Ramadan Mubarak! I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Wow! What a fun week of learning and exploring! We have been working hard in the classroom and we had the opportunity to explore the Henry Ford Centennial Library! I highly encourage you to visit the library. Check out their website for upcoming events or simply visit the library: https://dearbornlibrary.org/
I am excited to share what we have been learning about this week. Before I do, please see this important announcement:
No School – Spring Break Sunday, March 26-Sunday, April 2
No school Sunday, March 26-Sunday, April 2 due to Spring Break! We return to school on Monday, April 3. Enjoy your time off!
Parent Meeting – Thursday, April 6
We have a Parent Meeting on Thursday, April 6. There is no school after the meeting is over. There will be two times to choose from: 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM. A sign up sheet will be available on Monday, April 3.
April 2023 Calendar
The April 2023 Calendar was sent home last week. Here it is just in case you missed it:
What Did We Learn About This Week?
This week we focused on, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” As we read the book, we talked about the setting and the characters. The students practiced their comprehension skills by recalling important details of the book (what happened first, next, then last). The students also cut out puppets and made a puppet show of the story!
At the end of the week, the students took a vote of which book was their favorite this month:
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff”
“The Three Little Pigs”
“Goldilocks and The Three Bears”
And the winner was…
The Three Bears!!!!
Enjoy Your Spring Break!
I hope you all have a wonderful and safe spring break! I encourage you to take this time to spend quality time with your children and families. Limit your child’s screen time to one hour a day. Spend time outside, playing games, reading books, going out, or anything else that your child enjoys doing with you! I can’t wait to hear about your fun break when we return to school!
What a great week it has been! This month is moving by so quickly. Meeting with you for conferences is one of my favorite things to do! I really enjoyed talking to you about your child’s strengths and areas to work on during our parent conferences. It is always exciting to share your child’s progress with you!
FIELD TRIP – HENRY FORD CENTENNIAL LIBRARY – MARCH 22, 2023
We are taking a field trip to the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Wednesday, March 22! Dearborn Public Schools will transport us to and from the library. We depart at 9:30 and will return to Salina Elementary at 11:30. Per the permission slip, “Parents should plan to drop children off, and pick up at Salina Elementary at normal times.”
CHAPERONES:
If you are chaperoning the trip, please be in Room 108 at 9:00 AM SHARP!
Due to limited space, only one chaperone per child may attend.
NO SIBLINGS or any other family members may come on the trip due to space.
What Did We Learn About This Week?
This week we read the story of The Three Little Pigs. We measured how many cubes high the pig and wolf were. We compared the pig and wolf’s height by sharing which one was bigger and which was smaller. See if you can find two objects around your house. Have your child tell you which item is bigger and which item is smaller. If you have a ruler see if they can measure it and tell you how many inches it is?
We used rhythm sticks to make patterns. We tapped our sticks up high and then we tapped the floor. The students repeated this rhythm over and over. This is a ABABAB pattern. The students were asked to tap their sticks by making their own pattern. See if your child can create a pattern by tapping two pencils together. The students also used their rhythm sticks to demonstrate how quickly the pig ran to their brothers house by tapping them very fast.
We have finished learning about all of the upper and lowercase letters. Woohoo! Each day we are going to review a new letter. This week we talked about the letters Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg. We talked about the name of the letters and what sound each letter makes. The student looked at three objects and named two objects that had the same letter sound. Talk about objects in your house and see if your child can tell you what letter it begins with.
Dog, dinosaur, fish. Which picture does not belong? Which two pictures start with the same letter sound?
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, March 20: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Tuesday, March 21: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Wednesday, March 22: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM LIBRARY FIELD TRIP 9:30 AM-11:30 AM
Thursday, March 23: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
Our students made puppets of, “The Three Little Pigs,” and used them to retell the story. This weekend, I encourage you and your child to perform a puppet show and retell the story! You can also make up your own version of the story!
We had a great week of school after having almost a full week off. We also completed our first round of conferences! Thank you all for your continued support with helping your child have a great preschool experience! I am excited to share what we learned about this week! First, please see this important announcement about our field trip in a few weeks:
Field Trip – Henry Ford Centennial Library – March 22, 2023
We are taking a field trip to the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Wednesday, March 22! Dearborn Public Schools will transport us to and from the library. We depart at 9:30 and will return to Salina Elementary at 11:30. Per the permission slip, “Parents should plan to drop children off, and pick up at Salina Elementary at normal times.”
