Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

Dinosaur Fun!

 

Hello Parents and Guardians!

We have been doing fun dinosaur activities this week!  We read books about dinosaurs and learned fun facts.  We learned about different kinds of dinosaurs and created a class graph of our favorite dinosaurs.  We learned what fossils are and used pretend dinosaur bones (pasta shells) to build dinosaurs.  These projects are on display in the hallway.  

There is no school on Monday, May 25.

Just a reminder that our field trip to Strack & Van Til grocery store is Thursday, May 28.  Students attending the field trip should wear their green St. John Berchmans t-shirt and comfortable walking shoes.

Thanks for your help!

Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families! 

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

We have had a wonderful week here in pre-k!  The students have been working hard on their Mother's Day projects they made for you.  We have also been watching our plants grow and our lima beans change.  The lima beans are sprouting!  We also put sequencing cards in the order that a plant grows.  We talked about the things that plants need to grow.  Please ask your child what they have learned about plants.   

We hope that all of you wonderful moms, grandmas, and special guardians have a very happy Mother's Day!  Please know that you are loved very much by your children- they talk about you so much here at school! 

Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

Week of The Young Child!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

We have had a wonderful week back from Easter break!  We hope everyone had a nice Easter!  It was nice to be able to sit down and talk with each of you at parent/teacher conferences before break.  Please remember that you can e-mail us at anytime.   

This week is Week of The Young Child!  We have been doing many fun activities here at St. John Berchmans!  This week the students created pictures of themselves, painted watercolor pictures for their families, and played with shaving cream!  They practiced writing their names and letters in the shaving cream.  They enjoyed popsicle treats.  We had a guest reader.  Ms. Mary Jo visited our classroom to read us a story!  We also had fun playing outside this week in the nice weather. 

We went to see the Cinderella play this week!  The students had so much fun watching this play and riding on a school bus.  They created pictures of what they saw on the field trip.  We read the story of Cinderella.  We created prince and princess crowns this week. 

Please see the pictures below of some of these fun activities.   

Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Easter Egg Hunt!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

The Easter bunny left eggs in our classroom!  The students had so much fun on the Easter egg hunt today!  They found many colorful eggs filled with jelly beans!  Please see the pictures below!

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter break!  We will see you when school resumes on Monday, April 20!

Thank you!  May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

            

 

Happy Spring!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

The preschoolers learned about weather and wind last week.  We talked about different types of weather incuding wind, clouds, rain, sun, and snow.  We created wind during straw painting!  We used weather wheels to talk about what the weather was like outside.  We did a cloud and rain science experiment in which the students learned how clouds hold water and how rain happens when the water drips out.  We used water and cotton balls for this experiment.  We made shapes of clouds during cloud painting.  The students used their imaginations to tell what their clouds looked like!  These are on display in the hallway.  We also created colorful windstocks! 

This week we have been doing many Easter activities.  We talked about Easter, the meaning of Easter, and ways people celebrate Easter.  We made bunnies in cups to tell a short story.  We made Jesus is Risen pictures using watercolor paints.  We will hang these pictures up for Easter.  We have also been working on patterning skills by patterning on Easter eggs.  The eggs are so bright and colorful!  We will also do more Easter activities next week.  Please talk with your child about the special Easter holiday!

Please remember that parent/teacher conferences are next Wednesday, April 8. 

There is no school from April 9-19.  This is Easter break.  We will return to school on April 20. 

Upcoming field trips- The entire preschool will visit St. Patrick High School for the Cinderella play on Tuesday, April 21.

Our class will be visiting Strack and Van Til on Thursday, May 28 from 9-10AM.

Thanks so much for all of your help!  Have a wonderful weekend!

