Georgia's Pre-K Program teacher newsletter, Aug. 2007

Back To School

Celebrate!

August and September bring many exciting days to discuss with the children in your class.
August Back to School Month Family Fun Month National Parks Month National Inventor Month
September Hispanic Heritage Month Kids' Good Manners Month National Literacy Month

Breakfast Month
Important Days in August 6th--Wiggle your Toes day 8th--National Waffle day 10th--Play in the Sand Day 12-18th--National Friendship
Week 19th--Aviation Day 20th--Radio Day 22nd--Tooth Fairy Day 24th--Peach Pie Day 24th--Strange Music Day

Important Days in September
5th--National Be Late for Something Day
8th--National Literacy Day 9th--Grandparents Day 15th--Make a Hat Day 16th--Step Family Day 17th--Citizenship Day 18th--Play-Doh Day 23rd--Native American Day
and First Day of Autumn 26th--Good Neighbor Day 26th--Johnny Appleseed's
Birthday

"Children make you want to start life over."--Muhammad Ali

Classroom Tips of the Month

Tip # 1: We have made changes to the PQA and the Definitions and Clarifications that go along with it. Please read through these carefully, so you can become familiar with the definitions and incorporate them this school year. You can find these on our website. We want you to be prepared. Tip # 2: Organizing Your Centers The first weeks of school are the time to familiarize the

children with materials and how to organize and store them. Be sure to label all materials and show the children how to return materials back to their "home".
Try these ideas: (1) Photos: take pictures of materials and secure the photo on the container with clear contact paper.
(2) Small Group Time: for the first couple of weeks introduce new materials you

are adding to your centers during small group time. Spend time talking with the children about the different uses of the materials. Let children help label the items and then show them how to put them away.
Children will not understand the concept of sorting by shape and size unless you teach them these skills. Be sure not to introduce too many materials at one time.

Georgia's Pre-K Program Teacher Newsletter
www.decal.state.ga.us
An Inside Look....
2 Phonological Awareness
2 Small Group
3 Changing Your Environment
4 Setting Up Your Environment for Success
5 Parent Involvement
5 FAQ regarding WSS
Key Contacts:
Pre-K Consultant of the Day 404-656-5957 888-4GA-PREK Suspension/Disenrollment
Contact the Pre-K Consultant of the day at 404/656-5957.
RC Program Lori Smith 478-471-5311
Lori.Smith@decal.state.ga.us
If you have any ideas or activities you would like to share, please contact one of the newsletter staff.
Newsletter Staff Nicole Cook
nicole.cook@decal.state.ga.us
Meghan McNail
meghan.mcnail@decal.state.ga.us
Pam Bojo
Pam.bojo@decal.state.ga.us

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS ACTIVITY

Phonological Awareness Fun Section C4 on the PQA states that teachers provide various daily opportunities for the children to develop phonological awareness. Phonological Awareness is the auditory ability to understand the relationship between sounds and spoken words. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to hear, discriminate and manipulate the sounds of language. A foundation of phonological awareness is necessary for children to succeed in early literacy instruction. Phonological awareness skills for preschool students are correlated to the Georgia Pre-K Content Standards.
Manipulation LD 2 e Creates and invents words by substituting one sound for another This is a skill that not all preschool children will be able to achieve before the end of the school year. Provide various activities throughout the year to help children achieve this skill.
Segmenting LD 2 d Shows growing ability to hear and discriminate separate syllables in words LD 5 l Recognizes that sentences are composed of separate words

Alliteration LD 2 c Recognizes the same beginning sounds in different words
Rhyming LD 2 b Repeats rhymes, poems and finger plays
Listening LD 2 a Differentiates Sounds that are the same and different
Focus on listening activities and rhyming in August and September. Start basic and have fun, fun, fun.
Remember that students will acquire phonological awareness skills at varying levels. Utilizing small group instruction will help meet students' individual needs.
Begin the year with simple listening activities and expose students to fun nursery rhymes, books, songs and finger plays with rhyme.
Sample Listening Activities: Begin with musical instruments, en-
vironmental sounds, and animal noises, and move to spoken words and sounds.
Did you hear that? Hide 3 to 4 instruments behind a barrier. Make a sound with each instrument without the children seeing it. Let the children

guess which instrument they heard.

