Hello December

Well parents, here we are in the busiest month of the year! Our rooms are decorated, and we are in full Santa mode.  These next few weeks are super busy around school. Please read every email or blog we send out so you don’t miss anything.  Here are some of the highlights:

1. Our canned food drive has been extended until Monday.  Please don’t forget to send in the cans.  Your help is greatly appreciated.

2. Next week is our Book Fair.  Please take some time in the morning or afternoon to take your child to shop for some great new books.  They toured it today and are very excited about going.  Preschool students must attend it with a parent/guardian. 

3. Each year the preschool teachers host a Christmas workshop day for our students and parents.  This serves as our class Christmas party.  It will be on Friday, December 14th at 9:00am.  We don't ask you to do anything for this great event except attend it with your child if possible and send in the gift for our gift exchange.  We have different stations set up for you and your child to participate in together such as crafts, cookie decorating, games, and pictures with Santa.  We also use this time as our gift exchange day.  Please mark this on your calendars.

4. December 13^th, 14th, 17th and 18^th are half days.  Dismissal will be at 10:45.  If your child will stay in Extended Day, they will need a lunch box.

5. On Tuesday the 18^th, we will be having a special Christmas movie and pajama day. 

Please let us know if you have any questions.  We know this is a lot of information. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Veterans Day

As a school, each child sent a card to a Veteran thanking them for their service to our country.  Many thanks to all our Veterans and the sacrifices they made for each of us.  Happy Veteran's Day!

Monday is the last day to turn in Cookie Dough orders.  Mrs. Vinson has set a goal for us and if we reach that goal she will be duck tapped to the wall.  Haha!!!  Get out there and SELL!

Next week will be a fun week.  We are planning many different art projects and activities to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Your children will be making a Native American headband, necklace, drum and shirt that they will be wearing for our Thanksgiving pow-wow and feast on Thursday.  You are welcome to join us at our feast at 11:15 on Thursday.  We will be eating in the Elementary Cafeteria.  Please sign up on the link sent in the email earlier this week so the cafeteria can adequately prepare for you.  An adult purchasing lunch will receive a meat, two veggies, roll, and drink for $5.00.  The cafeteria is providing lunch for each child.  The menu will include turkey and dressing along with all the fixings.  We will be providing a sweet treat after the meal for the kids.  Our hope is for each child to have at least one parent/grandparent attend the meal with them.

Next Friday, we will have an in school program from our favorite magician.  He is wonderful and we know your kids will enjoy every moment!

We hope you have a blessed weekend!!  Stay warm!!

Hello November!

November has arrived and so has the busiest time of the year.  The next few weeks are filled with learning, fun, food, and lots of magic.  Please make sure you are reading each email sent so you don't miss out on anything.  On Thursday, November 15th, we will have our Thanksgiving Feast.  All parents are invited to attend lunch that day with your child.  The cafeteria fixes an amazing meal!  We eat at 11:20.  We hope you will make plans to come enjoy that time with your child.  We will be giving more details at a later time but go ahead and mark it on your calendar.

We have a great Fall Party.  The kids enjoyed all the yummy food and had fun trick or treating all over the campus.  Enjoy the pictures below!

We are now busy working on artwork for the month of November.  Your kids will be learning about the first Thanksgiving, they will become turkey experts, and are learning what it means to be thankful.  Today we went of a leaf walk, collected leaves, and turned them into some beautiful creations.  The kids enjoyed picking out the perfect leaves for their projects!

Don't forget:  No school on Monday, November 5th due to Christian Schools In-service.

Enjoy your extra long weekend!  See you all on Tuesday!

Vocabulary Parade

First of all, we want to take a minute to brag on your incredible children.  They were absolutely wonderful on our field trip!  They were polite, had great behavior, listened well and enjoyed every moment.  The weather was perfect and it wasn’t crowded.  We could not have been blessed with a more perfect day for the pumpkin patch.  We took a wagon ride around the farm, got introduced to and were able to pet many different animals, learned how a pumpkin grows and picked our own very special pumpkin.  We also got to wind our way through a corn maze, a hay maze and play on a super cool playground.  Thanks to all of you who went with us.  You were a huge help and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.  

Our Vocabulary Parade today was huge success!  Thanks for all the effort you put into your child's costume.  They looked amazing and hopefully learned some new words along the way!  We are glad so many of you were able to stay and support us in the parade.

On Wednesday, we will be having our Harvest Party.  Your kids will be enjoying breakfast and then trick-or-treat around the school.  If you have not sent in your candy, please do so by Monday.  We have a sign-up sheet outside our door.  Please check it and sign up to help out with the party.  Thanks for your help!!

DON’T FORGET: SCHOOL IS CLOSED ON NOVEMBER 5th FOR TEACHER INSERVICE DAY

We hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Reward Day

Today we enjoyed a movie and snacks as a reward from Mrs. Vinson because we were the best grade in the cafeteria last week.  We got to take up our blankets and snuggled in to watch “Spooky Buddies”.  What a great treat!

