November 2014
Dear Threeschool Parents,
Can you believe it’s November already! Wow, how the time is flying!
HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION
The Threeschoolers had a wonderful October filled with new experiences and lots of
learning! For the second time since school started, the children helped the teachers
measure and pour ingredients to make home-made play dough. Play dough is always a
great way to encourage growth in all areas of development. It seems to be one of their
favorite activities at school, so why not do it at home as well? Here are the play dough
recipes we have used so far in class…
PUMPKIN DOUGH
TEA DOUGH
2 ¾ cups flour
4 cups of flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup salt
1 cup salt
3 TBSP vegetable oil
4 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups of brewed tea (use 4 tea bags
1 can of pumpkin
for 2 cups of water)
Orange food coloring (if desired)
Mix and knead all ingredients
Mix and knead all ingredients together
together
These recipes make enough for our whole class to enjoy so you may want to cut the
recipe in half for fewer children.
CURRICULUM
During the month of November, our class will be focusing on corn, scarecrows, turkeys
and the holiday of Thanksgiving! As always, we will use these themes to enhance all
areas of development, Fine/Large Motor, Language, Cognitive and Social/Emotional.
While learning about corn, the children will be grasping science skills as we discuss
and read about different kinds of corn and how it grows. We will learn through are
senses as we see and hear the kernels pop in an air popper and we will smell its
aroma, feel its texture and taste it’s flavor too!
As we discuss scarecrows, the children will develop fine motor skills as they design
their own jack-o-lantern face and paint with straw. We will be using our bodies to act out
a scarecrow activity all the while enhancing our large motor skills. We will also sing
scarecrow songs and play scarecrow counting and matching games to further develop
math skills.
We will learn more about animals and nature as we explore turkeys. As with all the
themes this month, we will be reading many age-appropriate books about turkeys to
continue developing our language skills as well as increasing our attention span and
further developing our social skills while sitting a group.
Finally, we will spend some time learning about Thanksgiving. We will present the
holiday in a very simple way, mostly talking about what it means to be thankful and what
we are thankful for.
LETTER OF THE DAY
Our Letter of the Day is another way of bring language learning into the classroom.
Each Wednesday, please continue to bring in pictures of items that begin with the letter
of the day. Include your child in the search for these items and encourage your child to
use scissors to cut out the pictures, as this is a challenging skill that helps the
development of pre-writing skills. During November, we will cover the letters E, F and
G.
Wow, so much learning and growing, all through play in just an hour and a half a day!!
AT HOME
Please continue to read to your child at home each day and always ask your child openended questions about what (s)he did at school. Say things like, “Tell me about the
book you read in school today,” or “What part of the classroom did you play in today.” If
they did the art project, say, “Tell me about your picture?” Try to avoid getting just a yes
or no answer. Focus on having a real conversation. This is so important for language
development.
REMINDERS
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There will be no school on Wednesday, November 26 due to the Thanksgiving
break.
Pie Sales are due Friday, November 7. Checks are payable to HEPD.
Pie Pick-up Day: Wednesday, November 19 at 3pm in TC room 110
Please dress your child appropriately for the weather as we will be going
outside even on chilly days. Hats and gloves might be necessary as the weather
gets cooler.
Our direct line is (847) 885-7500 extension 629. Feel free to contact us anytime.
Our Scholastic Books on-line code is GY82R.
Have a wonderful November and a great holiday. Thank you for being helpful
interested and dedicated parents!
Ms. Monique and Ms. Jean