September 23-27, 2024

Did you know that there are dinosaur bones buried here at HCA? Don't worry, we didn't either, but just ask your children and they can tell you all about it! We have budding archaeologists in Pre-K!

In P.E. class this week, Miss Mann worked with the Pre-K students on balance. Learning how to balance properly is a vital gross motor skill that forms the foundation for many other movement activities. Look at the concentration on their faces!

Hispanic Heritage Month

We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with our friends in Kindergarten. After learning about what a culture was, we examined the globe and discovered that Central and South America are home to many Hispanic families. We listened to a beautiful story called Dreamers by Yuyi Morales, that tells her own story of when she and her some immigrated to the United States. We sang and danced along to "Don Alfredo Baila:"

We even learned to dance the Bachata from Miss Diana from the Miami Children's Museum. Try it at home with your child!

Please have your child prepare three clues to help their classmates guess what object they chose to share. The show and tell topics for October are:

• Friday, October 4 - something that begins with the /s/ sound
• Friday, October 11 - something that begins with the /m/ sound
• Friday, October 18 - something the begins with the /t/ sound
• Friday, October 25 - something to do with fall or Halloween

Uniform Schedule for Next Week:

Monday-Thursday: gym uniforms

Friday: regular uniforms

September 16-20, 2024

 

The Pre-K students have been busy being artists this week! We are so lucky to have art class in the art room with Mrs. Mueller AND EC art with Miss Webb. 

In art class with Mrs. Mueller this week, the children created self-portraits. They learned that a portrait is a picture of a person and a self-portrait is a picture of yourself. They were able to choose their skin color, clothing, and hair color and then added some extra artistry of their own. Look at these mini-masterpieces that are now proudly displayed in our hallway!

In Miss Webb's art class, the students have been learning about mosaics. They know that they can create a mosaic by making a picture by taking small pieces of paper and gluing them into a pattern. They also learned that there are "shades" of colors and we can sort them from darkest to lightest. The class made both a Pre-K mosaic and a HCA mosaic that are hanging in our classroom. Stay tuned for the class of 2034 mosaic!

Thank you for helping prepare the children for show and tell today! They did a fantastic job presenting and sharing their favorite things!

On Friday, September 27, the topic for show and tell will be "my family." Please send you child in with a photo (or a drawing) of your immediate family to share with the class. Help your child prepare to name each family member and share one thing you like to do together.

Beginning in October, please have your child prepare three clues to help their classmates guess  the show and tell topics will be:

• Friday, October 4 - something that begins with the /s/ sound
• Friday, October 11 - something that begins with the /m/ sound
• Friday, October 18 - something the begins with the /t/ sound
• Friday, October 25 - something to do with fall or Halloween

Nature Space exploration

Uniform Schedule for Next Week:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: gym uniforms

Thursday, Friday: regular uniforms

September 9-13, 2024

We were excited to welcome Callahan to Pre-K this week!

 THANK YOU!

Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us at Back to School night. It was wonderful to see you all and we are looking forward to a wonderful year with your children!

SCIENCE

This week in science class, the Pre-K students learned what scientists do! We followed along on Scientist Lauren's day observing raccoons. The children learned what it means to observe and record. They learned what a graph is and colored their graphs to show how many raccoons were in each group. They even learned about some tools scientists use - rulers, thermometers, and magnifying glasses.

The Pre-K boys and girls LOVED this lesson! We decided to switch up our plans and delve even more into being scientists on Friday. The students loved watching how to observe raccoons, so we decided we needed to observe an animal as well. What better animal than Miss Webb's dog, Allie! 

Allie came to school on and the Pre-K scientists observed her first. Some things they noticed were:

• She is small.
• Her fur is gray, brown, and white.
• She has a small tail that she wags.
• She loves to give kisses!

Next, the students recorded their observations by drawing pictures of Allie and the teachers wrote about what they observed.

Allie stayed with us for the day to make sure we were good workers in the classroom.

It was a great day in Pre-K!

Happy birthday to Gianni - our first
Pre-K five year old! We celebrated with
cupcakes and a fun game of "The Floor
Is Lava!"

Next Friday, September 20, will be our first show and tell in Pre-K! The topic will be "my favorite thing." Please have your child bring in something to share that fits inside their school bag and help them prepare to tell the class what it is, who gave it to them, and why it's their favorite thing. 

Looking ahead, on Friday, September 27, the topic for show and tell will be "my family." Please send you child in with a photo (or a drawing) of your immediate family to share with the class. Help your child prepare to name each family member and share one thing you like to do together.

Uniform Schedule for Next Week:

Monday, Tuesday, Friday: gym uniforms

Wednesday, Thursday: regular uniforms

September 4-6, 2024

 What a great first week of school!

The boys and girls looked fantastic in their uniforms - so grown up!

Ace

Enzo

Munkar

Seth

Aubrie

Fiona

Jack

Francesa

Evelyn

Sophia

Miles

Gianni

Nature Space

This year, we are thrilled to announce the addition of a nature space to our school. More information will be coming soon about how this all came to be, but it has been absolutely amazing for the students. They are exploring, creating, problem-solving, and engaging in risky (but safe!) play. Their smiles say it all! I am sure this will be a space that the students will thrive in all year long.

Montessori Work Time

The Pre-K students were eager to get back into their Montessori lessons. We are so impressed with how well they work already! Huge kudos to Miss Martin and Mrs. Adams for giving them a great foundation last year in Nursery 3!

Important Reminders:

• Uniform schedule for next week: Monday - gym uniform; Tuesday-Wednesday - regular uniform; Thursday-Friday - gym uniform
• Back to school night is on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, beginning at 6:30 pm, in the MPR. Miss Webb and I are looking forward to meeting with you and talking about your child's upcoming year in Pre-K. This event is for parents only, children should not attend.

Have a great weekend! GO BIRDS!

May you feel the same joy that 
Evelyn felt in the tree with her stick!