rules.

Wednesday-(6-2)We will create our own zoo rule book.

Thursday- (6-3)We will make some silly zoo masks and act like animals!

Friday-(6-4) We will categorize the animals according to where they live.( water, land, jungle or Arctic.)

Week 2

Monday-(6-7)We will create a zookeeper snack with pretzel sticks for cages and animal crackers.

Tuesday-(6-8) Make a tiger to take home!

Wednesday-( 6-9) Last Day of school! We will make a fun project for Recognition Night! Congratulations to all the students that have worked so hard this year! You are all Rock Stars!

Thursday- Teacher Work Day

Friday- Teacher Work Day
Vocabulary will include these words: rhinoceros, seal show, polar bear, gorilla, flamingo, zoo keeper, camel, buffalo, cage, monkey, roar, climb, dive, swinging, pounding.
Show and Tell
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Sadie and Levi
Please bring in zoo books and zoo animals. Thanks so much!

Have a wonderful Summer!!

Extreme Weather and Being out in your YARD

2010-05-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
The weather has been up and down, and in Minnesota, you never know what to expect!
We are getting into a new season where anything can happen! The weather for the Twins Game was, chilling! BRRR!
We are going to explore the different types of weather and how to be prepared for each one.
The 2nd week will look at different activities you can do in your yard.
Here is a Peek into the next 2 weeks.
WEEK ONE
Monday- The teachers will perform a skit about Extreme Weather.
Tuesday- We will make a Weather Wheel.
Wednesday- We will make kites and try to fly them outdoors.
Thursday- We will create a Tornado in a bottle.
Friday- We will have fun blowing like the wind! We will have wind races!

WEEK TWO
Monday- We will plant a pocket garden.
Tuesday-We will plant a yard in a cup.( grass seed)
Wednesday- We will make a backyard diorama in a shoe box.
Thursday- We will pack a picnic basket.
Friday- We will have a picnic with our friends in the courtyard.

Show and Tell- For the first week, please have your child bring in something that pertains to weather. (umbrellas, books about weather, boots, or some article of clothes for extreme weather.)For the 2nd week, please have your child bring in something that has to do with being outdoors in the yard.(play garden tools, a picture of he/she playing in the yard or on a picnic.

Show and Tell
Monday- Sanjay/Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea/Ella
Wednesday-Sadie/Levi

Vocabulary- clouds,foggy, snowflake,shadow,sunny,blizzard,sunrise/sunset,gust of wind,windy,rainy,raindrops,hot, shelter, melt, tornado, lightning,dark, hurricane, sun rays, umbrella, weather, thunderstorm, dandelion, mud, picnic table, picnic basket

Vehicles

2010-05-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
We have made it through another 2 weeks of being underwater and underground!
We are now taking it on the road, so to speak, as we learn all about vehicles. We will not limit ourselves to learning about just vehicles that roll, but also those that fly and float. We will spend our first week introducing our theme, and also spend some time making special surprises for Mom!
Here is a Peek at the next 2 weeks:
May 3rd- 7th
Monday- Teacher Work Day

Tuesday- We will sort vehicles according to whether they are on the land, water, or in the sky.

Wednesday- We will make a surprise for Moms.

Thursday-We will make yet another surprise for Mom! Sorry no disclosure!

Friday- We will make some delicious fruit kabobs for our Mother's Day Party All Mom's are invited to join us at 12:15 -1:15 for our Mother's Day Celebration! You are the Best! Meet in the courtyard room.

May 10th -14th
Monday- The N.V. teachers will perform a transportation skit.

Tuesday- Yummy! We will create some tasty banana airplanes.

Wednesday- We will construct a beautiful sailboat.

Thursday- Up, up and away in our beautiful hot air balloons!

Friday- All aboard! We will work together as we create a train.

Vocabulary will include these words:semitrailer, canoe, four-wheeler, rocket ship,tractor, snowmobile, locomotive, school bus, city bus, bicycle, helicopter, hot air balloon, boat, automobile, parachute, airplane, cruise ship, sailboat, water, sky, land.

For Show and Tell
Monday- Levi and Linnea
Tuesday- Deyon and Sanjay
Wednesday- Ella and Sadie

Please bring in any kind of transportation vehicles. Use the vocab. words as a key to what to bring in. Books are also encouraged!
Thanks so much for your cooperation!

Progress Report meetings

Monday May 10th- Ella 2:30-3:30
Deyon 3:30-4:30

Tuesday- May 11th- Sanjay 2:30-3:30

Friday - May 14th- Linnea 3:30-4:30

Underground and Underwater

2010-04-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
We are now fully into the Spring mode and the children have enjoyed being outdoors to play in the fresh air. Last week, the kids did a great job learning about garage tools and kitchen tools. Don't be surprised if you see your child fixing something with the wrench or whipping up something tasty in the food processor!
We now will have another learning adventure by digging down deep and plunging into the deep waters to make new discoveries!
Here is a Peek at the next two weeks:

Week One: Underground
Monday- We will bury things in the dirt and do explorations by digging to uncover surprises!

Tuesday- We will make play-doh and create an ant hill.

Wednesday- We will be learning about earthworms and looking at real worms in a large group activity.

Thursday- We will make some adorable groundhog finger puppets.

Friday-We will make a tasty snack; ants on a log with celery and cream cheese.

Week Two: Underwater
Monday- We will do a little science experiment and discover things that sink and things that float.

Tuesday- We will make a beautiful ocean complete with fish, sand, shells, ocean animals and boats.

Wednesday- We will create a silly octopus.

Thursday- Yummy! Another tasty treat! Ocean Blue
Jell-O !

Friday- Erika O. will teach the kids all about scuba diving.

Vocabulary will include these words: submarine, subway, starfish, crab, octopus, scuba diver, ocean, wave, ant farm, lobster, sand, dirt, tentacles, groundhog, earthworm, digging, underground

Show and Tell
The children really get so much language from the Show and Tell experience. This is an important time of their day as they are so proud to be able to give clues and have the other children guess and ask questions. Thanks for being responsible to have your child bring in thematic items.
For the first week, please have your child bring in things that have to do with underground. This could be a shovel for digging, plastic bugs, a seed packet, rubber worms etc. or books that relate to this theme.
For week two, please have your child bring in items that have to do with underwater. Plastic fish, toy scuba divers, shells, etc. or books about the sea.

Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Sadie and Levi
Thanks again for being an integral part of your child's education!

Tools and Construction

2010-03-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
I hope you all enjoyed the Spring Break and the warmer weather! As we enter a new month, we are looking forward to a new theme. We will be learning about all types of construction and tools. These next two weeks will allow the children to use some of their problem solving skills as they construct buildings and fix things within the classroom. The children will have fun as they will use the tools to fix things and solve problems. The first week will be devoted to learning about tools which are used to construct things, while the second week we will learn about tools we use in the kitchen to create delicious food items.

Here is a Peek into the next two weeks:

4/5 Monday- No School - Teacher work day.

4/6 Tuesday- We will learn about tools and how to use them to fix certain objects in the classroom.

4/7 Wednesday- We will use the tools to problem solve how to fix a toy.

4/8 Thursday- We will make a toolbox with tools.

4/9 Friday- We will have fun constructing and paving an edible road.

Week 2
4/12 Monday- We will learn how to use some of the kitchen gadgets and tools.

4/13 Tuesday- We will make some delicious nachos!

4/14 Wednesday-We will pretend to be a crane and pick up heavy and light objects.

4/15 Thursday- We will learn how to sort tools into different categories: construction, kitchen and school tools.

4/16 Friday- We will pretend to have a cooking show and learn how to make guacamole, then enjoy a Fiesta with our friends!

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in tools from home to show to their friends. For the first week, only bring in tools from the garage, then for week two, tools used in the kitchen. See the vocabulary words for ideas.

Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Sadie and Levi

Vocabulary for the 2 weeks include these words: tool box, power drill, safety goggles, nails, safety cone, bulldozer, hard hat, screwdriver, ladder, construction worker, wrench, hammer, saw, pliers, tape measure, backhoe, concrete, cement mixer, dumptruck, whisk, shredder, chopper, can opener, food processor.

St. Patrick's Day and Space & the Solar System

2010-03-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
We had an awesome two weeks learning all about Royalty! The children truly loved all the Fairy Tales and having a chance to make them their reality by dressing up to be Kings and Queens for the day! Thanks to you for making their dreams come true!
Now we move from the fairy tale lands to Outer Space!
3-2-1 Here we go, we are ready to Blast off!

Here is our Peek into the next 2 weeks: March 3/15- 3/19 & 3/22 - 3/26
Week 1
Monday- We will introduce Leprechauns and why celebrate St. Patrick's Day by having another fun skit.

Tuesday- Yum! We will make some delicious Shamrock Shakes.

Wednesday- We will have some fun dressing up a wee- Leprechaun

Thursday- We will make a colorful solar system windsock.

Friday- We will create a rocket ship.

Week 2
Monday- We will create an astronaut.

Tuesday- Astronauts need energy, so we will make a rocket ship snack.

Wednesday- We will make a colorful Earth with watercolors and a coffee filter.

Thursday- We will be artistic as we paint a planet.

Friday- The teachers will perform an outer space skit. This is a chance for the kids to use their vocabulary words as they ask questions.

Show and Tell
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Sadie and Levi
Please have your child bring in anything that has to do with our solar system theme. Thanks for contributing to their fun show and tell time. These children truly get excited about this time of day!

