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Category Archives: KinderPrep
2013-2014 Registration NOW OPEN
Registration is NOW OPEN for the 2013-2014 School Year!!!
To register, you must have Toured Our School and received a Registration Form & General Info Policy. Submit a completed registration form plus your registration fee of $60 and first month’s (September) tuition (we can accept checks or cash). Families may drop off registration during school hours*. We will begin accepting registration from the general public on February 4. Please note that registration cannot be accepted before the dates listed above. Please find the registration envelope on the table just outside the front door of the school. You will take the lowest number sticker, put it on your form and place the form, with payment, in the envelope.
If you have any questions please contact Molly Matthews at info [at] valleyparent [dot] org
* School Hours: Mon-Thurs 9-3:30; Fridays 9-12
License # 073400683
Hello!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! We had a nice, relaxing week and enjoyed time with family and friends. Although, I have to say, I think I missed being at school! I found myself there a couple of times over the break:)
Next week we will be talking about the letter Uu as well as rhyming words. We will make word family books, practice writing as well as make our own nutcrackers. We have a short week since Thursday is our field trip to see The Nutcracker. Our day will begin and end at the Lesher center in Walnut Creek. The performance begins at 1. We will meet at 12:30 in front and I will have tickets for you. When the performance is over, you will be free to go home. There is parking at the Lesher center. It is $3 and your tickets will appear on your December tuition bill.
I will be incorporating some more teacher directed activities during center time. Although I realize it doesn’t perfectly fit into the play based philosophies, I do think it is an important part of the learning process. Following directions, listening skills, and communication are just a few of the concepts the children will practice during this time. I also think it will be a good transition to kindergarten where that is what most of the day will entail. So if you see some art come home that looks exactly like their friends, just remember there was a good reason for it!
For next week:
If your child’s sharing day is Thursday, feel free to bring sharing on Wednesday.
I will be re-arranging center groups as well. No particular reason other than giving the kids a chance to work with others. Our class does such a great job playing together, but can sometimes feel safe around certain friends. At times, this can hinder their ability to work to their full potential. My hope is a change in groups will help new relationships form and confidence grow!
I’m really looking forward to Monday:)
Ashley
11/5-11/9 in Kinderprep
The kids had a great week! The highlight of the week for me was Thursday…the kids all worked together at the end of the day and made a “machine” out of buckets, shovels, and gutters. It was so great to watch them come together and problem solve to configure a working machine! They were using leaves to block water and different sizes to see which ones traveled the fastest based on their shape and size, it was such a nice way to end a busy week:)
They have also enjoyed using the recycled materials outside to be creative. They made rockets to blast off, cars from Kleenex boxes, and video games from cd’s. Thank you for your patience this week as we sent home lots of “creations”. I know as parents it just looks like a bunch of tape on a cardboard tube that takes up space (believe me, I don’t know where to put the ones I have!), but to the kids they are carefully planned, creative, and imaginative works of art with each part strategically placed for a particular purpose. It’s such a great creative outlet for them and I love watching them as they work, it’s truly amazing!
Letter of the week is Ii
In science we will do an experiment called runaway colors!!
This week we’ll be talking all about leaves!! We will paint leaves, make leaf prints, leaf animals, and sort them by type and size. If you have any nice, big leaves around your house, feel free to bring them in so we can observe and explore them further. They are such a great object to use in a variety of teaching lessons and activities!!
The weather is supposed to be warm this week so we are hoping to make ice cream this week for cooking.
Also, Sarah will be subbing for me on Thursday! Have a great weekend!!
Ashley
Next week in Kprep
Hello Families!
Hope you had a great Friday and have a fun weekend ahead!
Our letter next week is Tt
We will also be reviewing a few math concepts we have already worked on in the past several weeks. We will review patterning, ordering objects by shape and size, as well as go over some math vocabulary.
We will also have our Halloween parade on Tuesday at 12:45. It will be low key and hopefully lots of fun for the kids. We’ll parade around the yard twice then join together in the block room. The children decided they want to sing a few songs with their parents. After, we will continue with a regular day. However, we will include face painting, games, and other fun activities in centers.
On Wednesday, we will decorate cookies and have a candy corn inspired fruit cup to celebrate Halloween. We will also make goo in science and write our own scary story!
On Thursday, we will finish up the week with a cooking activity and creating a new graph to display in the kitchen!!
If you have any questions, please let me know!!
Have a great weekend,
Ashley
Next week we will be learning about the letter Hh. The kids do a great job giving clues to their item, and the class loves to guess! There are so many skills they are practicing and learning during that time. Thank you for helping your children find objects to share and make that time a great learning experience!
