PreK Room 7

Researching about the ocean and animals that live there.  " Keeping our Earth Green and Clean " Dear Mr. President, Building a Submarine with mechanical arms used to pick up garbage at the bottom of the ocean.              We, the preschoolers at the Early Childhood Education Center from Dearborn, Michigan are trying to keep our Earth clean by encouraging people to recycle! We need to stop putting trash in our ocean and Earth. If we keep throwing trash into the garbage we will have more trash than people and animals together. The trash is flooding the ocean and makes the animals die. There is so much trash in the ocean and soon there will be more trash than ocean animals. Some garbage takes 1,000 years to decompose.             Animals have a better life than us and we harm them. We are the people who are causing this! Our animals shouldn’t have to see garbage. Animals help us live good lives, if we help the animals they help us. Animals give us fo

*Take care of the earth and she will take care of you*  Greeting families! As you know, our classroom has been focused on environmental justice. Their passion for taking care of Earth has impacted their learning and their lives! Earth day is April 22 nd  and we will be celebrating in many ways within our classroom.  We want to invite you to celebrate with us! We would like to challenge you to bring a waste free lunch on April 19 th  and April 20 th . Here is a link on how you can do it!  http://wastefreelunches.org/ We know this can be difficult to do but our goal is to make an impact in your home for change. The children have inspired us, the teachers, to change our lives at home. What better way to show our children they make a difference than by listening to their thoughts and concerns! On April 22 nd  we invite you to do one thing for our Earth to celebrate worldwide. Here are some ideas: ·           Start a conversation about recycling and what you can do to at home

Mrs. Stevens’ Energy Explorations Initial Interest             During the first week of the semester, I noticed that the children had a lot of interest in Superheroes. They were building a boat out of blocks. The children were then talking about adding “batteries” so the boat would run. I kept listening to their words and “power” and “batteries” kept being repeated. This sparked some interest into Energy. I wondered what the children knew about energy as a whole and the many different paths that Energy would take us. This was the birth of our exploration path! The Investigation Begins!           We started the investigation as a whole class with a book on Energy and where it comes from. From there, I started our small group investigation with a Wind Energy exploration. I had the children blow through straws to see if they could move various objects of different weights. They did notice right away that the lighter objects were easier to move. From there, we moved on

March is Reading Month!  Before Reading Simple Picture Books: Take a picture walk with your child. Go through each page and talk with them about the pictures. Introduce any words that might be difficult. All Levels: Have your child make predictions about what the book might be about. Ask if it is a narrative or informational book and read the title to your child. Practicing Fluency When fluent readers read aloud, they read effortlessly and with expression. Simple picture books: After your child reads the book once, have them read the book backwards. Echo Read the book: You read one page (modeling proper fluency and expression) and your child will “echo” you. All Levels: Model reading the book with expression. What does it sound like when you read a question? Make sure punctuation isn’t skipped. Read the book in different voices (monster, cowboy, mouse, whisper) Practicing Comprehension After reading the book, have your child talk abo

 Introduction Letter from our Winter Intern Dear Parents/Guardians, My name is Molly Stevens and I will be helping Ms. Smith and Ms. Sanchez as their student intern this winter (Jan. 8-Apr. 20, 2018). I am so very excited to be in your child’s classroom and I know we will all have a wonderful time! I can’t wait to get to know your child more. I’d also like to share a little about myself. I am currently a senior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and will be graduating this August with my Bachelor’s Degree in Education.            I have also been working for the past 3 years at the ECEC, so many of you already know me as Ms. Molly. I am also a mother of 3 young children. Some of my hobbies include reading, ice skating, horseback riding, and spending time with my family!           I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of fun learning activities with your child this semester! I truly hope your child has as much fun with me as I hope to have with them! Thank you so muc

💜Valentines Day 💛 Children have already been thinking and talking about Valentine's Day in our classroom. We will be recognizing this day on February 13th &14th. The children will be making bags to collect and pass out their valentines the week before.  There are many alternatives to candy and food treats.  Be Creative!  Alternatives for Candy and Food: ·   Pencils ·   Crayons ·   Stickers ·   Coloring Books ·   Bubbles ·   Small Toys ·   Valentine’s Day Cards   We have 19 children in our classroom. The children are welcome to write/sign their own names on their valentines (literacy!) but it is not necessary to address each   individual child in our class on their       valentines. This makes it much easier and faster to place the valentine’s in each bag. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the lead teachers. Upcoming Events/News ·   Valentine’s Day – Wednesday, February 14th.❤ ·   Spring Br