Vocabulary will include these words: tricks, pot of gold, leprechaun, sneaky, shamrock, rainbow, gold coins, Earth, solar system, planets, astronaut, rocket ship, blast-off, space suit, float, moon rock

Pretend Play ~Queens and Royalty

2010-02-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
We had an awesome two weeks learning all about the Winter Olympics! The students worked hard to learn all the vocabulary and had fun experiencing some of the sports. Our highlights were seeing Paul, the cross-country skier exhibit some of his skills, and our culminating activity of bobsledding/luge on the snow mountains near our school!
We enter a new theme which will also provide lots of fun while learning new language.
Here is a Peek into the next 2 weeks: March 1st- March 5th & March 9th- March 12th

3/1 Monday- We will have a Magician visit the school and keep the children in wonder of "How did he do that ?"

3/2 Tuesday-We will create some colorful magic of our own as we make sand castles.

3/3 Wednesday- We will have fun making some beautiful jeweled crowns and pretend to be Queens and Kings!

3/4 Thursday- Hocus Pocus! Poof! We will make some Magic Wands.

3/5 Friday- We will celebrate at the Royal Ball with some delicious Prince and Princess Punch!

3/8 Monday- No School Teacher Work Day

3/9 Tuesday- We will read the story of Cinderella and act out the parts.

3/10 Wednesday- We will read the story of Snow White and act out the parts.

3/ 11 Thursday- We will watch the story of Rapunzel and sequence the story.

3/12 Friday- Our culmination will be having a Royal Ball and teaching the children about proper manners.

Vocabulary for the next 2 weeks will include some of these words: magician, magic, wand, castle, Queen, King, crown, Prince, Princess, Cinderella, step-sisters, Fairy Godmother, shield, treasure chest, sword, dragon, gem, Rapunzel, Snow White, glass slipper.

Show and Tell
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Sadie and Levi

Your child can bring in anything that pertains to the theme. Look at the vocab for ideas. This will be a fun theme for your child. Please do not bring in any toy swords or weapons. Thank you!

Week 2 Winter Olympics

2010-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
Wow! We had a great week last week as we went skating into the theme of Winter Olympics! The students were very enthusiastic and enjoyed making flags, and watching the teachers act out a skit!
A big thank you to all the parents who made us a delicious lunch on Friday and spoiled us so! It was such a fun and enjoyable way to end the week! My Luge experience with most of the kids pushing me to the finish line was a cool experience!
This week we will continue to explore the Olympics with some new activities.

Here is a Peek at the Week
Monday- We will have fun making some Olympic medals. Gold, Silver, or Bronze!
In my opinion all the students are first place winners!

Tuesday- We will have a Special Visitor! Erika O.'s husband is a cross-country skier and will come to show off some of his skills.

Wednesday- On your Mark, Get set, Go! We will have fun doing some speed skating in the Gym!

Thursday- Yum! We will make some Olympic treats! Popsicles and Snow cones!

Friday- Hang on! We will go outside for some Bobsledding down our snow mountain! Please make sure that your child wears boots, and snow pants as it may be sloppy and wet!

We will continue with the vocab. from last week.

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in anything that pertains to the theme.
Please bring in a plastic sled this week as we will take advantage of the nice weather and play outside. You can send your student with a play snow shovel to dig in the snow. Thanks for all you do!

Winter Olympics

2010-02-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
We are going with our new theme which seems so appropriate for this time of year! We will have fun learning about the Winter Olympics! With our fresh snow on the ground and the enthusiasm of bright young minds, anything is possible! Perhaps we have some young Olympians in our N.V. school!
The students are doing great, and for the last 2 weeks, our kids learned so much about Nursery Rhymes. We will now focus on a new theme, new vocabulary and new learning...Let the Games Begin!

Tuesday- The teachers will introduce the Olympics in a skit.

Wednesday-We will make flags of the different countries.

Thursday-We will make an Olympic Torch.

Friday- We will march around in the Opening Ceremony!

Vocabulary will include these words: Olympic rings, bobsled, torch, Canadian flag, American flag, speed skating, goggles, curling, Olympic medals, ski lift, figure skating, luge, ice rink, downhill skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, cross-country skiing.

Show and Tell- Please have your child bring in anything that pertains to the vocab and theme. Thanks for all you do to help with your child's education!

Tuesday- Sanjay and Deyon
Wednesday- Linnea and Ella
Thursday- Sadie and Levi

Nursery Rhymes Week 2

2010-02-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
Last week, the students really enjoyed our theme. The rhymes are allowing for some fun, as well as helping with auditory memory. The children are putting together a book of their own which will be sent home after this week. We will continue with the theme as we explore some new rhymes as well as review the ones from last week.
Here is a Peek of Week 2

Monday: Review Mary had a Little Lamb, Jack be Nimble, and Little Miss Muffet.

Tuesday: Read Humpty Dumpty and make a page for their books.

Wednesday: Make an egg omelet.

Thursday: Learn the rhyme, " I'm a Little Teapot" and make a page for their books.

Friday: We will have a fun time having a tea party! Girls can come dressed in hats and gloves if they choose to do so! Boys can dress up too! (special hats and ties!)

Show and Tell:
We will continue to read a variety of Nursery Rhymes so I have appreciated books from home as well as other items that go along with our theme. If you have a pretend tea set at home, this would be great to share! Also, have your child bring in their favorite stuffed animal or doll for the tea party on Friday. If your child does not have an item that pertains to the theme, another good item to share is a favorite game to share with friends as the interacting of game playing promotes great conversational skills!

Vocabulary will be the same from last week.
Show and Tell Days:
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday - Linnea and Ella
Wednesday - Sadie and Levi

Nursery Rhymes

2010-01-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
We had such a great couple of weeks with the kids as we learned about Malls and shopping! Don't be surprised if your child asks for the car keys and the credit card!
We are now heading into learning about Nursery Rhymes.
Our next two weeks we will learn how to recite some simple nursery rhymes and act them out, as well as make a book that your child can bring home.
Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday: We will read the story of Jack Be Nimble and make the 1st page in our Nursery Rhyme book.

Tuesday: We will have fun making a candlestick and practicing our jumping skills!

Wednesday: We will read the story of Little Miss Muffet and make another page in our books.

Thursday: We will have fun tasting Curds and Whey!

Friday: We will read Mary had a Little Lamb and add another page to our books.

Show and Tell:
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Sadie and Levi
Please have your child bring in something that relates to the above theme. Be creative! ( perhaps a little lamb, a spider, a candlestick). Does your child have any books on Nursery Rhymes? Please bring them in so we can share them with our friends!

Vocabulary: Jack-Be-Nimble, beside, frightened, curds and whey, tuffet, steam, handle, spout, teapot, wool, lamb, cracked, quick, candlestick, Humpty Dumpty, King, Queen, men, Mary had a Little Lamb, to follow.

Week 2 The Mall

2010-01-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
We are in full swing of learning about the Mall and how to shop! The kids enjoyed the skit that the teachers performed last week about Mall shopping. We have re-enacted shopping in the small pull-out groups and had fun making wallets and purses to keep our money in!
This week we will continue to learn about shopping and reinforce our vocabulary. If the opportunities arise, when you are out shopping with your child, point out escalators and elevators, counters, cashiers, customers, cash registers. Any time the child can experience the real world in relation to learning vocabulary in class, will aid in the retention of the newly acquired word, and promotes the growth of language.
Thanks for all you do to help your child grow and learn!
Also a Big Thanks to all the parents that help out with the Dad's breakfast to make it so successful! We appreciate all that you do!

Here is a Peek of Week 2
Monday: We will play a fun mix and match shoe game. We will learn about comparisons, small vs. large, and work on sequencing smallest to largest.

Tuesday: We will have fun doing some candy making as we prepare for our Candy Shop.

Wednesday: We will learn about shopping and spending money as we go to the N.V. Candy Store!

Thursday: We will have fun shopping for a furry friend at the N. V. Pet Store.

Friday: We will enjoy shopping at the Mall within our school, each classroom with be a different store!

Vocabulary will be the same as last week. The students are doing a great job learning these words!

Show and Tell:
Your child can bring in a favorite stuffed animal for the Pet Store, play wallets, purses, cash registers, or anything that pertains to shopping. Shopping bags are great as this will help when we pretend to go to the Mall.

Show and Tell Days
Monday - Sanjay/ Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea/Ella
Wednesday - Levi/Sadie

Mall Theme

2010-01-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
We are grateful for the warm up! The children were able to go outside last week and enjoyed the fresh air and snow! Make sure all outerwear is labeled.
Everyday, your children are using their language to have conversations with their peers and it brings joy to my heart to sit back and listen to their functional language!
I thank each one of you for working so hard at home to reinforce what is learned at school.

Here is a Peek of the Week
Monday: No school

Tuesday: N.V. Teachers put on Mall/Shopping Skit

Wednesday: We will have fun creating a purse or wallet for the children to put their play money in.

Thursday: We will create a surprise for our Dads!

Friday: Dad's Breakfast Please see the sign up sheets in the hallways.
Breakfast will be @ 8:30 in the Fellowship Hall. We look forward to sharing the morning with all the Dad's and other important men in your child's life. Come hungry!!

We will be talking about shopping for the next 2 weeks.
Here are the vocab words: movie theater, Walmart, customers, cash register, money, wallet, purse, Mall of America, toys, jewelry store, cashier, earring, shopping bags, pet store, escalator, elevator, cash machine, Target, parking lot, and clothing.

