June 14th - June 18th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for June 14 – 18, 2010

 
Last Week - June 7th -11th
 
Each child put together an A to Z journal containing  pictures  of the objects that he/she brought in for show and share during the year.
 
We also started to put together the Year Books.  The children have been amazed at how their work has progressed from the first weeks of school.
 
In Science, we talked about robins and their blue eggs.  We also talked about Panda bears.
 
We started the Father’s Day projects.
 
Next Week – June 14th – 18th
 
We will finish the father’s day projects.  We will continue to practice for graduation.
 
Please remember to take home your child’s extra clothes and bedding on their last day of school.  We have put each child’s clothes in a bag marked with their name.  Bags should be on your child’s hook in the foyer.  Their slippers or inside shoes may go home too.  Please check the lost and found box for any clothes, mittens or hats that might have been left behind.
 
The Graduation processional will begin promptly at 10:30.  Your child needs to be at school by 9:30.  Please make sure your child has had a substantial morning snack so they will not get too hungry before the end of the graduation program.
 
If it pours on Graduation day, only one guest is allowed in the school.   If the graduation takes place outside all friends and guests of the children are welcome.   Remember to bring a folding chair for each member of your family.
 
I have enjoyed working with this class of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children.  They have learned to work and play well together.  I wish Connor, Jaden, Garrison and Kane the best of luck in first grade.    
 
Sincerely,  Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

June 7th - June 11th, 2010

Mrs.Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for June 7 – 11, 2010  

LastWeek –

The children enjoyed talking about the cook-outs and parades they attended with their families on the Memorial Day weekend.  They did a great job illustrating their sentences about what they did.  Their papers are displayed in the foyer. 

We made little books about animals found near ponds.  We also talked about the sequence of eggs, tadpoles and frogs. 

Next Week – June 1 to 5, 2009 

We have finished the alphabet so now we will review.  The children have books that they will work in that reviews each of the letter sounds.   

In Science, we will talk about the life cycle of butterflies. 

We will continue to work on our Yearbooks.

Thank you for sending in the three inch wide, three ringbinder and 30 page protectors.  

Thank you for remembering sneakers, hats, and water bottles.  

Progress Reports and Report cards will be sent home by June 11th. 

Graduation has been moved up one half hour.         
Children must be in the building by 9:30 am.         
All-School Picture will be taken at 10:00 am.         
Processional will begin promptly at 10:30am.

Sincerely,
Mrs.Carolyn Bishop

June 1st - June 4th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for June 1 – 4, 2010

Last Week – May 24 to 28, 2010 

We made Zebras puppets and put them in our classroom zoo.  We had several parades with our zebra puppets.  We talked about what a good zebra habitat has (grass,water, and shade). 

The Kindergarten students have been writing about different zoo animals in their good morning journals. 

We worked with the number zero and learned to say Z in Spanish. 

We also tried prunes for snack. 

We enjoyed water play outside on the unexpectedly warm days. 

The children enjoyed their Red, white and blue snacks on Thursday and Friday.  Thank you for supplying everything. 

They did a great job talking about their red, white and blue clothes and making flags. 

NextWeek – June 1 to 4, 2010 

There will be no school on Monday, May 31st in honor of Memorial Day. 

We have finished the alphabet so now we will review.  The children have books that they will work in that reviews each of the letter sounds.   

Each child will be putting together a Yearbook of some of the special papers we have done throughout the year.  Please send in a one inch thick, three ring binder and 25 page protectors to start the project.  Thank you.

In Science, we will talk about the life cycle of frogs. 

We will also talk about where foods come from. The Kindergarten students will make take home books about farms and where food comes from. 

Thank you for remembering sneakers, hats, and water bottles. 

I know the girls love to wear their dresses to school, but please remember to put a pair of shorts on underneath. 

Sincerely,
Mrs.Carolyn Bishop

May 24th - May 28th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for May 24 – 28 2010 

Last Week – May 17-21

We worked with the letter Y last week. 

The children did a great job talking about their yellow clothes and their yellow objects.  We colored yellow kites and made yellow, yarn yaks.  We painted with yellow paint. 

We talked about plants last week in science.   

The K students reviewed how to tell time.  They also started working with addition and the math words: plus and equals. 

NextWeek - May 24 -28 

We will work with the letter Z this week. 

We will make Zebra puppets and talk about the habitat zebras live in.  We will set up a zoo area and label the animals with signs. 

We will have a Red, white and blue party on Thursday and Friday to celebrate Memorial Day.  The children are invited to wear red, white and blue or patriotic clothes.  We will enjoy a red, white and blue snack. 

The K students will continue to work on addition. 

Thank you for remembering to send in hats, water bottles and sneakers. 

Thankyou!!
Mrs.Carolyn Bishop

May 17th - May 21st, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for May 17 -21, 2010

 May 10-14
We had an Excellent week working with the letter X.  We played a xylophone.  We saw x-rays of a foot.  We colored in foxes and made rhyming words with fox.  We put a BIG X on different kinds of air pollution.  We used our fine motor skills to paint a daffodil.  We used our comprehension skills and knowledge of positional words to complete a listening paper.
 
We enjoyed a music class with Miss AnnMarie outside in the playground.  We worked on our graduation songs with Miss Deb and Miss Meghan.
 
May 18 -22
We will work with the Letter Y next week.  We will make yellow, yarn yaks and learn to spell yellow.  The children are invited to wear yellow during the week.  They can also bring in yellow objects or objects that begin with the “y” sound.
 
