SHOW AND TELL
Bring picture of a North American landmark. (Think Devil’sTower, the Lincoln Memorial, etc.)
Topic: North America
Learn what makes us - us
The value is frugality, which means to be careful with everything we have.
For cooking we’ll make cottage cheese.
Outside we’ll twirl, and hopscotch, and be jumping jacks.
The songs we’ll be singing are America the Beautiful, America, God Bless America, This Land is My Land, and She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain.
For creative dramatics we’ll learn some of the stories in our folklore.
Our art activities are porcupine, sweet-gum spider, thumbprint spiders, scary tree, torn paper ghosts, and scary scarecrows.
For motor development, we’ll work on strength with sit-ups, push ups, wheelbarrows, and chin ups. For bilaterality we’ll do food chains, play golf, sack races, and make a wishing well.
DISCOVER PROPRIOCEPTION
As a part of our enrichment curriculum, the children learn about their senses, but there is another sense that is really important to how we maneuver in our world. It’s the sense of where our body is in space, and it’s called proprioception. Just as our eyes and ears send information about what we see and hear, our muscles and joints sense the position of our body and send these messages to the brain as well. We depend on this information to know where our body parts are and to plan our movements. When our proprioceptive sense works well, we make continual, automatic adjustments on our position. This helps us to stay in an optimal position in a chair, to judge how to maneuver through space so that we don’t run into things, and to plan how much pressure to exert so we don’t break a pencil lead or a toy.
Since proprioception helps us with such basic functions, a problem in this system can cause a great deal of trouble. What often happens is the child has to pay attention to things that should happen automatically. He may have to use vision to compensate and “figure out” how to make adjustments. This can take a lot of energy. The child may feel clumsy, frustrated, and even fearful in some situations. For example, it may be very scary to walk down stairs if you’re not sure where your feet are. In fact, this is a natural function and one that fun activities can improve. Some things you can do are:
- Have your child help with “heavy” work, like bringing in groceries, carrying the laundry basket, and pulling weeds.
- Play “backpacking” and place bags of beans or rice in a child-sized backpack. Pretend to be climbing mountains and jumping off rocks at the park or in the backyard. Or really go backpacking.
- Make “sandwiches” with your child between cushions or between two people. Add gentle pressure as you add ingredients. A “hug” sandwich is fun.
- Play games with your eyes shut. Can your child touch her nose or make a big X with her eyes shut?
- Give extra proprioceptive input when your child is learning a new skill. For example, make shapes in sand or playdough, place your hands on your child’s shoulders as he skates or goes up or down stairs.
- Massage not only gives good proprioceptive input, but it is also a wonderfully calming activity for both parties. Make this natural thing an enjoyable thing, too.
Coming Up
Halloween Carnival – We’ll need about 8 parents to volunteer look for the sing up from in the foyer. Please have all trinkets in by Monday Oct. 30. Children should come to school dressed in their costume and bring a change of clothes please note no candy, painted faces or mask.
Conferences – We’ll have our parent/teacher conferences November 28 - December 1. This is a time when parents and teacher discuss the progress of their young student. We will begin on Tuesday the 28, with the infant class, the 29; will be for the toddler class and the primary class will have their conferences on November 30, and December 1. Look for the sign up form in the foyer by November 1, to list the time you would like to meet with your child’s teacher.
Homework - “They are only in pre-school why should they have homework?” When homework comes home its purpose is for your child to practice a skill that the teacher fells is necessary. Homework also helps to bridge a gap from home to school and shows the student that you are aware of what he’s doing while at school and you show interest. When homework comes home make it important and make a point to see it gets competed. Approach homework with joy and make it fun, that way you are not forcing the child to do it they want to do it.
Class Time – As a reminder class time begins at 9 A.M. You are encouraged to drop off your child by 8:45 and earlier if your child could use some playtime before class starts. When you arrive after 9 A.M it can be disruptive to the class, please be aware.
Party Manners – As a part of our preparation for the upcoming holiday, we will begin working with our students on manners for being with people they may not know. During snack times we’ll learn to say “No, thank you” if we really don’t like something. You might want to begin thinking of the expectations of your children in the upcoming holiday and begin preparing them for how to handle those social situations.
Thanksgiving Holiday – The school will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 23, as well as Thursday and Friday, Nov. 24 and 25, in recognition of all those things for which we need to acknowledge gratitude.
Oak Asp – One of our teachers found an Asp on her car which caused us to take action. While on the playground the students in the primary class gathered around as the teacher showed them the captured Asp and told them is was dangerous and to never touch it and inform a teacher if they see it. Just a slight touch of furry gray colored venomous caterpillar will cause severe pain, be on the lookout in your neighborhood.
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