For Show and Tell
Please bring in an item that relates to the theme of shopping. This can be a purse, wallet, fake money, a special book, toy cash register, etc.
Thanks so much for making this time purposeful for your child!

Show and Tell Days
Monday: Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday: Linnea and Ella
Wednesday: Levi and Sadie

Look, Listen,Learn Week 2

2010-01-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
It was fun to have the students back at school and see everyone ready to look, listen and learn!
We had fun using our sense of touch, and smell, and now we will explore the senses of taste, vision and hearing.

Here is a Peek of the Week:

Monday- We will taste different items and to compare sweet and sour.

Tuesday- We will have fun making Instant Pudding and learning the sequence of first, next, last.

Wednesday- Weather permitting, we will go on a Nature Walk and explore things with our vision. We will make some funky looking glasses!

Thursday- We will continue to explore using our eyes and will make some mirrors. We will look for things that reflect.

Friday- We will have Jennifer Ward come and talk to the students about our sense of hearing

Vocabulary - We will reinforce our vocab words from last week as well as adding these words:
bright, near/far, eye chart, blind, dark, ears, eyes, quiet, loud, whisper, music, ear/hear.

Show and Tell
Monday- Sanjay/ Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea/ Ella
Wednesday- Levi/ Sadie

**Please bring in items that relate to our theme. Thanks so much for sharing!

Look,Listen,Learn

2010-01-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
Dear Families,
I hope that your winter break was restful, joyful, and full of good memories of times spent with those you love!
Now, we move into a New Year with new possibilities waiting to be explored.
I am anxious to see the smiles returning to Northern Voices and hearing all the stories to be told.
We will be exploring our 5 senses and having fun while we learn.

Here is the Peek of the Week:

Tuesday- We will make some Magic Goop as we use our sense of touch to feel this strange sensation.

Wednesday- We will create a Texture Book with different items that feel bumpy, hard, soft, smooth and sticky.

Thursday- We will explore our sense of smell as we sniff some different scents in our sensory cups.

Friday- We will combine our sense of smell, sight, sound, taste, and touch as we make some air popcorn!

Show and Tell
Here is the schedule for the day to bring in an item from home:
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Levi and Sadie
Please bring in an item this week that has to do with the senses of touch,
or smell.
Here is the vocabulary for this week: bitter, salty, stinky, sweet, smokey, hard, soft, nostrils, tongue, hand, sparkly, scratchy, bumpy, sniff, sweet smell, rough, smooth, prickly, and sticky.

The Jungle Week 2

2009-12-20T13:48:00.000-08:00

Here we go! We are entering the last week before our Winter Break! How appropriate that we are still learning about the Jungle! Are your kids a bit wild before the holidays?? This is such a natural experience as the excitement mounds with all the preparations and places to go!
Their excitement is contagious and I have been enjoying singing holiday tunes with all the students and seeing the twinkle in their eyes! Children are so precious and I do wish I had an ounce of their energy!
I must say I am so proud of my students as each one is working so hard to listen and speak. Conversations are becoming more natural and extensive as the children are using their language in social situations.
My wish for you and your family is to enjoy the break and have fun as a family as you receive the best gift there is, being together, laughing, talking and making memories that will last in your hearts forever.
Happy Holidays and a blessed New Year!

Here is a Peek of our short week:

Monday- We will make some spiral snakes from a paper plate.

Tuesday- Yum! We will create a ferocious Tiger cookie!

Wednesday- We will have a special visitor to our school! You bettter watch out! You better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why... ---------- is coming to town!!

Here is the vocabulary for this week: boa constrictor, scorpion, vine, crocodile, swinging, Tarzan, elephant, parrot, tiger, palm tree, map, fern, cave, and pithe helmet.

Show and Tell
Please bring in items that are related to our Jungle theme. Thanks for contributing!

Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Samantha and Sadie

Jungle

2009-12-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
Here we are only a few weeks left before the holiday break. I hope that you and your family are enjoying this season of light and love while making precious memories with your children.
As we work through the Alphabet we are on the letter "J" and we look at the theme of The Jungle.
At least we can go to our imagination of a warmer place where the lush jungle is a beautiful green and the animals live free!
Here is a Peek into our new week!
Monday- We will make some funky binoculars so we can go exploring in the jungle!

Tuesday- Yum! We will have fun making some delicious monkey bread.

Wednesday- We will join the animals by making some stripped zebra masks.

Thursday- We will be creative as we make some colorful parrots with colored sand.

Friday- We will create a safari map so we can go exploring in the jungle and not get lost!

Here is the vocabulary: binoculars, hippopotamus, giraffe, jungle, zebra, chimpanzee, gorilla, flamingo, goopy/sticky, vest, crawling, lion, splash, tree frog, tarantula.

Show and Tell
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Samantha and Sadie

Please bring in something related to our Jungle theme. Either toy Jungle animals, a book, some toy binoculars etc. Thanks for being involved in your children's education!

Ice and Igloos

2009-11-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

Welcome back Families!
I hope you all enjoyed a very Happy Thanksgiving with lots of good food, family and laughter!
Now that we are back in the swing of school, we move into another season which lends itself to making more good memories! Bundle up, get ready and let it snow!

***I want you to be aware, that I will be taking a short vacation to CA to celebrate my Mom's 80th birthday. I will be gone from 12/3 to 12/7. Your children will be in good hands with the other teachers.

Here is a Peek of the next 2 Weeks

Week 1

11/30 Monday- We will make a snow man using construction paper and cut outs.
12/1 Tuesday- BRRR! We will make some igloos using ice cubes and salt.
12/2 Wednesday- Get ready to do some skating! We will make some ice skates
with paper plates.
12/3 Thursday- Yum! We will be warming up our tummys making some delicious hot cocoa!
12/4 Friday- The N.V. teachers will be performing a skit about different winter activities.

Week 2

12/7 Monday- We will be making some colorful mittens with construction paper and yarn.
12/8 Tuesday- We will create a chilly snowman with balls of ice.
12/9 Wednesday- We don't want to forget our feathered friends! We will make a bird feeder with bagels and birdseed.
12/10- Thursday- We will make a yummy snowman snack!
12/11 - Friday- We will make a beautiful snowflake mobile.

Here is some of the vocabulary words: skiing. sledding, igloo, ice skates, snowflake,snowball, sled, snowboard, hot cocoa, marshmallows, melt, icicles, shovel, skis, snowshoes.

Show and Tell- Please bring in an item that relates to the theme. Use the vocab words to give you an idea.
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Samantha and Sadie

Don't forget the Gingerbread House celebration is Tuesday Dec. 8th!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
As we approach Thanksgiving, it is good to stop and reflect on all the blessings we have. As I have been able to spend time with each one of my students, I am grateful for the privilege of being part of their lives and seeing their beautiful faces each day. Thank you for trusting me with this awesome responsibility for teaching and caring for your children.
We will have a short week this week.

Here is a Peek of the Week

Monday- We will being preparing food for the Thanksgiving Feast and also talking about what we do at Thanksgiving, and the meaning of this special day.

Tuesday- This is the Big Feast Day! Come and Join us for Fun and Fellowship with your family! We will see you at 11:00 in the Fellowship Hall! Bring your appetite!

We will review the vocabulary from last week.

Healthy Living/Garden Theme

2009-11-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!

I hope this finds everyone feeling much better and ready to start a healthier week!

We will look at how to keep our bodies in tip top shape by making good choices in eating and in exercising.

Here is a Peek of our Week:

Monday- Our talented NV teachers will put on another skit! We will be showing the students an Exercise Skit and how to keep our bodies on the move!

Tuesday- We will sort out healthy foods vs. junk food and explaining the reasons why it important to make good choices in what we eat.

Wednesday- We will make butter from scratch and show how cream changes into butter.

Thursday- We will have fun making some colorful Thanksgiving Turkeys out of paper bags.

Friday- We will make some delicious vegetable soup. Could you please have your child bring in one vegetable to add to our soup. Thanks so much for sharing!

Show and Tell Days:

Monday- Sanjay and Deyon

Tuesday - Linnea and Ella

Wednesday- Samantha and Sadie

**Please have your child bring in something that pertains to the theme. We will also be talking about how to plant. Anything from your garage that is one of our vocab words works well in having continuity with our lessons. Thanks so much!

Vocabulary: vegetables, junk food, protein, exercise, fruits, shovel, plant, seeds, hole, grow, garden, dirt/soil, gardening gloves, dig, watering can

Next Week:
Make sure you mark your calendar for our Thanksgiving Feast! We look forward to celebrating all that we are thankful for together! Tuesday is the day to save!

Friends and Family

2009-11-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
I am sorry that I did not have a post for last week as I had been sick. However, you can always check outside my door on the wall for a hard copy of the week's plans.
We will continue this week with our Theme of Family and Friends.
Last week, we enjoyed learning about houses and finished the week with a wonderful walk through the neighborhood which helped to reinforce the vocabulary that the students had learned that week.
We will continue to talk about homes this week, but will focus more on the families inside the home and also friends.
Here is a Peek of the Week for November 9th- 13th:
Monday- The talented N. V. staff will be performing a skit based on "How to Be a Good Friend". We will be reviewing the rules for our students.

Tuesday- We will be making cookies to be sent home.

