Miss Michelle’s UPK News
It’s so hard to believe that the last month of school is here! This year has flown by and we have filled each month with new learning, fun and excitement. We can’t wait to finish our school year with some exciting days and experiences.
This month, we will be welcoming ladybug larvae, caterpillars and ants into our classroom to help with our bug/insect study. This is a great opportunity to observe these bugs and insects and see how they go through changes and to see ants hard at work! We know this will be a great addition to our science center for the month. We can’t wait for your children to share all the excitement with you at home!
We will also learn about gardens, parts of flowers/plants, and what they need to grow. We are so lucky to have our very own school garden to visit, maybe we will even see some interesting bugs there! Changes are all around us and it is so fun to experience and observe it all.
In June, we celebrate our Dads, Grandpas, Uncles, and all the wonderful people in our lives! We will be holding our Family Breakfast in the Big Room on Thursday, June 6th at 8:00 am. We will be serving pancakes, fruit and drinks and hope you can make it! We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you who made this year a success for your child!
To help us celebrate all of your children’s accomplishments, we will be holding our “Stepping Up” ceremony as we prepare to say goodbye to Pre-K and hello to Kindergarten! It is sure to be a wonderful celebration with music, dancing, and one last hurrah before summer! Stepping Up will be held on Tuesday, June 25th (this is also the last day of school) at 3:00 pm in the Big Room. We hope to see you there! Please look for additional information going home soon!
Our UPK class will be closed on Wednesday, June 19th in observance of Juneteenth.
Happy June!
Michelle, Helen & Rose
Happy June! How is it the last month of school? The year has flown by and we have loved every minute with your children, watching them learn and grow! Thank you for the opportunity!
This month we will be digging deeper into our study of insects and frogs. The children are so interested in bugs as we find them while playing outside. We plan to go on a bug hunt and see how many kinds of bugs we can discover. We have many bug related art projects in mind, so watch for those buggy creations coming home! We have Painted Lady caterpillars growing in our classroom! We hope to see them become chrysalises and eventually butterflies! We will be learning about pond life this month as well.
Our school garden is really taking shape! Our class has decided to plant corn, carrots and tomatoes. The kids are very excited to get their hands in the dirt! Once we plant, we will be helping to weed and water each day. So fun!
As the school year comes to a close, we are planning an end of year celebration! Monday, June 24 at 4:00 pm we will gather in the Big Room to recognize all your children’s accomplishments this year! We ask that each family brings a snack to share. Look for a sign up as we get closer!
First Steps will be closed on Wed. June 19th in observance of Juneteenth.
Happy Father’s Day to all our Dads and Grandpas! We appreciate you all and hope that you enjoy your day!
Thank you!
Heather, Ashley and Alex
Welcome June! It is astonishing to realize that the end of the school year is quickly approaching! Our UPK students have made extraordinary progress in their growth and development, making us incredibly proud as they gear up for Kindergarten.
Throughout this month, we will be concentrating on exciting summer-themed projects and activities designed to enhance essential skills such as cutting, gluing, name writing, letter work, counting and writing numbers. We will continue to spend a lot of time outside playing and enjoying the beautiful weather. The remarkable advancements the children have made in these areas since September truly deserves recognition, and we could not be prouder of their tireless efforts.
We are looking forward to honoring our amazing fathers and expressing our gratitude for their unwavering love and support during our upcoming Father’s Day Celebration. Keep an eye out for more details to be shared soon.
As we get ready for our graduation ceremony, we eagerly anticipate celebrating the commitment and resilience demonstrated by both students and families throughout the school year. This will be a wonderful opportunity to create and share fond memories with one another.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you for making this school year so incredible. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know your children and watching them grow, learn, and form lasting friendships. As they embark on their next adventure in Kindergarten, we wish you a delightful summer and all the best for the future. Thank you for a truly remarkable year. Everyone will be greatly missed!
All the best,
Ms. Kimberly, Ms. Angelina, and Ms. Brandi
It’s so hard to believe that the last month of school is here! This year has flown by and we have filled each month with new learning, fun and excitement. We can’t wait to finish our school year with some exciting days and experiences.
This month, we will be welcoming ladybug larvae, caterpillars and ants into our classroom to help with our bug/insect study. This is a great opportunity to observe these bugs and insects and see how they go through changes and to see ants hard at work! We know this will be a great addition to our science center for the month. We can’t wait for your children to share all the excitement with you at home!
We will also learn about gardens, parts of flowers/plants, and what they need to grow. We are so lucky to have our very own school garden to visit, maybe we will even see some interesting bugs there! Changes are all around us and it is so fun to experience and observe it all.
In June, we celebrate our Dads, Grandpas, Uncles, and all the wonderful people in our lives! We will be holding our Family Breakfast in the Big Room on Thursday, June 6th at 8:00 am. We will be serving pancakes, fruit and drinks and hope you can make it! We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you who made this year a success for your child!
To help us celebrate all of your children’s accomplishments, we will be holding our “Stepping Up” ceremony as we prepare to say goodbye to Pre-K and hello to Kindergarten! It is sure to be a wonderful celebration with music, dancing, and one last hurrah before summer! Stepping Up will be held on Tuesday, June 25th (this is also the last day of school) at 3:00 pm in the Big Room. We hope to see you there! Please look for additional information going home soon!
Our UPK class will be closed on Wednesday, June 19th in observance of Juneteenth.
Happy June!
Michelle, Helen & Rose
Welcome May! Our chicks have hatched, and we are taking care of them in our classroom for a couple weeks before they go to their new home! Alongside this excitement, we have been busy in our school garden, preparing it for the upcoming growing season while enjoying the beautiful spring weather. We have started different vegetable plants, herbs, and flowers, which we will be transplanting into our school garden.