Since the children seem very interested in the acorn sprouts we found in the playground I will talk about the parts of a Plant and the needs of plants in our science class.  The children have learned the names of many spring flowers already.
 
The school photographer will be in Wednesday, May 19th and Thursday, May 20th from 8:30 – 9:30am to take pictures of each child in a cap and gown.  Only your child’s collar will show at the top of the graduation gown, but the gown is white so you might want to plan on a light colored shirt so it does not show through in the portrait.
 
Parents, Thank you for reading the peek and always having your child prepared for a day of learning and fun at the Little Village Schoolhouse.
 
Remember to save 11:00 to 1:00 on Friday, June 18th for our special graduation activities.  The children will share what they have learned with Miss Nicole in dance, Miss Annemarie in music, Miss Deb in sign language, Miss Meghan in Spanish and with Miss Robin and me.
 
Thank You
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

May 10th - May 14th, 2010

Mrs.Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for May 10 -14, 2010 

Last Week My pre-kindergarten children and Kindergarten children worked with the Letter W. 

We talked about the Water cycle and how we can save water when we brush our teeth. 

We each made a weather chart that we changed each day after we looked out the window.  We talked about wind and painted hot air balloons with water colors.  We made dot to dot wind mills and practiced counting to 28.  

We got to hold Mrs. Carolyn’s replica of a covered wagon. 

The Kindergarten children learned to spell white, we, went and go. 

They read their new books with the words play and with. 

They worked on rhyming words with bug. 

All the children worked on Mother’s Day gifts and cards. 

Next Week 

We will work with the Letter X.  We will play with xylophones.  We will look at x-rays.  We will rhyme words with fox.  Children are invited to bring in any item that has an x in it (ox, box, fox, exit sign, x-ray) for our show and share time. 

Thank you for sending in shoes or sandals with backs for outside play time. 

ThankYou!!
Mrs.Carolyn Bishop

May 3rd - May 7th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for May 3-7, 2010

We worked with the Letter V this week.  We talked about Volcanoes and how magma erupts through the vent at the top of the Volcano and spews hot lava. 
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The children did a great job talking about the vegetables they brought in.  The children tried carrots, red pepper, green pepper, and cucumbers this week.  We enjoyed trying salad on Tuesday with Italian dressing.  We looked at  the vegetable with magnifying glasses and experimented with sink and float.
 
We read two stories about Veterinarians.  The children pretended to be vets or owners of pets.  Everyone took turns taking care of the stuffed animal patients.
 
The Kindergarten boys  have been working hard on their handwriting papers.  They are really trying to get the letters to sit on the lines.  We are also talking about the vowels and how each word needs a vowel in it.
 
On Thursday and Friday we talked about Arbor Day and the importance of trees.  Miss AnnMarie even sang two songs about trees with the children.
 
NEXT WEEK
We will work with the letter w next week.  Some topics we will talk about include: Weather, wind, water, and whales.  We will work on the sight words: we, went, will, when and with.
 
We will work on Mother’s Day projects too.
 
Now that the weather is warmer, it would be great if your child had:
          A hat to keep the sun off his/her head
          Sunscreen applied BEFORE coming to school
          A reusable water bottle with his/her name on it
 
Flip flops are great to wear in the Little Village Schoolhouse instead of slippers.  But, your child still needs shoes or sandals, with a heel strap, for playing in the playground safely.
 
Thank you for all you do to keep your child prepared and ready for an exciting day of school.
 
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

April 26th - April 30th, 2010

Mrs.Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for April 26 – 30 2010 

We had lots of fun celebrating the Week of the Young Child.  Thank you so much for helping your child create their little person.  The children really did a good job talking about both their USA maps and their little person. 

We all enjoyed eating pancakes in our Pajamas on Monday and Wednesday.  We also talked about ways we can take care of the Earth.   

We wore mismatched clothes on Tuesday. 

We all hopped for The Muscular Dystrophy Hop-A-Thon.  Thank you so much for your generous donations. 

We pretended to be at the beach on Thursday and Friday.  We made sandcastles, played in the water center with sink/float objects, read books on our beach towels, pretended to swim in the water, and made Hawaiian leis and visors. 

Miss Pauline from the Greenville Public Library came and read to the children. 

The Kindergarten students made Rain books to read. 

We worked on the joke,“April Showers Bring May Flowers - What do Mayflowers bring?” “The Pilgrims!!”

NEXT WEEK Enjoy the April Vacation 

Starting on April 26 we will work with the Letter V.  We will talk about vegetables, veterinarians, volcanoes and vowels.  I have asked the children to bring in their favorite vegetable to share at snack time with the class. 

We will set up a Veterinarian center.  Children can also bring in stuffed dogs, cats or bunnies for the center. 

Children can wear violet (purple) or vests to talk about on any day next week.

Mrs.Carolyn Bishop

April 12th - April 16th, 2010

Peek for the Week of the Young Child—April 12 -16, 1910

We had an unbelievably great week working with the Letter U.  We colored, cut and then painted umbrellas for the school windows.  We water colored unicorns.  We colored and then painted blue water over an undersea picture.  We worked with the words up and under.   We looked at real forsythia and tried to paint what we saw.

We enjoyed the warm weather.  Please remember to apply sunscreen to your child’s face, neck and arms before leaving home.  Children need sneakers or sandals with a back strap for outside play.

Week of the Young Child

We will join the country in celebrating the Week of the Young Child from April 12-16.  This year’s theme is “Early Years Are Learning Years.”

We have made special plans for a fun week.