We are inviting parents/chaperones to attend! Chaperones MUST be 18 years old or over and will only be responsible for their child. Due to space, only one chaperone per child is allowed on the bus. DO NOT BRING ANY SIBLINGS ON THE FIELD TRIP. Chaperones, please be at Salina Elementary, Room 108 at 9:00 AM SHARP! If you would like to attend the field trip, please let me know by Wednesday, February 15.
Permission slips for the field trip MUST be signed by Wednesday, February 15 to attend the trip. They will be available to sign on Monday.
What Did We Learn About This Week?
We finished learning the letters of the alphabet this week with our Alphafriends, Yetta Yoyo and Zelda Zebra! Yetta Yoyo helped us learn Yy and Zelda Zebra helped us learn Zz. We practiced writing the letters, making them with Play-Doh, and learning about words that start with those letters.
Yy words:
Yellow
Yoyo
Yolk
Yawn
Zz words:
Zipper
Zig-Zag
Zebra
Click on the pictures above to hear the songs for these two letters!
We have been talking a lot about spring. The students learned about what happens in the springtime. Here are some ideas they have learned:
“We can plant seeds to make flowers grow!”
“The sun comes out and it gets warmer.”
“It rains a lot.”
While the students were eating apples during lunch, they noticed that some of they had seeds. They had the idea to plant them outside to see if they would grow! Will we be able to grow an apple tree? We will check the areas on the playground we planted them to see if they will grow!
The students also reviewed the letters we learned by playing, “Mystery Box.” Mystery box had different letters and objects. The students pulled out the letters and/or objects and had to find the matching letter on the letter blanket OR find the letter that the object started with. Check it out:
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, March 6: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Tuesday, March 7: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Wednesday, March 8: LATE START School 9:15 AM-3:00 PM
Thursday, March 9: NO SCHOOL – Parent & Teacher Conferences
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
This weekend, I encourage you to challenge your child’s knowledge on all the letters they have learned. How many letters can your child find in your house? Take a look at the letter chart below. Tell your child a letter to find. Your child will go through your house and find something that starts with that letter:
We had a great week of school! We have celebrated our friendships, learned new letters, and got to experiment and make Play-Doh! I am so excited to share what we have learned! First, please see these important announcements below.
PARENT UNIVERSITY – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 AND FRIDAY, MARCH 3
Parent University is back in Dearborn Public Schools! The goal is for you and your child/children to attend child-friendly activities that support their early childhood development. There are two days coming up: Friday, February 24 and Friday, March 3. There are four locations to choose from to attend:
Cotter is hosting their Preschool Parent Advisory Council (PPAC) meeting on Thursday, February 23 at 9:30 AM. This is a great opportunity to learn, discuss, and collaborate with parents and staff about the Dearborn Great Start Readiness Program. These meetings are optional, but are highly encouraged to attend.
If you are interested, please complete the PPAC form by Monday, February 13. If you are interested and did not receive a form, please see me on Monday morning and I will give one to you!
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be here before we know it! Below are the dates for Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Thursday, March 2: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESCHOOL – All day conferences
Thursday, March 9: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESCHOOL – All day conferences
Thursday, March 16: Full day of school – PM conferences (no translation will be available)
The sign up sheet is available now! If you have not signed up yet, please see me to sign up for a conference time. Remind text messages will be sent prior to your child’s conference.
WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT THIS WEEK?
We are almost all done with our letters! This week we focused on letters Ww and Xx and what sounds they make. Our Alphafriends, Willy Worm and Mr. X-Ray helped us learn these letters. We read alphabet books about these letters, as well as played Starfall activities. I encourage you to ask your child about words they learned about that start with these letters.
Click the pictures below to hear words with letters Ww and Xx:
This week the students increased their reading comprehension skills by reading, “Goodnight, Gorilla.” This is a silly book about a Gorilla who is causing mischief at the zoo. This book also has no words! The students practiced making connections to the book. They made comments like:
“We have keys! They drive a car!”
“We have a flashlight. We use it when it’s dark.”
“I went to the zoo! I got to feed a giraffe lettuce.”
“I went to the zoo and I saw a lion like that one!”
“I sleep in my bed when it’s night time.”
The students also increased their art skills by writing about stories that happened in the immediate past. I will be putting their artwork in the hallway soon. Be sure to check it out once it’s up there!
We also practiced our shape skills by playing, “Mystery Box”! The students took turns pulling out items from the Mystery Box. They had to identify the shape and explain how they knew it was that shape. For example:
“The plate is a circle. It is has only curves and no corners.”
