This third week of Advent means we are getting very close to Christmas. We will continue to try to get our hearts ready for baby Jesus. We are trying to be better friends at school and be more helpful at home.

We will be completing many activities with the theme of the holiday. There will be ones that reinforce our numbers, shapes and sounds.

Our school Christmas concert is Wednesday, December 15th. All Prek students will be joining the "big school" in celebrating with song. Your child should be in our room by 6:15, the show begins at 6:30. After we perform, there will be a small intermission. You will pick up your child back in our class. You may stay for the rest of the show. There will be a surprise guest appearance. If you feel it is too late for your performer you may certainly leave after we have sung our songs. See you Wednesday!

Here we are in the second week of Advent. We will light our 2nd candle this week. We are learning new prayers and songs as we wait for the gift of Baby Jesus. Each day we eagerly open a new box on our Advent calendar. We are reading a book called Animals' Advent. Even the smallest of God's creatures know how special this small baby is.

We will be reading stories, learning songs and fingerplays all about Christmas. Be prepared for the abundance of art work coming home. We will be studying the letters D and C, triangles and reviewing of numbers.

Reminders: No School on Wednesday, December 8th ( a holy day of obligation)
Christmas concert on Wednesday, December 15th

Join us as we get our hearts ready for baby Jesus.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We now begin the season of Advent. We will be reading stories and learning new prayers as we get ready to welcome Baby Jesus into our hearts.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, surrounded by those you love. Ask your child to recite our prayers, poems and songs that we have been learning. You will be happy you did.

When we return after the holiday we will be in the season of Advent. Our way of preparing for Christmas is how we will get our hearts ready for Baby Jesus. It won't be long now.

Thanksgiving Day is almost here. This is a very special time of year. We enjoyed watching summer turn into fall. We loved watching the leaves turn into every beautiful autumn color.
Now we are learning that the Earth is getting very still. Most of the leaves have been raked, branches are bare and animals are getting ready for the long winter ahead.

This is the time of year we stop and thank God for all of the many gifts we have been given.
We say prayers of thanks for families, friends and food to eat. We are learning about the very first Thanksgiving and how even in th harshest of days there is plenty to be thankful for.

Our theme in each subject area will be related to Thanksgiving. We will share stories, poems, songs and rhymes about the holiday. There will be math lessons and lots of art projects to get you in the spirit, too.

We will be very busy this week reviewing numbers. Prek3 class will be tracing numbers and matching the number to the corresponding sets. Our 4s will do the same, but will write the numbers.

Thanksgiving is almost here so we will be talking about all the wonderful gifts we have received from God. We have listed the people we want to thank God for in our class. Both groups are learning special Thanksgiving prayers, have your child say them for you!

Our math, language arts and art projects will be centered around the Thanksgiving theme. Be prepared for lots of decorations for your homes. On Thursday we will attend a performance in the gym about Veterans' Day. We will say a special prayer for all those who are serving and have served to keep us safe and free. Your children sing God Bless America so beautifully.
Sing it with them on Thursday. Even at this age they can develop an appreciation for our many freedoms. Share your thoughts with them.

welcome to November!

I hope all had a Happy Halloween, not too scary! Thank you to all who came to celebrate with us on Thursday and Friday. A special shoutout to Mr.Galafaro and Mrs. Matteo and Mrs. Valenzuela for making the days really special.

This week we are learning about the letter N and its sound. We will be reinforcing N with projects about numbers, names, nursery rhymes. The color of November is brown. We will be painting with brown and learning about owls.

Our religion theme is about All Saints Day. We will talk about how we can be "saint" like everyday.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This will be a week full of learning with a Halloween theme. There will be Halloween math, language arts and science projects. We will be painting, carving and creating lots of fun and spooky things.

Prek 3 class will celebrate on Thursday, Prek 4's on Friday. Students should come dressed in their costumes. We will have fun comparing all the super heroes, princesses and ?

If your child is here both days, they can dress each day. Please send in a small treat for each child. We will trick or treat in our room. Full day students should bring a change of clothing for the afternoon.

At 10:30 we will have a special snack and then sing some songs and recite Halloween poems.
It's a special day in the life of your pre-schooler. Have fun!

Pre-K is a very busy place to be. On Monday, the fire department will visit the 4 yr. old classes. We have already been discussing fire safety and will continue to do so. Please ask your child what they have learned. It is something that should be reviewed regularly.

The 3s are studying the square and how to identify it . We will be making square, mosaic fall leaves. We will be looking at different kinds of leaves, shapes, sizes and colors. There will be poems and fingerplays.

The 4s will be introduced to the letter L and its sound. We will also be creating leaf projects.

Thank you for sending in the stories about your child's name. We all enjoyed hearing them and it really does bring home the idea that they are all unique and specially made by God. Quite a few of the stories gave me goose bumps!

Reminder: 3s Picture Day is Thursday, 4s is on Friday. You must send in the completed order form by that morning. If your child stays all day and you want to send in a change of clothes for that day, please do.

