Georgia's Pre-K Program teacher newsletter, Dec. 2007-Jan. 2008

Winter Wonderland

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." ~Jacques Barzun

December and January bring many exciting days to discuss with the children in your class.
December Say "Hi" to a neighbor month Read a new book month Write to a friend month
January Book blitz month Celebration of life month Family fit lifestyle month Jump out of bed month National organized month Oatmeal month

Important Days in December 1 -- Rosa Parks Day 3 -- International day of the
disabled person 8 -- National brownie day 16 -- National chocolate cov-
ered anything day 18 -- Wear a plunger on your
head day 25 -- Christmas Day
Important Days in January 1 -- New Years Day 5 -- Bird day 15 -- Martin Luther King Day 21 -- Squirrel appreciation
day 23 -- National pie day 31 -- Inspire your heart and
art day

Have fun with these by planning your own celebration or finding activities in your own community!!!

PQA TIPS OF THE MONTH

Tip # 1 B9--Daily opportunities for the children to participate in music with movement. Activities should include music with gross motor movement (i. e., dancing, jumping, beanbag toss). These opportunities should be evident on the schedule and lesson plans.
Singing songs that don't include gross motor movement

will not meet this indicator. Two music with movement activities must be evident on both the schedule and lesson plans for credit to be given for Partially Meets and Meets.
Some examples of what might be included on the lesson plans are: Hokey Pokey, dancing with scarves, The Freeze, etc.

Tip # 2 C5--Lesson plans are on-site and current and being implemented. To receive credit for this indicator, lesson plans must be completed. It is recommended that you complete lesson plans for your entire topic of study or interest ahead of time, so you can plan for materials and books needed and requests you will need to
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Bright From The Start Georgia's Pre-K Program
Teacher Newsletter
An Inside Look...
2 Phonological Awareness
2 Parent Involvement
2 Simple Science
3 Changing Your Environment
4 Recipes
4 Website
5 Setting up your Environment for Success
5 Georgia's Pre-K Assessment
CONTACT INFORMATION: Pre-K Consultant of the Day 404-656-5957 888-4GA-PREK Suspension/Disenrollment Contact your Pre-K Consultant RC Program/Attendance Lori Smith 478-471-5311 Lori.Smith@decal.state.ga.us Newsletter Staff Nicole Cook nicole.cook@decal.state.ga.us Peggy Kosater peggy.kosater@decal.state.ga.us Meghan McNail meghan.mcnail@decal.state.ga.us Pam Bojo Pam.bojo@decal.state.ga.us Lori Smith lori.smith@decal.state.ga.us Monica Warren monica.warren@decal.state.ga.us

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

Children's phonological awareness skills remain widely varied and so should the activities you plan. Be sure to document these activities on your daily lesson plan and be sure the activities are varied.
Listening There are numerous listening CD's and games that can be purchased or you can make your own. Some ideas to try:
1. Take photos of a variety of items and then record the sounds they make. Examples of sounds you can photograph and record are: bell ringing, musical instruments, dog barking, door bell ringing, car horn blowing, police car siren, person yawning, foot steps, hands clapping, fingers snapping, or a cow mooing.
2. Make a bingo game from the photos. This activity can be used in large group, small group or independent activities.

Alliteration Make up funny sentences with alliteration:
Purple Penguin Peter Plays Pool Blue Bear Bob Builds Boxes Wet Walrus Willie Washes Windows Silly Snowman Sleeps
Segmenting Pass a winter animal from child to child as you count the number of words in a sentence. Using foam snowflakes as markers, segment winter words into syllables (e.g., winter, penguin, cold, igloo, ice, scarf, coat, boots, snowman, frosty, decoration).
Manipulation Help children invent words by substituting one sound for another, for example: snow, bow, crow, blow, flow
Rhyming Continue exposing children to rhymes. Repeat them often to note which children are able to recite them. Play rhyming

games with pictures or verbally. Have children think of words that rhyme with current vocabulary.
Snow, Snow Freezing cold Snow, Snow Is fun to hold
A chubby little snowman Had a carrot nose; Along came a rabbit And what do you suppose? That hungry little bunny, Looking for his lunch, Ate the snowman's carrot nose... Nibble, Nibble, Crunch!
Snowflakes, snowflakes Dance around Snowflakes, snowflakes Touch the ground Snowflakes, snowflakes in the air Snowflakes, snowflakes everywhere (tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

PARENT INVOLVEMENT IDEA--PAJAMA PARTY

Invite parents to the school for a pajama party. Let the children wear their pajamas to school and have parents join the class for an evening of reading. To make this evening even more memorable, invite the children to bring their favorite stuffed animal and /or blanket.

