September 29, 2017

Happy 90th birthday to Holy Child Academy!  We had so much fun celebrating with the rest of the school at lunch yesterday! The 8th grade students ate lunch with us at our tables.  Since it was Addie's birthday yesterday as well, Miss Wood asked her to help blow out the candles after we all sang "Happy Birthday" to HCA!

This week, the students have been very busy with their Montessori work. The Montessori work cycle involves choosing a work, taking the work to a rug/table, completing the work, asking a teacher to check it, and returning it to the shelf. Then, the cycle begins again. Currently, the students are able to work for approximately an hour to and hour and 15 minutes. This work period will increase to two and half to three hours as the year progresses. Check out our Flipagram to see all the amazing lessons they have been working on!

Our snack table has been going so well this week!  The children are thriving with their new found independence.  This could be a great way to encourage independence at home as well.  Invite your child to choose his/her snack and prepare it on their own. We had a great time celebrating Nolan and Addie's birthdays at snack with munchkins.  Special thanks to Kevin and Alexa's mom for sending in a special snack for us as well!

Thank you to everyone who sent in a family picture for Show and Tell on Wednesday.  We loved hearing about each child's family and the boys and girls loved counting family members.  For Wednesday, October 4, the topic for Show and Tell will be "Something that begins with S."  Have your child find an object that begins with the /s/ sound. Place that item in a bag and help your child prepare 3 clues to help their classmates guess what the object is. For example, your child could bring in a sock with clues such as: you wear it on your foot, it belongs to a pair, and they come in all different colors. The boys and girls always love listening to the clues and trying to guess what the objects could be. Please remind them to keep it a secret - half the fun is the excitement that comes with guessing!

Some things to work on at home with your child:

• Recognizing and spelling his/her name.
• Tasks to foster independence: getting dressed, choosing clothes for school, carrying his/her own backpack, cleaning up, setting the table, helping with chores, etc.
• Letter sounds (The students can name the letters and we are working to help them learn the sounds.  This is the first step to teach them to read.)

Have a great weekend!

Johnny Appleseed Song

We learned the "Johnny Appleseed Song" in music class with Mrs. Clay!

Snack Table

Today, we introduced the students to the snack table.  Each day, the children are free to eat snack any time they would like during the Montessori work period.  They learned how to clean their hands, say their prayers, and prepare their snack - completely on their own!  They did an amazing job for their first day and are so excited to have this independence!

Kevin is pouring his water for snack.

Sam the Slug

Today the boys and girls found a slug on the playground that they affectionately named Sam.  They wanted me to share his picture with you! 😊  They watched him climb on the perimeter of the playground and then back into the grass. Science in action here at HCA!

September 22, 2017

This week we started introducing the Montessori lessons to the children. In Montessori, each lesson has a purpose and the materials are not just meant for play. The boys and girls are very inquisitive and are eager to learn about the materials. We are constantly observing the children to determine where their abilities lie and what their preferences are. We are gearing our lessons to meet your child's individual needs.

Our Practical Life lessons encompass a wide variety of real-life activities to help develop the students' fine and gross motor skills.

Dominic is practicing his pouring skills.

Our Sensorial lessons involve refining the children's senses and learning about things such as size, color, shape, sound, and dimension.

Nolan matched all the shapes in the Geometry Cabinet.

Our Language lessons incorporate letters, sounds, writing, and reading. We focus on the letter sounds to help the children begin to read.

Madison is working with Letter Box 6 and
sorting picture cards by their initial sounds.

Our Math lessons include topics from counting and showing quantities all the way up to addition/subtraction and fractions.

Caleb is using the Hanging Frame
to show numerals and quantities from 1-9.

And don't worry, even with all this hard work, we still have time for plenty of fun outside!

Thank you to all the parents who ordered books and items through Scholastic.  We received so many bonus points from your orders that we are already able to purchase some materials for our classroom.  Catalogs will be sent home each month and we are so grateful for your support!

We need your help - we are looking to collect large Tropicana brand orange juice lids and milk jug lids for an alphabet game we would like to create for the students.  Please save your lids and send them into school.  Thanks in advance for your help!

Some reminders:

• The topic for Show and Tell on Wednesday, September 27, will be "My Family Picture." Please have your child bring in a picture of your family. If you do not have a photo, please have your child draw a picture.
• Please send in a pair of headphones for your child to keep in school and use with our classroom iPads.

Our "Specials" Schedule is as follows:

• Mondays: Art (groups A and B), Music (Groups A and B), STEAM (Group A)
• Tuesdays: STEAM (Group B), Physical Education
• Wednesdays: Music (Group A)
• Thursdays: Physical Education
• Fridays: Music (Group B), Physical Education

Hope to see you at the HCA 5K tomorrow!

Mrs. Barrera

Show and Tell

Today, the boys and girls presented their first Show and Tell to their classmates!  They did a great job sharing their favorite things.  Each child was asked to stand up in front of their classmates and say what their Show and Tell was and something about it.  The children were a great audience for each other and were very supportive and attentive of whoever was presenting.

Here is a video of Kent sharing his favorite angry bird:

And here is George sharing about his ice cream truck:

We will have Show and Tell most Wednesdays and I will let you know the topic in our Weekly Newsletter on Fridays.  Don't worry if you forget a week - there's always next time!  Show and Tell for Wednesday, September 27 will be "My Family Picture."

Mondays are rough - thank goodness for rest time!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Pre-Kindergarten Classroom Blog!  We will blog and post pictures here throughout the week. This is where you can find all important information pertaining to our classroom. Please be sure to "subscribe" to our blog so that you can receive notifications when a new post is made.

What an exciting beginning to our 90th year at Holy Child Academy! The HCA Class of 2027 is ready to learn and have a great year in Pre-K!

We have spent most of the past week and a half getting to know one another. We discussed our classroom rules and routines and everyone "signed" our classroom contract.  

The boys and girls have been eager to build friendships with their new classmates. They are learning to work together to complete simple tasks.

One of the students' favorite things so far has been visiting our brand new STEAM Lab. The boys and girls used Zometools to build shapes with a partner and then they connected their creations together to make one big class project.

The Pre-K students were able to meet our school mascot, "Blaze," the HCA Dragon! They had a great time running with him on the field.  

Be sure to sign up your child up to race Blaze at the HCA 5K Run/Walk and Dragon Dash on September 23! For details, visit http://www.holychildacademy.com/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=68.

Some reminders:

• Scholastic Reading Club catalogs were sent home. All orders are due by Friday, September 22.  Orders may be sent into school or you can order online at https://orders.scholastic.com/H7WXZ with class code H7WXZ.
• Please remember to send in your "Meet and Greet" Questionnaire, emergency form, and supplies if you have not already done so. Also, please empty and return your child's folder every day.  
• Please send in a pair of inexpensive, basic headphones in a Ziploc bag with your child's name. We will be introducing the children to the iPads in our classroom shortly. We will keep the headphones in the children's cubbies so they can use them independently.

Looking ahead:

Our first Show and Tell will be next Wednesday, September 20. The topic will be "My Favorite Thing." Please prepare your child to tell the class what they are sharing and why it is their favorite thing. We are eager to see what the children have to share so we can continue to learn more about one another!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Barrera