Fudge For Funds 3.0

We are moving forward with another Fudge for Funds fundraiser for preschool this year. Preschool families will be asked to sell Snowflake Chocolates fudge. There are five flavors (Maple, Maple Walnut, Chocolate, Chocolate Walnut, and Peanut Butter).  

The idea is that the money raised will benefit others as well as benefit our preschool program. In the past, we have given 1/3 of the money raised to a  worthy non-profit that benefits children. We got suggestions from families and the kids voted on who would receive the money. This year, given the devastation that Hurricane Irene caused in Vermont, I would like to suggest we donate to either the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund, or we donate to a library that lost their children's books. 

The other part of the funds will be designated a classroom loft (if approved by the administration), or more classroom technology tools (extra Beebots, iPad apps, iPod touch etc).  Any leftover funds will help supplement field trip costs for preschool this year. 

This has been a very successful fundraiser in the past. We have added a digital microscope, bee-bots (to teach programming) and rocket engines to the preschool in the past. 

Forms will go home tomorrow and orders and money will be due back on Friday, October 14. 
 

Spirit Week

On Friday, Student government may and decided that this upcoming week will be Spirit Week at FCS. Preschoolers are welcome to participate in these fun ways to show pride in our school. Here are the daily themes:

 

Tuesday: Celebrity/ Favorite Character Day

 

Thursday: Farmers Day

 

Friday: Class Color Day 

(A student government rep will come to our class 

to have a student pull a color out of a hat to determine 

our class color for spirit week)

Welcome to Our New Classroom

It has been a long time since I blogged, but I have been busy getting the new preschool classroom moved and set up. as well as licensed by the Child Development Division of Vermont. We managed to get that all done and we are open for business in the Fairfield Center School.

Here are a few pictures from our beginning of the year:

 Working together on a big puzzle

 painting at the big easel

 Eating snack a few friends at a time

 This is how we know not to go on the high part of the playground.

 Negotiating the new playground structure. Very fun!

Drawing with markers.

Exploring in the sand.

Launch Day!

Here is a wrap-up video of the rocket launch day last Thursday. I have to admit, it was my favorite day EVER as a preschool teacher.

Preschool Bucket List

As we near the end of the year, we realized there is so much we though about doing that we did not quite get around to doing. So, we created a "Bucket List" of things we definitely want to accomplish before this school year ends. Here are a few things we have managed to check off our list.

HATCHING CHICKENS

 Angie Boardman offered to share her egg-hatching project with the preschool. She is hatching chicks for her home, but generously shared the eggs, incubator and information with us. We have been making predictions about how many will hatch, what color the chickens will be, and if they will hatch on time or not.

We now know, it takes 21 days to hatch and we should expect to hear peeping in our room on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. After they hatch, we'll put them in a "brooder box" and Angie will be taking them to her home after school on Thursday. We have a chart in the classroom that we have been using to count down the days. We also have used this opportunity to learn the names of the days of the week.

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR THANK YOU

 In order to thank the authors who responded to our request of book donations to the new library. She came in and shared some of the books with the kids.

 

Next, half of the kids "Illustrated" the letters T H A N K and Y O U. The other half of the kids "Authored" an invitation for the authors and illustrators to join us for a Tea at the library on June 18th.

Next we took a picture of all of us with the books and the THANK YOU, which will be the cover of the invitation that we send.

MORE LIFE PROCESSES: TADPOLE TO FROG

Grandma Rita brought in tadpoles (and a few eggs that had not hatched yet) in order for us to watch how they change into frogs. We will feed them and watch them change over the next few weeks.

Hopefully, we will have frogs before preschool is through.

Author Author!

One of our post office focus projects was to write a letter to Vermont authors and illustrators to ask if they would consider donating books to the new Bent-Northrop Memorial Library. The kids collaborated to come up with the words for the letter. (I helped them with the word "considering," but the rest is theirs.) Then, everyone wrote a few of the words on a real piece of notebook paper. I scanned the letter many times and wrote a cover letter to the recipients explaining how the kids worked together on the letter. 

We got some responses this week. How exciting! The real notes from Julia Alvarez and Amy Huntington are posted on the preschool wall, with the letter that the kids and I wrote.

 This one is from Julia Alvarez

This is from Katherine and John Paterson.

 

And this is from illustrator, Amy Huntington. She sent her note on a postcard that she also illustrated.

Another Traveler's Story

This is a video I put together of Flat Brandon's trip with Babci and Grandpa. Enjoy.