This is a great opportunity to discuss with parents the importance of reading to their child every day. Share suggestions on a good evening routine for children that includes reading and looking at books.

packing book bags.
You know parents are sure to come if you offer refreshments and door prizes! Plan now for an evening your families will remember!

Other ideas to include in an evening routine might be bath, brushing teeth, choosing clothes for the next day and

Send pictures of your successful event to Lori Smith at lori.smith@decal.state.ga. us.

SIMPLE SCIENCE FOR CHILDREN

Exploring Ice: States of Matter
Activity One: Freeze small items in zip top bags to form ice blocks. Float these in the sensory table filled with water. Be sure to use the terms solid and liquid as children explore the ice and water filled sensory table.
Activity Two: Fill various size balloons with water and freeze. This could take several days, so prepare ahead of time. After the water has

frozen, peel off the balloon. Demonstrate how to explore the ice balls with magnifying glasses. You may need to provide warm gloves for children to wear as they examine the ice balls.
Activity Three: Use popsicle molds to freeze water, or make your own by placing popsicle sticks into small paper cups filled with water. After the water freezes, peal away the paper cups. Fill salt shakers with powdered tempera paint. Children can then

sprinkle powdered tempera paint onto paper and use ice blocks as their painting tool to create beautiful abstract paintings.
Activity Four: Place an ice cube in several locations: outdoors in the shade, outdoors in the sun on a concrete surface, indoors on a sunny windowsill. Create a chart of children's predictions on which ice cube will melt first. Observe throughout the day to check predictions. Discuss various states of matter of the water: solid, liquid, and gas.

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CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT for Winter

DRAMATIC PLAY Create a winter ski lodge with winter time clothes, hot chocolate boxes, plastic mugs, tea pot and winter clothes. Add mittens of several colors for children to play with and match. Make a ski lodge menu. Add photos of a real ski lodge and skiers or snow boarders, such as Olympic athletes snowboarding or skiing.
Create a winter wonderland with snow on the ground, snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, and a snowman. You can add snow pants, heavy coats, mittens and boots. You can also add sleds, ice skates, and create an ice rink out of tinfoil. Laminate paper plates and then hole punch the sides to add strings. They can be tied to the children's feet, so the children can slide/glide on the foil like they are skating.

bons, buttons, shoes
Cut out hats to resemble Frosty's black hat in various sizes and colors. You can do patterning activities with them.
BLOCK AREA Add Styrofoam blocks (icebergs) and arctic animals (polar bears, seals, ) to make a winter scene.
Build Frosty the Snowman-- use three different sized cardboard boxes and paint them white. Use real twigs from outside for his arms and cut holes in the side of the medium sized box for arm holes. Use a real black hat for the top of his head. Make eyes, a nose, and mouth out of items in the art area. The children can build him and take him apart.

SCIENCE Make a poster of real winter animals photos

WRITING CENTER Add words to your writing center like:

for children to see as they learn about winter Sled Winter Snow Blizzard

and winter animals. Put them on a triboard Icicle Sleet Cold Snowflake

and use it as a backdrop for the science area. Ski Boots Mitten Sweater

Freeze plastic bugs into ice cubes and talk

Ice Frost Hat Snowman

about how water freezes and melts.

Heater Freeze scarf Sleigh

Add insta snow or pieces or Styrofoam to the You can also add a picture, clip art or drawing

sensory table to create snow/ice.

next to the word on a word strip. This will ad-

Add ice cubes to blue colored water in the sen- dress the needs of the readers and non-readers in

sory table. Add plastic winter animals.

your classroom. Winter stencils and stamps are a

Watch the ice cubes float with an animal sit- great addition to the writing area. Add winter

ting on top. Watch the ice melt and see if the greeting cards.

animals float or sink.