The children have been honing their name-writing skills, letter and number recognition demonstrating remarkable progress. We will continue to practice name writing through different methods like tracing in sand and exploring with shaving cream, and we will continue to explore creative ways to reinforce these skills!
– Ms. Kimberly, Ms. Brandi, and Ms. Angelina
Alphabet Focus: We’ll be reviewing all the alphabet letters. During our activities, we will develop proficiency in recognizing, writing, and connecting these letters with their corresponding sounds. We will also continue to practice recognizing and writing our names and numbers!
Happy May!
It’s hard to believe we only have two more months of school. We have enjoyed spending more time outdoors noticing all the changes that come with Spring.
We have been working in our school garden and will continue this month as the weather improves. The kids love to pull weeds and turn the soil, readying the beds for planting. We will be starting seeds in our classroom and watching how the shoots grow and develop. Once it’s warm enough outside the kids will transplant the seedlings into the garden. This is such a fun community project!
We will be exploring insects and frogs as these creatures become more present around us!
We look forward to celebrating Cinco de Mayo (May 5) and plan to make and share some yummy Mexican food as we learn about Mexican culture.
First Steps will be hosting Family Day on June 6th. We will have breakfast available at drop off that morning as our way of saying thank you! More details to follow!
I think it’s safe to say we are officially out of snowsuit season! Thank you for making sure your kids were prepared all winter. As the weather changes, please check our child’s extra clothes to make sure they have appropriate choices. As always, labeling everything is helpful. Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are welcomed as we enjoy the warmer weather.
We’re looking forward to a busy, fun filled May! Happy Mother’s Day to all our fabulous moms and grandmas! We appreciate you and all you do for your children. You are amazing!
Happy May! The flowers are in full bloom and we are enjoying the warm weather as we look ahead to some drier days!
This month we will plant the seeds that will make their way into our school garden. We can’t wait to see our hard work pay off and see the vegetables grow!
This month we will be welcoming in the chicks that have been in the incubator in Miss Kimberly’s class. We will work on lifecycle projects as we experience this amazing transformation!
We continue to practice name writing, and for some students, both first and last names. This is a skill that we strive for all students to be able to do before beginning Kindergarten. It has been so rewarding to see how proud each child is of their name writing accomplishments! We love to add in some sensory play during this time by writing names in shaving cream, sand trays, and Play-Doh/clay.
This month we will also celebrate the special people in our lives as we prepare for Mother’s Day! We will be celebrating “Family Day” in June with a pancake breakfast on June 6th, please look for additional information coming home soon!
We are very excited for warmer weather, and we are looking forward to extending our classroom into the outdoors. Please continue to check your child’s bin for spare clothes as things get sent home.
We look forward to another exciting and fun-filled month with your child!
All our best,
Miss Michelle, Miss Helen & Miss Rose
Welcome April! Throughout this month, our focus will be on exploring various themes such as weather, the arrival of spring, and farm animals. Our community helper spotlight will shine on farmers, and we will learn about their important role within our community.
Excitement awaits as we prepare to witness the miracle of life firsthand by hatching chicks right in our classroom. Alongside this experience, we will learn about the life cycle of chickens and complete other activities that complement the different themes of the month.
As the season transitions into spring, we will take refreshing walks outdoors, where we will search for the signs of spring.
Get ready for a month filled with discovery, learning, and joy!
All the Best,
Ms. Kimberly, Ms. Brandi, and Ms. Angelina
Alphabet Focus: We’ll be concentrating on the letters X, Y, and Z. During our activities, we will develop proficiency in recognizing, writing, and connecting these letters with their corresponding sounds. We will also continue to practice recognizing and writing our names!
Happy Spring! It’s hard to believe it’s April already! With spring comes mud and unpredictable weather, so please continue to send in extra clothes and warm layers for your child. We are looking forward to warmer weather and spending more time outdoors!
This month we will be looking for signs of spring all around us! We will be discussing the weather as we observe the changes in nature. We will start planning our school garden and begin growing seeds in our classroom. It’s exciting to get in the garden and start prepping the beds for planting. We will also be learning about Earth Day (April 22nd) and what we can do to help the Earth. There will be plenty of spring activities as we embrace the new season.
Miss Kimberly’s class plans to hatch chicks in an incubator. We are excited to share this experience as we learn about the life cycle of a chicken. This is a 21 day process that always provides amazing learning opportunities. Stay tuned! Our community helper this month is a farmer! We are eager to discover more about such hard working members of our community.
We are ready for another fun filled month! Your children have grown so much already! They continue to inspire us every day!
Heather, Alex and Ashley
Happy April!
April showers bring May flowers and we are so excited to see some our hard work pay off this month in the garden. We will also be starting seeds in our classroom that when it is warm enough, we will be able to move to our school garden.
This month, spring will officially take over our classroom as we focus on spring themed projects and activities. We will learn about baby animals that are born in spring such as rabbits, squirrels, and deer. We can’t wait to extend our classroom to the outdoors as the weather gets nicer and get to see the signs of spring first-hand.
This month, we will learn about gardeners and farmers and the important jobs they have in our communities.
We have some exciting science projects planned to help celebrate spring and the weather changes that come with it. We will be making our own seed houses using grass seed as well as some of our very own clouds! We will also continue our handwriting progress and focusing on the letters “X”, “Y” and “Z”.
We are looking forward to some warmer days spent outside and in springtime that means a lot of mud! Please double check your child’s clothes bin to make sure they have plenty of spare clothing (and to make sure what they have still fits! They have grown like crazy since the fall!) Also, rain boots are a great idea for going outside on the playground to keep shoes clean.
We look forward to another great month of fun and learning with you and your child!
All our best: Miss Michelle & Miss Helen