“This LEGO is a rectangle. It has four sides and four corners.”
We made Play-Doh and it was SO FUN! The students practiced their experimenting skills by observing the ingredients and making predictions on what would happen if they mixed the ingredients together. They all took turns adding in the ingredients and mixing it up. We are keeping our Play-Doh in our Play-Doh Area for the students to use at Work Time! If you want to make it at home, here are the instructions and ingredients:
3 cup flour (you might need to add a little more) 1/4 cup salt 6 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup water Any food coloring Mix it up!
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, February 20: NO SCHOOL!
Tuesday, February 21: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Wednesday, February 22: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Thursday, February 23: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
I really encourage you to try to make Play-Doh at home! This activity is great because it increases their communication, math, and fine motor skills! Your child will love talking about the observations they are making, counting how many scoops of ingredients go in the mixture, and playing in the Play-Doh! If you make it at home, send me pictures on Remind! I’d love to see them!
I hope you are all having a great week! The kids were happy to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. I can hardly believe that it’s February given this amazing weather! We had a busy week of learning AND walking. I am excited to share what we learned about.
I also want to thank you for attending the meeting with Dr. Razan Abbass! I hope you gained some valuable insight on the importance of oral hygiene. There were some additional classroom items I discussed briefly during the meeting. I have the information available for any families who need it on Monday. Here were some of the topics I discussed:
Parent University – Friday, February 24 and Friday, March 3
Parent University is back in Dearborn Public Schools! The goal is for you and your child/children to attend child-friendly activities that support their early childhood development. There are two days coming up: Friday, February 24 and Friday, March 3. There are four locations to choose from to attend:
Cotter is hosting their Preschool Parent Advisory Council (PPAC) meeting on Thursday, February 23 at 9:30 AM. This is a great opportunity to learn, discuss, and collaborate with parents and staff about the Dearborn Great Start Readiness Program. These meetings are optional, but are highly encouraged to attend.
If you are interested, please complete the PPAC form by Monday, February 13. If you are interested and did not receive a form, please see me on Monday morning and I will give one to you!
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be here before we know it! Below are the dates for Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Thursday, March 2: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESCHOOL – All day conferences
Thursday, March 9: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESCHOOL – All day conferences
Thursday, March 16: Full day of school – PM conferences (no translation will be available)
The sign up sheet is available now! Please sign up before or after school on Monday. Remind text messages will be sent prior to your child’s conference.
What Did We Learn About This Week?
This week we learned about the letters Mm and Nn and the sounds each letter makes. Our Alphafriends, Mimi Mouse and Nyle Noodle helped us learn these letters! We read alphabet books about these letters, as well as played Starfall activities. I encourage you to ask your child about words they learned about that start with these letters.
Click the images below to hear the songs that go with these letters:
Our classroom theme this week was all about friendship. The students finished writing their names on friendship cards. They are going to be giving these cards to their friends on Tuesday. The students learned more about their friends as they asked a friend questions about themselves. Some questions that they asked their friends is what do you like to do? What is your favorite food? How many people do you have in your family? Do you have any pets?
After learning more about their friend, the student learned about similarities and differences among their friends. The students created a Venn Diagram showing their similarities and differences. If you have time, stop by the hall to see what they learned!
The Mailbox Field Trip
The students were so excited about walking to the mailboxes to drop off their letters to you. I sure hope that you were surprised when you got them! The students promised that they would not tell you until it arrived. Did you see it yet? When the letters arrive, can you please take a picture of your child holding it and send the picture to me through Remind?
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, February 13 School 8:15-3:00
Tuesday, February 14 School 8:15-3:00
Wednesday, February 15 School 9:15-3:00Late Start
Thursday, February 16 School 8:15-3:00
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
To promote your child’s writing skills, I encourage you to help your child write letters to their friends and families! Find some paper, pencils, and crayons, and encourage your child to write a letter to their loved one. They can write a letter to their siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or anyone else! If you don’t want to drop it off at the mailbox, you can deliver the letter to their loved ones simply by walking it over to them! (We do this in our class a lot!)
We are taking a walking field trip to the mailbox on Dix on Wednesday, February 8. Please note that everyone in both preschool classes at Salina are attending the field trip. We plan to be back at Salina by 9:45 AM.
