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

January 2007

When the weather outside is frightful... Here are some tips for making your classroom delightful!

Bright From The Start Georgia's Pre-K Program

January is the start of a brand new year. Here are some special days that might help you beat the winter blues.
National Eye Care Month National Oatmeal Month National Thank You Month Hot Tea Month
January 1--New Year's Day January 2--National Science Fiction Day January 5--National Bird Day

January 6--Apple Tree Day
January 9--National Static Electricity Day
January 11--Milk Day--January 11, 1878 was the first day that milk was delivered in bottles.
January 12--Secret Pal Day
January 15--MLK Day
January 15--Hot Dog Day
January 18--A.A. Milne's Birthday (Author of Winnie the Pooh books)
January 19--Diabetes Awareness Day
January 20--Basketball Day
January 21--Squirrel Appreciation Day
January 22--National Popcorn Day

Have fun with these by planning your own celebrations, or finding activities you can join in your community!!!
Bright from the Start offices will be closed Jan. 1 and Jan. 15 in observance of national holidays.

Classroom Tips of the Month

TIP # 1
With the New Year comes time for change--when is the last time you rotated materials in your centers???
By rotating materials in centers, we are stimulating development in children (remove peg puzzles and add in more challenging ones.)
To meet this indicator on the PQA, you should consider

documenting these changes on TIP # 2

your lesson plans or the changes

to the environment form (listed Learning centers should remain

on the DECAL website). Be

organized and uncluttered. Do

sure to list actual physical

you have excess clutter in your

changes to the learning centers. room?

Be sure that these changes are This is a great time to "winterize"

for supplies and materials. In your room. Go through your room

addition, you can also include and organize. Find missing pieces,

activities.

replace broken items, and remove

staff clutter. This will make for

a more appealing and user-friendly

room.

An Inside Look....
Classroom Tips
Phonological Awareness
Parental Involvement
Healthy Habits
Changes to the Environment
Creating a Classroom Community
FAQ regarding WSS
If you have any ideas/ activities you would like to share, please contact one of the newsletter staff.
Contact information:
Pre-K Consultant of the Day 404-656-5957 888-4GA-PREK Suspension/Disenrollment Dana Evans 404-463-0009
Dana.Evans@decal.state.ga.us
RC Program Lori Smith 478-471-5311
Lori.Smith@decal.state.ga.us
Newsletter Staff Nicole Cook
nicole.cook@decal.state.ga.us
Diane Griffin
diane.griffin@decal.state.ga.us
Meghan McNail
meghan.mcnail@decal.state.ga.us
Pam Bojo
Pam.bojo@decal.state.ga.us

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

Phonological awareness is the ability to manipulate the sounds of spoken language. Use lots of books and literature that include rhymes. While reading books, emphasize the rhyming words by whispering or saying them louder than other text. Use the CLOZE technique to prompt children to provide rhyming words (CLOZE technique: while reading a familiar book or poem, the teacher deliberately pauses at a rhyming word, allowing children to supply a word.) Enjoy the following phonological awareness activities:
Rhyming Basket:
Collect pairs of objects that rhyme (sock, lock, shoe, glue, etc.) and place them in a basket. Introduce the activity by saying, "a tisket, a tasket, let's play the rhyming basket." Pass the basket around the group and have children locate a pair of objects that rhyme. Another suggestion would be to have each child choose an object, and then try to find the classmate whose object rhymes.

Rhyme Time:
Select a book like "Over in the Meadow" or "A Sheep in a Jeep." Read the story through the first time so children can hear the rhymes. The second time, whisper the final rhyming words. If children hear the words you whisper they should say it loudly. The next day, divide students into two groups, read the same book and have group one say the first rhyming word as you read. Have group two say the second word that rhymes.
Sentence Segmenting and Sentence Imitation:
Have students repeat sentences with rhyming words. Have students place a block on the table for each word they say. My cat is very fat (five blocks). The goat is in my boat (six blocks.) Anna ate a banana (four blocks).

