We only have 3 days of school left! This will be the last blog posting!
The end of the school year brings endings and new beginnings and LOTS of cleaning:)

This week ended our time with Music and Spanish.  We had our last Spanish special yesterday and Music special today.  We also tore up paper into little pieces and soaked it in water and mixed it with glue to make new paper.

Ms. Susan, our physical education teacher, would like to have a preschool field day.  We have tentatively planned it for Tuesday at 10 am.  She will set up stations that the students will rotate through.  Please be sure your student wears appropriate clothes and shoes. 

On Monday we will be deep cleaning our classroom.  We will be dusting shelves, sweeping and cleaning tables and chairs.  The tables and chairs will be taken outside and the students will scrub them with soap and water.  Please wear appropriate clothing for this day as well. 

Spare clothes have been put into cubbies to be taken home.  Although, a set of clothes to change into incase of accidents or water spills would be good to keep in cubbies or backpacks. 

Today I hope to clean out the students cubbies in the afternoon.  Please take home all extra paper and collected items as we will be wiping down the cubbies and baskets next week. 

Last Day
On Wednesday we invite you to attend activities, ceremony and lunch.
10-11:15 crafts, outdoor activities and snack
11:15-11:30 Montessori Preschool ceremony
11:30-12:30 picnic lunch
1pm dismissal

Thank you for a great school year!

Only 8 more days of school remaining. WOW! Last day May 25 with an early dismissal at 1pm.  We welcome you to join us on this day starting at 10am for activities, small ceremony for the graduates and a picnic lunch.

On Monday we had our last reading buddy session.  The students shared the books that they made together and then went around and had friends sign them.  Thank you Papa Craig and Caroline for coming in and reading to students.  Some new material out on the shelves include a mystery tray. This is a work with 11-12 objects on a tray that one student then takes away 2-4 objects and the other student has to guess what is missing.  Really great for memory building.  A puffer fish matching work has also been added to the shelves.

As the year winds down and students begin to feel the transition into summer, we have had to have class meetings to reinstate the classroom expectations.  The beginning of this week was a little rough with to many redirections from the teachers but it has turned around and more expectations are being met. 

Leah has worked really hard on putting together a year book for each student in the classroom. These will be handed out at the end of the day today! Thank You Leah!

Portfolio day is next Thursday the 19th.  You are invited to join us for work time starting at 10 am and stay for lunch.  In addition to this schedule the kindergarten room will be open for you to visit from 10:45-11 to meet with current kindergarteners and their portfolio presentations.  This would be a great opportunity to see what your child will be doing in kindergarten. 
Have a fantastic weekend!
Shayne

The chicks have made several visits to the classroom. We contain them in a small pool and the students can observe, pet and hold them.  The chicks kept mistakenly being called ducks, so I made a work showing the difference between chicks and ducks. 
Before all of the rain we did spend a pleasant morning out at the garden on Monday.
This week we have been discussing coins and there value.  We have a coin book work with penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and Sacagawea coins represented.  We also have a dice that the students roll, identify the coin, find a match and write down the amount. We then add up the coin amounts after four roles.
On Tuesday small groups of students were able to go and visit the 1/2 grade mock store.  They got to 'buy' a small cupcake and eat it. 
Some new works added to the classroom are parts of a bird, building Spring words, tracing Spring words, Spring find the difference and animal 3 part cards. 
Mr. Ryan came in today and gave an art lesson on stamps.  He explained printing and how money has to be specially printed and not everyone can just print it.  He then asked the students to print their own piece of artwork and try to tell a story.
We made May Day baskets today to give to someone.  Some friends chose to give to another friend in the class others have chosen to give to a family member or friend. 
Ms. Leah is asking for donations of toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls.  She has a project this summer that she needs a plethora of them. 
Reminder that you can still fill out and turn in the permission forms for Nicole's math study.  We will accept them all of next week. Thank You
FYI :  We will be participating in Portfolio Day on May 19th and it will be in the morning. I will be giving a more detailed schedule next week.
Our last day of school will be May 25th with an early dismissal of 1pm.  We will be having a small ceremony and picnic lunch on that day as well.
Have a great weekend!

The baby chicks are here! On Tuesday the chicks made their first appearance and the students were elated.  They are back again today. I will also bring them a couple days next week.  We discussed where chicks come from and the importance of taking care of them.  We changed out the newspaper gave them fresh water.  In a small wading pool the chicks roamed freely as the students enjoyed observing, petting and holding them.  So far the names for the chicks are Snuggles and Cuddles.  There is also a chick work out of the sequence of the life cycle of a chick.

This week Ms. Leah made GAK on Monday as a sensory work.  The students enjoyed pulling it apart, squeezing it and mushing it back together. 

Next Tuesday the first/second graders are having a "store" to help them with counting money.  As a class we are invited to come and 'buy' from the store. We will be given and using fake money.  I will be bringing in my money curriculum and introducing coins and values on Monday, so that those students who would like to go and visit the 'store' can do that on Tuesday. 

Thank you to all the readers who came in this week.  Thank you Krystal, Heidi and Papa Craig!
I would also like to thank Ms. Molly for  subbing in our room this week.  I have been out at appointments a couple mornings this week and Leah is out today. 