Our math concept this week is ordering. We will practice putting objects in order according to size, shape, age and weight. We will also go on a ghost hunt, do a five little pumpkins book, make pumpkin muffins, and do a science experiment called clouds in a jar…should be lots of fun!!!
One of the things we have started doing is putting sounds together to make words. The class has really showed an interest in creating word families as we practice our letter of the week. I love seeing their faces light up when they can blend sounds together to read small words. Although it is early in e year and was not something I had planned to delve into yet, they are asking for it!! Over the next few weeks I will find fun ways for them to explore this new interest:) we have also started playing bingo, and all types (shape, word, abc, number). What started as a time filler one day, turned into a 30 minute game and they have asked for it every day since! It makes such a difference when they are engaged in an activity they chose, just one of the reasons I love emergent curriculum!
I know I try to chat with you daily, but if you have any questions or concerns about your child, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always happy to chat.
Just a reminder…looks like there is a chance of rain next week. Please make sure to send your child in rain boots and raincoats so we can explore the yard during outside time!!
See you next week!
Ashley
Happy Saturday Families!
Our letter next week is Ee. Please make sure your child’s sharing begins with that letter. They are having so much fun giving their friends clues about their sharing. We’ve had some great items that have kept up all guessing;) We will also sort objects by beginning sound and practice writing the letters we’ve learned so far.
We will discuss patterning, make pattern strips and chains, as well as look for patterns around us. The kids will also play a game called “me patterns” and put themselves in patterns; should be lots of fun!!
Since our letter of the week is Ee, we will do some egg experiments and cook eggs on Thursday! Looking forward to another great week! If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.
Have a great weekend!!
Ashley
Kinderprep News
Dear Parents,
I have a feeling all the kids are going to have a really great month! They arrived Friday to find a pumpkin patch and fire truck in the yard, and a doctors office in the block room. They spent lots of time putting out fires, buying pumpkins, and bringing anyone hurt to the doctor…Andrew’s mom got some really great pictures of them in action!! Thanks to our parents who have taken pictures at school and posted them, they are great!!
This week we will be learning about the letter Ff. Our first week of sharing was a big success! The kids have been practicing being respectful listeners while their classmates get up and give clues about their object. Please be sure your child’s sharing this coming week begins with the letter Ff. If their sharing day is Tuesday, they can bring it in Monday instead since our field trip is Tuesday.
This week we will continue working on sequencing, graphing, and sorting. The kids will also do glow in the dark art and explore pumpkins (inside and out)! We will also have our first fire drill on Wednesday. We will discuss it beforehand and the kids will know before it happens.
TUESDAY IS OUR FIELD TRIP. THERE IS NO SCHOOL, WE WILL MEET AT G&M FARMS AT 12:15. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SIGNED THE FORM AT SCHOOL. IT IS ON THE BULLETIN BOARD ABOVE THE NAMETAGS.
See you next week 
Ashley
This Week in Kinderprep (Oct 1)
We had another great week in Kinderprep! The kids are doing great and have the routine down.
This week we will begin handwriting without tears. We will work on a letter a week with an emphasis on letter recognition and proper letter formation. In addition, we will also work on letter sound(s), which is an important pre-reading and writing component. Please note, we are not going in alphabetical order and will begin with the letter Ll.
Just a reminder that sharing starts Monday. Please refer the letter you received on Thursday to check which day your child was assigned to share. This week each child’s sharing should begin with an Ll.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
A few October dates to remember…
Wednesday, October 3 – School pictures (the photographer will arrive at 1:15). We will not have any messy activities that day and will also play indoors when our day begins.
Tuesday, October 9 – Field trip to G&M Farms in Livermore. Please meet at the pumpkin patch at 12:15. Hayride starts promptly at 12:30. I will send put more details a few days before.
Saturday, October 20 – Community Science Day 10:00 – noon
Tuesday, October 30 – Halloween parade from 12:45 to 1:15 (details to follow)
See you Monday!
Ashley
Kinderprep 9/21
We had a great week at school! The kids seem to be adjusting well and have really enjoyed playing with each other and developing new friendships. Vinnie and I have especially enjoyed watching the kids interact with each other outside. We have a new group of “bakers” (complete with a theme song) who spent lots of time this week making apple pies and the boys have moved from the fire station to the space station!
This week we will take the boys interest in space and use that to continue to work on spacial relationships. We will also explore with the wood pieces we will be using next week when we begin handwriting without tears! To extend the baking that has been going on in the yard, we will taste and graph apples as well as peel, measure, and make mini apple pies!
We will see if oranges and apples sink or float in science, make ice cubes out of paint and create great masterpieces. I can’t wait!!
We will be making special bags for sharing days too. I will be sending home a note this week about sharing. We will start sharing on Monday, October 1.
Have a great weekend!!
Miss Ashley