Wednesday- We will make a Big Family tree. Thanks for bringing in those family photos!

Thursday- We will put together a trail mix which we will share with the other classes.

Friday- We will have fun making paper bag puppets of the students and then having a puppet show!

For Show and Tell
Please bring in any fun family vacation photos! If you have not sent in family photos, we could always use more! The children love to talk about their families! Do you have photos with grandparents???
Also, does your child have a favorite board game?? We will be playing games to learn how to take turns and share with our friends.

I will assign Show and Tell Days in order to give everyone a special day of their own.
Here is the schedule:
Monday- Sanjay and Deyon
Tuesday- Linnea and Ella
Wednesday- Samantha and Sadie
Thursday- Teacher shares.
Friday - Free day for Games and Books

Here is the vocabulary: backyard, front door, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, family, front yard, chimney, play set, garage, deck, windows, family room, sidewalk, basement, roof, porch, friends, gentle, together, kindness, chores, grandparents, sharing

This week is conference week!
Here is the schedule:
Monday: Ella's conference -3:00 - 4:00

Tuesday- Sanjay's conference- 2:00 - 3:00
Deyon's conference -3:00- 4:00

Thursday- Samantha's conference- 2:00 -3:00

Friday- Sadie's conference- 2:00 -3:00
Linnea's conference- 3:00 -4:00

Fall Fun!

2009-10-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
Wow! It is hard to believe that we are approaching the end of October! Where did the month go?
The students are growing and learning and I delight to see them chattering to each other and using their language in natural settings.
We are going to have some fun this week as we explore the concept of Halloween, Fall treats and looking at the changes of the season (Fall leaves, hopefully not snowflakes!)
Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday: We will have fun creating some beautiful leaf rubbings.
Tuesday: Who can make the silliest Pumpkin Faces? We will cut out various paper pumpkins and make each one unique!
Wednesday: Miss Tanya will be our own favorite Witch as she stirs up her bubbling Witch's Brew! This will be a Group Activity
Thursday: We will make some Edible Spiders...Yummy

Friday: Come and Join us for our Halloween Party!
The kids will have fun going from station to station playing games and getting treats! Your student is encourage to wear a costume.
Happy Halloween!!

Here is the vocab.- owl, squash, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, fairy, trick or treating, spider, candy corn, witches, pumpkin seeds, spooky/scary, clown, bat, skeleton, ghost, carve, jack-o-lantern, mask.

Show and Tell
Children are encourage to bring items that relate to our theme. For ideas, bring books, pumpkins, various fall vegetables, a part of a costume etc.
Show and Tell is an important time for the students as they get very excited to show what they have brought and use their language to give clues about what they have hidden in their back packs.

Recycle

2009-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
Now with the Fall winds blowing the leaves and other things around, it is time to be mindful of keeping our school clean! We are excited to give the children an opportunity to be responsible and help keep our environment looking good! We will teach the children how to recycle and how to reuse items so we do not add extra waste to our Earth.

Here is a Peek to our Week!
Monday- We will call this our Earth Day as we will walk around our school and pick up trash to keep our school looking neat and clean!
Tuesday- We will reinforce this same principle and clean up inside the school and our classroom.
Wednesday- We will make creative collages out of recycled materials!
Thursday- We will have fun making some beautiful water bottle vases.
Friday- We will take a mini- field trip to the Goodwill store. If you have any old clothes or items to be donated, please bring them in so we can bring them to the store. Make sure, it is a few items so the children can easily carry them.

Vocabulary will include these words: disposable, Goodwill, used, cans, metal, newspaper, yard, recycle symbol, Spring cleaning, tote bag, leftovers, plastic containers, empty/full, recycle bin, compost, new, glass.

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in a recycle item to talk about. We like items that relate to the theme. If you need an idea, just refer to the vocab words. Thanks for making Show and Tell a meaningful conversational experience!

Dinosaurs

2009-10-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
Here we are moving into another week and a new month! Time passes quickly and the students are doing well learning all they can. We are coming upon that time for Fall Conferences. There is a Fall Conference sheet next to my door. Please take the time to choose a time for you to come in for a meeting. I will have conferences starting the week of November 9th. There are times to meet that week @ 2:00, 3:00, or 4:00. Each conference will be for approximately one hour in order to discuss the progress and future goals for your child.

Here is a Peek at the next 2 weeks October 5th- 9th
October 12th-14th

Theme: Dinosaurs
Week 1

Monday- Dinosaur Dig! We will be having fun searching for dinosaur eggs and bones on the playground.
Tuesday- We will make some ferocious dinosaur puppets!
Wednesday- Watch out! We will make an erupting volcano!
Thursday- Yummy! We will have fun making dinosaur toast.
Friday- We will create some colorful dinosaur eggs.
Week 2
Monday- We will explore different textures in our Touch and Feel Box
Tuesday- We will have fun picking apples!
Wednesday- We will make some delicious apple pie from the apples we picked!
Remember there is no school on Thursday and Friday due to MEA. Have a relaxing long weekend!

For Show and Tell

Please bring in anything that pertains to our dinosaur theme. It can be plastic dinosaurs, pictures of dinosaurs, or maybe a favorite book about dinosaurs.

Here is the vocabulary for the next 2 weeks:

dinosaurs, brontosaurus, T. Rex, stripes, weak, teeth, tail, squeak, strong, bones, huge, tiny, roar, above, below, horns, nostril, dinosaur eggs, fat, long, spiky, scared, slow, fast, claws.

Community Workers Week 2

2009-09-26T20:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Families, Sept.29th - Oct.2nd

We are entering the 2nd week of Community Workers. We had fun last week learning all about doctors, dentists, and hairstylists, with a special visit from one of our own parents, who played 3 roles..hairstylist, police officer, and construction worker!
Here is a Peek of the Week...

Monday- There will be no school due to Teacher Work Day 9/29

Tuesday- Police Day- We will be learning new vocab about police, and watch a skit put on by the N.V. staff.

Wednesday- We continue to learn about police and will have fun playing Red Light-Green Light while we give out tickets for not following the rules. We will make some yummy edible stoplights.

Thursday- Firefighter Day- We might have a visit from the local firefighters! We will role play the proper action to take in case there is a fire in the home, and learn that our firefighters help to keep us safe.

Friday-Artist Day- Today we will have a special visit from an artist. The students will have a chance to use their creativity for expression, while we learn about mixing paints, and displaying our artwork for others to enjoy!

Show and Tell
**Please have your child bring in things that are connected with our theme. The children get so excited with Show and Tell as they get the opportunity to use their language to describe what they are hiding in their bag, or backpack. Thanks for all you do to help your child learn!

Community Workers

2009-09-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Families! Sept. 21st- 25th
We have now experienced 2 weeks of school and the students are getting use to a routine. We continue to talk about the Northern Voices rules and how to treat our friends. It is exciting to hear the little voices in the hallway chatting away and exchanging hugs as they transition from class to pull- out therapy.
As we move along in our learning journey we will be looking at different roles of people we see in our Community.
Here is a Peek of the Week
Monday- Doctors -We will do some role playing of a doctor and see how this person helps us to stay well.
Tuesday- Continue Doctors-We will have fun listening to our heart beats and make stethoscopes.
Wednesday- Dentists-Keeping our teeth clean is a daily event which is so important to our health and is a skill to make the child feel independent. We will learn how to brush our teeth correctly. First, the student eats an Oreo cookie to have dirty teeth and then brushes them to have shiny clean teeth!
Thursday- Hair Stylists-Looking good with a nice hair cut is important and helps self-esteem! We will practice being a hair stylist.
Friday- Mail Carriers- We will practice the art of letter writing and mailing a letter to a friend.

Show and Tell
Tuesday- Samantha and and Linnea
Wednesday- Sanjay and Deyon
Thursday- Ella and Sadie
Please have your child bring in something that pertains to the theme. An item that is appropriate could be anything that relates to the vocabulary words. A book, a doctor's kit, an article of clothing (costume relating to the doctor), hairstyling bows, ribbons, combs, a doll with long hair etc. Thanks for sharing!!

The vocab for this week will include some of these words: doctor, medicine, cough, hospital thermometer, Band aid, stethoscope, toothbrush, toothpaste, mail carrier, stamp, letter, mailbox, Post Office, hair stylist, blow dryer, short hair, long hair, curly hair, straight hair, razor.

All About Me

2009-09-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!

We are off to a good start! Our first week with the new students went smoothly and I am thrilled to have a class full of enthusiastic little spirits!

We continue to get to know each other and learn the Northern Voices Rules.

These are eyes watching, mouth quiet, ears listening, hands and feet to self, take turns, walk in school.

We learned about the school environment and took a tour of the school as we searched for the Gingerbread Man!

This week we are learning about our bodies and what makes us so special.

Here is a Peek of the Week

Monday- We will trace our bodies on butcher paper and as we learn about the color of our skin, eyes, and hair. Don't be surprised if your child chooses green to color their hair!

Tuesday- We will create a delicious Pizza Face!

Wednesday- We will have fun tracing our feet and hands and seeing all the different sizes.

Thursday- We will create just our faces using different materials to add to our uniqueness.

Friday- We will learn how to wash a baby as we label all the body parts.

For Show and Tell- Please have your child bring in either a photo of themselves when they were a baby, or a family photo. Photos make for some wonderful Conversational language!

