Friday is always fun!

Fridays are always a great way to end the week.  Today the students and I used  Sun Art paper (for more information http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/tedco/sunart_paper_kit_8_x_10_inches.cfm)  (which was bought using the money we earned by collecting Box tops).  The kids loved watching how the object they chose made a picture using the sun and water.  Using the sun and water to create art complimented our science by growing Lima beans in paper towels.  The students loved going by daily to check how their lima bean was growing and changing.  Their lima beans were sent home in their backpacks today so you can now hang them in your window at home.

This afternoon we worked more on positional words (over, beside, and under).  Also they did a fabulous job at ABC 123 circle.  They had a lot of counting, but they rose to the challenge.  =)

Don't forget Mother's Day Snack is Thursday, May 5 at 10am.

Have a great weekend!

So much fun!

As per usual we had a very fun day with Ms. Brooke!  Lots of singing, dancing, and speech activities went on.  Today the sutdents each received a piece of wax paper in the shape of a butterfly.   The students then used their duck fingers (pincer grasp) to put crayon shavings on the butterfly  The students mixed different colors together.  Then I took the wax paper and put another piece on top.  Then wielding the hot iron (No Touch!) melted the wax and crayon together.  It made absolutely beautiful creations.  The kids how each of them had a very unique butterfly.

Just a reminder: many of you I am having end of year meetings with.  If you do not have one scheduled with me and want one scheduled please let me know ASAP!

Wednesday

As usual our Wednesdays are filled with lots to do!  We had a great day of art with Ms. Marjorie.  The students learned how to make the number three into a butterfly.  Mrs. Marjorie had them had their number three paper and had them paint on one side of the page.  Then they folded the paper and smoothed the other side on top. They were amazed to open and see that the other side now had paint on it too!  How cool is that?

Also THANK YOU to all the parents who sent in food for our Hungry Caterpillar Snack.  The kids loved sampling the different fruits and cheese.  Feel free to send in fruit with you child for snack if you would like! It makes for a great healthy snack.

Important Dates to Look Ahead:
May 3- Show and Tell
May 5- Mother's Day Tea 10:00am- Please RSVP so I have an accurate head count
May 24- Field Day- come out and support us in the morning
May 26- Book Character Day- Send your child to school dressed as their favorite book character with a book that the character is in
May 27- Last day of school/class party/water day- more information will come available as we get closer to the time.
++ Remember I am not able to put sunscreen on your child and it is getting hot outside!  Either please put the sunscreen on your child or you can send them in with a hat.++

Here is some additional information I am passing on from the Autism/Behavior Specialist


If you attended the conference earlier this month you probably
heard Dr. Feder speak. He will speak to you again and answer your
questions.

Title: How do we decide what to do for our kids?
Date: Tuesday, May 3rd
Time: 6PM Pacific (9PM Eastern)
Speaker: Dr. Josh Feder

For Event Info & Post Your Questionshttp://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=8PpnR&m=1eNXbKRMZKCwR5&b=RbtfJLJUnpYrpNdx50GbIg <---Click Here

Description:
There are so many people who tell us so many things about what we
ought to do or ought not to do for our children with autism and
autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

This talk will sort through how we decide what we do for our
children, and includes discussion of current important concepts of
Evidence Based Medicine to help families demand real informed
consent and have real parental choice in selecting interventions
for their children with ASDs.

Catching Up

I feel like as we get closer to the end of the year time is flying even faster!  Many of you have asked about the book the train book that came home with your student the other day.  One of the teachers had a set of these books donated to her students.  She had some extra so she shared with us!  Each student is able to take home and keep a book.  The other teachers at RNE love your students so much!

Today we put Lima beans on wet paper towels and we are eager to see how they change.  We have expanded our talk of life cycles to also include plants and flowers.  Your students have been intrigued on how things change and grow.

Along with reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar we have also read The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.  This is a great book to talk about big and little and the importance of being a good friend.

BUSY FRIDAY!!!