         Monday    Pajama Day with pancakes for morning snack.

          Tuesday    Mismatch Day- Your child can mix their clothes and hair styles and bring in a stuffed animal.  We will all hop together for a giant hop-a-thon.  All monies are due that day.

          Wednesday Pajama Day with pancakes for morning snack.

          Thursday and Friday - Beach Party Day – Children can wear a T-shirt, hat and sunglasses.  They should bring a beach towel and a lunch that does not need to be heated up.  We will eat outside, weather permitting.

I have sent home a small craft project for you to work on with your child and bring back to school.

Thank you!!

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

April 5th - April 9th, 2010

 Mrs.Carolyn’s Peek for April 5 – 9, 2010

We had a terrific week at the Little Village finishing up the letter T and getting ready for Easter.  

The children have really enjoyed riding in the jeep, using binoculars to discover new items in the Kapok Tree, and playing with the table top Rain forest set.  They have learned many of the plants and animals names that are only found in the Rain forest.  We completed our Unit by watching an IMAX CD of the Tropical Rain Forest.  I hope you noticed the Rain Forest T-shirts the children had created and that were hung in the foyer.

We learned several Easter poems and songs this week.  The children really enjoyed decorating the white eggs that were sent in. 

We did lots of hopping as we learned about children with Muscular Dystrophy. We have explained how some children’s muscles are weak and do not let them run, walk, or hop.  But, these children can still play, look at books and do art work.  We have told the children the money is to help pay for the doctors to do research to find a way to help these children.  We will have a Hop-a-thon on Tuesday, April 13th.  All monies should be in by that date.  Maybe your child could do a special chore at home and put the money he/she earned in the envelope.  This would give them a real feeling of helping.  Please let a teacher know if your child did not bring home an envelope with the information.

We will finally start the letter U this week. We will talk about umbrellas and unicorns. 

We will go under the Kapok tree for one last story. 

We will look at maps of the United States.

The Kindergarten boys should be reading their little books for 15 minutes each night.  They should have quite a shoe box full by now.  Have them reread the ones from the beginning of the year to review the sight words we first worked on.

Thanks again signing up for and bringing in all of the supplies we needed for egg decorating and the Easter celebrations.  The children really enjoy socializing with each other at the big table.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop 

March 29th - April 1st, 2010

 Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for March 29 – April 1, 2010

We have had a great week exploring The Tropical Rain Forest Habitat.  The children have listened to books and completed some follow-up work on many of the plants and animals of the Rain Forest.  All of their work is hanging up to add to the Rain forest.  We have enjoyed pretending to hike, explore, and camp in our classroom Rain Forest. We have played with small rain forest animals at tables.  We enjoyed listening to Garrison’s CD of rain forest sounds.  We also enjoyed trying the foods from the Rain Forest like bananas, Ginger snap cookies and pineapple.  Parents, thank you so much for signing up and bringing in the snacks. Next week we will continue to learn as we explore the Rain forest. 

We will also do some Easter projects.  We will decorate white, hard boiled eggs.  Thank you for signing up for everything we need to make the days special with your child. 

Now that the snow has melted we love to play outside.  Please have your child wear shoes that allow him/her to run and climb safely.  Shoes should have a back on them ( no flip flops). 

Remember:  there is no school on Friday, April 2 because it is Good Friday.  

Remember to save the date of Friday, June18th for The All -School Graduation Day.  The children have been learning songs in English, Spanish and Sign Language and a dance to perform for you. 

Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

March 22nd - March 26th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for March 22 -26, 2010
 
We have had a terrific week with the letter T.  The children pretended to collect sap from a Maple tree In the park area of the school.  We talked about cooking the sap to make maple syrup.
 
We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The children made shamrock hats.  A secret leprechaun left a pot of gold candy ( a rolo) under each child’s chair.  Thank you for sending in all of the goodies and dressing your child in green.
 
We celebrated St. Joseph’s Day on Friday by dipping our Teddy grahams in red frosting.  Thanks for dressing your children in red.
 
We started talking about signs of Spring: robins returning to look for worms, buds pushing up in the gardens and on trees, and warmer weather.  I have asked all the children to look for robins and complete a homework paper dot to dot of a robin.
 
We will spend the next two weeks creating a Tropical Rain Forest (from South America) inside the Little Village Schoolhouse.   I encourage you to look for books at the library on the Tropical Rain Forest or go online to help your child find out about the animals that live there.  We will be doing “research” in class too.  Some examples are macaws (parrots), toucans, howler monkeys, jaguars, sloths, and tree frogs to name a few.  If you have any of these animals (toys of course!) and your child would feel comfortable with sharing them with the class we would love to add them to our habitat for the next 2 weeks.
 
We will integrate math, literacy, and of course Science using this theme.
 
Sincerely,
Carolyn Bishop

March 15th - March 19th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for March 15 – 19, 2010
 
We mixed blue and yellow paint with a tooth brush and then used the green paint to paint in a shamrock.
 
We worked with the letter T this week. We talked about all kinds of transportation and played at the train table with the trains, trucks, planes and boats.  We looked at a thermometer.  We talked about time.
 
The children enjoyed talking about their teddy bears.  We made paper teddy bears wearing T-shirts.   We had a pretend Teddy bear tea party.  We designed our own T-shirts.
 
We started our unit on Taking care of our Teeth by making a booklet.  We have been adding many words to our Classroom Word Wall.
 
We will start on a new theme next week.  We will learn about the Tropical Rain Forest.  Your children are invited to bring in animals that might live in the rainforest.  They will do research by looking through the rainforest books for their animals.  So it is ok if you do not think it lives there.  We will find out together.
 
