December Newsletter

December
Dear Families,
Hello and welcome to a new month! Guess what?! I have a website now… and it’s working!!! For lesson plans and updates, please visit my website at thechildrenscornerpreschool.blogspot.com. I have just added great links for parents!
Also, as most of you know, I will be teaching zoo phonics to the children for kindergarten readiness. I will still focus on a letter a week, but no explicitly. I want the children to be introduced to the entire alphabet quickly so we can make the most of our year. I’ve looked at zoophonics and feel it is the best approach to reading I’ve reviewed so far. The children love the program because they can connect an animal and an action with each letter’s shape and sound. I encourage you to review zoo phonics on their website (zoophonics.com) so that you can support its use at home. I prefer, though, that you do not use the animals they have on the zoophonics website, because we won’t be using them (due to copyright issues). Zoophonics would not let me copyright my materials for parental use, so I am making my own names, animals, and actions for each letter and the children will be given flash cards they may use at home. I’m sending home a basic layout of the activities, snacks, and themes we will be learning and doing during the month of November. Since my Wednesday class only meets once a week, I will be combining Tuesday/Thursday lessons so that my Wednesday children learn what the older children learn - just not as in depth. We won’t have class November 27th. Thanks for all you do and enjoy your Thanksgiving!!
November 4 – 13 – GOTTA BE ME!
*Tuesday, Nov. 4/ Wednesday, Nov. 5 –MY SENSE OF SMELL and TASTE – Cc
Today will be a fun eating day full of lots of things to taste. From dill pickles, to cookies, lemons, salty chips, and more! We’ll talk about different tastes and which ones we like best. We’ll sing Make Myself Some Cookies by Thomas Moore. We’ll be making favorite food pictures, and recipe dictations, the children can explore in the restaurant at dramatic play. For snack we’ll be using a few different senses as we make and watch our very own popcorn pop!
*Thursday, Nov. 6 – MY SENSE OF SIGHT and TOUCH – Cc
We’ll see what it’s like to be blindfolded and discuss what kinds of things we would miss out on. We’ll explore with textured fingerpaints and discuss the different textures of various objects. For snack we’ll have colored Goldfish and sort the different colors!
*Tuesday, Nov. 11/ Wednesday, Nov. 12 –FEELING ME– Dd
We’ll be talking about feelings and what makes us feel the way we do. We’ll make ‘me’ puppets with pictures of each of the children on the puppets. For snack we’ll make pizza faces!
*Thursday, Nov. 13 – CELEBRATING ME!! – Dd
Today we’ll talk about the different things we learned about ourselves and the different things we can all do. We’ll also talk about when our birthdays are and why they are special. We’ll be making special ‘ME’ hats, celebrating birthdays in the dramatic play area, and learning why it’s so great to be ME. For snack today we’ll have bananas and grapes.
November 18-26 – THANKSGIVING
*Tuesday, Nov. 18/ Wednesday, Nov. 19 – MY FAMILY- Ee
We will talk about what makes a family, in the traditional sense of the word and we’ll label family members, then we will talk about other families we have and how we, as a class, are a family too. We’ll role play with puppets, read ‘The Family Book’ by Todd Parr, and make a book about our family. For snack we’ll make heart-shaped love sandwiches.
*Thursday, Nov. 20 – Thanks – Ee
We will talk about Thanksgiving and why it is a holiday. We will talk about other fall harvest holidays around the world and explain that it is a time of thanks. We’ll read, “Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks” by Margaret Sutherland, introduce Rude Rodney, and make thank-you cards. For snack we’ll serve each other cheese and crackers.
*Tuesday, Nov. 25/ Wednesday, Nov. 26 – THE FIRST THANKSGIVING- Ff
We will talk about our own family traditions for Thanksgiving and our plans for Thursday. Then we will discuss the first Thanksgiving and what happened there. We’ll read “Five Silly Turkeys” and make our own silly turkeys, play games the pilgrim children may have played, and have our own Thanksgiving dinner of mashed potato, turkey, and pie!
No School Thursday November 27th. Eat lots of (healthy) food!

Letting Children Choose
Why do we as adults pursue hobbies such as golf, crochet, or gardening? We spend time in such an activity because we find it enjoyable, we have some control over the activity, and we see it as offering some probability of success. We choose what we will crochet or plant; we decide where, when, and with whom we will play golf or tennis.
Children, too, learn best when they have some control over their learning, when activities are meaningful and relevant, and when they can make choices in the materials they will work with and how they will use them.
Children thrive when they have opportunities every day to make choices in their learning. As a teacher, I facilitate children’s choices within a carefully planned environment. I create the environment to allow each child to choose activities that are developmentally appropriate for his or her age. The children choose the peers with whom they will work and play and usually determine how they will use the available materials.
These choices empower children to take control of their own learning. Children use materials and equipment in far more creative and innovative ways than we could ever plan, and they use the materials in ways that meet their own developmental needs.
Research indicates that intrinsic motivation – when we work on a task primarily because we find it satisfying – is the most effective and engaging way to learn. In this preschool I make an effort to provide materials and activities that provide choice and interest for the children. That’s a key reason that you’ll see busy, involved children when you visit the classroom.