Thanks for helping with hurricane relief this week.  Please continue to pray for all those affected by Hurricane Michael as these families rebuild their homes and lives.

Next week, we will be taking a break from our regular curriculum.  We will be doing lots of fun fall and pumpkin activities.  We have our Pumpkin Patch field trip to look forward to on Wednesday and the Vocabulary Parade on Friday.  As soon as you know the vocabulary word your child will be dressing up as, please let your child’s teacher know.  Thanks!!

Everything you need to know for our field trip:

Walden Farm Pumpkin Patch Address:

8653 Rocky Fork Rd.

Smyrna, TN 37167

*We will leave school at 8:30.  Kids must ride on the bus.  Parents can follow the bus or just meet us there.  Sometimes, it’s easier to meet us there so you do not get separated from the bus.  Our tour begins at 9:00 and ends at 10:30.  We will return to school at 11:00.  All students must return to school on the bus.  If you choose to take your child home after the trip, you will need to return to the school to sign them out.  We will eat lunch at school.

*Please remember on the trip that the teachers and group leaders are in charge.  All students must stay with the group at all times.  We will not purchase snacks, drinks, or gifts while on the trip.

*Parents attending must pay your child’s teacher $8.00 by Wednesday at drop off.  Walden Farm will not allow you to pay upon arrival.

*Dress code: students will wear jeans, an Ezell tshirt, tennis shoes, and a coat if needed.

*Occasionally, this trip gets cancelled due to rain or muddy conditions.  Pray for good weather!!!

*We will send home a permission slip on Monday that must be signed and returned the next day.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Fabulous Fall

We’ve had a great week back from Fall Break!  We’ve enjoyed getting to dress up for the week of Homecoming.  Your kids have looked so great all week!  We have made lots of new artwork that is on display in the hallways and classrooms for you to enjoy.  We have now ended our unit on Families and will begin a new unit next week on Food.  Report cards are being sent home today.  Please read this information carefully:  For our report cards, we only test on the skills, letters, etc. that have been taught.  If it is not scored, circled, or underlined then it was not assessed at this time.  Each quarter you will see more skills be assessed on the report card.  Please review it, sign it, and return it in your child’s folder on Monday. 

*Our Homecoming Football game is tonight at 7pm.  Please come join us in cheering on our Eagles and crowning our King and Queen.

*Tuesday, October 16^th is a half day for Teacher In-service with dismissal at 10:45. 

*Our first field trip is on Wednesday, October 24^th.  We will be going to the Walden Farm Pumpkin Patch.  We will leave school by 8:30 and our tour begins at 9:00.  Any parents attending must pay $8.00 to their child’s teacher on the morning of the trip.  Walden Farm will not accept payment at the gate for field trips.  Your child’s payment was included on the Field trip and Activity Fee you paid at the beginning of the school year.  We will be sending home more details next Friday.

*We need each child to bring in 2 bags of candy for trick-or-treating.  Please do not send any with nuts!!

Dates to remember:

-Friday, October 26^th- Vocabulary Parade

-Wednesday, October 31^st- Fall party and trick-or-treating

Have a beautiful Fall weekend!!!

Fall Break is here!

God has truly smiled on us today!  We have enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and cooler weather with lots of playground time and a picnic.  It was wonderful and the kids enjoyed every minute of it!

"This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

We have made it through our first quarter.  The kids have already learned and grown so much.  We are looking forward to our next quarter as it is full of lots of fun activities and holidays.  This week we were busy learning letter T, discussing families, baby Moses, and we learned all about an American legend, Johnny Appleseed.  Today, we began to work on some of our October artwork-it's pumpkin time!!!

                                                

When we return after Fall Break it will be Spirit Week in honor of Homecoming.  The dress up days are as follows:
Monday- "I Woke Up Like This" ( Glamour or PJ's) 
Tuesday- Cartoon Character 
Wed- Crazy Sock Day 
Thursday- Hat Day 
Friday- Ezell Harding Spirit Day ( School Spirit Day, Can wear jeans on this day ) 

We hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing Fall Break!

“This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

This weekend we are welcoming  the change of the season, praying for some cooler temperatures and are excited about the beginning of the harvest time.  God continues to bless us all beyond measure.

We have enjoyed getting to meet with each of you through our conference times this week.  Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules.  We appreciate all the support you show to us each day.

We have worked hard on letter P, beginning sounds, alike and different, and have worked hard on saying "I'm sorry".  We have begun to make crafts to decorate our rooms and hallways with for the upcoming Fall season.

Today we enjoyed the puppet show, "Tomas and the Library Lady".  It was a great show!  The kids enjoyed seeing the marionettes, the backdrops, and loved the music in the show.  They were very attentive and showed great respect throughout it.  Enjoy the pictures below!

Next week is our last week before Fall Break.  We cannot believe how fast it has gone.  When we return after Fall Break, time will really fly with all the holidays and events we have coming up.  Get ready and hang on tight!!!

We hope you have a great weekend!

