As we approach the holiday season it is quite easy to be swept up in the hustle and bustle of activities, and to lose touch with the quiet routine of daily life.  In the classroom, we keep routine sacred. It not only gives us the guidelines for conducting a productive day, it brings a sense of security to our students because they know what to expect. They also understand their role in this process. 

Independence and movement in the classroom depends directly on the ability of our students to work respectfully with the materials, and then return the work purposefully to its proper place. When students forget or ignore this part of the routine, we gently and clearly remind them of this process to ensure materials are ready for other friends to use.

Creating a map of South America.

The underlying expectation in our classroom is everything has its place and materials need to be ready for other children to use them. This readiness allows the whole room to function in an organic way and helps tangibly guide the children towards caring for the materials and each other in the classroom.  

When it is easy to find specific materials in their proper place on the shelves, students are then able to reproduce lessons they were given by a teacher. In the repetition of the lesson, they move from the initial understanding of the concepts to a mastery level of utilizing the materials. Also, students become aware that their actions can affect and improve their learning with this attention to process.

Thank you to all our parents who chaperoned the kindergarten field trip to Red Rock Canyon.  It is one of our most anticipated field trips and we appreciate all the enthusiasm from parents to help us make it successful.  A wonderful natural playground in our Las Vegas backyard, we encourage you to visit Red Rock Canyon as a family.

We enjoyed a recent presentation by three African drummers.

REMINDERS:

Winter break begins on Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 3rd. Teacher in-service is on Monday, January 6 (no school for students). School resumes on Tuesday, January 7. 

Completing her self portrait.

THANKS:
Thanks to Valentina, and her family for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as flowers for our classroom.

Communicating whole group with our students is an activity we do on a daily basis.  Natural transitions between our work cycles creates opportunities for community meetings which we refer to as circle time.  During circle time, students are practicing using their good manners and listening to a teacher give directions for preparing for an event, a special activity, or for simply going out to recess.

The repetition and review of practices such as how to line up, washing our hands, using walking feet, waiting for a turn, etc. helps our students know what is expected of them and why.  

We use the time to update the calendar including identifying the day, the month and the year.  A counting activity is also done routinely to identify the days past and the new one upon us. The calendar is done in English one day and the next day it is done in Spanish.

Tomorrow,  November 19th, Kindergartners are going on a field trip to Red Rock Canyon. Kindergarten students are asked to wear their red FMS shirts and bring their lunch in a brown paper sack.  Please make sure your child is wearing tennis shoes and a jacket, as temperatures can shift quickly in the desert.  

Helping a friend sort letters into the movable alphabet box.

Kindergartners enjoyed their second chapter book party after Ms. Melissa finished reading “Lulu And The Dog From The Sea.”

REMINDERS:

Thanksgiving week is approaching.  There will be no school from 11/25-11/29.  School resumes on Monday December 2nd.

Using the tying frame to learn how to tie a bow.

THANKS:

Thanks to Chloe, Roman, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as, flowers for our classroom.

Creating with “loose parts.”

World History day was celebrated on campus last week, and our students enjoyed each of the five classrooms they visited.  Starting in P1 we learned about invertebrates, then to P2 for a hands on immersion in the life of fishes and amphibians. Students came face to face with dinosaurs in P3, experienced the world of early humans in P4, with a final excursion to the Renaissance era hosted in E5.

With fun and learning interwoven into all of the activities, students enjoyed the day immensely. 

We could not have done it without the tremendous help from our parents, including Christy, Lisa, Bethany, Sharon, Andrea H., Andrea C., Kristy, Evangelina and Maryam. We appreciate all that each one of you did to prepare, host, and guide our students during this special day.

Please remember with the weather turning chilly, it is essential that every student bring a jacket or sweater to school.  It is especially cool in the outdoor classroom during the morning work cycle and that extra layer of warmth is required for students to work outside.  Please label all of your child’s jackets so that we can help them keep track of their clothes.

It is also a good idea to repack a set of warmer clothes for their cubbies.  We can send summer clothes home.

Whenever possible, please take the time to show your child HOW to put on their jackets, as that helps expedite our process when transitioning for recess.

REMINDERS:

No school on Friday, 11/8 due to a teacher in-service.

No school on Monday, 11/11 in honor of Veterans’ Day.

Thanksgiving break begins 11/25-11/29.  School resumes on Monday, 12/2.

THANKS

Thanks to Carl,Tristan, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as, flowers for our classroom.

At the beginning of every month, various cultural, art, and science works are replaced on the shelves. The materials reflect the particular theme and subject matter found in our curriculum.  For instance, this month we are introducing the concept of “vertebrates and invertebrates,” along with mammals in our science area. In the cultural area, we are looking at the world and the seven continents. 

One of the areas that gets a big monthly update is called Practical Life. The Practical Life area offers students a chance to develop practical skills which help children do things in life like cleaning up a spill with a broom and dustpan, opening and closing containers, slicing a banana and serving sections to friends. Tweezing and pouring jobs are designed to build coordination and strength in little fingers to correctly grasp a pencil and learn to write comfortably. 

Ever wonder what the themes are for the month?  We invite you to look at the calendar your child brings home at the start of each month.  A small art project (tied to the current theme) is made by the children and attached to the calendar.  You will notice on the calendars we include the monthly themes and also highlight important dates of events on campus. The year long curriculum may also be found in the parent information packet we distributed during parent orientation.  

The Scholastic Book Fair was a big success and we appreciate the generosity of our families who donated books to our classroom.  

Our Kindergarten field trip to the fire station was well attended and informative.  We appreciate the watchful care parent chaperones brought to their important task.

REMINDERS:

The PTO Fall Festival is on Friday, 10/18 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. Come and enjoy the lovely weather, games, music, and food with the whole FMS community.  We are looking forward to seeing all of you there!

World History Day is on Thursday, 10/24.  Each of the classrooms will be transformed into a particular epoch of history.  Students are encouraged to dress up in a costume reflecting any of the room themes including:  Invertebrates, Reptiles and Fish, Dinosaurs and early Man, China, India, Egypt and the Medieval/Renaissance time.  An all school parade will commence around 11:00 am (parents are invited) and students will be dismissed at 11:15 am.

No school on 10/25 in observance of Nevada Day.

THANKS:

Thanks to Linnea, Olivia, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as, flowers for our classroom.