Hippo Headlines: 2024-08-18

We are so proud of all our Hippos as we have made it through our first full week of school!

This is our weekly blog that we will send out Thursday, Friday or Saturday of each week. You will be able to read some highlights and activities of the week, be reminded of important and upcoming events and dates, and of course, see some adorable pictures of your little hippo in action (which is so fun to share with your child so they can tell you about their week). I will also list the Missouri Early Learning goals in the summary or under pictures of our activities.

Here are a few things we worked on this week, as well as some highlights:

* Teacher and classmate names. You picked up a class collage with all the students and names. You can help your child learn his/her classmate's names and you will also know who your child is talking about when they share school stories.

* Classroom routines and how the hippo room works. We showed pictures using our projector of all the places we go including the gym, playground, big room, art, music, where we line up for each, how we walk up and down the stairs safely, steps for our bathroom and snack routine, etc. These visuals are a wonderful way to discuss rules, safety, routine and answering questions. We know as the days pass, all these areas will get easier. However, if you wouldn't mind reinforcing the need to help the class clean up when the bell rings and lining up after specials, that would be great. (goals: following simple rules, safety, accepting transitions and routines)

* Music class was fun with Ms. Li! Everyone enjoyed dancing!!

* During circle time the children came up with some great rules. We show visuals to help reinforce these rules. The children met Henry our hippo, and practiced introducing themselves to him. On Thursday we introduced the jobs which include door holder, electrician, line leader, caboose, weather reporter, bell ringer and calendar. We place pictures on the board of the students who get a job each day. We will practice recognizing our name when it is our turn for a job. After picking a job, the student says their job to the class. (using appropriate voice volume, confident behavior, respectful behavior, listening skills)

*After watching a video of Pete The Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes we colored shoes using our favorite color and answered the question, "Where would your shoes take you?" The hippos enjoyed painting Pete The Cat in his school shoes using water colors. We also matched different colored shoes as well as sorting them and weighing them. (goals: colors, fine motor, using language, answering questions)

*Throughout the week there were a variety of things we played on the carpet (trains, cars, blocks, legos, dinosaurs, paw patrols, etc.) and a variety of materials on the tables (puzzles, playdough, blocks, dry erase boards, Mr. Potato head, pyramid blocks, connectors, the farm, etc.) when the students arrived at school and during center time. These activities gave the students the opportunity to explore, to get to know each other, ask for turns and use words in a nice way. (goal: developing relationships with peers, persistence to tasks)

* The students enjoyed listening to the story, Curious George's First Day of School! George experimented with mixing paints colors. During center time, we used pipettes to mix primary colors in ice cube trays and learned that colors mixed together make new colors. (goal: color recognition, fine motor strengthening using the pipettes, answering questions from the story)

*As we listened to the story, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Book, we watched Ms. Ginny use real props. Afterwards, we answered questions and then played with the book and props during center time. We also drew on blue folders with colored chalk. These were some of the items the old lady ate!

(answering questions, fine motor, listening skills)

*During the week we decorated a giant Henry the Hippo. We chose from a variety of materials to make him look really cool! We also decorated a page for a class book, Hippo, Hippo, Who Do You See? We will take turns sending this book home for you to read to your child. We will have 2 students a week take the book home. Please return the book the next day so we can give it to the next student. It may take a few weeks to get through the whole class.

Books we read:
There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed A Book

Curious George's First Day of School
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes

Questions to ask your child:
* What are the names of your teachers?
* What did you do at school this week? What was your favorite?
* What do you do when you hear the bell ring on the playground, big room, and gym? (line up)
* What did you play with in the gym?

Next Week/ Important Reminders
*Our theme will be learning about real hippos!

**We would love to have each family prepare their own "Family Page" to be kept in a classroom book for the children to look at throughout the year. We are asking that you either use real photos to add to a standard piece of paper (8 1/2 x 11), or if you are good with technology, you can download pictures onto a page. Pictures can be more of your family, extended family, pets, house, vacation, etc... Please write about a family tradition as well. You can print it out or email it to us and we can print it off for you. Please turn these in by Wednesday, August 28th We will have each child show his/her family page to the class and we will read the family traditions the following week! Thank you!

Important Dates

8/28 Family Page Due

Thank you for sharing your child with us! Already, we can see their little personalities shine through! Everyone was very engaged and we look forward to helping them learn and grow! Enjoy the pictures below!