I will be sending home info. concerning Halloween next week.

In spite of the not so perfect weather, I think we all had a good time pumpkin picking. You know Halloween can't be far behind. I will discuss our Halloween plans next week. We will be learning more about Fall this week. We will be talking about pumpkins, their color and the sequence of seed to Jack O Lantern. We are going to focus on the letter F and its initial sound. We are going to try finger painting Fall leaves. On Thursday we will be visited by the fire department. A local fireman will talk to us about fire safety and then we will get to go into the fire truck! I will spend a few days discussing fire safety. I will ask the children to go home and find out how you as a family would be prepared.

I asked that you send in a short note about the selection of your child's name. I am hoping to get to this on Thursday, but with our visitors we might not get to until next Tuesday.

Remember you can email me at: mrscroucher@aol.com

It's pumpkin picking time. Our prek 4 class trip is Mon. Oct. 4th. Our hayride leaves at 10 promptly. You may either meet at school by 9:15 or meet at Abma's Farm by 9:45. We will ride to the patch, pick a pumpkin (it's hard to choose) and then enjoy apple cider and fresh baked donuts. The prek 3 class trip is on Tuesday, Oct.5th, same times.

This trip is rain or shine, so dress for any possibility.

There are farm animals to see and feed and a farm store for browsing. We will return to class about ll:15.

REMINDER: NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, OCT. 8th AND MONDAY, OCTOBER 11th.

HAPPY PICKING!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHNNY APPLESEED!!

We will be celebrating the story of John Chapman (his real name), and the apple.

There will be stories, finger plays, math lessons, social studies and art projects. The week would not be complete without a tasting of different varieties of apples.

Reminder: All students must enter through the front doors of our school building starting Monday, September 27th. Classes will be dismissed at this entrance. This procedure is long over due.

Abma trips are next Mon. Oct.4th and Tues. Oct.5th. All money should be in by now. Please make sure you have signed up. Have a fabulous week.

We had a wonderful visit with Fr. Dan in church last week. Pre-K 3's met Pudgie, a friend of Fr. Dan's. Ask your child about Pudgie. The Pre-K4 class heard a story about a mean, class bully.
We learned the way to have friends is to be a friend.

We continue to review our shapes. Pre 3's will study the color red this week, as well as the circle.

Our Pre 4's will be practicing tracing and learning the proper way to hold crayons and pencils.

Remember: you may call me with any question or concern. Enjoy these last days of summer.
Autumn begins on the 23rd!

I hope everyone is getting good feedback from their children. We are going to visit Fr. Dan in church this week. He always gets the class laughing and thinking. It is a good way to introduce the church and getting to feel welcome to our church family.

We will be reviewing shapes and introducing the circle to the threes. Through games and art projects this should be fun. I will begin Spanish this week, maybe your child will be able to teach you a little Spanish, too.

REMINDER: BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 14th

RETURN TO SCHOOL ASAP : EMERG. CARD, PHOTO OK, SNACK $,

ABMA'S PERMISSION SLIP WITH PAYMENT, EMERGENCY INFO. SHEET



Hope to see you Tuesday night.

WELCOME AND WELCOME BACK!!
We are off and running. I hope everyone is ready for a year full of fun and learning. This week our theme is GETTING TO KNOW YOU....AND ME! We will be introducing ourselves and making new friends.

I want the classes to become familiar with our classroom procedures and to become comfortable with each other. Tuesday and Wednesday we will practice fire drills. Hopefully, it won't be as frightening when a real drill is called.

I will be sending home one of the few letters that you will receive. One of our whole school goals this year is to be as green as possible. Most news will be sent via this email. Please let me know your email addresses as well. Reminder: return all those items to school that were requested.

Please check your child's folder each day. I am always available by phone in the evening. My number is 973-942-9389. Here's to a great new school year.

Where has the time gone.? With just a few more days left of school we are reviewing letters and numbers with fun art activities. We enjoyed learning all about butterflies from their start as larvae turning into pupae and emerging as a beautiful new gift. The names we gave them were fun to come up with. We said our goodbyes last week as we released them to join their friends in our school backyard.

Our trip to the farm was great. Everyone enjoyed feeding the animals and learning all about them. Everyone had a favorite. Too bad we couldn't bring them all back with us.

On Thursday, June 17th we will have a pizza picnic for the pre-k 3's in our playground.
The pre-k 4 group will "graduate" on Friday, June 18th.

Wishing all a happy and safe summer. See you in September.

We are enjoying watching our caterpillars growing bigger every day. We know this is part of God's plan to watch and wait for a beautiful butterfly to appear. God wants us to grow and change. We will talk about how we have changed from babies to "big" kids. Since we are so big now we will be able to join the "big" school on Wednesday to celebrate Field Day. It probably is everyone's favorite day of the year.

Memorial Day is coming and we will read about the holiday and create a patriotic banner to display at home.