The projected weather for Wednesday is in the 40 degree range and cloudy. This is great weather for a walk! Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for being outside. Consider the following items to send your child to school with:
Coat
Hat
Gloves/Mittens
Walking shoes or walking boots (NO SANDALS OR ANY TYPE OF DRESSY SHOE!)
I think this was our first full week of school in a while. Wow! We had a full week packed of learning! Unfortunately, we were not able to go outside at all this week due to the cold weather. Our bodies feel a little cooped up because we don’t have room to run around. This weekend is supposed to be pretty warm (for a Michigan winter, that is). I encourage you and your child to get outside this weekend and run around! Enjoy it!
Mailbox Field Trip – Wednesday, February 8
We are taking a walking field trip to the mailbox on Dix on Wednesday, February 8. If you did not sign the permission slip, please sign it and turn it in by Monday, February 6! Please note that everyone in both preschool classes at Salina are attending the field trip. We plan to be back at Salina by 9:45 AM.
The projected weather for Wednesday is in the 40 degree range and cloudy. This is great weather for a walk! Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for being outside. Consider the following items to send your child to school with:
Coat
Hat
Gloves/Mittens
Walking shoes or walking boots (NO SANDALS OR ANY TYPE OF DRESSY SHOE!)
Scarf
Comfortable clothes to walk in
Parent Meeting – Thursday, February 9
Our next Parent Meeting is on Thursday, February 9. ALL FAMILIES WILL COME TO THE CLASSROOM AT 8:15 AM! We have a guest speaker, Dr. Razan Abbass, talking about the importance of dental hygiene.
Please meet in Room 108 at 8:15 AM for a quick meeting about the classroom agenda. At 8:30 AM SHARP, all parents will go to classroom 107 to listen to Dr. Razan Abbass. The students will stay in classroom 108 with Mrs. Paulisin and Mrs. Lawson to participate in dental hygiene activities. There is no school after the meeting is over.
What Did We Learn About This Week?
The two letters we learned about were letters A and V. Andy Apple and Vinny Volcano helped us learn these letters and their sounds. The students practiced writing these letters, making them with Play-Doh, and writing about words that start with these letters. How many items do you have in your house that start with A and V?
We talked about transportation this week! What is transportation? Transportation are things that go! Here are some transportation vehicles we talked about:
Bus
Airplane
Mail trick
Car
Boat
Train
We talked about how transportation vehicles have parts to them that make them go, such as engines, wheels, wings, etc. We compared transportation vehicles to things that are not transportation, such as houses, grass, the sun, etc.
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, February 6: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Tuesday, February 7: School 8:15 AM-3:00PM
Wednesday, February 8: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM WALKING FIELD TRIP 9:00 AM-9:45 AM
Thursday, February 9: NO SCHOOL – Parent Meeting at 8:15 AM!
Fun Weekend Activity Idea
The students spent time sorting transportation vehicles during our small group instruction. I encourage you to help your child continue to sort items based off their attributes. For example, if your child is sorting fruit, how would they sort it? By color? By size? Find some items in your house for your child to sort and see how they sort them!
Our class started talking about transportation this week. One way we have talked about transportation is mail transportation. On Wednesday, February 8, the students will be taking a walk to the mailbox on Dix. We will start our walk at 9:00 AM and will be back at Salina by 9:45 AM. The permission slip will be available after school today. You will need to sign the permission slip for your child to attend. Please sign the permission slip by Thursday, February 2nd.
What a wild week! We didn’t have school on Monday AND we had a field trip on Wednesday! So fun! Families, thank you so much for helping our field trip be so successful. We hope that you had the best time learning with your child and exploring natural activities!
HALF DAY OF SCHOOL – MONDAY, JANUARY 23!
January 23rd is a half-day of school due to a district Professional Development. Pick up is at 11:20 AM SHARP!
What Did We Learn About This Week?
The two letters we learned this week were Pp and Bb. Our friends, Pippa Pig and Benny Bear helped us identify the letter and the sounds that they make. The students practiced writing these letters in their Writing Journals and on a circle map. They wrote about words that start with letters Pp and Bb.
Words that start with Pp:
Pencil
Paper
Pumpkin
Pig
Words that start with Bb:
Balloons
Bus
Ball
Bear
Banana
The students have been practicing their drawing and writing skills a lot this week! We have been practicing a lot of directed drawing activities. Directed drawing means drawing the same picture step-by-step. As we draw, we talk about the shapes and colors that are being used. For example, “I am drawing a red house. The walls are a square. Now I am making a green roof. The roof is a triangle.”
