More Than a School, It's a Community.
We are excited for fall in Pre-K! We have been learning about life cycles (apples, chickens, pumpkins) and how to grow plants from seeds. We planted corn during Farm Week, and the students have been watching their plants grow at home. In math, we are working on extending AB and AAB patterns using a variety of classroom materials. As always, we build and write the letter and number of the week and practice letter sounds using motions to help us connect the letter to the sound. The students are enjoying the new farmer’s market dramatic play area and opportunities to write in the center. In religion, we are learning about churches and our church family. We are looking forward to Community Helper Week and Fall Week coming up over the next few weeks.
Pre-K is off to a GREAT start! We spent several weeks getting to know one another and practiced new classroom rules and procedures. We are getting ready to begin Apple Week on September 8th. The students will learn about the life cycle of an apple tree, complete math and literacy activities related to apples, vote for their favorite type of apple (after a taste test) and graph the results. We will end the week by making homemade applesauce. It will be Apple-Solutely awesome!
Just a reminder –
Picture Day is Tuesday, September 9th! Please reference the note sent home for more information.
SPSL School will be CLOSED on Friday, September 19th for a Professional Development Day
Welcome!
I am excited for our Pre-K students to begin on Monday, August 18th. Mrs. Lindley and I are looking forward to getting to know your children. It’s going to be a great year!!
Don’t Forget, the Pre-K Welcome Wagon is Sunday, August 17th from 3-4pm on the SPSL playground (South side of the school near the soccer fields).
Please reach out if you have any questions before the first day at [email protected]
Our camping dramatic play area is set up and ready to be introduced to students later next week!
It’s hard to believe that it is already March! We enjoyed many exciting themes in February, such as Space Week, Dental Health, Valentine’s/Kindness and Healthy Bodies. Each week, we focus on a different letter and number. We only have three letters left (X,Y,Z) to cover this school year. Our class does a great job with letter recognition and sounds, but we will continue to review them throughout the school year. We have covered numbers 0-20 and will review and practice number recognition and counting to strengthen math skills in preparation for kindergarten. In April, Pre-K will begin a new math concept- combining sets. Combining sets helps young children develop foundational addition.
Working on our monthly self-portraits. In February, we used Handwriting Without Tears wooden pieces and loose parts to create our self-portraits.
Pre-K enjoyed an enrichment experience, Stop and Go, from The Rose Theater. 
The students are enjoying several new centers in our classroom. The St. Pius / St. Leo Vet Clinic is a popular dramatic play center! Pre-K was also very fortunate to get a light table for our students to enjoy. Light tables can help children develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and creativity. They can also encourage exploration and curiosity.
We’ve been having SNOW much fun learning about winter and the Arctic/Antarctica in Pre-K. The students have been busy working on writing their names in proper case in preparation for kindergarten in “snow,” on dry erase boards, and on their artwork created in the art center.
We love to write in Pre-K! We focus on correct letter formation in addition to letter recognition every day. Our weekly Letter of the Week gives us an opportunity to cover each letter over the course of the school year.
We have been staying warm and busy learning about the difference between the Arctic and Antarctica. Did you know some animals are able to survive cold temperatures because they have a thick layer of fat called blubber?!? We placed our fingers in a bucket of ice water to explore how cold it feels on human hands….brrrr! Next, we predicted what would happen if we used blubber (Crisco) inside a glove to cover our hands before placing them in the ice water again.
The blubber protected our hands from feeling the cold ice water. Science is AMAZING!
The students love educational hands-on activities and art projects in addition to playing outdoors when the temperature allows us to get outside.
We are enjoying winter while it lasts but looking forward to spring adventures ahead.
September was such a busy month! We learned about nursery rhymes, apples, and the farm.
Now that the students have settled into a good classroom routine, we began small groups this month. During small groups, the students work in a small group (with a teacher or independently) on an activity. We focus on strengthening literacy, math, science, and social/emotional skills during this time. The students love the hands-on activities and games.
Children learn best through active engagement and exploration in a meaningful and enjoyable context. As children play, they engage their imagination, take risks, and learn problem-solving to support their development.
Check out some of the awesome activities that took place in our classroom during September!
During Apple Week, the students learned about the life cycle of an apple tree and dissected apples. We used our five senses to explore the parts!
We celebrated The River City Round-Up in Pre-K. The students are loving the new Farmers Market dramatic play area.
Engaging math and literacy activities are a must in Pre-K.
We learned about farms and the important job farmers do for our community.
Each student planted corn seeds in a cup to take home and watch them grow!
Stay tuned for more exciting news about our Pre-K adventures next month!
We are off to a great start in Pre-K. We are learning and practicing procedures and routines while getting to know our fellow classmates! The students enjoyed our All About Me Week and sharing about their family during Talking Circle. We created a family tree in the classroom using the students’ family photos and learned about The Holy Family. All About Me Week gave everyone a chance to share what makes them special and unique!
Welcome to Pre-K! My name is Catherine Logan and this is my second year teaching at St. Pius/St. Leo. I have been teaching Pre-K for over 10 years. I graduated from Midland University with a B.A. in Elementary Education with an endorsement in ESL (English as a Second Language). I have a daughter, Natalie, who is going into her senior year at UNL. I believe that every child deserves to learn in a loving environment filled with hands-on and engaging activities that meet the needs of each child.