Patty Cake: Children also need to

develop skills to reproduce visual, audi-

tory and motor patterns. This can be

accomplished by playing traditional hand

clapping games, such as "Patty Cake"

and "Miss Mary Mack."

Animal Sound Bingo: Make a Bingo

grid with animal pictures. As the

teacher gives animal sounds, the chil-

dren identify the animal that makes the

sound and place a marker on the pic-

ture. Let the children practice making

the sounds too.

Quack= duck

Moo= cow

Naa= Horse

Baa= sheep

Honk= goose

Oink= pig

"To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks." -A.A Milne

SMALL GROUP TIME, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Small Group Time should be instructional for the children. This is a time for you to focus on initial learning of a skill, extend learning, or reteach learning of a particular focused area.
Small Group time should not be the entire class working at the same time. We recommend two to six children per group to better meet the needs of individual children and to be able to manage the group.
Small Group time is also a great time to cover all of the Content Standard domains. This time also gives you an opportunity for gathering documen-

tation for the children's portfolios. Small Group time does not need to occur for each child, every day.
You should vary activities and children based on the needs within the classroom. We recommend that teachers not spend the majority of this time engaging children in art activities. You may want to place materials for special art projects in the Art area and let children work on them independently during center time.
It is appropriate to extend center time to one and a half hours to incorporate small group work during that time.

You would plan your activities at the beginning and end of the extended center time to still allow children to have one full hour of uninterrupted play.

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CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT for National Family Month and National Literacy Month

DRAMATIC PLAY Set up a library in the area, including books, library cards, a check out system and a librarian to help check books out. Add clothes that represent different genders and roles. Also add props like briefcases, shopping lists, old laptops, car keys, cell phones, etc. Add a table cloth (fabric) that shows various people and families representing many cultures. It can be used as a table cloth on the table in the area. Create a family tree to hang in the dramatic play area.
SCIENCE Talk about feelings and five senses. Talk about family pets and incorporate them into the area (fish, reptiles, etc). Section B8 of the PQA, meets column, states there must be something living for children to care for and observe in the classroom.
ART Add people shaped sponges of different sizes to the area. Add paints and crayons that represent various cultures. Add various colors of string for hair and add googly eyes. Create body pictures of children. You can use actual photos of their heads and have children decorate their bodies with paint or markers and then dress the images in actual clothes. You can display these in the classroom.
MATH/MANIPULATIVES Take a full body photo of each child. Laminate the photos and cut them in half. Label each half of the child's photo on the back with the child's name. Have the children try to match the actual tops to the bottoms. Add a scale and growth chart in the area so children can weigh themselves

throughout the year and chart their growth and weight.

WRITNG CENTER

Add words to the writing center such as:

home

mommy

daddy

baby

house

sister

brother aunt

uncle

family

books

library

librarian card

grandmother

grandfather

Add the children's names along with teachers' names and their pictures on word strips so they get to know each other.

Add people stencils and stamps to the area.

GROSS MOTOR
Section B10 of the PQA, under the exceeds column, states that teachers will provide reading and writing materials in the outdoor area and the outdoor environment will be enhanced with learning center materials. Be sure to take out books, paper, markers, and learning center materials daily.
Roll the ball name game. Have the children roll the ball to each other and call out their name.
BLOCK AREA
Add a doll house with an assortment of people and vehicles.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
In the PQA section B9 under the meets column states that teachers provide multiple opportunities for children to participate in music with gross motor movement activities daily.
Remember to include music from various cultures in your collection. Music should be played at different times throughout the day.

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B E C R E A T I V E
"It always seems impossible until it is
done". -Nelson Mandela

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SETTING UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT FOR SUCCESS

