May 29, 2009

Parents,
I want to thank all of you for this wonderful year and for allowing us to spend our days with your children. Today will be my last blog entry for the year. I LOVE doing this blog and hope to find time in my changing schedule next year to continue it. Thank you for all of your positive feedback!

This morning we ate breakfast together and then did our fine motor work by creating structures with oval Lego's, putting two large ocean puzzles together, creating ocean scenes with felt board characters, and using a magnetic net to fish for fish in a puzzle. We went outside this morning and observed our older friends participating in field day. We also played on the playground with Pre-K. For story time today we had a special guest reader, my son, Nicholas. He read "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". We completed work on our sharks and then worked in the science center with things that float, sink, and squirt. We also practiced hoola-hooping, and jumped on a chalk hop scotch. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll wrap up our sinking/floating unit.

On Monday, be sure to wear PJ's for spirit day.
On Tuesday, it's our water day, so don't do the dress up day that's scheduled.
On Wednesday, dress like you're going to the beach!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!
Kali Parsons

May 28, 2009

Parents,
This morning we had a wonderful breakfast and then did our fine motor work by stringing buttons on pipe cleaners and shoe strings, creating structures with snap-together people, creating scenes with felt board under sea characters, and creating ocean scenes by cutting out pictures of sea shells and sea creatures and gluing them on to blue paper. During circle time we determined that it's sunny today, counted to 28 during calendar and continued our color pattern, and danced to "Boogaloo". We played outside with our Pre-K friends. During story time I read the book "Aquarium". We noticed that there was a shark in the book and that's what we created in art center today. We started with a rectangle shape, cut a triangle out of one side to create a mouth, glued that triangle to the top to create a dorsal fin, cut little triangles to create teeth, drew gills with a black marker, and added a googly eye. We also had speech therapy for some of us today and we worked in the science center with things that float and sink. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll continue our work on the concepts of sinking and floating.
Reminder: tomorrow is tie dye day. Thanks to those of you who have emailed me that you need to borrow a shirt for the day.
Have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 27, 2009

Parents,
We enjoyed breakfast together this morning. After we finished we did our fine motor work by counting frogs, examining and exploring sea shells with a hand lens, drawing with dry erase markers, and working with play dough. During circle time we determined that it's windy today, felt the breeze from a fan, counted to 27 and continued our color pattern during calendar, and danced to "Number Game". We weren't able to play outside this morning because it started raining, so instead we stayed inside and worked with shaving cream. We had frogs, macaroni, ducks, and even a little purple paint in our shaving cream! During centers we completed our scaly fish, worked with things that float in our water table, and assembled an ocean puzzle in the big toys center. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. This afternoon we'll join Pre-K for math centers.
Enjoy your night!
Kali Parsons

May 26, 2009

Parents,
This morning we ate breakfast and then did fine motor work by adding to our "underwater sand castles", counting fish, retelling "Swimmy" with stuffed fish, and creating scenes with ocean felt board pictures. During circle time we determined that it's windy, felt the breeze from a fan, counted to 26 and added to our color pattern during calendar, and danced to "The Freeze". We played outside with Pre-K on the playground. I read the book "Ten Little Fish" during story time. We counted fish on every page. We had two centers open today during centers. We worked in the science center with water, fish and scoops. In the art center we created fish scales on fish with pieces of tissue paper and then added glitter to make the sparkle. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. This afternoon we'll play beach BINGO in Pre-K.
Have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 22, 2009

Parents,
After eating breakfast together we did fine motor work by gluing small beads and glitter on our structures. We used our pincer fingers. We also created structures with bristle blocks, oval Lego's, and colorful cubes. During circle time we determined that it's sunny today. We counted to 22 during calendar and continued our color pattern. We danced to "Tooty Ta" for our movement song. We played outside with Pre-K on the playground. During center time today we made coral. We traced our hands, cut out those shapes, and glued buttons on. We also worked in the science center exploring seashells and sand. Just before lunch we all independently read and looked at books about ocean creatures. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll finish up our work with our "Swimmy" math projects.
Have a wonderful 3 day weekend!
Kali Parsons

May 21, 2009

Parents,
There will be no blog entry today. I'm taking the day off to go on a field trip with one of my kiddos. Ms. Avots is my sub today.
Kali Parsons

May 20, 2009

Parents,
After eating breakfast this morning we did our fine motor work by painting three dimensional structures, drawing with chalk on a big chalk board, lacing big buttons on shoe strings, and we also looked at a very special book about one of our friends. During circle time we determined that it's sunny today, felt the warmth of a flashlight, counted to 20 during calendar and continued our color pattern, and danced to "Old McDonald Had a Farm". We played outside on the playground with our Pre-K friends. For story time today I read "Swimmy". I also used little stuffed fish props to tell the story. We were lucky to go see a 4th grade performance of "The Tempest" this morning. They were amazing! We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll go to Pre-K and continue our counting fish counting work. Ms. Mitchell is also having us dissect squids. Wow!
Have a great night! Please continue bringing in the juices/waters for Water Day! Thanks!
Kali Parsons