Here is the vocab for this week: nostrils, waist, eyebrows, eyelashes, body, chest, neck, hand, chin, feet, fingernails, toes, dimple, tongue, teeth, shoulder, elbow, nose, thumb, hair, face, belly button, knees, hips, knuckles, arm, ear, and eyes,

2009-09-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Families! September 8th-11th
14th-18th

Welcome to the new school year at Northern Voices!

I am Joanne Bufis and I will have the pleasure of teaching your precious children how to speak and how to listen.
I am excited to meet with each one and start to connect with them.
Every 2 weeks, I will inform you of our theme and give you a Peek of the Week.
This is the best way to be informed of the different Language Experiences, the Vocabulary, and what your child needs to bring in for our Show and Tell times.
Please feel free to read my Blog to get the information you need. I am always available after school to answer any question you may have!
Please assist me in knowing your child better by letting my know their interests and any special needs they may have. I will look forward to working with you to make this the best learning environment for your child.

Here is a Peek of the Week for the first 2 weeks of school.

Theme: All about Me and My Body
Book: " I like Me!"

Tuesday- We will be sharing what we have in our back packs. Please have your child put something special in it to share with the class.

Wednesday- We will read the Gingerbread Man and then try to find where he is hiding around the school. This will help your child get orientated to the school environment.

Thursday- We will be talking about the N.V. school rules. We want to the children to be able to feel confident about how they should act in school in order to be respectful of the school and of their peers.

Friday- We will have fun making a group snack to share with our friends.

Show and Tell
We will try to follow this schedule throughout the year in order for each child to have practice with conversational language. Days may vary according to what is happening that week.
Please bring in items that pertain to the theme.
This week is all about me, so please have your child bring in an item that is unique to him/her.
This can be an article of clothing, a special toy, a book, a photo of their family, etc.

Tuesday- Samantha, Linnea
Wednesday- Sanjay, Deyon
Thursday-Ella, Sadie

Vocabulary will include some of these words:
me, you, I, awesome, brave, cheerful, feelings, manners (please, thank you, excuse me,) imagination, sleep, friend, giggle, leader, and words that describe body parts; ears, nose, mouth, elbow, shoulder, finger, hair, neck,waist, tongue, eyebrow, eyelash, knuckles, dimples, hips, waist, chest, bellybutton, cheek ,neck feet, knees, nostrils,.

Creepy Crawlies

2009-05-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
It's a new month and we are quickly approaching the end of the school year. All the kids are getting ready to enjoy the warmer weather and have fun outdoors. Now that the warmer weather is here, so are those insects!! This is the perfect timing for us to go explore and learn more about bugs that fly, and crawl.
We will talk about which bugs are harmless and which ones can bite or sting.
Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday- We will make some cool bug binoculars so we can pretend to get a closer look at insects.

Tuesday- We will create some cute little Lady Bugs

Wednesday- We will have fun making an Edible bug.

Thursday- We will make an Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Friday- We will make some colorful and beautiful butterflies.

For Show and Tell - Please have your child bring in something that pertains to the theme. It can be bug/insect books, a bug catcher, plastic insects, or a real insect in a baby food jar with a tight lid on it( we don't want the bug to escape!)
Tuesday- Mae and Matteo
Wednesday- Nick and Mitchell
Thursday - Lucy and Zachary

The vocabulary will include these words: dragonfly, ladybug, fly, ant, preying mantis, firefly, stinger,cocoon, ant hill, antennae, monarch butterfly,bug box, bug catcher nets, bee, honeycomb, caterpillar, grasshopper, cricket, insects.

Under Construction

2009-05-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Families!
We are all Under Construction in one way or the other! These next 2 weeks will allow the children to use some of their problem solving skills as they construct buildings and fix things within the classroom. Working together to problem solve and predict the outcome is a higher level skill that these older children are learning. It has been great to see more cooperate play among the students as they enjoy interacting with each other and using their language in social situations.
Here is a Peek at the next 2 weeks!
Week 1 May 18th- 22nd
Monday - We will be constructing some beautiful painted turtles to prepare for our field trip to the Dodge Nature Center.

Tuesday- Field trip to the Dodge Nature Center- We will explore the outdoors and learn all about turtles.

Wednesday- We will have fun constructing some cool homes using various shapes.
.
Thursday- We will have fun putting together some edible stoplights.

Friday- We will learn about tools and how to use them to fix certain objects in the classroom.

Week 2 May 25th- 29th
Monday- No School for the Memorial Day holiday.

Tuesday- We will create a crane and use it to pick up light and heavy objects.

Wednesday- We will have fun constructing and paving an edible road.

Thursday- Construct safety cones.

Friday- Tool Time A play acted out by the N.V. Builders!

Show and Tell-
Please have your child bring in anything that pertains to the topic. Tools, cars, construction vehicles, books about roads or safety, hard hats etc.
Tuesday- Mae and Zachary
Wednesday- Matteo and Mitchell
Thursday- Lucy and Nick
Vocabulary will include these words: tool box, bulldozer, saw, screwdriver, hard hat, safety cone, hammer, nails, power drill, ladder, dump truck, sawhorse,tape measure, wrench, danger zone, cement mixer, concrete, architect, backhoe,trowel, pliers,construction site, safety goggles,construction worker, rubble, electric wire, metal cage elevator, steel, scaffolding, stop sign.

Way Out West Week 2

2009-05-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

Howdy Families!
Hope all the Mothers of our little Buck-a-roos had a wonderful Mothers Day!
We are moving into our second week with the same western theme.
Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday- 5/11 - We will be making some creative Cowboy/Cowgirl boots!

Tuesday- 5/12 - Cowboys and Cowgirls get pretty hungry out on the trail, so we will be stirring up a batch of trail mix.

Wednesday- 5/13- The horse will be leaving a trail of horseshoe prints. We will have fun stamping out their path!

Thursday- 5/14- Watch out for those prickly plants! We will be making a cactus craft!

Friday- 5/15- We will be having some singing and dancing as the teachers will put on a Hoe -Down!
The vocabulary will be reinforced this week from the previous week.
Show and Tell- Bring anything in that relates to the Western theme. All things are appreciated as the children get so excited to share what they bring in !

Tuesday- Mae and Nick
Wednesday-Lucy and Zachary
Thursday-Matteo and Mitchell

Way out West

2009-05-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Howdy Families!
Here we go for an experience that takes us into the Wild West! So saddle up your horses and put on a cowboy hat and hang on for some fun!
We are going to explore the west and have a great time learning about how the cowboys and cowgirls lives out on the range.
Here is a Peek at the Week:
Monday- We will make a pretend horse. We will learn about how to ride a horse, and listen to some country music!

Tuesday- We will create some fancy cowboy/cowgirl vests.

Wednesday- We will have fun designing some colorful bandannas.

Thursday- Yummy! We will be cooking up some delicious chili for our chili competition!

Friday- Come join us as we celebrate our wonderful Moms!
Mother's Day Brunch is from 11:15- 12:00
Show and Tell - Please have your child bring in something related to our theme about cowboys. Do you have any toy horses, cowboy hats, badges, Woody from Toy Story, etc.?
Tuesday_ Mae and Nick
Wednesday-Lucy and Zachary
Thursday- Matteo and Mitchell
Vocabulary will include these words: chili, desert, boots, bandanna, cowboy, cactus, cowboy hat, desert sand, campfire, lasso, saddle, stirrup, roundup, vest, spur, cookout,hoedown, guitar

The Funny Farm Week 2

2009-04-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

April 27 th -May 1st
Howdy Families!
Here we are in our second week of the Funny Farm. We had so much fun last week with our trip to the Dodge Nature Center. The children were able to have some hands-on experiences to touching the animals and jumping in the hay! They learn so much by going on these special field trips.
This week will continue with the theme and then move into some May Day experiences.
The months are flying by and the children are growing day by day.
Here is a Peek of the Week

Monday- We will have fun sheering a pretend sheep and learning about all the things we can get from wool.

Tuesday- We will get our hands dirty by planting a garden from a variety of vegetable and flower seeds, just like the farmer does on the farm.

Wednesday- We will collect some eggs from the chicken coop, and then make a scrambled egg breakfast.

Thursday- We will create some beautiful tissue paper flowers.

Friday- Happy May Day! We will make some May Day baskets and deliver them to our friends!

Show and Tell

Tuesday- Mae and Matteo
Wednesday- Zachary and Lucy
Thursday- Nick and Mitchell
Please bring in any items that relates to our theme of the Farm. See the vocab for ideas! If you have any garden gloves for Tuesday that would be great to bring them in for your child.

Some of the vocab will include these words...goat, sheep, overalls, rooster, gardening, tools, tractor, plow, farmer, farm, fence, field/pasture, chicken coop, haystack, wagon, pond,pig pen, hay, and silo.

The Funny Farm

2009-04-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hello dear families!
We are all grateful for the warmer weather and last week we were able to take advantage of being outdoors for some of our language experiences about the forest.
For the next two weeks we will focus on the theme, " The Funny Farm".
Here is a Peek of the Week
Monday- We will introduce the theme by having a Dramatic Play a Day on the Farm

Tuesday-Field trip to the Dodge Nature Center - 9:00 - 11:30
We will be able to see some of the animals. Please dress your child for being outdoors.