Don't forget to include this concept on your lesson plans!

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

The weeks right after the holidays can be a difficult time to keep parents involved with their child's education. Take this opportunity to reinvigorate your class by starting something new. A simple idea that is always a big hit is the introduction of a mystery reader. Send home a letter and ask parents (grandparents, siblings, aunts, etc.) to volunteer a time they can come to the classroom and read their favorite book. Make sure readers understand that you can provide a book for them if they would prefer. Do not tell the children who is coming to read and make a game out of the visit. The visitor can

come into classroom while the class is out of the room, or the class can join the mystery reader in the library or another part of the building.
Consider taking pictures during the activity to use later in a classroom book. The book can chronicle all the mystery readers that came to visit the classroom through a graph or chart story. The children can then look back at the charts or classroom book throughout the year, and reflect on the special guests that came to visit.

Remind parents to read to their children for at least 15 minutes
every night.

YUMMY TREATS
SMOOTHIES
Combine milk, ice, and fresh fruit in a blender. Use a little bit of flavored syrup or sugar to add some sweetness without adding many calories. Have children predict the color of the smoothie based on the ingredients added.
SNOW MAN
Place a pretzel stick in the middle of a large marshmallow. Place another large marshmallow on top to create a snowman. Decorate the marshmallows with garnishes like chocolate chips, raisins, and gummy worms (for scarves).

EDIBLE SNOWFLAKES
Ingredients: Flour tortillas and oil
Use the same technique for making paper snowflakes to make snowflake shapes out of flour tortillas. You may need to warm the tortillas in the microwave to make them flexible. After the shapes are cut, put a touch of oil in a pan, and fry the tortillas until they are crisp. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or cinnamon and sugar.

Page 2

IDEAS FOR CHANGING UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT

DRAMATIC PLAY:
Create an ice cream parlor in the dramatic play area. Add painted Styrofoam balls to represent different flavors of ice cream, and holepunched, colored paper to create sprinkles. Rotate accessories like scoops, menus, price lists, empty bottles of chocolate sauce, bowls, spoons, etc. The possibilities are endless!!
Create a winter wonderland. Cut or shred paper to use for snow on the floor. Make a snowman out of two white garbage bags stuffed with newspaper. Let the children dress the snowman with clothes from the dramatic play area.
Warm up the winter blues by turning the dramatic play area into a beach. It could be called the winter beach bash. You could have a child-sized pool where the children could pretend to swim. Add beach towels, beach balls, sunglasses, sand toys, and ice cream cones for accessories.
SCIENCE:
Try this fun milk experiment: Materials needed: Milk, shallow baking dish, food coloring, and liquid dish soap.
Instructions: Cover the bottom of the dish with milk. Add a few drops of food coloring to the milk (do not stir), and then add a few drops of liquid dish soap. Watch what happens to the colors.
Place white paper and scissors at the sensory table, and have the children cut strips of paper and use what is cut up for snow in the dramatic play area.
Making Frost: Gather a tin can with its lid removed (no sharp edges), rock salt, and crushed ice.
Let the children put two cups of crushed ice and 1/2 cup of rock salt in a can. Have the children stir the mixture rapidly. Move on to another activity and tell the children they will return to the can in 30 minutes. When you return, the outside of the can will have dew on it. Explain to the children that this is how dew forms on the grass in the morning.
BLOCKS:
Materials to create a dairy farm. Add cows, farm tractors, milk bottles, buildings/barns made of boxes, materials to build fences, and trucks to transport milk.
Fireplace--Add small pieces of logs so the chil-

