In the month of January we will be learning all about different types of vehicles, how transportation is very important to us and that it helps us get from one place to another.  We will be looking at similarities and differences between land, air and sea vehicles, discussing journeys that we have made with our families and the different vehicles we used on those journeys.

As we are becoming more comfortable with inventive spelling, we will encourage our friends to write stories about places they have been to and how they got there.

In our science portion of the unit, the class will have fun learning about different ways the vehicles move, such as wind power, why don’t airplanes fall down and why are wheels round anyway?

During math our friends will continue to explore numbers. As part of the transportation unit, we will look at categorization and graphing.

In November we will be studying the well-loved children’s author and illustrator, Eric Carle!  The children will read a variety of his books and discuss his style of art. Mrs. DeGranges will also be working with the children in their art classes on this topic. Along with looking at the unique art style, we are going to be learning about the plot, setting and character elements that make up a story. Ultimately this will lead to the class making up their own story and creating a book using what we have learned.

We will be taking a look at Thanksgiving and thinking about how this holiday is really all about helping others. The children will talk about the journey to the “New World” and the how the settlers needed the help of the Native Americans to survive the first months.

In Math we will be taking a good look at colors and shapes.

October has been so busy already in PreK-4. Our theme this month is the Farm. We are enjoying learning about different types of animals that live on the farm and also about the food that is grown on the farm. Our friends are really starting to learn how important farms are for us all. It has been fun to discover where our favorite foods actually come from. Mrs. Curran is taking us to see the food that is growing in our Unquowa garden, and we will have a chance to taste some of it too! At the end of October, we will be going on a visit to New Pond Farm to learn about sheep and what they can share with us. Check in the classrooms some morning to see the fabulous farms that we are working on!

Our friends are working hard on the letters of the week.  It is so much fun to be talking and suddenly someone announces, “Hey! That word starts with a B!!”  Our Word Window gets really full by the end of the week.

We are continuing to find patterns in all kinds of places…..number patterns, color patters, even patterns with the clothes we are wearing!

After a wonderful vacation we are all back ready to work and very happy to experience some warmer weather! Spring is in the air and our new social studies/science theme is a reflection of that. Our friends are going to be looking closely at the natural world. Plants and tiny creatures are our main focus. Some of the highlights will be planting in the classroom and the school garden, learning what plants need to grow and their different parts, our very own composting experience…complete with worms… and studying various tiny creatures and how they live and are important to our world. Earth Day is this month and we have a wonderful day planned where we will learn about animals from the Audubon, bees from a beekeeper and intertidal animals from the Maritime Museum.

We are continuing to learn the correct formation of letters and everyone is having fun writing and working on their “inventive spelling”.

In math our friends will continue their journey through the number families up to ten. Added to this we will be looking at simple addition and subtraction. “More than” and “less than”  are important words that we will all learn this month and this will also lead to the concept of balance/”equal to”.

For the first two weeks of March we are continuing to look at community helpers. Last on our list will be doctors and nurses. We will think about the different parts of our bodies and how to keep them healthy.

For our last week before vacation, PreK 4 will be taking a giant look at dinosaurs. What did they look like? What might they have felt like? What might they have liked to eat?

In Math we will continue to work on our skip counting. We are having fun with our classroom store where the children take turns “buying” items for one, two, three, four or five dollars and paying the cashier the correct amount. We will also be taking a closer look at number families up to 10.

This February PreK-4 will be talking about the people who help us. From firefighters to veterinarians, doctors to post office workers, our friends will be learning all about the different ways these people come together to make our community work.

We will be taking a trip to the Pequot Library and the Southport Post Office on Feb. 10th. As well as getting tours of both places, the children will be able to buy stamps and mail Valentines that we make in school.

In Math we will continue to focus on patterns, writing numerals and matching numbers to corresponding objects. We are also going to begin a joint math/science unit on color.

All-in-all, we are looking forward to a busy and fun month!

In the month of January we will be learning all about different types of vehicles, how transportation is very important to us and that it helps us get from one place to another.  We will be looking at similarities and differences between land, air and sea vehicles, discussing journeys that we have made with our families and the different vehicles we used on those journeys.  We will also look at how different vehicles move.

In November we will be studying the well-loved children’s author and illustrator, Eric Carle!  The children will read a variety of his books and discuss his style of art.  After reading many of Eric Carle’s stories and discussing his illustrations, the children will create their own collages representing his work of art.  Finally, as a culmination to this unit, we will be graphing our favorite Eric Carle book and we will be able to see which book was the most popular!

Here is a website link with a list of Eric Carle’s books so that you can read some of his books at home with your child! Enjoy!

http://www.eric-carle.com/ECBiblio.pdf

This month we will be studying the farm!  We will be exploring animals that live on the farm,  animal bi-product such as wool, yarn, food and textiles, where our food comes from and the different types of farms.  We will be culminating this study with a field experience to New Pond Farm in Redding, CT on October 26, 2010.

During the month of February we will be exploring the important roles community helpers have in our daily lives. Throughout the unit we will learn about their different jobs, the places they work and the significance of their uniforms. We will develop an understanding of what a community is in the larger sense as well as our community here at Unquowa. We invite and encourage any family members who are community helpers to come and visit us during our unit!