Fall Literacy Based Themes

9/1 Tues
School/ Apples
Ten apples Up On Top The Kissing Hand,
A
9/3 Thurs
School/ Apples
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom David goes to School

9/8 Tues
Bears
Where is My Teddy? Blueberries for Sal Brown Bear, Brown Bear
B
9/10 Thurs
Butterflies
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

9/15 Tues
Clouds
It Looked Like Spilt Milk If You Give A Cat A Cupcake
C
9/17 Thurs
Cookies
If you Give a Mouse A Cookie Millions of Cats

9/22 Tues
Dinosaurs
How Do Dinosaurs Eat their Food Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime
D
9/24 Thurs
Dads
Just Like Daddy Knuffle Bunny

9/29 Tues
Eggs
Green Eggs and Ham Miss Nelson is Missing
E
10/1 Thurs
Fire Safety
The Fire Truck Curious George

10/6 Tues
Friendship
Rainbow Fish The Foot Book, My Friend Rabiit
F
10/8 Thurs
Feelings
My Many Colored Days/ Sheila Rae Alexander and the….

10/13 Tues
Grandparents
Goodnight Gorilla/ What Grandmas Do best
G
10/15 Thurs
Autumn
All About Autumn

10/20 Tues
Homes
In a People House The Hair Book
H
10/22 Thurs
Hats
Old Hat, New Hat Caps for Sale

10/27 Tues
Insects
The Very Busy Spider
I
10/29 Thurs
Halloween
5 Little Pumpkins

11/3 Tues
Exercise
Exercise Olivia
J
11/5 Thurs
Farms
Click, Clack Moo

11/10 Tues
Kites/ Weather
Kite Flying Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash
K
11/12 Thurs
Weather
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs The Rain Came Down

11/17 Tues
Thanksgiving
The Mayflower
L
11/19 Thurs
Thanksgiving
The First Thanksgiving

11/24 Tues

NO SCHOOL

11/26 Thurs

NO SCHOOL

12/1 Tues
Moon/ Space
Goodnight Moon, Kitten’s First Full Moon If you Give A Moose A Muffin
M
12/3 Thurs
Money
Corduroy Whose Mouse are you?

12/8 Tues
Trains
Freight Train, The Little Engine That Could
N
12/10 Thurs
Winter
In Winter Time Winter Lullaby

12/15 Tues
Christmas/ Traditions
T’was the Night Before Christmas/ The Gingerbread Man
O
12/17 Thurs
Christmas Origins
Marley Christmas The Nativity

12/22-31

NO SCHOOL

Policies and Procedures:

Drop-off/Pick-up:

Please bring your child into the backyard through the side gate. We will send the first 10-15 minutes playing in the backyard while we wait for everyone to come. You may pick your child up at the gate at 11:45 Please make every effort to drop-off and pick-up on time. If for any reason there is an emergency and you cannot pick up your child on time, please call as soon as possible so arrangements can be made.

Tuition:

Preschool tuition is $95/month and is due the first class period of the month. Please make checks payable to Melissa Nelson. The first month’s fee is $95.00 and is due Tues, September 1st^.

*If for some reason your child can no longer attend preschool you are responsible to notify me at least one month prior or tuition will be due for the additional month.

Discipline:

An atmosphere of cooperation is encouraged in the preschool. Positive motivation and redirection are our foremost effective methods of discipline. On occasion, it also involves quiet talks, out of hearing distance from other children, and may be followed by a brief “time away”. Time away is used sparingly and NEVER for more than 1 minute per each year of age.

I will communicate with parents primarily through a weekly email update. This is a great way for parents to ask questions or inquire of the student’s progress as the pick-up/drop-off will be a busy time. In addition, I have set aside two days in the school year for a parent/teacher conference to discuss the academic and social progression of each child. You are also welcome to call at any time.

E-Mail: Nelsonfamily44@verizon.net

Excavating Dinosaur Eggs

This was an exciting activity for the preschoolers and an opportunity to introduce some new vocabulary: paleontologist, excavate, extinct, and all the fun dinosaur names.

To make dinosaur eggs:
2 1/2 Cups Dirt
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Salt
1 Cup Sand
Water
Small Plastic Dinosaurs
Blunt Nails, toy hammers, plastic spoons or other tools for excavating

Mix dry ingredients, then add water until a stiff dough is formed, take a handful and mold around dinosaur, creating an egg shape, let dry for 2-3 days, turning once. For quicker preparation, they can be baked on a cookie sheet at 150 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping half way.

Literary Connection:How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Preschool Sign-Ups

Warm, friendly learning environment, focuses on phonemic awareness, science, math, social skills, reading, and more. For children ages 4-5.

Schedule: Monday and Wednesday mornings beginning Wednesday, September 2008, 8:45-11:30am

Tuition: $95 month, plus $45 supply fee due at enrollment to hold your child’s place.

I graduated from Arizona State University in Elem. Education and have two years kindergarten experience and three years experience teaching in-home preschool. I have three young children of my own and love teaching children and helping them learn and grow.