BOOKS

ART

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Add shiny or snowflake patterned tissue paper. On the First Day of Winter by Denise Flemming

Add foam snowflakes, white or silver glitter, and winter animal cookie cutters.
Winter Snow Recipe
Materials: Soap flakes, water, liquid starch, and white powdered tempera.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro
In the Snow: Who's Been There by Lindsay Barrett George
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

Description: Mix soap flakes with water into a The Mitten by Jan Brett

thick paste. Let children mix with a hand

The Hat by Jan Brett

beater. Add a small amount of liquid starch Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II

and tempera. Let children create designs by The Big Snow by Hader Elmer

painting with this mixture.

Frozen Noses by Jan Carr

Provide materials for creating snowmen on dark paper. White & light colored chalk, whipped soap, cotton, oatmeal, rice, and paint. Add paper & fabric scraps, raisins, buttons, beans, etc., for the snowmen's features.

Flannel Kisses by Linda Crotta Brennan Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin Here Comes Winter by Janet Craig Is That You, Winter? by Stephen Gammell Sleepy Bear by Lydia Dadcovich Amy Loves The Snow by Julia Hoban

MATH/MANIPULATIVES Cut out ten gingerbread people. Decorate them in matching pairs to make a matching game. Decoration ideas: pants, skirts, rib-

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel The First Snowfall by Anne & Harlow Rockwell Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens by Louise Brown

B E C R E A T I V E
"Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand." - Chinese Proverb

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PLAYDOUGH RECIPES

Gingerbread Playdough 1 Cup flour 1/2 Cup salt 2 tsp. cream of tartar 1 cup water 1 tsp. vegetable oil Spices--Cinnamon, Allspice, Ginger, Nut-
meg *Green and red food coloring to make
brown (optional--the spices usually give the dough a good Brown color.)
DIRECTIONS-1. Mix the dry ingredients. Experiment with the spices until you get a scent and color that you like. 2. Mix water and oil together and then add them to the dry ingredients and stir. 3. In a pot, cook the mixture for three to

five minutes on low/medium, stirring constantly. 4. The dough will start to pull away from the sides of the pot and stick together in a large ball. Take it out of the pan when you see a VERY faint brown skin on the dough one each side. 5. Take the dough out of the pan, and knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth. 6. Allow the dough to cool and then store it in an airtight container.
Total time to make dough: 10 minutes. This is a very quick and easy recipe and the dough turns out great! One batch makes about the same amount as you would find in one small tub of store bought playdough.

Peppermint Playdough 2 cups water 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 4 teaspoons cream of tartar 4 tablespoons oil 4 tablespoons peppermint extract Glitter
Mix all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Form dough into a ball, sprinkle with glitter, place on waxed paper, and cool completely. Store in zip top bags.

WEBSITE FEATURES

Be sure to visit our website for resources for your classroom. Our website is in the process of being revised, and we'll unveil some new features and content next year.
Find more ideas to enhance your classroom for WINTER on our website under Pre-K/Teachers/Teachers-PQA Resources/Planning/Winter.
You can also find more lesson plan tips under the same area. Look for the docu-

ment titled Lesson Plan Tips.
Make sure you have downloaded this year's Governor's Book lesson plans under Pre-K/Teachers/Teachers-PQA Resources/Governor's Book/Where is the Green Sheep?
If you have ideas for our website, please send them to monica.warren@decal.state. ga.us.

"You can teach a student a lesson for a
day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he
will continue the learning process as
long as he lives." ~Clay P. Bedford

PQA TIPS CONTINUED
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make from parents, or other resources.
Tip # 3 C3 under PM--A listening center is accessible to the children. Make sure you listening center has a power source and that you have at least 2 stories with tapes/CD's accessible to the children DAILY. A listening center without a power supply accessible (I.e., batteries dead, cord not plugged in, etc.) can not be counted towards this indicator.

Document your daily music with movement activities

Tip # 4 Use your consultant and the PQA Self Study to help guide you to an Exceeds classroom. Complete a PQA Self Study to examine your own classroom and prepare for your consultants visit. Jot down any questions or concerns you have. Go ahead and make contact with your consultant to have your questions answered. Be proactive and prepared for your next visit!
For more lesson plan tips visit our website and look under Pre-K/Teacher/ PQA Resources/Planning.