Children are invited to wear green on Wednesday for our Saint Patrick’s Day celebration.  Children can wear red on Thursday for Saint Joseph’s Day.
 
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

March 8th - March 12th, 2010

  Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the week for March 8 – 12, 2010 

We had a very busy week. 

The Rocket has been turned into a Space Shuttle to emphasis our work with the letter S.  We even worked on a pretend Space Station.  

We talked about the Solar System and used our numbers to make a Solar System project.   

We made shamrock people for the front windows. 

We started the week by making Green Eggs and ham to celebrate Dr.Seuss’ birthday.   We had strawberry jam on saltines during snack.   The children did a great job trying the new foods this week. 

We will start the letter T next week. 

We will talk about taking care of our teeth. 

We will talk about different kinds of transportation, on land, sea, and air.  Your child is invited to bring in different forms of transportation.  Help them decide if it would go on land or sea or in the air. 

Children are invited to bring in their teddy bears to talk about during show and share. 

I would also encourage your child to wear T shirts with words on them.  If it is too cold for just a tshirt it can be worn over another long sleeve shirt (maybe even a turtleneck). 

We will also talk about thermometers. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

March 1st - March 5th, 2010

 Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for March 1-5, 2010 

We celebrated George Washington’s birthday by making 3 sided hats and flags with 13 stars on Monday.

We worked with the letter R this week.  We did research on rockets and trips to space.  The children used their counting skills to count down from 10 to 0 and blast-off with the rockets they made.  All of the children have enjoyed playing in the BIG rocket set up in the Park.  They all remember to get their air packs, walkie talkies and matching gloves for their space walks.  We talked about walking on the moon and zero gravity. We worked on dot-to-dot rabbits and rhyming words.  We read books about rhinoceroses and race cars.  We tried raspberry jam and Ritz crackers. 

We started to learn how to do the Irish Jig with Miss Ann Marie during music class.  We did other songs from around the world. 

We will work with the letter S nextweek.  The Rocket will become a Space Shuttle.  We will talk more about the planets that make up our Solar System.  We will make salad. 

On, Tuesday we will celebrate Dr.Seuss’ birthday.  We will make green eggs and ham for morning snack.  We will make “Cat in the Hat” hats. 

We will work with blue and yellow paint to make the color green and make shamrock crafts to decorate the school. 

Please continue to send in snowclothes.  Our playground seems to be very shady so we still have a layer of snow and ice. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

February 22nd - February 26th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for February 22-26, 2010 

On Monday, we reviewed the sound the letter P makes. We worked on puzzles and made Valentine puppies.   

On Tuesday, we decorated sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles for our Valentine celebration.  Thank you for being flexible with the supplies so we could switch the party from Thursday to Tuesday. 

We enjoyed listening to stories read to us by Miss Pauline, from the Greenville Public Library.  She read a book about quilts as we sat on a big quilt.  She also read two Valentine stories. 

We used Q-tips to mix red and white on our own paint pallets and then painted a heart.  The children were excited to see how many shades of pink they could create. 

After lunch we had Sign Language with Miss Debbie and learned to sign “I love you” and “Happy Valentine’s Day.” 

The children also made Valentine wreaths using different sized red, pink and purple hearts. 

On Friday we had another Valentine celebration and made Queen and King of Hearts crowns. 

We decorated cookies. 

We enjoyed learning about the Chinese New Year from Dawen’s mom, Mrs. Cheng.  We learned how Chinese people use red banners to decorate their homes after spending a whole month cleaning every part of the house.  We colored a tiger since this was the year of the tiger. 

Please remember we are closed next week February 15-19 for school vacation. 

For the week of February 22-26 we will work with the Letter R. 

We will celebrate George Washington’s birthday on Monday by making Tricorn hats.  We will talk about the flag Betsy Ross made for George Washington. 

During this week, we will start our Rocket/Space Unit.  We will set up a Large Rocket ship in the Park area of schoolhouse.  Invite your child to get a book from the library on rockets, space shuttles, planets, solar system, or the constellations. 

Enjoy your vacation.

See you on February 22nd.

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

February 8th - February 12th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for February 8-12, 2010 

We made paper bag groundhogs on Tuesday for Groundhog’s Day.  We even got outside in the snow and checked for our shadows.  

The children painted pink pigs.  

I hope you all got to see the puppies made of Valentine hearts displayed in the school foyer.  The children did a great job cutting out all of the hearts. 

We talked about Polar Bears and Penguins.  

Thank you for sending in the supplies for our 100 Days of School Parties.  We all enjoyed the pancakes and fruit on Wednesday and the Friendship Fruit Salad on Thursday.  The children did a great job decorating their purple crowns.  They really beamed with joy when I crowned them prince or princess of the day as I put on their crowns.  The children all know what the number 100 looks like. 

This week we will work with the letter Q. 

We will talk about quilts and quarters (please send in 1 quarter to go in your child’s penny bag). Your child is invited to bring in a quilt from home to talk about.  

We will paint with Q-tips. 

We will talk about noises that are quiet and loud. 

We will talk about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. 

We will decorate sugar cookies on Thursday and Friday at our Valentine Parties. 

Please have your child wear RED to school on Friday February 12th in honor of the Chinese New Year. Dawen’s mom, Mrs. Cheng, will be visiting The Little Village Schoolhouse and talking about how their family celebrates the Chinese New Year. 

Remember, we are closed Feb.15-19 for school vacation.