May is in full bloom. Spring is the season of re-awakening. We are learning about all the signs of new life. We planted green bean plants and they are really growing fast. It won't be long till we can enjoy tasty, fresh beans. The county recycle department visited us last week with a lesson about the perils of littering. Watch out! We are watching!! Our butterfly caterpillars have arrived. We can't wait to see what surprise God has in store for us.

Welcome May!

This week we are busy creating all sorts of beautiful gifts for our moms. We will be reading books, learning songs and poems to share during our Moms' breakfast.

We are going to be honoring Mary with special prayers and stories. We will learn Mary is our mother in heaven who loves us like our own mothers do.

Wednesday we will celebrate Cinco de Mayo! We will learn about Mexico and its customs.
We will snack on typical fare and end with a sombrero dance! Ole'

April Showers Bring May Flowers

We have been busy learning about all things Spring! We are writing the letters R (rain) and U(umbrellas) and Y (yellow).

Last week we celebrated Earth Day with stories, poems, prayers and many art activities. We ended this lesson by making our own pledge of how we will give the Earth our helping hand.

We enjoyed "lunch with a friend" on Tuesday. We got to bring a favorite doll or stuffed animal to join us outside for a picnic lunch. It was so much fun we are going to do it again!

We are busy making gifts for Mother's Day. We are learning new songs and poems to share with our mom at our Mother's Day breakfast on Friday, May 7th.

March 22,2010

This is our last full week of school this month and we are busy celebrating the beginning of spring with songs, rhymes and science as well as math and language art projects.

We will be going to church to hear Fr. Dan tell us in his special way the story of Easter. We have already learned that Jesus promised He would always love and be with us. We will end this week by coloring eggs and making baskets.

Our Easter breakfast is on Tuesday, March 30th at 9:30. See you there. HAVE A JOYOUS AND BLESSED EASTER. See you in April.

HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY

We are celebrating with green snacks, songs, dance and a chance to catch a leprechaun.

We are going to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph with stories of his love for Jesus and the examples he set for all fathers.

Count down to the first day of Spring. We can't wait.

Spring is almost here. We are going Green! When you are in pre-school a holiday like St.Patrick's Day is more than one day. We are celebrating it with stories, dances, songs, rhymes and art projects galore!

This Friday we are going to the Weis Ecology Center to learn how to make maple syrup. I think we might have to enjoy a special snack to conclude this lesson!

Welcome March! This is a month of many fun things to learn. Everyone's favorite doctor is Dr.Seuss and we celebrate his birthday with stories, art projects and rhymes.

This week our science focus will be on the way the weather can change so quickly in March.
We will talk about wind and how we can use this force to our advantage.

We are going to think of the many ways we can share and be generous in this next part of our journey in Lent. Please share your ideas with us!

Feb,22nd

Wow! February is almost at an end! We have learned so much this month. The Ground Hog taught us about old folk lores and the days before computers showed us the advancing weather.

Valentine's Day showed us all about love and the many ways we can show it and share it.

We studied all the forms of water and how each one can be changed. That was fun.

Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are two great American heroes. We enjoyed different projects to celebrate both.

On Friday, Feb.26th we will have a mini Chinese NewYear party.

We continue on our journey this Lent. We are trying to make good choices at home and in class.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

We are busy making beautiful greetings filled with love for you.
Our party will be on Friday, February 12th. We have a couple of love songs to share with our special guests. When we meet again on Wednesday, February 17th we will be in the holy season of Lent. It will be a time for us to think about making good choices and saying sorry when we have made someone hurt. We will learn the special way we feel when we can forgive.

On a lighter note, we will celebrate Chinese New Year and the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.

Love to all!

Feb. 1, 2010

Well, we will know tomorrow if we have 6 more weeks of winter or is spring really near!

We are going to hear stories about Ground Hog Day, how the tradition started and of course sing a few songs to everyone's favorite woodchuck. This week we will be hearing many classic winter tales from around the world. Valentines' Day is coming soon, so we are busy learning new poems and songs to share our love with you.

Here we are in the last week of January. We are learning all about the letter W this week.
We are going to study water and how it can change from solid to liquid and back again!
We are getting so smart! Learning is so much fun!

We are enjoying winter and learning all about what makes this season so much fun. When the weather is warm we explore the outside to see the different birds that have stayed behind and just getting some needed fresh air and exercise. We look forward to visitors during our open house days. See you then.

It is the second week of January and we are getting smarter by the minute. We are learning about the season of winter. We are students of the daily weather and we can tell you all about animals that hibernate!

This week we will read a story about Martin Luther King and find out why we celebrate his birthday each year. We will try and live and treat others with peace in our hearts.

Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone had a joyous and wonderful Christmas. I am sure Santa Claus visited all my little friends because they're the best kids in the world!


Thank you all for the wonderful gifts. I am looking forward to a brand new month and year.
See you on January 4th, 2010.