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, January 23: HALF-DAY of School 8:15 AM-11:20 AM SHARP!
Tuesday, January 24: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Wednesday, January 25: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Thursday, January 26: School 8:15 AM-3:00 PM
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
This weekend, I encourage you to keep drawing pictures with your child. This will help their art skills develop as they continue to add detail, as well as teach them about shapes as they need to use shapes for their pictures. As you draw with your child, I encourage you to ask them these questions:
“Tell me about your picture.”
“What shapes are you using?”
“I see you are drawing a picture of a ______. What other details can we add?”
Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday break! I got to spend a lot of time with my family and friends, which was very special. It was great seeing all the smiling faces on the children this week. I can tell they missed school, just like I did!
It was also great seeing all of you at the Parent Meeting! I hope that this meeting was helpful and you can use the information we discussed to support your child’s math and number skills at home. It was also fun watching you and your child explore your STEAM skills with the 6-Bricks activities! This will help your child as we explore our LEGO STEAM project in a few weeks.
Before I share what we learned about, please read the following information about the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center field trip (this information was recently shared on Remind):
DNR Outdoor Adventure Center
Dear Families,
We are so excited for our first field trip to the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center! There is a lot of important information about our field trip and it can be hard to remember all of it. Please read this important information about our field trip:
Date: Wednesday, January 18
Time: The bus will leave at 9:30 AM and we will return to Salina by 1:30 AM
Permission slips MUST be signed by Tuesday, January 17!
Please drop your child off to the classroom at 8:15 AM. If you are planning on chaperoning, please be in the classroom by 9:00 AM SHARP
CHAPERONES:
If you plan to chaperone on the trip, be in the classroom at 9:00 AM SHARP! (This is to ensure we are on time for the bus)
Only one parent/chaperone may attend the field trip with their child
NO SIBLINGS may come on the field trip
The DNR Outdoor Adventure Center is a wonderful opportunity to learn with your child about nature and outdoor learning activities! We highly encourage you to attend the field trip with your child!
LUNCHES:
Please pack a healthy lunch and water bottle for your child
CHAPERONES: Please pack a healthy lunch and water bottle for yourself
DO NOT PACK PEANUTS AND TREE NUTS due to food allergies
The DNR Outdoor Adventure Center has vending machines. We understand that some students have allergies, and some are airborne. We do not know what food(s) are in the vending machines, so please be mindful of what you and your child eats/eats around.
When we are on the bus, we will seat three children on one seat and two adults on another seat. This is due to the amount of space the bus can hold.
A light breakfast will be offered to the children when they arrive to school. If you feel like you want your child to eat a heavier breakfast before the trip, we encourage you to offer your child a breakfast at home (they may also eat the breakfast at school, we just want to make sure your child isn’t hungry!)
As always, please let us know if you have any questions!
What Did We Learn About This Week?
This week we learned about the letter Jj. We listened to the Alphafriends song, read books with the letter, learned how to write the upper and lowercase letters and practiced making the sounds for them. The students helped to create a circle graph with words that begin with these letter.
J is for jump J is for jellybean J is for jumping jack J is for jacket J is for jelly
Healthy Living came to our classroom and talked about how plants grow. They learned that plants need air, water, sun and soil. They sang a song to help them remember what plants need to grow. Please ask your child to sing the song to you. They had an opportunity to plant their very own lettuce seed. For our snack the students ate a yogurt parfait. What a yummy and healthy snack!
This week we read two stories, The Mitten and The Hat. The students sewed a mitten together then cut out animals to put in the mitten, just like our story. Please ask your child to tell you what happened in the story.
Next Week at Salina…
Monday, January 16: NO SCHOOL – MLK Day
Tuesday, January 17: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM DNR PERMISSION SLIPS DUE
Wednesday, January 18: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM
Our Field Trip to the DNR
Chaperones ,please come to school by 9:00 a.m. with lunches and water bottles for you and your child. Please be aware that we have a child with peanut/tree nut allergies, so please avoid packing these into your lunches.
Thursday, January 19: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM
Check Out Our LEGO Creations!
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
I encourage you and your child to continue practicing their math and counting skills! Practice playing Top It with your child!
You can also use the number cards for other activities! Here are some ideas:
Hide the number cards throughout your house. Have your child find the numbers and tell you what number it is.
Have your child practice writing the numbers.
Encourage your child to practice counting the dots on the number cards.
Encourage your child to practice adding two numbers together.