Thanks again for sending in the snowclothes every day. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

February 1st - February 5th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for February 1-5, 2010
 
The children did a great job talking about the Ocean animals that they learned about at home.  I will make a classroom book with all of the research papers and drawings.  Each child will get a chance to take it home and share it with their families.  There will be a follow-up activity to do at home.
 
On Tuesday, February 2nd we will talk about Ground Hog Day and look for our shadows.
 
We will work with the letter P this week.  We will talk about pennies (please send in 10 pennies in a bag or small plastic container for your child to use), puppies and The 3 Little Pigs.  We will learn about Polar Bears and the North Pole.  We will learn about Penguins from the South Pole.  We will work with the nursery rhymes Jack and Jill and Little Jack Horner.
 
On Wednesday, we will celebrate the letter P and the One Hundredth Day of School by making pancakes for morning snack and sharing them with our Preschool friends.  They are making a special snack to share with us on Thursday.
 
.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

January 25th - January 29th, 2010

 Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for January 25-29, 2010  

We worked with the letter o this week. We made Oatmeal for morning snack.  We made orange crowns decorated with ovals. 

We read books about Opposites and the children took turns describing different sets of opposites.  We worked with the opposite on and off.  

The children acted out Little Boy or Girl Blue. 

The children continue to write in their Good Morning Journals each day. 

We will continue to work with the Letter O this week as we explore Ocean Animals.  I have asked the children to learn about any animal that lives in the Ocean. They might want to learn about an animal that they have a stuffed animal of.  (The animal does NOT have to begin with O).  I gave them a paper to help guide their research.  You might get a book from the library or go on the computer.  Please help your child record the facts about the animal.  Help your child find or draw a picture of the animal. Your child will be invited to tell his/her classmates about their chosen animal any day this week.  The paper is to help me help them remember the facts.   

We will continue to work with nursery rhymes and opposites. 

We try to get out each day that the temperature goes over 32 degrees.  Please leave snow clothes at school with a large plastic bag.   

Report cards for Kindergarten Students and Progress Reports for Pre K students went home last week.  Please go over them with your child, sign them and return them to me.  I would love to meet with each of you to go over your child’s progress. 

Thank you. 

Sincerely,  Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

January 19th - January 22nd, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for January 19-22, 2010 

Thank you for sending in snow clothes each day.  When the temperature is around 32 we can go out.  The children have really enjoyed playing in the snow with their class mates.  Everyone is remembering the sequence of putting on snow clothes.  Now we need to learn how to put away all of our wet clothes. 

Last week we talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream for all people to be treated fairly.  We talked about being kind and playing nicely with others. 

We worked with the nursery rhymes: Jack Be Nimble, Hickory Dickory Dock, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and Little Boy blue and acted them out. 

We made patterns with nickels. 

We met our new Spanish Teacher, Miss Meghan, this week.  (We all miss Miss Julia and her daughter, Ella that was in our class.  They are enjoying living in Vermont near Ella’s grandmother.)  Miss Meghan majored in Spanish in college and has lots of experience working with children.  She has already integrated Miss Robin’s theme of Arctic animals and my theme of snow (neive) into her lessons this week.  Please take a moment to meet her when you pick up your child on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Please send in a paper towel roll for Meghan to do a project with the students.  

There will be no school on Monday since it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Maybe you will get to play in the snow with your child. 

This week we will work with the letter O.  Children are invited to wear orange clothes any day this week.  They can also bring in their favorite book of Nursery Rhymes. We will talk about Opposites and work with some more Nursery Rhymes (Old Mother Hubbard and There was an Old Women Who Lived in a Shoe).  We will learn to make ovals.  We will look at dimes and review the numbers 7 and 8.  We will talk about owls and octopus. 

Sincerely, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop 

January 11th - January 15th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week forJanuary 11-15 2010 

We talked about ice crystals and made snow crowns.  We drew pictures of snowmen and wrote about them.  We made snowmen with dough.  We talked about the season, winter, and the month of January. 

We also learned about Mrs. Carolyn’s favorite winter bird, the cardinal.  We made flying cardinals too. 

We reviewed the letter M with the story The Mitten.  Miss Ann Marie also used that story during Music class.  We designed our own mittens and wrote about them. 

Next week, we will start the letter N. Children are invited to bring in something new they got for Christmas.  Have them practice talking about the object.  Remind them who gave it to them. 

Children can also bring in objects from home that start with N. 

We will try to go outside every day. Please have your child wear boots to school.  If the temperature is around 32,we will try to go out.  Please have your child bring snow pants, water proof mittens, a hat and a large bag (to bring the wet clothes home in). Extra socks might be good too.  Please label all of the clothes. 

The Lost and found shelf is in the corner of the foyer.  Please look through it.  There is already a big pile of forgotten clothes. 

Thank you. Sincerely, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

January 4th - January 8th, 2010

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for January 4 - January 8, 2010 

We all had lots of fun finishing our last Christmas ornaments and presents for our families. 

I hope all of the Kindergarten children are reading their little books and writing in their journals. 

We all had lots of fun in our Pajamas on Monday and Wednesday.  We listened to the Polar Express and received silverbells that Santa had left for the children.  We all learned how to frost cookies and put sprinkles on. 

We will review the letter M when we return.  We will read, The Mitten and books about snow. We will talk about the New Year and the new Month of January. We will also start Math Journals. 

I hope you all are having a great Christmas vacation. 

