If you need to schedule a large item pick-up to be donated to the Foundation Garage Sale,
Please call Patti Lavender: 770-552-1162
We are planning to schedule pick-ups for Sunday afternoon, April 27th, but we may be able to make other arrangements.
Garrison Mill has recently established a Foundation whose purpose is to provide resources above and beyond what the County and the Garrison Mill PTA is able to provide. Please visit their web page to find out more about who they are, what they do, and help support their first fundraising event. You can visit them at: GME Foundation.
Parents, this month has just flown by. We have finished our unit on Fall and are now beginning our study of rhymes. We are talking about words that sound the same at the end. The concept is not easy but that is why we are going to be working on rhymes for four weeks. Our first rhyming book is This Old Man, and we have a doll with numbered pockets to put the rhyming object in. The kids are having fun with it. The book for next week is titled Each, Peach, Pear, Plum and is about nursery rhymes.
In Math we are working on making sets, the concepts of more/less, positional concepts, and number sense (thinking about what numbers are bigger and smaller).
We are learning the letter J which now makes 13 upper case letters that we know. Everyone is doing a wonderful job with writing on the small chalkboards. Handwriting Without Tears is a highly motivating program and it is one of the favorite times of our day.
Many of the children are doing well with their personal information. Thank you for the help at home. Most of us know birthdates and street names. We are working on street numbers and phone numbers.
I have a request for those who drive their children in the morning. Could you please have your son or daughter here by 7:45? Our day is jam packed and every minute counts. I would like to begin Morning Circle at 8:00 and need the time to get everyone to the bathroom and settled in. Thank you.
10/2/07
Dear Parents, We have begun our unit on Colors this week with the book, Lemons Are Not Red. In addition to colors, we are working on the concept of negation or "not". The children are making sentences using picture symbols with either the verbs are or are not. They have done a great job so far. Thank you for sending in all the small color items. We sorted them by color and made large color posters to go on the walls. You will see them the next time you visit the room.
In math we have been working on patterns, both AB and ABC. We are also counting, doing number sets, and have begun to use the simple addition cards. With a generous donation from a student's parents, I was able to purchase two wonderful games, one a color sort game and another a number sets game. Not only do they require thinking, they also work on eye-hand coordination and motor skills. They have become a favorite independent center and are the activity of choice when the children can pick what they want to do.
We will be joining kindergarten for a field trip to a pumpkin patch. We went last year and had a wonderful time. The farm has a petting zoo, hay maze, playground, picnic area, hay ride and pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins. Our unit on fall will start then as well, so the timing is perfect. The date is October 29th, and I will send more details home later.
I have completed the book units for the fall semester and you can access the list by clicking on the link that reads 2007-2008 Units. That way you will always know what we are reading and what we are about to read.
Tracy
September 6, 2007
We are finishing the Unit "About Me" with the book My Five Senses. We have had a busy week smelling, hearing, seeing, touching and tasting. Snack this week has been varied, with the children trying different tastes (ex. salty, sweet, sour...). Today we tried dill pickle, watermelon and potato chips. Wednesday we made gingerbread which involved all of our senses. Tomorrow we are making corn starch goop to work our sense of touch.
Next week we begin our Unit on Animals with the Bill Martin, Jr./Eric Carle book, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? It is a good transition from our work on senses since we will be talking about seeing. Since most of the children in this class know common animals, I have chosen books that have more unusual creatures. Panda Bear, Panda Bear talks about endangered animals, Is Your Mama a Llama? has animals we don't see every day and the final book, Good-Night Owl, is about birds and small animals that live in trees. As always, we will be working on language standards, and with this unit, we will be focusing on science standards as well.