Wednesday- We will make a diorama of a Farm

Thursday- We will have fun making mud pudding

Friday- We will simulate milking a cow

Show and Tell

Wednesday- Mae and Matteo

Thursday- Zachary and Lucy

Friday- Nick and Mitchell

Please bring in any items that relates to our theme of the Farm.
See the vocab for ideas!
Some of the vocab will include these words...
goat, sheep, overalls, rooster, gardening, tools, tractor, plow, farmer, farm, fence, field/pasture, chicken coop, haystack, wagon, pond,pig pen, hay, and silo.

The Forest comes to Us Week 2

2009-04-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
I hope by the time you read this, you will be enjoying your Spring Break and making memories with your children. Winter should be behind us now and we will be setting our eyes on the Spring weather, and enjoying outdoor activities. Spring is also a time to see where your child has been and look at the progress he/she has made since the Fall. Some of our students are ready to fly out of the nest and move on to Kindergarten!
Make sure that you sign up for the Spring conferences! You will find a sign-up sheet on the left side of the hallway wall near my door.
We will continue with the theme of the Forest and continue with the same vocabulary words from last week.
Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday- No School due to teacher work day.

Tuesday- We will have fun making some crazy snakes!

Wednesday- We will make an edible Deer face complete with antlers!

Thursday- Preparing for a hike! As a group we will pack a back pack with all the necessities for hiking through a forest.

Friday- As a large group we will experience camping and also make a favorite campfire snack!

For Show and Tell
Please have your student bring in something related to our theme of hiking through a forest. This can be binoculars, canteens, compass, stuffed animals, books, toy snakes, small plastic forest animals etc.

Tuesday- Lucy and Matteo
Wednesday- Nick and Mae
Thursday- Mitchell and Zachary

Thanks so much for being an active partner in your child's learning. I appreciate all you do to make this a wonderful experience for your child!

The Forest comes to us

2009-03-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
As we are moving into a new month with the anticipation of Spring, we are grateful for the outdoors, and being able to capture with our senses the new growth. This is a time to get the children excited to see birds and other little creatures come to life!
These next 2 weeks we will introduce the forest and all the wonders we can find in nature. Isn't exciting also to see the new growth and development in your own children?

Here is a Peek of the Week:
Monday- We will venture outdoors to take a Nature Walk and discover what Mother Earth has to offer.

Tuesday- We will create an edible nest
.
Wednesday- We will have fun making a textured squirrel.

Thursday- It is time to dye some colorful eggs!

Friday- Keep your eyes open as we go on an Egg Hunt.

Show and Tell
Please have the students bring in anything that pertains to the theme of outdoors. Here are some suggestions: any little forest creatures. Toy squirrels, bears, raccoons, birds, nests, leaves, pine cones, eggs, etc., and books are always welcomed!
Tuesday- Matteo and Lucy
Wednesday-Mitchell and Nick
Thursday-Mae and Zachary
Please do not be concerned about the day for show and tell , this is merely a guide to remind you, I am flexible!

Vocabulary will include these words: bear, deer, squirrel, owl, raccoon, skunk, chipmunk, nuts, beaver, snake, forest, nest, pine cones, acorn, antlers, bird, berries, mushrooms, bark, hiker, camouflage, canteen, conservation, edible, poisonous, wild turkey.

Under the Big Top

2009-03-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Circus!!
We had fun last week introducing the vocabulary words and the whole idea of a circus. Some children have not had the opportunity of experiencing the circus, so we are doing our best to have fun at school. Tanya dressed up like a clown last week and the kids all had fun seeing her walk into our classroom!
This week we will continue with the theme. Each day we will have fun with some more learning activities, and on Friday we will end up with acting out the 3 ring circus!
Here is a Peek of the Week....

Monday- We will practice being a lion tamer and animal trainer.

Tuesday- We will create some fun circus animals from our hand prints.

Wednesday- Yum! We will make some monkey bread!

Thursday- We will create a circus train.

Friday- The Circus arrives at Northern Voices!

For Show and Tell-
Please have your children bring in items for the circus. Do you have any special hula hoops, circus animals( plastic or stuffed) , batons, clown costumes, funny wigs, juggling small balls, etc.? Anything would be appreciated. Having specific show and tell items that correlate with the theme help to reinforce our learning experiences.

Show and Tell Days

Tuesday- Nick and Lucy
Wednesday- Matteo and Mitchell
Thursday- Zachary and Mae

Vocab will continue from last week-
Some words will include, flying trapeze, juggler, tight rope walker, acrobats, tiger, lion, seal, balancing, ringmaster, clown, costume, wig, weight lifter, cotton candy, big top,ticket.

Under the Big Top

2009-03-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
Ahhh! Spring is in the air! We are all so thankful to have the warm up and look forward to brighter days ahead! As we move forward, we can see progress in our students. They are becoming more confident with their conversational skills, and love to learn new things!
Asking questions, especially the whys? and what do you think will happen if..? are some of the higher level interrogatives that allow children to use their critical thinking skills paired up with language to express their thoughts.
Here is a Peek into our Week
March 16th - 20th
Monday- We will make some delicious Shamrock bread as we look forward to St. Patrick's Day!

Tuesday- Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Please come for our parade! Have your child bring their decorated bike to school and be dressed in green. We will have fun riding our bikes, scooters, or pulling a wagon through the hallways of the school.
Times: 11:45 and 2:45.

Wednesday- We will be focusing on the circus. We will be introducing the theme and acting out what people do under the Big Top.

Thursday- We will create some cool looking tiger's by using a technique of marble painting.

Friday- Watch out as we let the lions out for the day! We will make some fun looking lion masks. You might hear your child let out a mighty roar!

For Show and Tell
Tuesday- Matteo and Mae
Wednesday- Nick and Lucy
Thursday- Zachary and Mitchell

Please bring anything related to the theme of a circus. This can be a funny clown's nose, or wig, a stuffed circus animal or a book about the circus.
Some of the vocab for these next 2 weeks will include these words: acrobats, tightrope walker, flying trapeze, ring master, tiger, clown costume, ticket, cotton candy, clown, lion tamer, balancing act, audience, juggling, circus tent, walrus, lion, wig, circus, unicycle.

Under the Rainbow

2009-02-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
Here we go as we enter a new month! This is the time when we have high hopes to saying goodbye to Old Man Winter, and Hello to a Spring thaw!
As we keep moving on, it is amazing to see the good progress in all the students. They have been working hard on their auditory and articulation skills. I work on challenging the students to expand their utterances, and we have some wonderful times of conversations in the classroom. Each student always brings something they wish to share with their friends. Please continue to encourage your child to share their Weekend News and Show and Tell. These are important times for your child to practice their language skills. Thank you so much for all you do to help your child be successful at home and at school!

For the next two weeks we will be learning all about colors.
Here is a Peek at the next two weeks:
March 2nd- 5th

Monday- We will read the charming book, " The Rainbow Fish". This will be a good book for discussing sharing and how to be friends.
Tuesday - We will have fun creating our own special Rainbow Fish.
Wednesday- We will enjoy making a rainbow fruit salad and tasting it at snack time.
Thursday- We will create some beautiful stain glass pictures to hang in the window.
Friday -March 6th - No School

March 9th-13th
Monday- No School Teacher Work Day

Tuesday- Field trip to the Dodge Nature Center

Wednesday- We will have fun making a colorful rainbow ( we will work on the concept of various sizes from smallest to the largest),
Thursday- Yummy! We will make some delicious Shamrock shakes.
Friday- We will have fun acting out a skit for St. Patrick's Day. Think Green!

Our vocab for the next two weeks include these words: splash, mix, discover, smear, gold coins, sneaky, beard, dip, pinwheel, prism, (all the basic colors as well as some new colors..silver, gold, beige, rose, turquoise) plaid, stripes, kaleidoscope, easel, pallet,tricks, rainbow, leprechaun, pot of gold, shamrock, Ireland.
For Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in something that pertains to the topic. The item can be something that reflects the vocab words, or something related to St.Patrick's Day. Any form of artwork that has to do with multiple colors would be great! Perhaps you can create a special picture at home with your child that they can share with the class or bring in a book about colors. Thanks for all you do for your child!

Good Night Sleep tight!

2009-02-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Families !
After a short week last week, we all enjoyed our field trip to the Dodge Nature Center, and then enjoyed a new dusting of snow.
We will continue to learn about night time routines and have fun with learning about nocturnal animals, stars, and the moon.
The children continue to amaze me with their lively spirits and their perseverance to learn new things!
Here is a Peek of the Week!
Monday - Read and discuss the book Good Night Moon.

Tuesday- We will talk about " counting sheep" and make some like sheep of our own.

Wednesday- We will have some fun doing a little star gazing. We will talk about how light is reflected as we look at some stars that glow in our room.

Thursday-We will learn how to pack a suitcase for sleeping overnight and the things we would need to make our night stay comfortable.

Friday- Get on the P.J.s as we have fun having a pajama party at school!
The students can wear their pajamas to school and bring with them a favorite stuffed animal or blanket that they sleep with.

We will continue to review the vocabulary words from last week.
For Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in a favorite bedtime story to share with their friends.
Tuesday- Matteo and Mae
Wednesday- Nick and Lucy
Thursday- Zachary and Mitchell

Good Night - Sleep Tight!