Sincerely, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

December 21st - December 23rd, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for December 21 -23
 
This week we learned about Christmas.  The children drew Manger scenes on paper plates.  They made wreathes to hang at home.  They made stockings to hang by our classroom fireplace.  They made a special surprise for parents.  Your child has been instructed to give it to you after he/she opens their presents from Santa.  The children made decorations for the school.  We all had a great time at the Christmas party singing and dancing with Santa and listening to the Mancini Singers.  Thank you for sending in all of the party goodies.
 
The Kindergarten boys have enjoyed writing about Santa, snow and reindeer in their Good Morning Journals.  I will send home the Journals for the children to write in over the Christmas vacation.
 
On Monday and Wednesday, the Polar Express will arrive.  We will have a Pajama Party and read the Polar Express.  We will decorate cookies and have hot chocolate for morning snack.  We will talk about the first day of Winter on Monday.
We will finish our Christmas ornaments.
 
Have a Very Merry Christmas!  See you on Monday, January 4, 2010.
 
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

December 14th - December 18th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for December 14-18,09

 We had lots of fun working with the letter L this week.  We learned about the Festival of Lights better known as Hanukkah.  The children learned about Hanukkah traditions as they counted candles on a toy menorah, played with dreidels and gelt (money) and pretended to make potato latkes in the Hanukkah Center.  We also worked on light houses with paper, play dough and legos.  We made Lions too. Thank you for supplying what we needed forour Hanukkah celebrations.  The children enjoyed trying the latkes and dippingthem in applesauce.  They loved receiving their own dreidels and gelt to take home. Please send in a photo of your child for an ornament that we are making. We will work with the letter M next week. 

Important Dates:Friday, December 18th is the all school Christmas Party. If your child doesn’t usually attend school that day, and you would like to come, please plan on staying with your child for the duration of the party from 10-12:30. Children are invited to wear their Pajamas to school on Monday, Dec. 21 and Wed. Dec. 23 as we read the Polar Express.  We will be asking for cookies and other supplies for those two days. 

Sincerely, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

December 7th - December 11th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for December 7 - 11
 
We had great week learning about Koala Bears and Kangaroos from Australia and Kincachoos from South American.  We found Australia on the globe.  Kermit the Frog came to visit our class each day. Ask your child what Kermit did when they said the letter “K”.   We reviewed the number 6.  We made Kites and flew them outside.  We learned two Christmas poems.  We are learning a Christmas song in sign language.  We will sing it at the Christmas party on December 18th at 10AM.  
 
Next Week the children will learn about the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah or Festival of Lights.  We will make menorahs and play with dreidels.  We try Latkes (potato pancakes) on Thursday and Friday at our Hanukkah celebration.
 
We will work on the letter L.  In Science we will talk about Lizards, Lions, and Ladybugs.  We will work with the numbers 4, 9 and 10 in Math.  The K boys will make a Christmas is Coming booklet to read at home.  We will start to decorate the school for Christmas.  We will be making a special Christmas ornament for your child to take home.  Please send in a picture of your child that can be cut and used in the ornament.
 
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

November 30th - December 4th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for Nov. 30 – December 4,2009 

The Mayflower arrived at the LittleVillage Schoolhouse.  The children enjoyed pretending to be Pilgrims as they learned how to plant from their Native American Indian friends. 

The Kindergarten boys finished their Thanksgiving Books.  I hope you will have your children read these to you over and over again.  This book has three of the sight words your child should know for first grade (here comes the). 

We enjoyed the special Thanksgiving feasts on Tuesday and Wednesday with corn bread, butter, grape jelly and grapes.  Some of the children even tried the Native American Indian succotash (beans and corn with maple syrup over them).  Parents, thank you so much for sending in everything we needed. 

Next week we will work on the letter K. We will talk about kangaroos, koala bears, and kites. 

We will begin talking about different December holidays and traditions. 

We will learn some songs and poems. 

Save the date of Friday, December 18th for the Little Village Christmas party from 9:30 – 1:00. 

Sincerely,Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

November 23rd - November 25th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek for November 23– 25, 2009 

We worked with the sound the Letter J makes this week.  We did jumping jacks outside.  We made Native American Jewelry.  Wetalked about the journey the pilgrims made on the Mayflower.  We completed A-Z Jelly fish. We made Thanksgiving cards for our families. We will not start a new letter next week. The Mayflower will arrive after its long journey, bringing the Pilgrims ashore.  The children will take turns being Native Americans or Pilgrims.  We will learn about the Day in the life of a Pilgrim girl and boy. On Tuesday and Wednesday the children will have a mini Thanksgiving snack with Native American corn bread and succotash (corn and beans with maple syrup). Happy Thanksgiving to all!!  Thank yousoooooo much for sending in the Thanksgiving snacks.

November 16th - November 20th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek for November 16-20, 2009

This week we talked about the two sounds that the letter I makes.  The long I sound in Ice cream and the short I sound as in iguana.  We graphed the children’s favorite kind of ice cream.

We had a visit from Miss Pauline, the children’s librarian in Greenville.  She read a book about a Native American girl and a book about the Pilgrims.

We worked on cards and a poster for the Veterans.  On Tuesday the children wore red, white and blue in honor of the Veterans.  We were visited by eight veterans from the American Legion Post.  The children learned about the different colored hats they wore and the symbolism behind the salute.  The children sang songs to the veterans and did the pledge of Allegiance in sign language.  The veterans saluted the children as the future leaders of our country.

We used watercolors to paint a turkey.

We started learning about the Native American Indians and will continue that next week.

Then we will start the letter J with the Journey of the Pilgrims.