Somehow Friday always turns out to be a very busy day....which makes fun Fridays even more fun!  =)  Today Ms. Susan came in and helped the kids re-enact the caterpillar becoming a butterfly.  The class was divided into two groups.  First the kids layed on a giant cut out on the leaf (the egg stage).  Then they crawled to the tunnel to eat (caterpillar).  Then once inside the tunnel the tunnel closed over them (cocoon).  Then they came out with a beautiful piece of gauze on their back (butterfly).  The kids loved it!  By physical acting out the individual stages it gives the kids a better idea of the transformation.  Also we are were in for a big treat!  Ollie's cousins and aunt from England came in to see us.  Ollie's cousin Ben read us a story he had written just for us!  It was all about a lady bug (or as they say in England a lady bird).  The story was not quite finished yet, but Ben promised to mail us the story so we could finish it.  This afternoon we spent some time working on the computer to help with our sharing skills.

Please don't forget to turn in picture money!

The Soiree is Saturday!  Come see your kids great piece of art!

Some of the websites we use

http://www.helpkidzlearn.com/

http://www.sesamestreet.org/

http://tarheelreader.org/

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/

Have a great and safe weekend!

Welcome Back

I hope everyone had a very nice spring break.  I think all the students (and teachers!) feel refreshed after a short break.  It always amazes me how much bigger the students get when they are gone for a week.  I feel like all my kiddos have grown up!

Classroom Pictures

Please pay or return your student's pictures by Friday.  If you are interested in getting a classroom picture please send in $13 (checks made out to lifetouch) or if you are interested in a pennant please send in $9.  Thanks for helping me out with this.

Very Hungry Caterpillar

We are starting a new unit around the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  This unit will be centered around the life cycles of a butterfly, living and non living things, nutrition, counting, and sequencing events.  We will be spending time creating butterflies and caterpillars.  Today Ms. Tracy and Mr. Mike had the students creating shapes out of play dough and then having the caterpillars eat the shape.  You can imagine the giggles and laughs that came from that. 

Our new vocabulary is

butterfly life cycle

butterfly

caterpillar

desserts

rabbit

river

spring

flowers

cocoon

giraffe

Be the on the look out for a letter asking for you to donate food for a Hungry Caterpillar Snack.

Upcoming Dates



Monday, April 25- Hungry Caterpillar Snack

Thursday, May 5- Mother's Day Snack (Mommies you are invited to come in for a special snack!)

Friday, May 13- Artist Day (this is a special day at school where we will learn about different artists, more information to come, this is a special activity for the whole school!  Your kiddo will have lots to tell you once they get home)

Tuesday, May 24- Field Day (come cheer us on!)

Thursday, May 26- Book Character Day (your student will come to school dressed up as their favorite book character with a book about that character)

Friday, May 27- Last Day of School/Class Party (more information in regards to the party to follow)

Reminders

- Please send in a note or e-mail when your child is absent

- We go out to recess at various times in the morning (it depends on the daily schedule).  It is still cooler in the morning so you may want to send your child in with a light jacket/sweater.

- Please make sure to label your child's items

- Feel free to e-mail me (masseya@fultonschools.org) or call with concerns.  I am able to talk on the phone generally between 1pm-2pm and after 2:30pm.

- Please try not to have your child bring in toys to school.  They go in the backpack and sometimes this can be upsetting for your child.

Fun Friday

Today

Today was a great way to end before our break.  We had a couple of special treats.  Ms. Susan helped us make a healthy snack of peanut butter bear sandwiches.  We toasted bread, spread peanut butter, used raisins for eyes and a mouth, and used banana slices for ears and nose.  Also we went to a good bye party for our friend Mr. Gordon (an assistant in Mr. Mena's room). The kids made a sign and gave him hugs to wish him good luck at his new school. 

Box Top Winners

We received the wonderful news that we were the Box Top winners for our grade level!  The class has $60 to spend on new supplies.  (We received an extra 10% for being winners.)  I let the kids pick out a new toy for the toy area (a matchbox car ramp).  Also the money will be spent on two battery interrupters, insta snow, and sunprints sheets.  Thanks so much for collecting your box tops and turning them in.  If you want go ahead and start collecting for next year.  =)  Remember each boxtop turned in brings $0.10 back to the classroom!

From Ms. Brooke



I hope everyone is ready for spring break! Since you will have your little ones home with you and maybe looking for some activities for the car or to occupy time at home, here is a few books with early developing sounds I recommend to read together or have the child explore on their own:

Cat in the Hat by: Dr. Seuss

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by: Beatrix Potter

Dr. De Soto by: William Steig

Fish is Fish by: Leo Lionni

Almost all books by Eric Carle