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SETTING UP YOUR ENVIORNMENT FOR SUCCESS
Students with suspected Developmental Delays

Here are suggestions we've compiled to help you follow-up when you suspect a student has developmental delays.
1. When considering whether a child has a developmental delay, please make sure the student has had ample time to adjust to the classroom setting.
2. Check the student's Ear, Eye, and Dental form to make sure the student passed those screenings. If not, please follow up on these tests before proceeding. This will ensure that the concerns are not a result of a hearing or vision problem.
3. Inform the parents/ guardians of your concerns by note, phone call or face-toface conversation. You will want to let the parent know your concerns before additional steps are taken.
If the child is new to your program, inquire about previous child care experiences. If this is the child's first experience away from home, then the child may need additional time to adjust.
Inquire if the parents have any concerns or have seen similar behaviors at home. You will also want to inquire if the child received any prior services from Babies Can't Wait, private providers or the local

school system.
4. Begin documenting your concerns. Use the Documentation of Developmental Concerns form, which is available from your Pre-K Consultant if you don't have a copy.
Be sure to address all aspects of your concerns including the activity, the time of day, specific child behavior, any strategies and interventions you've tried and the results. You need to be specific, but it is not necessary to include every detail.
Do not include personal information or comments. This information is to be shared with the child's parents.
You will also use the documentation and checklist from the Georgia Pre-K Assessment. The preliminary rating on the checklist should be used for progress monitoring.
5. Contact the support personnel for your program, i.e., Resource Coordinator, Family Support Liaison, Site Director, School Counselor, etc. Review your documentation with them and determine possible strategies to implement in the classroom, such as:
Model appropriate behavior or speech
Repeat directions to the child having

difficulty understanding
Have the child repeat the directions back to you or show understanding
Use alternate materials
Redirect children to a safe place
Limit the number of choices
Modify room arrangement for a child who is easily distracted
6. Set up a parent conference. The teacher, assistant teacher, Resource Coordinator (if applicable), and project/site director should be present at the conference. Use this conference to gather insight and strategies from the parents and to share information with them. Parents are an invaluable resource. You want them to be a part of the team.
During the conference:
Share information from the Documentation of Developmental concerns form with the parents.
Share any changes in behavior.
Come up with several strategies to implement to help the student succeed. (Daily behavior chart, parent involvement, modeling, peer helper, parent com-
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GEORGIA'S PRE-K ASSESSMENT
This month's focus is on the WSS Checklist and the Georgia Pre-K Progress Reports.
1) All 55 indicators on the checklist must be documented with observational notes, work samples, photographs, matrices, or a combination of the above.
2) The WSS developmental checklist must be completed for each child twice during the year, once each in the Fall and Spring reporting periods.
3) Preliminary ratings should be completed in pencil every three to four weeks for the purpose of adjusting instruction to meet the needs of the children.
4) Final ratings in ink should be completed at the end of the Fall (December) and Spring (May) prior to completing the Georgia's Pre-K Progress Report.
5) The Progress report must be completed for each child in Georgia's Pre-K program twice during the year toward the end of the Fall and Spring reporting periods.
6) All information should be complete for each child. 7) Each child must be rated in all seven domains of development. The ratings should include written comments that explain the
ratings for each domain. 8) The progress report must be shared with families during a Family Conference at the end of the Fall (December) and Spring
(May) reporting periods. 9) The progress report must be sent to families who do not attend the Family Conference and followed up with a telephone con-
ference.

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SETTING UP YOUR ENVIORNMENT FOR SUCCESS
Students with suspected Developmental Delays

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munication book, etc.).
Document information on the conference
Set up a date for the next follow-up conference.
7. Implement the strategies decided upon at the conference. Make sure to be consistent. Continue to document using the Documentation of Developmental Concerns form.
8. Continue the process of conferencing and implementing strategies if the child is showing improvement. However, if the child is not improving, then proceed to the next step.
9. If the child has not shown improvement with the strategies, contact external resources such as the Pre-K Consultant, inclusion coordinator, preschool special needs program through the county, etc

"To teach is to learn twice." -Joseph Joubert

Note: For information regarding student suspensions and disenrollment, refer to the Pre-K Operating Guidelines, Section 3.5.

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