St. Luke’s Preschool

Fall Newsletter 2016

BE MERCIFUL AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL

~LUKE 6:36

In this Year of Mercy let us accept the invitation to love, share kindness,

& give with unbounded generosity. We have had an exciting start to our preschool year with new and returning students, families, and helpers. Welcome to our new principal- Mrs. Bartel, new Spanish teacher- Señora Turilli, Mrs. Leonard- returning as our noontime teacher, Miss Baggott returning as our preschool volunteer, and our new 8th grade Buddies! We also have happy new folks at the main school- Mrs. Sullivan in the school office and Mrs. Sequino at CAMP. Our focus the first weeks of school is to help the children feel comfortable, get to know each other, adjust to our daily routines, and learn to use and care for our materials. These skills will be developed and expanded throughout the year. Sunflowers, Gardens, and Bees were our first studies of the school year. This month our Studies include Pets and Lines. It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Welcome to Preschool Day and Family Night. The children were excited and proud to show you and their guests around the school. It was especially nice to have Mrs. Bartel and Mr. Kiely join us. We hope you had fun seeing your child’s work and reading the family stories done by the new students and finding your returning student’s pet drawing.

As each area of study is explored several Early Learning Standards will be met. The children will observe objects and events with curiosity and seek relevant information to expand their knowledge. In the Sunflower Study the children were able to see how sunflowers actually grow outside as well as under the magnifying glass inside. The children could see that plants need sun, soil & water to grow. Since school started we painted with fingers, hands and brushes. We did scientific drawings and paintings of sunflowers and bees. We even learned that artists like to paint sunflowers, like Georgia O’Keefe and Vincent Van Gogh, and we looked at pictures of their paintings. We compared growing plants to growing children and learned that God made all living things, provides for us & that each seed holds a promise from God. Learning about bees gave the children a chance to study a very helpful garden insect. They learned how bees work together, make hives out of wax & make honey out of nectar. They made bee hive patterns with hexagons, listened to The Flight of the Bumble Bee, and learned about cooperation. The preschool has all kinds of manipulatives that expand the children’s learning and curiosity. Seeing real bees under the magnifying glass helped them see the bees tiny fuzzy legs for collecting pollen and their delicate transparent wings will hopefully help them appreciate the wonder of these small creatures that help us have food to eat and plants to enjoy.

Self portraits

Bee hive crawling

Bee counting clips

Bee Patterns Bee Lines Honey-cone Painting

Making Bees with taped patterns Using hexagons to make hive designs Showing Jesse Bear how to make hexagons with Pattern Blocks

Honey for snack Playing Honey Bee Tree Bees work together to take care of each other

Father Bob came in to the preschool in early October to read Little Tree. For Father Bob’s anniversary and to show him how much we love him the kindergarteners made a banner, the 8th graders gave him balloons and the preschoolers made him a beautiful cloth tablecloth with leaves from around the campus printed on it along with a bouquet of branches from around the school all for Father Bob’s deck. The rest of the students decorated hands for giant posters at each doorway to the church. Thank you Father Bob for all you do for us!!

One of the most exciting October events at the preschool each year is the visit from the fire department to the Friday class. The firefighters showed the children their protective fire suits and talked about fire safety. Our children were also able to see the fire truck and use the hose. They got to see first hand how important the job of firefighter really is and they each received a fire safety packet and fire hat!

The colors and textures of fall also inspired our work and play… The children have thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather during outdoor play. The stunning leaves that adorn our classroom windows were done using liquid water color with eye droppers.

The 8th grade buddies have begun lessons with the older preschool children. They attended the SLS Mass for the Feast of St. Luke together last week. The children were very attentive and are looking forward to going again to Mass in December.

The Veterinarian Center

From fuzzy bees to furry pets- the Dramatic Play Center is now a Veterinarian Office. Each doctor made a shingle by printing the pets they care for and their name on the sign. The children have learned about how to care for all sorts of pets, talked about their own pets at home, shared their knowledge of veterinarians, and thought about why different animals have different types of skin coverings. They looked at fur, feathers, and scales carefully and made detailed drawings based on their observations. Class Mascot, Jesse Bear, particularly likes this center! The children showed Jesse Bear how to play in their favorite places around the preschool in the weeks before Family Night. The stories this activity generated are delightful!

Maeve

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?, Nancy Carlstrom The Sunflower House, Eve Bunting In the Garden with Van Gogh, Merberg & Bober A Field of Sunflowers, Neil Johnson The Sunflower Parable, Liz Curtis Higgs From Seed to Sunflower, Gerald Legg Angel Hide & Seek, Ann Turner The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle In the Garden, David Schwartz Buzzing Bees, Rosemary Irons How Do Bees Make Honey?, Usborne Honeybees, Jane Lecht The Honey Bee and the Robber, Eric Carle Jack’s Garden, Henry Cole Are You a Bee? Judy Allen & Tudor Humphries Bumble Bees, Cheryl Coughlan Who Is in the Garden, Vera Rosenberry Inch by Inch, a Garden Song, David Mallett Top Cat, Lois Ehlert Not Norman- A Golfish Story, Kelly Bennett Mamma Cat Has 3 Kittens, Denise Fleming Sally Goes to the Vet, Stephen Huneck My Bunny & Me, Lindsay Barrett George Fur, Ian Douglas McDuff Moves In, Rosemary Wells McDuff Comes Home, Rosemary Wells Pet Show, Ezra Jack Keats Pet Dictionary, Don Harper Lift-the-Flap Pets, Usborne Vicky the Vet, Jo Litchfield Bingo!, illus. by Hans Wilhelm Cezanne, Meyer Schapiro Bear and Bee, Sergio Ruzzier Bear’s Busy Family, Stella Blackstone Bee Dance, Rick Chrustowski Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse, Judy Schachner These Bees Count, Alison Formento Among the Flowers, David Schwartz Two Eyes, A Nose and A Mouth, Roberta Grobel Intrater The Invisible String, Patrice Karst 5 Little Kittens,Nancy Jewell Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up? Bill Martin, Jr. Let It Fall, Maryann Cocca-Lefler Animal Hospital, Judith Walker-Hodge Hello, Biscuit! Alyssa Capucilli Little Tree, Loren Long What Pet Should I Get?, Dr. Seuss A Line Can Be, Laura Ljungkrist THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT BOOKS TO: They All Saw A Cat, Brendan Wenzel THANK YOU DANIEL! And Kangaroo Played His Didgeridoo, Nigel Gray THANK YOU SANTIAGO! My Friend Rabbit, Eric Rohmann THANK YOU BEATRICE!

Mrs. Bartel came in to the preschool to read The Invisible String last week. This wonderful story not only connects to our study of lines, but it also reminds us that we are all connected to each other and to God by invisible strings of love.

We made a welcome sign from branches and dried plant material for Family Night and to greet the NEASC Team. The children “found” the letters in the branches and figured out how to make the curves with wire.

Lines Study- Tape relief paintings