Bringing Books to Life

We hope you all have had a marvelous week!  Ours has been very busy!  This week we worked hard to learn all about the letter M.  M has been tricky for many to learn to write.  Please continue working on this letter at home with your child.  This week your child was introduced to a non-fiction book, Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.  The boys and girls have been fascinated to learn all about Helen Keller and how she had to learn.  Ask your child to tell you all about it.  We are also working on learning how to clap the syllables we hear in words, how to track words in books from left to right, and following the rules in our classroom.

The children have been excited to check out a new book each day at the library.  They are being very responsible with their books.  Don’t forget to read each night with your child.  It’s one of the most important times you can spend with them.

Today, we had story time with the Bringing Books to Life program from The Nashville Public Library.  She shared many great books with your kids and got them excited about our upcoming puppet show.

Please make an effort to reinforce at home the things being taught at school (especially handwriting, letter names and sounds).  Give your child lots of opportunity to better develop their fine motor skills.  Don’t be afraid of using playdough, paint, markers and scissors.  Participating in these activities with your child will be fun for them and rewarding for you.  Get creative!!

Parent Teacher conferences are fast approaching.  Please sign up for a time to attend at the door of your child’s classroom when you drop them off or at pick up time.  We must have a conference with each family.

Important Reminder:

·         Grandparent’s Day is on Friday, September 14^th.  Please be sure to fill out and return the form that was sent home yesterday.  All the children will be performing at the program.  We hope everyone can attend and can’t wait to meet all those wonderful grandparents!  Parents, you are more than welcome to attend this as well.  The kids will have a lot of great things to show off.  If your child plans to stay after the program, they will be in Extended Day and  will need to bring their lunch box.

Kevin Kidd

What a busy week we have had!  We learned the letter Aa, 3D shapes, all about the Creation, and we experimented with an apple to see if it would sink or float and enjoyed learning how to make predictions.  We are still working hard on learning to write names the correct way and using scissors any chance we get.  To end the month of August, we had a musical performance from Kevin Kidd and his very talented daughters.  They sang songs, played the guitar, ukulele and fiddle, and even did some clogging for us.  It was all very entertaining.  They even sang some songs about stinky socks and underwear.  Be sure and ask your kids all about it today!

Next week we will have a visit from the Nashville Public library.  They will be reading Anansi the Spider and doing some fun activities and songs with the kids.  They will be performing a puppet show over the book a few weeks from now.  We look forward to seeing these puppet shows each year.  They are always a wonderful way to expose your child to literature, music, and art.

Thank you all so much for your help with our fundraiser.  Thanks for helping us reach our goal to enjoy an extra day off for the Labor Day holiday.  We have heard that many of you are traveling.  Be safe and enjoy your extra time with your kids!

*August 31- September 3 – no school

*Friday, September 14^th is Grandparent’s Day.  Please be watching email for more information.

Have a fun weekend!!!

Pop! Pop! Popcorn!

The month of August is quickly passing by!  We are in full swing of things by now.  The boys and girls are excited about learning new things each week and seeing what centers the teachers have planned for them to explore.  This week the students learned to distinguish a difference between sounds, the American flag, the parts of the body and the five senses.  Today, we popped some popcorn and explored it with all five of the senses.  Your child should be able to tell you each of the senses.  The children are doing a great job learning their memory verse for the month!  Next week we will begin working on letter A.

Thanks to everyone who helped support our school with our first fundraising event!  We couldn’t do it without your help!  However, if you did not return your packet today, please send it back to school on Monday.  It must be returned to the school even if you did not sell anything. 

Unfortunately, the musician we had planned to come today woke up sick.  Therefore, we have had to reschedule him for a later date.

Our first football game is tonight at 7pm!  Please come out and support our Eagles!  It’s a nice night for some football!

Important dates to remember:

*Monday, September 3^rd is Labor Day and a school holiday.

*Friday, September 14^th is Grandparent’s Day.  The school will have a big day planned for all our wonderful grandparents.  It’s a great day to enjoy watching your kids show off all they have been learning!  Please invite the grandparents and be making plans to attend.

Have a fun weekend!!!

Bear Day!

This has been an incredible first full week with your kids!  They have been well behaved and are working very hard on learning all routines and procedures.  They are great sleepers and have handled eating in the lunch room very well.  There is one thing you all can do that would help us out tremendously.  When packing your child's lunch, please send them with bags and containers they can open themselves.  Please be working on teaching your child to put the straw in their juice box and open packages.  This will make lunch time run a lot more smoothly.  Thanks for helping us with this! 

This week we have been reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and learning all about colors.  They all have that book memorized by now.  Today, we had a pep rally with the entire lower school and competed in races together.  The kids had lots of fun!

Fundraising packets are coming home with your child today. Get out there and SELL, SELL, SELL!!!  The first turn in day is August 20^th and the final day is August 24th.  We would love for PK to have 100% participation.

Next week, we will begin our regular curriculum.  Please notice in the Coming Up in Class section of the blog what our lessons will be.  Our monthly memory verse is located there.  Be working on that with your child each day.  Next week will be a busy one for us and we will have an in school program on Friday with Kevin Kidd, our favorite children’s musician.

      Have a wonderful weekend loving on your kiddos!!!