2009-02-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!
Here we are entering a new week and continuing to learn and grow.
We are going to discuss nighttime activities, and night time routines.
Night time can at times be a challenge, as children don't always like to end their day and separate from their parents. We will have fun talking about the comfort that comes with good rest, and healthy night time routines.
Here is a Peek of the Week
Monday- Presidents Day No School
Tuesday- Field trip to the Dodge Nature Center Please have your child dress warmly as we will be outdoors.
Wednesday- We will be making a fun stuffed Teddy Bear
Thursday- We will make some Nighttime Toast
Friday- We will create a starry night windsock

Some of the vocab will include these words: sweet dreams, pajamas, crescent moon, asleep, slumber, twilight, nocturnal, full moon, stars, comet, astrologer, constellation, half moon

Show and Tell
Please have your child bring in their favorite bedtime story, or favorite stuffed animal that they sleep with, perhaps a favorite blanket or item of comfort.
Tuesday- no Show and Tell due to the field trip
Wednesday- Mae and Nick
Thursday- Matteo and Lucy
Friday- Zachary and Mitchell

Valentine's Week

2009-02-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
I hope you are all enjoying our warmer weather! I know that last week the children had fun getting outside and having some fresh air. We will continue the theme as last week, but will incorporate some activities for Valentine's Day.
Here is the Peek of the Week
Monday- We will make some shadow puppets. We will experience the effects of light and dark.

Tuesday- We will have fun pretending to ice skate indoors and make some paper skates!

Wednesday- Yummy! We will attempt to make ice cream!

Thursday- We will decorate our Valentine's bags

Friday- We will have fun exchanging cards and playing games at the Valentine's Day Party!

For Show and Tell: Your child can bring in anything that pertains to the Valentine theme. Perhaps a book about love and sharing. A picture of someone special in their lives, or something that they love, a special stuff animal etc.

Tuesday- Lucy and Nick
Wednesday- Mitchell and Zachary
Thursday- Matteo and Mae

Valentine's Day Party on Friday @ 11:15
Please no peanuts or hard candy
Valentine's Day card can be homemade or store bought
Have fun sharing the love!

Sunshine and Daytime Activities

2009-02-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Peek of the Week Feb. 2nd- 6th
Hi Families!
Can you believe we are now into a new month?
Here is a closer look at what is happening in Joanne’s room.
This week we will be covering the theme of Good Morning, Sunshine and Day times Activities
We will also have our focus on winter activities since we have been experiencing some cold days.
Monday- We will be creating some Valentine’s to give to children at the Children’s Hospital.
Tuesday- Hopefully, we will have a chance to bundle up and go outside to go sledding! Please make sure that your children have appropriate winter gear so they are able to enjoy being warm and dry outdoors. If your child could bring in their sled that would be great too!
Wednesday- We will pack some suitcases to see what we would need if we were to go on a summer vacation or a winter vacation.
Thursday- We will make some tasty bird feeders for our feathered friends!
Friday- We will make some tasty breakfast food for us!
Show and Tell-
Tuesday- Lucy and Zachary
Wednesday- Mae and Nick
Thursday- Mitchell and Matteo
Vocabulary for this week will include some of these words: sled, ice skates, skis, snowboard, outdoors, chilly, roll, shovel, snowball, snowflake, ski, snowshoes, snow hikers, snow sliding, icicle, frosty.

Travel and Transportation

2009-01-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
I hope you all survived the freezing weather we experienced and are now warmed up to enter a new week of learning!
Here is a Peek of this week!

Tuesday- We will go on a Field trip to the Dodge Nature Center. We will learn about stars, planets, and constellations!

Wednesday- We will have fun making rocket ships!

Thursday- We will have some fun watching a Magic Show by John the Magician!
We will be making some fruit salad to prepare for the Dad's breakfast.

Friday - Dad's Breakfast @ 8:30 We will look forward to sharing a yummy breakfast with all the special man in your child's life.
We will also have fun making parachutes after the breakfast in class.

For Show and Tell - Please bring in something that pertains to the theme of transportation. We will be talking about vehicles that can go on the land, in the water, or in the air.

The vocabulary for this week will include these words: land, sky, water, tractor, snowmobile, subway, semi-trailer, locomotive, school bus,city bus,parachute, helicopter, hot air balloon, sailboat, submarine, automobile, canoe, cruise ship, boat, four wheeler, airplane, rocket ship.

Fantasy and Magic

2009-01-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hello!

We will continue with our theme from last week of Fantasy and Magic. All children love to pretend and listen to fairy tale stories. These stories are fun to act out and read over again. Our students are learning to use their listening and speaking skills to re-tell the story and recognize the sequence of the story.

Here is what we will do this week:

Monday- We will focus on the story of Cinderella and use props to act out the story.

Tuesday- We will make crowns so we can all be Princes and Princesses

Wednesday- We will learn and practice some simple magic tricks

Thursday- We will have a special visit from a Magician! The Magic show will be in the morning!
Friday- We will have fun watching the movie Cinderella.

Some of the vocabulary words for this week include: scrub, laundry, midnight, apron, glass slipper, stepsisters, Cinderella, coach, prince, wizard, magician, wand, mice, illusion, gowns, hocus-pocus, wizard, magic trick, magician's hat

For Show and Tell
Children can bring in Cinderella stories, crowns, wands, costumes, or anything make believe.

Fantasy and Magic

2009-01-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I hope that you enjoyed the winter break and come back to school refreshed and ready to learn new things in 2009! I am excited to see all the children and to get off to a new start of learning and growing!
Here is an update of what we will be working on for the next 2 weeks.

Fantasy and Magic

We will be taking a look at some favorite Fairy Tales~ Snow White and Cinderella
We will also be having fun with Magic for our 2nd week.
Here is a Peek of the Week for Jan.6th-9th
Tuesday- We will read the story Snow White and act out the parts.

Wednesday- We will make magic mirrors and have fun finding out "Who the Fairest of them all? "

Thursday- We will talk about things that are good to eat and things that would be harmful to eat or put in your mouth.

Friday- We will talk about our feelings and make silly hats! We will also be reading the book, " Where the Wild Things Are "
The vocabulary words will include some of the following:
illusion, hocus pocus, wizard, fairy godmother, gowns, Cinderella, mice, castle, glass slipper, clock, dance, prince, king, queen, princess,surprised, sad, angry, afraid, happy, tired, hungry, magician's hat, wand, magician,shy, excited, shy.

Show and Tell
Please bring in a favorite Fairy Tale book or an item that pertains to the theme. We are talking about princes and princesses, castles, crowns etc.
***Show and Tell Days are:
Tuesday- Mae and Zachary
Wednesday - Lucy and Liam
Thursday- Mitchell and Matteo

Monday is always Weekend News.
Friday is always books or a game.

Music

2008-12-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
As we move into the holidays we are reminded of all the great ways to express joy!
We will be experiencing Music and how we can express ourselves with making our own kind of music! We will also be getting ready for our Bake sale, so we will be creating some yummy treats this week!
Here is a Peek Of the Week
Monday- We will make something tasty to put in our bake sale.

Tuesday- We will continue with baking and then at 11:00- 12:00 we will joining the Grandparents for the Gingerbread House creations!

Wednesday- We will have fun making Matzoh Balls to taste!

Thursday- We will have fun expressing ourselves as we paint to different kinds of music!

Friday- We will make some musical instruments!

For Show and Tell
Your child can bring in any kind of musical instrument to share.

Some of the vocab will include these words: violin, trumpet, conductor, piano, cymbals, drums, sing, musical notes, instruments, drums, guitar, xylophone, bells, orchestra, harmonica, strum, bang, loud, soft

Weather

2008-11-28T18:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome Back Families!

I hope that you all enjoyed a time of feasting and celebrating with laughter and good food!

Now we are entering a new month and a countdown to another festive holiday season!

As the seasons change, so do the temperatures! We will be talking about different types of weather, and how we need to prepare ourselves to keep safe and warm.

Here is a Peek of the Week:

Monday: We will be doing some experiments with wind. We will be looking at different items that we can blow around and with what force we need to move them.

Tuesday:We will be making rain drops with eyedroppers and water.

Wednesday: We will be making tornado in a bottle.

Thursday: We will create some colorful umbrellas.

Friday: We will create a winter scene.

For Show and Tell:

Please bring items that are related to the weather theme. This could be an item of clothing or a book about weather, an umbrella etc.

Vocabulary words will include:

sunrise, gust, blow, snowflake, freezing, blizzard, sunny, sun rays, hot, melt, foggy, tornado, shelter, shadow, hurricane, weather, puffy, clouds, wispy clouds, dark, stormy, umbrella, raindrop, rainy, windy, rainbow, thunderstorm, lightning, twister, sunset.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-22T17:53:00.002-08:00

Hello Families!
We have a short week this week as we enter our Thanksgiving holiday. I hope that you and your loved ones enjoy this season and are blessed with a wonderful time together making memories and giving thanks for every good thing!

Monday : We will be cooking with the children to get ready for our feast on Tuesday.

Tuesday: Please join us to enjoy the feast that your children help to prepare. We will be meeting in the lunchroom a 11:15 and eat in the Fellowship Hall. We look forward to seeing all of you there!

There will be no school on Wednesday through Friday with school resuming on Monday.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-22T17:53:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving

2008-11-17T04:25:00.004-08:00

Hello Families~
Let Us Give Thanks For all Good Things!
This is a time to prepare our children for the message and fun with the holiday season.
We will be talking about the Pilgrims, and American Indians, and recreate the story of the Mayflower.
As history showed us, the feast was bountiful with plenty to eat for everyone!