May 19, 2009

Parents,
After breakfast this morning we did our fine motor work creating structures with oval Lego's, creating structures with people blocks, moving cars around the table, and measuring worms with a tape measure. During circle time we determined that it's windy today, felt the wind of a fan, counted to 19 and continued our color pattern, and danced to "The Bear Hunt". We played outside with our Pre-K friends. During centers today I worked with students individually to conduct assessments, Ms. McGuire had some students for speech therapy, and some played in the science center with the shells, scoops, and sand. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. This afternoon we'll work on a fish counting activity in Pre-K.
I hope you all have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 18, 2009

Parents,
After a wonderful group breakfast this morning, we worked on our fine motor skills by counting fish, creating structures with bristle blocks, and created art in our creation station. During circle time today we determined that it's sunny and felt the heat and roundness of a flashlight, we counted to 18 during calendar and continued our color pattern, and we danced to "Wheels on the Bus". We played outside with Pre-K. I read "Fish Wish" for story time. We've officially switched over to our water unit. During centers today we worked as a group painting a water background for our new bulletin board scene. We used dark blue, light blue, and white when we painted with our hands. We also made observations about sea shells as we looked at them up close using hand lenses. And, we looked at picture books about ocean animals and plant life. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll continue our frogs on a log activity in Pre-K.
Have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 15, 2009

Parents,
This morning we ate breakfast together and then did our fine motor work by stamp painting insects on paper, moving metal circles with a magnet, creating structures with people blocks, and creating representations with colored cubes. During circle time we determined that it's cloudy and windy, counted to 15 and continued our color pattern, and danced to "Disco Limbo". We went really, really low today! We played outside on the playground with a second grade class today. We noticed that we're almost as big as they are!! For our center activities today we each cut out the first letter of our name and then chose objects that start with that letter to put on our cut out letter. We were working on letter sounds. We also worked in the science center with plastic insects and scoops. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest today we'll create logs (toilet paper tubes) with 5 speckled frogs on them. We'll be working on counting and patterns and retelling a story.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Kali Parsons

May 14, 2009

Parents,
After breakfast this morning we all worked with shaving cream. We created shapes in the shaving cream, drove cars in it, talked about how it felt and smelled, and had a wonderful time with friends. We also hung our dry dragonflies on our garden scene. During circle time we determined that it's windy today. We knew this because the trees were moving outside. We counted to 14 during calendar and continued our color pattern. We danced to "I Like Potatoes" to finish up circle time. We played outside with our Pre-K friends on the playground. During centers we worked as a group to create headbands. We requested materials (markers, paper, scissors, glue), colored little insects, cut them out, created a pattern, glued them on a sentence strip, and then wore it as a headband. We also worked in the science center outside pouring sand and working with plastic insects. Some of us had speech therapy. Ms. Pundt, our counselor, came today. She talked about people we trust and who we feel safe with. Everyone drew a picture of someone they felt that way about...someone they'd like to be on a roller coaster with. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll go to Pre-K to observe the chicks and finish up the frogs/turtles/pond math activity.
Enjoy your evening!
Kali Parsons

May 13, 2009

Parents,
Happy Wednesday, everyone! We had a great breakfast together this morning and then we did our fine motor work by working with small cars, building structures with bristle blocks, and assembling Mr. Potato Heads. During Circle Time we determined that it's cloudy today, counted to 13 during calendar, and danced to "Button Factory". We played outside on the new playground. For story time today Ms. Mercer read "Pattern Bugs". Then, for centers everyone created their own dragon fly by coloring a craft stick with markers, coloring wings on laminate sheets, then cutting and pasting and gluing on googly eyes. They're wonderful! We also worked in the science center with sand, shells, and big plastic bugs. We talked about how spiders have 8 legs and insects have 6. We did lots of scooping and made big piles. This afternoon Pre-K is off campus so we'll be finishing up some projects in our room.
Have a great night everyone!
Kali Parsons

May 12, 2009

Parents,
After a lovely breakfast today we did fine motor work by stringing small beads on pipe cleaners, creating structures with oval Lego's, creating structures with big blocks, and completing our caterpillars from yesterday. During circle time we determined that it's cloudy today, counted to 12, and dance to "Peanut Butter". We played outside with our Pre-K friends. For story time today, Ms. Mercer read two bee stories. In centers we created our own bees by drawing, cutting, and pasting, and then we hung them on our garden scene. We also had the big toys center open and the dove watched us play with toy insects and create structures for them to live in and around. We are having lunch with Pre-K and will go to the playground afterward. After rest we'll continue our counting work in Pre-K with the turtles and frogs. We'll also observe the chicks again.
Have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 11, 2009

Parents,
Hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day this weekend! We had a nice start to our day with lots of breakfast conversation. We then moved to our fine motor work and threaded big beads on strings, created big structures with big block pieces, put pom-poms into a cone with tools, and sorted bugs by color and created patterns. During circle time we determined that it's cloudy today, counted to 11 in calendar time, and danced to "Popcorn". We played outside with our Pre-K friends. Ms. Mercer read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for story time. During center time we drew and cut circle shapes and created caterpillars. We also filled the muddy science center with water and scooped the water out and watered flowers. We counted scoops and talked about the terms scoop, measure, and pour. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll continue our work with counting frogs and turtles in and out of ponds. We'll also observe the chicks. I think there are 9 now. Wow!
Have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 8, 2009