Sincerely,

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

November 9th - November 13th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for November 9-13th 2009

We began the week by reviewing the letter G and the concept between.  We colored a giraffe between two other giraffes. We wrote about what we did on Halloween. We learned that horses travel in a herd.  A baby horse is called a foal.  We galloped like horses and pretended to feed the horses in the playground.  We colored big and little hippos, counted them, and filled in our first addition problem.  We talked about being thankful for our friends, family and the veterans that help our country stay free.  The children made turkey handprints that will be mailed to the veteran’s home.

The Zoo mobile from Roger Williams Park Zoo came to school on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The children learned about animal coverings and animal homes.

This week we will work with the letter I and the two sounds it makes.  We will do math with ice cream as a theme, reviewing the number 8 and graphing our favorite kind of ice cream.  The children will learn to do research as they look through books about Native American Indians that lived in New England.  We will create a small wigwam in the park area of the school, weave mats to sit on and create Native American jewelry.  The children will be invited to pretend to garden, fish, collect shells, and cook by the wigwam.  There is no school on Wedensday, Veteran’s Day.

If you have any wooden bowls, wooden spoons to add to the center, they would be much appreciated.

Thank you, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

November 2nd - November 6th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for November 2 – 6
 
We had a GREAT week learning about the letter G.  We worked on the concept of sequencing with the steps to grow pumpkins.  We talked about the colors Gray and   Green.  We talked about giraffes and goats.  We made ghosts popping out of pumpkins.
 
We had lots of fun at our Halloween Parties.  The children really enjoyed parading around the school looking at each other’s costumes.   We practiced saying Trick or Treat after “knocking at a door” and then saying Thank you!
 
I hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween.  The children have a pumpkin paper to color in for homework.
 
Next week we will work with the letter H.  Children can bring in a HAT any day to talk about.  We will talk about ways to stay Healthy.  We will to talk about people we are thankful for.  We will sing about being thankful for our families and friends and the Veterans.   Our color words this month are yellow and brown.  We will review the numbers 5, 6 and 7 and the word BIG.  We will read about Honey Bees and Horses.  We will talk about homes different animals live in.
 
Objects that begin with H and Hats are always welcome.
Mrs. Carolyn

October 26th - October 30th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week For October 26 – 30, 2009
 
Thank you for signing up to bring in what we needed to make French Toast and celebrate Halloween.
 
This Week:
We learned that bats fly at night and look for fruit and insects to eat.  We sorted animals by forest or farm habitats.  We also talked about food and where it comes from.  The children were very surprised to see how big a tuna -fish is.  They are used to seeing just the can.  We made Fall trees and French toast.
 
Next Week
We will work with the Letter G and the two sounds g makes (hard G as in GO and soft G as in giraffe).  We will read and act out Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  We will create a garden area to reinforce Math -sequencing and Science –plants.  We will play Duck, Duck Goose.  Children can bring in objects that begin with G on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
We will celebrate Halloween on Thursday, October 29th and Friday, October 30th.  Please remember to have your child wear his/her Halloween costume to school.  We will join the preschool children in a Halloween parade, special Morning snack and trick or treating from room to room within the Little Village Schoolhouse.  Children should wear clothes under their costumes or have clothes to change into.  PLEASE label all costume pieces and provide a labeled bag for you child’s costume.
 
Your child will need a lunch.
 
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

October 13th - October 16th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for October 13 -16, 2009

We all had a great time learning about objects that begin with the letter D.  We painted dinosaurs with water colors. We pretended to be Doctors and Dentists.  We played with dinosaurs and talked about meat eaters and plant eaters.

We talked about Christopher Columbus and his discoveries.  The children made Columbus hats and puppets.

We learned to say brown cookie in sign language and green in Spanish.

Next Week – October 13 – 16

There is no school on Monday for the Columbus Day Holiday.  The children have a Get In the Reading Mood Family Fun Activity to work on.

We will work on the two sounds that the Letter E makes at the beginning of words.  We will talk about the power of the silent E at the end of words.  We will read books about engines, elephants, and eggs.

We will have a visit from a Fire Fighter on Thursday and Friday to help us learn about Fire Safety.

Thank you for trying to remember the folders and show and share items. Objects from home make great connections with the letter of the week.

I have started to put together Book Bags with activities to do with your child.  Each child will get a chance to bring the bag home and share the book with his/her parents.  You can keep the bag for three or four days, so you will not feel rushed to complete the activities.

Sincerely, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

October 5th - October 9th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for October 5 – 9, 2009

Thank you for working with your child on the Family FUN Birthday Activity.  The children loved showing their photos and talking about them.  We all enjoyed looking at the photos.  Please continue to ask your child when his/her birthday is.

The Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten class started the week by reviewing the Letter B sound with the life cycle of butterflies.  We cut our butterflies, painted them symmetrically and added antennae.  We also made caterpillars from egg cartons.

We learned some new songs about Community Helpers.  The children were excited to realize some of their parents were Community Helpers, such as nurse, professor/teacher and UPS worker.

We also worked with the poem, Ship Shape, to review the different shapes: circle, square, rectangle and triangle.

We learned to do First Position in dance class with Miss Nicole.  We played with shakers, scarves and drums in music class with Miss Ann Marie.  We have worked with the colors: RED, BLUE and YELLOW in Spanish class with Miss Julia.