May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

Here are some pictures of our cloud and rain experiment:

          

Happy First Day of Spring!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

We had fun this week making shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day!  They are on display in the hallway.  We talked about who St. Patrick was and how he used the three leaves of clovers to teach people about the Trinity.  We also had special St. Patrick's Day cookies and green grapes!  Thank you to Simon and his family for the treats!  We colored pictures this week for the first day of Spring!  We had a sink/float experiment in the sand/water table and sorted items based on whether they would sink or float.  We talked about how God made us special, and we created colorful pictures of something very special about us!  These are on display in the hallway.  Please take a moment to look at them when you get a chance.  We also practiced writing our names, letters, and numbers this week.

Thank you VERY MUCH for all of the wonderful donations given to our classroom.  We really appreciate it!  

Here are a few reminders:

This Saturday, March 21 is the Glimmer Auction!  We hope to see you all there!

Next Saturday, March 28,  is Breakfast with the Easter Bunny from 9-11:30AM!

Also on Saturday, March 28, is Earth hour at 8:00PM in which people can turn off their lights to conserve energy!

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming up beginning next Friday, March 27!

Please make sure your child is wearing their green St. John Berchmans t-shirt and gym shoes every Wednesday and Thursday for gym class. 

Please continue to drop your child off at the doors where Sister Joyce stands in the morning.  Please feel free to help them walk to the classroom door if there is something heavy to carry.  Thanks for your cooperation with this. 

Please wash your child's blanket each time it is sent home and send it back to school on the next day he or she attends.  Thank you!

Thanks for all of your help!  Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

Here are some pictures of our St. Patrick's Day celebration, the sink/float experiment in the sand/water table, and playing in centers:

           

Nursery Rhyme Fun!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

The preschoolers been having so much fun learning nursery rhymes and doing nursery rhyme activities!  This week we played a game called "don't drop Humpty Dumpty!" in which the students balanced a hard-boiled egg (Humpty Dumpty) on a spoon and had a relay race!  Humpty Dumpty cracked, but the students still had fun while practicing balancing and coordination skills.  See the pictures below.  We also created Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall and made faces on these art projects.  They are on display in the hallway.  The students practiced math and gross motor skills as we played a Jack Be Nimble jumping game.  The students measured how far they jumped!  We also painted with watercolors, read many books, and sang nursery rhyme songs! 

Last week the preschool classes participated in a Mardi Gras parade!  They students made masks and played musical instruments.  See the pictures below.

Father Wayne visited our class to give us ashes last Wednesday on Ash Wednesday.  Last Wednesday was the beginning of Lent.  The students thought of something they would like to do for Lent.  Some answers included sharing and helping out with chores at home.  Each child decorated a cross with their Lenten Promise written on it.  These are on display in the hallway.  

Reminders:

- There is a family mass this Sunday, March 8, at 9:45AM.

- We have gyn class on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Please make sure your child wears his or her green gym shirt and gym shoes.  

- There is no school on Friday, March 13.   

- We are collecting items for the Bishop Conway Residence and pennies for the Lenten Penny Campaign.  There boxes are in the classrooms for any donations. 

- Please remember to drop your child off at the school doors where Sister Joyce stands in the morning.  If you need to help your child carry something heavy, you may drop them off outside of the classroom door.  This is very important with our morning routine and helping students develop independent skills.  We are encouraging students to turn in their folders and hang up their coats and backpacks.  Thanks for your help and cooperation. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families! 

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

Here are some pictures of our Mardi Gras parade and the "don't drop Humpty Dumpty" game!

     

   

   

 

The Little Red Hen!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

The students have enjoyed learning the story The Little Red Hen.  We talked about the characters in the story and the importance of helping others.  We made a writing prediction sheet in which the students wrote ways they will help others.  This literacy project is on display in the hallway.  We built hens out of shapes and listened to different versions of the story.  We also played animal charades in which the students took turns acting like they were different animals and their friends guessed which animal they were acting like.  There were a lot of laughs and a lot of fun during this game!  Last week we talked about feelings and emotions around the time of Valentine's Day.  The students created pictures of how they feel by drawing facial expressions on a blank face.  The faces and the hens are also on display in the hallway. 