Parents,
We ate breakfast together and then did our fine motor work by assembling Mat Man, counting and sorting flowers, creating insect stamp stories, and creating structures with colored cubes. We went to the library this morning with Pre-K and Ms. Kraal read a book about a mom and a book about a dad. We played on the playground with Pre-K. During circle time today we determined that it's cloudy with the sun peeking through, we counted to 8 during calendar and continued our pattern, and we danced to "Five Little Ducks". During centers we created snails by coloring a snail body shape, cutting it out, creating a pattern on a shell shape, cutting it out, and assembling it. We all chose where we wanted our snail to be on our garden scene. We also added our lady bugs, worms, and spiders that we made earlier this week. Our garden scene is looking great! We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll be able to see the chicks in Ms. Mitchell's class. Five of them have already hatched! What an exciting day!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Kali Parsons

May 7, 2009

Parents,
We had a delightful breakfast today. We followed that with find motor work creating faces with magnetic facial parts, counting frogs in pools, and counting with cakes and candles. We also observed our dove again today. During circle time we determined that it's windy today, counted to seven during calendar, and danced to "The Freeze". We played outside on the track today. We went around and around and around. We had a special activity today. A mobile dairy farm came to Zilker and we got to learn all about where milk comes from and we even got to see a real cow hooked up to a milking machine! So cool! During centers today we drew pictures of our dove and we also worked in the big toys center creating structures for a bunch of insects to live in and around. We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. This afternoon we'll work on counting groups of frogs and turtles in ponds. We'll also observe the eggs in Ms. Mitchell's room. They have cracks now and are moving and shaking.
Have a great night!
Kali Parsons

May 6, 2009

Parents,
This morning we had a wonderful breakfast together and listened to the sounds the dove (our new classroom pet) made in his cage. Our fine motor activities included creating structures with Lego's, stringing beads on strings, manipulating small toys, and drawing pictures of the dove. During circle time we determined that it's windy today, counted to six during calendar, danced to "Where is Thumbkin", and heard the book "The Very Grouchy Ladybug". We played outside with our Pre-K friends at the new playground. During centers today we created ladybugs that we'll put in our garden scene that we've just begun. We also created flowers using our hands. We had lunch and played on the old playground with Pre-K. This afternoon we'll do counting and addition work by making frogs jump into a pond and then adding up how many were in it plus how many were out of it and get a total.
Have a wonderful night, everyone!
Kali Parsons

May 4, 2009

Parents,
This morning we ate breakfast together and met our new student intern, Ms. Mercer. She'll be with us for the next two weeks. Welcome! After we ate we worked with counting birthday candles/cakes, built structures with Legos, clipped clothespins on boards, created structures with magnets, and painted grass on a big white piece of paper. We started at the top of the paper and did big green lines down (just like when we're writing letters!!). During circle time we determined that it's windy today, felt a fan on our faces, counted to 4 during calendar (we don't know what our pattern will be for this month, but it starts with blue, white, black, blue...hmmmm), danced to "Bear Hunt", and I read a book called "Butterfly, Butterfly" to introduce our new unit. This month we are going to learn about insects. The book had many, many insects and we're going to create them and make a wonderful garden scene on our bulletin board. We played outside with our Pre-K friends. I read a book called "Inch by Inch" today for story time. I had little pretend inch worms and a big tape measure (pictured). As I read the book we took turns measuring different things in the book. We also measured different parts of our bodies (nose, ear, finger, foot, smile). In art center today we all created worms to add to our garden. We mad big ones, medium ones and little ones. We predicted which one would have a bigger number of inches and then we measured them. We did great math today! We had lunch and played on the playground with Pre-K. After rest we'll go to Pre-K and continue working on the concept of symmetry.
Have a wonderful night, everyone!
Kali Parsons

Just a quick note: I'll be out tomorrow, so there won't be a blog entry. See you Wednesday!

May 1st, 2009

Parents,
This morning we ate breakfast together and talked about what we are going to do over the weekend. We observed beetles, dragonflies and other bugs in sand with a microscope, and counted and sorted bugs of different colors and shapes. We also had a small cardboard copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," and a big felt board with the characters and objects from the book. We read the story to ourselves and created the scenes by looking at the pictures. We went to the library today to visit Ms. Craal, and she read us two books about frogs! One was about a frog who thought he was a huge dinosaur, and the other was about a girl who turned into a frog. After library, we went outside and played with Pre-K on the playground. During circle time, we decided that it was really cloudy outside, so we placed the big, white, fluffy cloud over our classroom tree, and we sang and danced to "Number Game." For centers, we finished making our butterflies and their pupa's, and we worked on our letter of the week activities. Since our letter of the week is "Z," we place big black zebra stripes on our big while "Z" and for our little "Z" we glued on the letter "Z," zebras and zippers! We went to lunch with Pre-K and then went outside to play on the playground with them. This afternoon, we will be making more big leaves for our classroom tree!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Lauren Avots