Here is a Peek of the Week
Monday- Field trip to the Dodge Nature Center - we learn all about Owls
Tuesday- We will make a colorful American Indian headdress
Wednesday- We will make a Pilgrim hat
Thursday- We will tell the story of the 1st Thanksgiving and have fun with dramatic play
Friday- We will make some interesting turkeys

Show and Tell

Please follow the schedule as last week:

Tuesday- Lucy and Matteo
Wednesday- Mitchell and Liam
Thursday- Mae and Deyon

Thanks for all the great show and tell items!
Please bring in something related to the Thanksgiving theme. This can include a book, a picture of the family, a food item for that is related to the Thanksgiving feast (potato, carrot, can of cranberries, ) oven mitts, apron, etc.

Here is the vocabulary that we will work on:
cranberries, potatoes, pumpkin pie, pie crust, mashed potatoes, cooked turkey, feast, pie tins, rolls, tomatoes, turkey, rolling pin, American Indian, Mayflower, pilgrims, oven mitts, taste, grocery bags, children, family, measuring spoons, pots, spices, thank you, apron

2008-11-17T04:25:00.003-08:00

2008-11-17T04:25:00.001-08:00

A Pot, A Pan, and a Wooden Spoon

2008-11-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!
I am back from a long week at Jury Duty. I will be anxious to get back in the swing of things with the students, as I missed them all!
Last week continues into this week as we get prepared for Thanksgiving.
We will be continuing lessons in language on the theme of cooking.

A Peek at the Week looks like this...

Monday- We will pretend to bake different culinary delights as the students pat, roll, cookie cut, and squish shapes with Play Doh.

Tuesday- Today we will take what we learned from yesterday's experience and make some edible cookies. We will use our cookie cutting and decorating skills.

Wednesday- Have your child come ready for a Tea Party! We will use our social skills and also make some finger sandwiches as we enjoy each others company at the Tea Party!

Thursday- Dramatic Play as we have fun playing the roles at a restaurant.

Friday- We will start to prepare for our field trip to the Dodge Nature Center which will be next Monday the 17 th. We will make paper bag owls.

Show and Tell
Please bring items in that have to do with the theme. This can be any fun kitchen gadget or perhaps a book about cooking, an apron, or even something simple to taste that you and your child has made in the kitchen.
Here is the schedule for Show and Tell:
Monday- Weekend News
Tuesday- Lucy and Matteo
Wednesday- Mitchell and Liam
Thursday - Mae and Deyon
Friday - Book or Game Day

**I will try to keep to this schedule as it give each child a chance to share. Please write your day down to remind you when your child has Show and Tell.

Some of the vocab for this week include these words:pot, spatula,apron, can opener, whisk, stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, sink, oven mitt, timer, recipe, rolling pin, electric mixer

Moving into November

2008-11-03T04:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Families,
When you arrive this morning you will notice a change. Unfortunately, I will be out for several weeks due to Jury Duty. Your children will be well cared for as the other skilled teachers take over in my absence. You can go to either Tanya's or Jackie's Blog to find out the current Lesson Plans for the week. Hopefully, if I am chosen to serve, the case will be short lived and I will return to work sooner than the 2 week period.
Thank you for understanding in this situation. I will look forward to returning to be a part of your children's lives. Until then, take care! Tell your children, I will miss them!
Joanne

Community Workers (continued) & October Fun

2008-10-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,

Can you believe that we are almost at the end of October?

As we move into a new week of learning, we will continue to learn about Community Workers and also talk about some activities that happen at the end of October.

Here is a Peek of the Week!

Monday- We will be talking about the importance of caring for our teeth and what the Dentist does to help us take care of our teeth.

Tuesday-We will have fun making a Witches Brew!

Wednesday- We will create a scarecrow!

Thursday- We will create some edible spiders!

Friday- We will be getting ready for our Halloween Party.

The party is from 11:00 -12:00.

Please have your child come dressed in his/her costume and be ready for some fun!

For Show and Tell: Please have your child bring in something that is related to the Halloween Theme- This can be a book about pumpkins, a past photo of them in a Halloween costume, a silly Halloween book, or a part of their costume. Be creative!

This is a time for harvesting, so you can also bring in gourds, squash, Indian corn.

The Vocab includes these words: candy apple, skeleton, mask, bat, trick or treating, fairy, carve, ghost, pumpkin, clown, spooky/scary, Jack 'o lantern, spider.

Community Workers

2008-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hello N.V. Families!

I hope everyone enjoyed the long MEA weekend and that you were able to spend some quality time with your children.

I spent Thursday attending the Midwest Conference for Listening and Spoken Language. I was able to listen and gain so much information from our keynote speaker Carol Flexor, PhD. She spoke about the Listening Brain and new brain research. The information regarding Auditory Neural Activity was fascinating! Early intervention for children with hearing loss allows the brain to make connections and is necessary for auditory stimulation and growth. Repetition and practice is key to stimulating the brain so the language skills develop, and children can then attain intelligible speech.

I am proud of our children here at Northern Voices as it is exciting to see these children grow and learn daily!

This week we move into learning about Community Workers.

Throughout the week we will examine all the different jobs that men and women do to be an integral and important contributor to our society.

Children are so proud to talk about their parents.

This is a good time to let your child know about the jobs you do when you go off to work.

Everyone is special whether they work out of the home or stay home. Each person can be responsible for helping out.

We will be taking a closer look at people we might have contact with within our communities.

We will be role playing so we may experience first hand the importance of each worker.

Some of the vocabulary words will include: tools, uniforms, office workers, grocery workers, Firefighters, Carpenters, Police, Doctors, Dentists, Teachers, Mail Carriers, Car Mechanics, Pharmicists, Cashiers, Audiologists.

For Show and Tell:

Please have your child bring in something that represents one of these workers. Please take time to talk with your child at home about why they are bringing in the show and tell item as this will prepare them with the conversation to share with the other students.

PETS

2008-10-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

Dear NV families,
We are continuing with our theme of Pets for a 2nd week.
This week we will have a short week with 3 days of school due to MEA.
Here is a Peek of our short Week.

Monday- We will have fun making some edible Puppy Chow.

Tuesday- We will learn about the different ways we can take care of our pets. Giving them a bath, brushing them, feeding them, walking them, and yes, the nasty job of cleaning up after them!

Wednesday- We will have our Pet Show! We will have our animals perform tricks and run an obstacle course. This will be a good opportunity for the kids to use their language skills for the prepositions: over, under, through, around, between, below, above, next to, in, and out.

Thursday and Friday - No School! MEA

*****Please have your child bring in a favorite stuffed animal for the Pet Show.
Vocab will continue to be reviewed from last week.
Enjoy a long weekend with your family!
Thanks for all you do to make your child's school experience full and happy!

Pets

2008-10-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

This week we will be having some fun talking about pets and animal care. If you are pet owners, you already know the benefits children receive from having a furry companion. Now is a good time to allow your child to take part in being responsible for some duties in pet care. Your children love to be helpers, and are old enough to handle a small job, as in walking the dog, feeding the fish, brushing the cat. We will talk this week about proper care and also have fun learning what kind of tricks our pets can do!
For Show and Tell please have your child bring in their favorite stuffed animal as we will be having a Pet Show on Thursday. If you are a pet owner, your child can bring in a photo of their furry friend, or anything that relates to our theme.

Monday- We will have fun creating critters out of Play-Doh.

Tuesday- Dramatic play. We will be acting out the role of a Veterinarian.

Wednesday- We will make some edible Puppy Chow.

Thursday- We will be having a Pet Show. Please remember to bring in a stuffed animal.

Friday- We will make creative creatures with Milk Bones!

Some of the Vocab words will include: cage/kennel, leash, dog bowl, hamster, aquarium, veterinarian, puppy, kitten, dog brush, groomer, Pet Show, obedience shcool, trainer, beg, rabbit.

Show and Tell

2008-09-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hi!
For this week I would like you to help your child be creative by finding something that represents a room in your house. For example: a screwdriver from the garage, or a gadget from the kitchen, or maybe something from their bedroom. Have fun! They can bring in more than one item!
Thanks!
Joanne

The More We Get Together and Apple Orchard

2008-09-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hi! Fall is in the air and we are getting ready to examine what Autumn is really like with all the changes! As the seasons change, we change too! Your children are growing and learning everyday! It is fun to see them develop and learn new things!
This week we are looking at our homes and our families.
We are learning about relationships and our responsibilities within a relationship.

How does your special child add to your family? Does your child have some responsibilities in your home?
As your child grows, becoming independent and feeling like they can contribute to the family is important. Even though your child is still in his/her early years of development, they can start to help Mom and Dad with daily chores. This will boost their self-esteem!
Here is a Peek at our Week!
Monday- We will be reading the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Tuesday - We will read about another family..The 3 Little Pigs

Wednesday- We will construct some creative houses made with Graham crackers and pretzels.

Thursday- We will be getting ready for our apple field trip and making some homemade applesauce.

Friday - Our field trip to the Dodge Nature Center has be re-scheduled for today!
Dress your children for some outdoor fun as we learn about apples and the walk through the apple orchard.

Some of the vocab will include a reviewing of last week's words on apples. Additional words will include: Family, house, chimney, roof, shingles, driveway, garage, living room, basement, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, family room, driveway, front yard, backyard.

Friends and Family

2008-09-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

This week we will be talking about your family. Take time to help your child know all about your family, and what your favorite activity is to do as a famliy. Do you have a favorite vacation spot that you go to in the summer?