We talked this week about the importance of sharing.  We are working on sharing toys and being kind to each other. 

The story bus came to visit this week on Thursday!  The students had so much fun playing at the different areas set up on the bus.  Some of the areas included a pretend garden to pick vegetables, a kitchen to make pretend food by reading recipes like the Little Red Hen did in the story, a place to grind the wheat to make bread, a conveyer belt to put food on and move it into the oven, and a place to pick corn.  There was even a place to go fishing.  See the pictures below to see the students playing on the bus. 

Upcoming dates to remember:

Tuesday, February 24- Pre-K classes will participate in a Mardi Gras parade with candy and masks that the students will decorate

Wednesday, February 25- Ash Wednesday

Friday, February 27- No school (Staff development day)

Thanks for all that you do as parents and for all of the parent support we have been receiving.  Please remember that you can e-mail us at anytime. 

Ms. Casey- ccameron@stjohnberchmans.org

Ms. Carmen- cortiz@stjohnberchmans.org

Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

              

 

Dental Awareness!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

We have been learning about ways to keep our teeth and gums healthy this week!  We have done a lot of hands-on learning this week.  We practiced brushing our teeth by using stained hard-boiled eggs.  We also practiced flossing the bottom of egg cartons.  We painted paper teeth white, and we sorted pictures of foods that are healthy for our teeth and foods that are not healthy for our teeth.  Ask you children what foods they learned about that are healthy for them. 

We also celebrated the 100th day of school this week.  Thanks for all the treats that were sent in!

Catholic Schools Week was a huge success last week!  Thanks so much for all of your help!  One thing we did for student appreciation day was make play-doh.  Each child took home a peice of this play-doh.  We also had popcorn and watched a movie last Friday.  The students really enjoyed this! 

If you plan to send Valentine cards to school, please send them on Thursday, February 12.  We know that Friday is closer to the actual day, but more students attend school on Thursday.  If your child does not attend on Thursday, you can send them in on the next day he or she attends.  Please have your son/daughter try to print or help them print his or her name on each Valentine to show who it is from.  We have 24 children total in the class.  Please do not feel obligated to send Valentine cards, as this is just information if you were planning on it. 

Upcoming dates:

February 8- Family Mass 9:45am

February 16- President's Day- No school

February 19- The Story Bus is visiting to tell the story The Little Red Hen

Below are some pictures of making play-doh, brushing the hard-boiled eggs, flossing the egg cartons, and the presentation from when the dental hygienist visited our class today (Friday). 

Have a wonderful weekend!  Please remember that you can e-mail us at anytime.

May God bless you and your families!

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen

                       

Winter fun!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

Thank you for working at home with your child to find the polar bear facts!  They each took turns sharing these facts with their friends at school.  Below are also some pictures of our science experiment from last week when we learned how blubber helps polar bears stay warm.  We placed our hands in a glove which was inside a bag of vegetable oil.  Our hands were protected by the glove and the vegetable oil kept our hands warm just like blubber keeps polar bears warm.  See the pictures below!

The preshoolers have been doing fun winter activities this week!  They practiced cutting as they cut out the characters from the story The Mitten.  They listened to the story.  As each character climbed inside, they would place their same character inside their mitten.  They really enjoyed this. 

There are also some pictures below of the students playing during center time! 

Thank you so much for all the donuts, juice, and cups we had donated for the family mass this Sunday!  Please remember that it is this coming Sunday, January 25, at 9:45AM.  We hope to see you there!  There will be refreshments in the basement following the mass.  The science fair will also take place after mass. 

Dates to remember:

January 25, 2009- Family Mass at 9:45AM

January 25-31, 2009- Catholic Schools Week! 

January 28, 2009- Family Activity Night at 7:00PM

Have a wonderful weekend!  May God bless you and your families! 

Ms. Casey and Ms. Carmen