I forgot my camera today and was not able to take pictures of the kids with the chicks.  I will have my camera next week and will post pictures in the next blog.
Happy Weekend
Shayne

VIP Day and Music program is tomorrow! The kids are excited to eat lunch, do activities and perform songs for their VIP person. Thank you everyone who informed us of who there child's VIP person will be.  At noon we will enjoy lunch together in the classroom, if it is nice outside we will picnic outside.  We will then do activities inside and possibly playground and chalk outside.  At 1:30ish we will walk over to the church and prepare for the music program.  When choosing a seat in the audience please sit up front in the designated pews for preschool parents. Our class will be on the left side when facing the stage during the performance. 
In preparation for visitors to our classroom the class did some extra cleaning and dusting on Monday.  There was an exciting and productive buzz in the classroom.
This afternoon our international friends visited to read to us again. 
In the classroom students have been working on finishing up their books, word building and number sentences.  We have not done group kindergarten readiness class, but more individual work. 

Pre-School March updates:
 
Estimados Padres,
 
We are almost at the end of the school year and in these few moths the kids are doing a great job in Spanish class! I am always gratified and excited by what the students can accomplish in a relatively short period of time.  Their enthusiasm for learning Spanish makes it a pleasure to work with them.
          Since my last note, we have continued learning more vocabulary about food and they have enjoyed the song “Chocolate”.
After Spring break we did a small review about animals, food and family.
Next month, we are going to start the Unit: “La ropa” (the clothes) and we are going to practice the vocabulary every day with the question: What are you wearing today? among other activities.  Also, we are going to sing and dance a new song called: “Gorro, camisa, y pantalones”. It is a funny and catchy song about clothes that the kids will love!
 
If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to write me at: ximenac@willowwind.org.
 

We had a really great week coming back from Spring Break.  On Tuesday we were even able to visit the garden and play.  All of the kids really enjoyed this time.  Throughout the rest of the year we will go to the garden as the weather and time permits.  Also, on Tuesday, Ms. Kathy from the ICPL came and read to us for the last time:( She is retiring at the end of the month. She has assured me that she will put me in contact with her replacement so we can still schedule story time once a month. 
Mr. Ryan came in today and did water color with resistance using crayons.
This week we have been making Easter baskets out of egg cartons. Thank you Sivans for donating all of the egg carton so that we could make these really cute projects.  I even caved and bought requested jelly beans to go into the baskets.  Today was the last day to make them. We now have a paper egg work out.  New additional works include a parts of the worm, need and want work and language pocket chart.  We have spring themed tracing papers and our curriculum study is plants.
Reminders of school events this month:
VIP day is April 8th. We invite a very important person to come have lunch with us and do some activities.  This will happen before the music program that afternoon.  Your child's VIP person can come at 12 and stay the afternoon.  Please RSVP with Rachel Butler.
The Culture Fair is April 16th from 3-4:30.  Our classroom will be representing Spain.  This was a successful event last year and was very fun.
Happy Spring!
Ms. Shayne

Just a quick blog:
Thank you to all who came to community morning! It went really well and your kids really enjoyed showing you part of their day.  Our next school even will be April 8th for VIP day and the music program. This will be an afternoon event.

Please take home any extra unneeded winter gear from the hallway.  Items have really piled up and I will be going through it after Spring Break and taking away the bins. 

This week will have been getting outside more and really enjoying the warmer weather.  We hope that the ground dries up soon and we will take visits to the garden area and have more space to run in the grass and prairie. 

No school Tomorrow!
Spring Break is next week!
We will see you again on March 21st
Shayne

Brrr! Even with the colder temperatures and snow we have been going outside and releasing energy.  Keep positive thoughts that Spring is around the corner:)
This week Betsy showed the kids how to make guacamole dip out of avocados, lime juice and salt.  The students then spread it onto corn chips.  It was a big hit. Thank You Betsy!
Karen came in on Monday and did a wool craft with the students.  She will be coming back next Monday to work with students who did not have a chance to do it. 
We have a new collage work out on the art shelf with beans and foam shapes.  There is a boat scale and sand wheel out on the shelf now as well.  Today I worked with a few students on telling time. We made a clock out of the line on the floor by adding numbers and 'hands'.  Students have been learning how to make 'God's Eyes' or "Eye of God".  In many of the Pueblos of New Mexico Ojos de Dios have traditionally been created for celebration or blessing, presented as a gift or designed to bless a home. https://en.m.wikipedia.org

Thank you Bonnie for coming in today and reading Dr. Seuss books in honor of his birthday.

Spanish
Estimados Padres,
 
February was a great month. The kids enjoyed the Valentine’s Day Celebration.
We reviewed colors and numbers with different activities. Also, they enjoyed the book “Ratones” (mice), where they had to help me to count them in Spanish and recognize the Spanish colors of them.
After Valentine’s Day, we started the unit “ La comida” (food). We talked about favorite foods, favorite drinks, and favorite fruits and vegetables.
Also, they have enjoyed the song “Chocolate bate bate” and the book: “La Oruga muy Hambrienta” (The very hungry caterpillar)
 
Next month, we are going to start with the unit “La ropa” (clothing).
 
            If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to write  me at: ximenac@willowwind.org.
 
 
Ximena Campos.
Spanish Teacher

Music

 http://willowwindmusic.weebly.com/

Enjoy a warmer weekend!