dren can construct a fireplace. Add sticks with clothespins glued on the ends. Attach wadded up pieces of red and yellow tissue paper to represent the flames. Let the children pretend to roast marshmallows over the fire.
ART: Mix white paint, sand, and iridescent glitter. Let
the children use the mixture to paint snow scenes. Include cotton balls and 3-D art choices in the supplies for the drawings. Add winter cookie cutters to the Playdough supplies.
MATH/MANIPULATIVES: Collect milk caps for sorting, creating patterns, or
making a tic-tac-toe game. Make snowflakes of different sizes out of construction paper and laminate them. Be sure to have two of each pattern. Use this as a matching or sorting activity. Add different sizes of milk containers for measuring, weighing, and comparing sizes. Add milk-related pieces of clip art for matching, memory games, sorting, etc. Laminate a picture of a cow and then cut it into puzzle pieces that the children can assemble.
BOOK IDEAS
"Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin "It Looked Like Spilt Milk" by Charles G. Shaw "The Cow Buzzed" by David Zimmerman "Cows Can't Fly" by David Milgrim "Grandma's Promise" by Elaine Moore "Miss Moo goes to the Zoo" by Kelly Graves "Once Upon a Snowy Day" by Lucia Kemp Henry "Sadie and the Snowman" by Allen Morgan "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert The Big Snow" by Berta and Elmer Hader "The Dairy Group" by Helen Frost "Sledding" by Elizabeth Winthrop "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats "The Mitten" by Jan Brett "There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch" by Stella Blackstone "Winter Harvest" by Raymond Briggs "Winter Lullaby" by Barbara Seuling "All You Need for a Snowman" by Alice Schertle

B E
C R E A T I V E
"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change."
Carl Rogers

Page 3

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL CLASSROOM COMMUNITY

HOW CAN I ENCOURAGE GOOD BEHAVIOR IN MY CLASSROOM?
The Physical Environment:
1) Too much open space inspires running, chasing, and chaos. Use low bookcases to divide large spaces. Lay out clear pathways from one area to another and make at least two entrances to each.
2) Too much noise or loud music makes it hard to concentrate, especially for children with ADD/ADHD. Some children find it hard to deal with bright lights, smells and colors.
3) Too many choices or too many toys can create confusion, while too few can create conflict. Assess each area for the right balance.
4) Competitive games can incite aggressive behavior.

Classroom Management:
1. Look at minimizing transitions and waiting times; give children ample warning when transitioning from one activity to another.
2. Make transitions fun-- sing songs, play games, or use stress balls.
3. Seat children in a half moon shape during group time so all can see.
4. Seat a child who is easily distracted facing you with their back to the door.
5. Post a picture schedule in the classroom to help children remember their routine.
6. Plan age-appropriate activities. 7. Partner with a child who tends to
lose self-control during transitions. 8. Allow children who can't sit still
during circle time to get up and do something with another teacher. 9. Allow a child who fidgets to sit in a special chair or a "sit and move" cushion. Give them a fidget toy. 10. Arrange group time in a half moon shape, as opposed to a circle, so all children can see easily. Have the

teacher sit on a chair and not on the floor, which makes viewing easier.
Structured, wellplanned classrooms promote children's success, while poorly planned classrooms lead to their misbehavior and a general environment of chaos. You can choose to either lead your fouryear-olds in their day, or follow behind them picking up the pieces.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WSS
Work Sampling System is the new assessment process that Georgia's Pre-K Program is implementing statewide this school year. All teachers are expected to be implementing WSS after their lead teacher attends training. Each month we will answer questions related to WSS. Please email WSS questions to the Newsletter Staff.
1) Do I have to purchase legal-sized folders for the children's portfolios? A legal-sized hanging file folder is recommended, but not required, for the portfolio. Also, remember to stock nine legal-sized folders inside. Lettersized folders and files work just as well.
2) Do I still have to take anecdotal notes? WSS refers to anecdotal notes as OBSERVATIONAL NOTES. So, yes, notes need to be taken along with work samples to support the progress report.
3) Can we use photographs instead of actual work samples for the portfolios? Both photographs as small as 3x5 inches, and work samples, can be used as long as the focus is on the child's performance in relation to WSS performance indicators. You will need a good balance of notes, work samples, and photographs in each of your children's portfolios to document each child's individual growth and progress.