Our mission at St. Mary's Community Preschool is to teach our students that working hard, opening your heart to others, and with God's love, you can achieve great things in life. We would like to remind everyone that enrollment is still open for the 2018 - 2019 school year. Please contact us at 845-351-2389 to secure a spot for your child in one of our programs.
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Rain, sun, wind and snow...April brought us all four seasons in one month.
April also brought us the letters T, U, and V. T makes a "T" sound as in turtle, U makes an "Uh" sound as in umbrella, and V makes a "Vvv" sound as in Violin. The children worked on their letter worksheets, tracing each letter to help with readiness and writing. Each student made turtle, umbrella, and volcano crafts, which are all hung up and proudly displayed for all to see. The number 8, color yellow, and shape diamond were introduced as our number, color and shape of the month. In honor of our color of the month, we looked around our classroom for things that are yellow. We learned a spider has 8 legs and if we hold 4 fingers up on each hand and add them together, we make the number 8. The students learned a diamond is also called a rhombus. Decorating 8 fish helped us to count and recognize the number 8. We are so proud to now know all our shapes and colors. We are mastering our letter and number recognition, and making great strides in this area. We are also mastering our fine motor skills.
Earth day and Arbor day were the two holidays we celebrated this month. We read
The Earth Book
by Todd Parr, which helped us learn what we can do to help make the earth a better and cleaner place to live. The children created their very own Earth using a zip lock bag filled with a paper plate, green and blue paint, and a little bit of shaving cream. For Arbor day, the children made an Arbor day pet, by creating a face on a cup and filling it with soil and grass seeds. It has been so exciting to watch the grass grow!!
The children joyfully walk to Chapel to visit with Father Rick. Father Rick continued telling the children the story of Easter and all the gifts God gave us during this special time. Singing along to the songs "He Is Risen" and "Good News" with Father Rick is always a treasured time for our students.
We are looking forward to the month of May and “may” it continue to bring us laughter and joy as we prepare to enjoy time with our Mothers and Grandmothers!
Michelle Kayser
Carole Cleary
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Although the weather in April didn’t want to cooperate, the students in the 3 year old class did a great job working together. They are learning so much and drawing conclusions of their own.
The students were introduced to the letters T, U and V as well as their sounds. Each week, we had a yummy letter snack brought in by the helper of the week. We also created fun letter crafts, such as T for tractor, U for underwater, and V for vase.
During Math, the students measured with non-standard units such as tag bags and square manipulative. We discussed sequencing and practiced this by arranging snack and by putting on our shoes correctly- first socks, then shoes, then tie/clasp our shoes. We played “Night and Day” charades, where we act out an action while our friends guess what we are doing, and decide if we do that during the day or night. We also matched numbers by holding up fingers for a written number. Then, take it a step further by counting out bear manipulative for a written number. We also played hide and peek which helps us to quickly identify how many are in a set as well as Tag Bag flash, which helps us to quickly identify a written number.
During Language and Literacy, the students distinguish between capital and lowercase letters, found their initial letters and tagged it with a sticky note on their name tag, and identified their classmates’ written names. We also read Earth Day books and a favorite - "The Hungry Caterpillar". We completed crafts to decorate our spring bulletin board showcasing the life cycle of a caterpillar.
We have been focusing on building names with name tags using our name plates as guides and from memory. The students also learned to write the letters V and W and the numbers 7 and 8. As a class, we have been building Mat Man while listening to the song and practicing drawing Mat Man or another person from memory trying to include all the essential body parts: head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, body, arms, hands, legs and feet.
Squawker pops in each day to teach us vocabulary words. This month he helped us finish up the unit on Transportation and we began the unit on My Body.
Twiggle and his friends have also popped in occasionally to teach us feelings and how to deal with them. We have learned about sharing recently.
During April, the students (and teachers) were excited to see the weather changing from snow and cold to warm and sunny. We enjoyed playing on the playground every chance we had. The students have also been preparing for our Mother’s Day Tea.
Amanda Rabolli
Carole Cleary
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April brought snow, rain, and by the end of the month - Spring!! The children were so happy to, finally, enjoy the playground for a few days. It was an incentive to listen, participate, and do your best!!
Word Time: We completed the chapter Play and started the chapter Construction. Squawker helped the children learn the pronunciation, spelling, and definitions of words.
Language and Literacy: We completed the chapter - Comprehension. Students learn to retell a story with pictures. They generate a list of facts from informational text and categorize information by topic.
We began the chapter - Writing. To help build vocabulary, children learn to associate print with objects by labeling those objects. They retell their favorite stories through dramatic play.
Math: We continue our chapter - Geometry. Using 4 Squares More Squares and Mix and Make Shapes, students identify and build circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares. They learn to recognize three dimensional shapes.
Penmanship - The students continue practicing their lowercase letters. They are writing words and sentences in their Letters and Numbers for Me books.
PATHS: With the help of our PATHS animals, we have been working on how to make good choices. They learn to identify positive solutions to problems.
Chapel: We enjoy seeing Father Rick on Wednesday in Chapel for a bible story, favorite songs, and prayers.
We look forward to all the wonderful sights and sounds of spring!!
Ida Payne
Cynthia Dinan
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April 30- May 5 Children National Book Week
May 7-8 Field Trip to the library
May 10 -11 Mother's Day Tea
May 28 Memorial Day
No School
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St. Mary's Community Preschool
10 Fox Hill Rd, Tuxedo, NY 10987
845-351-2389
ipayne@stmarysintuxedo.org
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