I am only taking 6 children and enrollment ends August 11^th, so please contact me immediately for more information or to set up an interview. Thank You.

E-mail nelsonfamily44@verizon.net

Second Semester Tentative Schedule

Date	Themes	Book	Phonics Skills	Reminders
1/12	Babies	I kissed the Baby	B pg. 236
1/14	Feelings	Llama, Llama Mad at Mama/ Alexander and	F pg. 237
1/21	Gardening	The Carrot Seed/	G pg. 238
1/23				Nature Trip
1/26	Kites		K pg. 239
1/28	GrandmasGrandpas	What Grandmas/ Grandpas do Best	V pg. 240
2/2	Recipes, Sequencing	If You Give a Mouse a Cookie	C pg. 241
2/4	Hats, Hair	Old Hat, New Hats/ The Hair Book	H pg. 242	Hat Day
2/9	Moon	Goodnight Moon, Kitten’s First Full Moon	M pg. 233
2/11	Pets	Millions of Cats, Harry the Dirty Dog, Hondo	P pg. 244	Valentine’s Party
2/16	Safety		Y pg. 245
2/18	Dads		D pg. 246	Sat. Doughnuts w/ Dads
2/23	Everyone is Different	Yoko, The Ok Book	J pg. 247
2/25	Colors, Creativity	Harold and The Purple Crayon, Pinkalicious	L pg. 248	Wear your favorite coloe
3/2				Grocery Store Field Trip
3/4	Trains		W pg. 249
3/9	Money/ Stores	Corduroy	Z pg. 250
3/11	Nutrition	Little Pea, How are you peeling	N pg. 251
3/16	Manners	Fancy Nancy, Where the Wild things Are	Q pg. 252	Manners Tea Party
3/18	Moms		F pg. 237
3/23	Rainforest	If I Ran the Rainforest	R pg. 253
3/25				Drive-in Movie Day
3/30	Seasons	Four Seasons for Little People	S pg. 254
4/1	Trees	The Giving Tree	T pg. 255
4/6-8		No School
4/13	All about me		A pg. 272
2/15	Exercise		E pg. 273
4/20	Water			Water Day
4/22	Insects	The Very Hungry Caterpillar	I pg. 274
4/27	Opposites	Inside, Outside, Upside Down	O pg. 275
4/29			U pg. 276
5/4		Graduation

Tentative First Semester Schedule

Date	Theme	Literature	Letter	Reminders
9/3	Clouds, Calendar	It looked Like Spit Milk	C- fill in C with clouds
9/5	Weather, Umbrella	Umbrella Party, Say…Weather Today	U- Upside Down Umbrella
9/8	Numbers, Apples	Ten Apples Up On Top	A- apples on top of a
9/10	Treasure	Pirates Life	T- add leaves for a tree	Pirate Day
9/15	Eggs	Green Eggs and Ham	E-broken egg bits glues
9/17	Mouse	Mouse Paint	M-mouse head attached to m
9/22	Character Building	The Queen’s Feet	Q- q wearing crown	Dress like queen/ king
9/24	Character Building, Fish	Rainbow Fish	F- fish in shape of f
9/29	Fire Safety	Curious George		Field Trip Firehouse
10/1	About Me, Hands	Hands	H- accordian hands hanging
10/6	About Me, 5 Senses	The Nose Book, The Napping House	N- eyes, smile, curled nose
10/8	Dinosaurs	How do Dinosaurs Eat their Food?	D-doughnut in middle
10/13	Families	I Wanna Iguana	I- fuzzy inchworn
10/15	Gorillas, Animals	Good Night Gorilla	G- gorilla face inside g
10/20	Cowboy Day	Cowboy and the Octopus		Cowboy Day
10/22	Zoos	The Beastly Feast/ Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth	Z-zippers glued
10/27	Farms	Click, Clack, Moo/	K-kangaroo with k in pouch
10/29		Click, Clack Splash		Field trip Farm
11/3	Love	Guess How Much I Love You?	L- L’s attached to lions mane
11/5	Bears,	Brown Bear…, Where’s my Teddy	B- bear head in middle	Bring Teddy Bear
11/10	Artic Animals	Polar Bear…	P-pizza topping on p
11/12	Ocean	How to Hide an Octopus, Swimmy	O- paper plate with hole, 8 legs
11/17	Ocean	The Big Ocean Book	J- jellyfish w/ j tentacles
11/19	Community Helper	I Stink	W-water shaped w	Cook pizzas
11/24	Thanksgiving	The First Thanksgiving		Thanks. Presentation
11/26		No School
12/1	Friendship	Will you be My Friend?	V- bottom of heart valentines
12/3	Doctors, X-Rays	Madeline	X-white bones on black x
12/8	Space	There’s no Place Like Space	S- stars connecting contellation
12/10	Robots	Hello Robots	R- in shape of rainbow
12/15	Transportation	One Yak Called Jack	Y- y with picture of yak
12/17	Christmas	The Nativity, The Night Before Christmas		Christmas Party
12/22-31		No School