Next Week – October 5 – 9

–Letter D

We will work with the Letter D while continuing to review A, B and C.  We will set up a Little Village Doctor’s office.  We will learn how to make diamonds.  We will look at the heads and tails sides of dimes.  We will talk about the concept of same and different.  We will work with the nursery rhyme Hey, diddle, diddle.  We will talk about Christopher Columbus’ discovery.

The Kindergarten class will have their second spelling test on Friday with the words: RED, I, BIG, CAR, and DOG.

Sincerely, Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

September 28th - October 2nd, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for September 28 – Oct.2, 2009
 
LAST WEEK
We all had a great week working with the Letter B.  We free painted with Bird feathers using RED, BLUE, and yellow.  The children got very excited as green, purple, and orange started to appear on their papers.  Science, at its best.
 
We started talking about the signs of fall: birds flying south in a V formation and colder weather.  (Try to dress your child in layers with short sleeves as the bottom layer.  It still gets very warm in the afternoon.)
 
We worked on the Math concept BIG and small, with Barn animals and airplanes.  Some children learned to spell BIG.
 
We talked about car safety and made Buckle Up For Safety Bears.
 
We learned to say blue in Spanish class with Miss. Julia.  We had our first dance class with Miss Nicole.
 
NEXT WEEK        
We will work with concepts that begin with the sounds Letter C makes.  We will talk about Christopher Columbus, Community Helpers, caterpillars, clowns and circles.
 
I would like to invite any of the parents that are community helpers: firefighter, police officer, nurse, doctor, postal worker, car mechanic, teacher, librarian, carpenter, and plumber etc., to talk to me if they would like to talk to the class about their work.

September 21st - September 25th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for September 21-25, 2009

IT WAS GREAT TO VISIT WITH SO MANY OF YOU AT MY OPEN HOUSE.  I HOPE YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT YOUR CHILD DOES EACH DAY AT THE LITTLE VILLAGE SCHOOLHOUSE.

We had an awesome A week.  Most of the children had been on an airplane and remembered where they went.  We started drawing pictures of our show and share objects in our A-Z Journals.  We made Red Jell-o for the parents to have at open house.  We wrote a classroom cooking story and illustrated it.

The Kindergarten children have started writing in their Good morning journals and recording their own Apple patterns.

Next Week. 

We will work with the Letter B and the colors BLUE, BROWN, and BLACK.  We will talk about the first day of Fall on Tuesday. We will have bags and baskets out for apple picking play.  We will talk about baby animals.  We will work with the number 2 and 3.

Remember:

Picture Days on Wednesday, September 23rd and Thursday, September 24th.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

September 14th - September 18th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for September 14-18, 2009

Last Week   

We had a great second week of school at the Little Village Schoolhouse. The children are becoming more comfortable talking about their Show and Share Objects. You can see the list of objects each day next to the black board where I write a sentence about what we did that day. I put our book for the day there too.

The children added four shells and 4 pieces of seaweed (green yarn) to their Seashore pictures.  We counted shells in Math and looked at them under magnifying glasses in Science.

We sang a song about RED.  The K students learned to spell RED.  We made RED crabs.  We recited poems about Sandcastles and the beach.

I really enjoyed all of the photos on the Summer Fun homework paper.  The children really enjoyed talking about their pictures.

Forms went home about Portrait Picture Day on Wed. Sept 23 and Thursday, Sept. 24th starting at 8:30.

Next Week    

We will continue the letter A and the color RED.  We will talk about Apples, airplanes, and Animals.  You might help your child remember if he/she has been on an airplane and where they went.

I hope you all received your notice about my Open House on Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00PM.  I look forward to seeing all of you. 

Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

September 7th - September 11th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the week for September 7 – 11, 2009

Last Week

The first week of school was filled with new rules and new experiences.  All of the children did a great job meeting new friends and playing together.  Many of the children brought in objects from home that started with the letter S for our daily show and share time.  We talked about the sea, sand and seashells.  We made sandcastles outside.

I started to access the children to start to setting objectives for each of them. 

Next Week

There is no school on Monday, September 7 due to the Labor Day holiday.  Maybe it will be nice enough to go to the beach.

The Summer Fun Family Activity papers are due back any time.  Your child should have brought home a paper about it.

We will continue our unit, Down by the Seashore.  We have discussed ocean, sand, and sun.  We will start the letter A as we continue to talk about sea animals.  We will talk about crabs and lobsters.  We will talk about the color Red.

Children are invited to wear red clothes this week.  They can bring in red objects or objects that begin with S or Objects that begin with A.   Remember to have your child practice talking about the object.

Please send a folder to school with your child for any important school notices.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carolyn Bishop

August 31st - September 4th, 2009

Mrs. Carolyn’s Peek of the Week for August 31 –Sept. 4

What is a Peek?

A peek of the week is designed to give the parent an idea of what the teacher has planned for the week. I usually use a letter theme the class will be working with for the week. This will help you prepare your child to come to school with something to show and share with the class. These objects give the child a hands-on concept to put with the letter sound we are working on. It can be a toy once in a while. Your child will have a chance to describe the objects (color, size, material it is made from) and tell where they got it.

Letter S

Since we are still in the season of summer and the second day of School is in the month of September we will begin talking about the letter S. We will work with sand in Science and Art. We will work with sea shells in Math as we look at similarities and differences and group them. We will talk about what we did this summer, so you might want to see if your child can remember any of the fun things you did together.

I look forward to working with your child to discover his/her strengths and weaknesses and interests. I hope to develop your child’s passion for learning so each night they will have something new that they learned at the Little Village Schoolhouse, to share at the dinner table.

See you soon!   Mrs. Carolyn