Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

April 16^th & 18^th 

Dear Preschool Parents,

        We are beginning to wrap up our unit on rhyming and lyrical stories. The first book we read this week was “Off We Go,” by Jane Yolen. “This is another book with an emphasis on rhyme. Little Mouse moves ‘tip-toe, tippity-toe,’ Little Mole begins to ‘dig-deep, diggity deep’ and Little Spider does a ‘creep-crawl creepity crawl,’ each headed to a different but equally wonderful, place: Grandma's house. Though each has planned a separate journey, the animals find themselves playfully hopping, slithering and digging over and under one another as they all move along a grassy meadow. Wherever Grandma's house is found/ In hole, in tree, or underground, / In web, or bog, or in a nest/ Why, Grandma's house is always best” (amazon.com). After reading this book, we discussed animal actions that we could use to act out the story and would go along with the animal’s sound words. Then I reread the book while the children acted it out. Next, I gave each child an instrument. We discussed which instrument sounded most like each animal in the story. Then I reread the story yet a third time, and as their animal’s sound was read, they played their instrument. It was fun because all of the kids were actively involved playing their instrument, plus they sounded pretty cool together.

Today we read “Louella Mae, She’s Run Away,” by Karen Beaumont. “A playful story with a surprise ending! Louella Mae, she's run away! Look in the cornfields! Look in the hay! Where, oh where, is Louella Mae? Louella Mae is missing and everyone on the farm is frantically trying to find her. In the hay, in the well, in the barn: she is nowhere to be found. But there's a surprise in store at the end of the book when we find out that Louella Mae is . . . a pig, who just had piglets!” (amazon.com) Just before the last page where Louella Mae is revealed, I had the children make a prediction by drawing a picture.

Just a heads up in case you’re interested…I always make a little soft cover memory book (6x8) through Snapfish for myself of each class that I teach. These books turn out really cute! When I get the book finished, I will send an invitation to you to view it, then you can decide if it is something that you would like to purchase or not.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

--Last day of school—May 23^rd (Graduation Program)

REMINDER

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK April 23^rd & 25^th: Reese

See you next Monday! Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely, 

Amber

Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

April 9^th & 11^th 

Dear Preschool Parents,

          

            I can’t believe how fast time is passing! The days of April are dropping like flies, and graduation is right around the corner!

The first book we read this week as we continue on with our rhyming and lyrical unit was “Jamberry,” by Bruce Degen. This is a book of silly, yet joyful rhymes. A whimsical story of a bear and a young boy who frolic through a magical berry land in their quest to make jam. They play in strawberry fields forever, rumble and ramble in blackberry brambles, and topple their canoeberry with blueberries. After coming up with several of our own silly berries, we made a berry smoothie that was delicious! Then the children danced to music, as the boy and the bear did in the book, using streamers! The kids LOVED the streamers!

The second book we read was “This Is the Way,” by Charles Fuge. I absolutely LOVE the bright and colorful illustrations in this book. I introduced this book by posing some animal riddles to the children, which they loved answering. Once they got the idea that our book was about animals, I asked them to come up with some sound words that we tend to use to describe the sounds and movements of these animals. They came up with words like boing, slither, waddle, neigh, and squawk. We talked about sound words or onomatopoeias. I told them that our book today was a rhyming, lyrical story about animals that used many sound words just like the ones we had brainstormed. After our story, we finished up with a game of animal charades.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

--Last day of school—May 23^rd (Graduation Program)

REMINDER

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK April 16^th & 18^th: Leah

See you next Monday! Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely, 

Amber

Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

April 2^nd & 4^th

Continuing on with our unit on rhyming and lyrical stories, we read “Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?” by Nancy Carlstrom. The book follows a young bear through a day as he playfully "wears" not only his shirt and pants, but also the sun on his legs, sand on his arm, his mealtime chair, his bathwater and bubbles, and finally, Sleep in my eyes/And stars in the skies/Moon on my bed/And dreams in my head/That's what I'll wear tonight. This is a sweet book with darling illustrations. The children just love it. The melodic rhyme is contagious and the children want to read it again and again. After reading the book, the children worked together to dress their bear appropriately for different seasonal activities.  Finally, we worked on rhyming words with a matching game.

Today we read “Silly Sally,” by Don & Audrey Wood. I love this book! It is a wonderful read aloud, plus it teaches phonological awareness, and gets the kids moving. Silly Sally went to town, walking backwards, upside down. On the way she met a pig, a silly pig, they danced a jig. Sally and pig (upside down) meet and are joined in their walk by a dog, a bird, a sheep and (ta-dum!) Neddy Buttercup (walking forwards, right side up), who sets everything straight (amazon.com). After reading this book, I explained to the children that this book has actually been turned into a song. We listened to the musical version, practiced the related actions, and had a grand ole time dancing along! 

We have been working on our writing skills this school year. The first step is strengthening the small muscles in the hands and wrists that are used in handwriting, otherwise known as building fine motor skills.  I have encouraged fine motor development with a myriad of centers and small group activities: lacing activities, stringing beads and Froot Loops, playdoh, cutting with scissors, hammer and nails, etc. When I feel that the children are physically ready to write, I have them first use their finger to draw in sand, rice, pudding, shaving cream, paint, etc.  Finally, when I see that the children are ready to move onto pencil and paper, I have them trace simple lines and shapes and then letters. One of the most important things to focus on at this age is that your child holds their writing utensil correctly (using three fingers in a tripod grasp). If they establish another grasp from the beginning, the tripod may feel awkward at first. Changing any habit is difficult, particularly when it involves muscles and coordination. I am often correcting the children. So PLEASE watch your child as they color and write at home and correct their hold if necessary. Thank you for helping to reinforce this skill!

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK APR: 9^th  & 11^th: Olivia

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

*LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: May 23rd

Have a great week!

Sincerely, 

Amber