The beginning of the school year is a time for change and transition for many children. For some children, PreK will be their first time in a school setting with teachers and other children. Others may have attended preschool or child care, but the transition to a new classroom could be difficult.
We expect children in the first couple of months of Pre-K to have a period of adjustment. For some children this may mean they are quiet and reserved. For others it may mean they scream, cry, bite, hit other children and throw tantrums.
If you are experiencing any problems in the first couple of weeks of school, try to work with the families and children to ease the transition for them. There may be a special toy, blanket, or stuffed animal from home that they can bring in to use during times it may be difficult for them.
There may be a certain child or teacher in the classroom that makes them feel more comfortable; try to pair them up when you anticipate the

child may have a difficult time. Most children should transition to the new environment within a month or two of school starting.
If you continue to have difficulties with a particular child after this adjustment period, you may need to contact outside support to help you. We recommend that you always start by talking with your Project Director or Principal and the child's family about any issues you are having with the child.
If you haven't already, you should start documenting when problems arise. You should note what the child was doing before the problem occurred, what kind of behavior you saw and what type of consequence the child received. Documentation is extremely helpful if it's determined that you need to use other resources to support this child.
You may need to have the family come in for a conference to determine what else you and the family can do to support this child. You probably want to

have a written plan that everyone follows at school and at home.
If the child continues to have problems after the plan is in place, your Project Director/Principal may need to contact us to receive further guidance. They will need to call the main office at 404-656-5957 and speak with the Pre-K Consultant of the Day. The consultant will help determine what the next steps for this child are.
One recommendation may be to contact your local school system's Preschool Special Education Department. You will need to have the parents' approval before you do this.
Programs can suspend a child for one or two days without approval from our office for behavior problems. However, the program then needs to send our office a statement in writing with the child's name and what happened for our files. No child can ever be disenrolled from Pre-K without approval from Bright from the Start.

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BOOK LIST My Teacher Sleeps in School by L. Weiss The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman My Hands by Aliki Me Too! by Mercer Maver Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman Daddy's at Work by Eve Merriem Families are Different by Nina Pelligrinini Feast for 10 by Cathryn Fallwell Flower Garden by Eve Bunting

Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild by Mem Fox Hug by Jez Alborough Hugs and Kisses by Eve Tharlet I Like it When by Mary Murphy
FINGER PLAYS Perform the actions that the words suggest. Ready for School When I get ready to come to school, I jump right out of bed. I wash my face, brush my teeth, pull my clothes over my head. I run down stairs, drink my milk,

and eat my breakfast so slow. Then I wave good-bye as I walk down the street; I'm so happy (smile) that I can go.
A Very Nice Place The fish lives in the brook
(palms together tightly and wiggle forward) The bird lives in the tree (bend forearms at elbows and extend them upwards, cup hands and spread them open) But homes are the very nicest place For a little girl (boy) like me.
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PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Building Relationships with Families The first few weeks of school are a great time to start building relationships with families. Call or send cards to the families of all of your students.
This is the perfect opportunity to thank parents for sharing their children with you for the year. Use your digital camera and take pictures of the children to include in the cards. There is nothing

parents love more than a picture of their child.
This is also a great time to start inviting parents to be mystery readers or volunteer for special activities. Be sure to start making language charts and class books highlighting special activities to share with families when they visit.

When you send parents an invitation to participate in classroom activities, be sure to let them know they are welcome in the classroom any time.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW--GEORGIA'S PRE-K ASSESSMENT

Georgia's Pre-K Program implemented a new assessment process statewide during the 2006-2007 school year. Each month, this section of our newsletter will focus on topics related to Georgia's Pre-K Assessment. This month we are highlighting the implementation of the assessment process.
1) All Georgia Pre-K teachers must assess each child's performance using Georgia's Pre-K Assessment processes and procedures.
2) Completion of the Work Sampling System Developmental Checklist and the Georgia Pre-K Progress Report is required of all teachers.
3) Documentation of performance on all 55 Work Sampling System Performance Indicators is required in both Fall and Spring reporting periods.
4) Additional assessments should not be used to assess child performance. (Screening assessments are exempt from this requirement. Teachers and administrators should check with their Pre-K Consultant for clarification.)
5) Observational documentation collected during the Fall reporting period should be kept on site in the teacher's classroom until the end of the school year, at which time work samples and photographs should be sent home to families.
6) New teachers who have not been trained should still begin the process of setting up portfolios and collecting documentation. Please work with your Project Director/Principal on how to do this.
Getting your portfolios set up the right way Each child must have a portfolio (a legal sized hanging folder is recommended). Each portfolio should include 9 file folders: 1. WSS Developmental Checklist/Progress report 2. Personal/Social 3. Language/Literacy 4. Mathematics 5. Science 6. Social Studies 7. The Arts 8. Physical Development/Health 9. Multiple Domains (WOW)

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