EC Winter Concert

Thank you for attending our EC Winter Concert.  The children were so excited to perform for you and have been talking about it all week!  We hope you enjoyed their sweet voices and smiling faces!  Below are pictures from a parent camera and the class camera.  If you would like to share more, send them our way.  Have a wonderful holiday.  See you January 7th. 

Luke moves to Dubai

Our sweet Luke is moving to Dubai with his family over Winter Break.  Mrs. Sey, Luke's mommy, stopped in this week for a farewell party.  We will miss you Luke but are very happy you are so close! Good luck at your new school; we know you will be awesome!

Ice Skating in the Desert

Since we are in Muscat and do not see many frozen lakes, we decided to have a little winter fun in our classroom by ice skating!  We pushed back tables and carpets, used paper plates for our skates, and glided around the hard floor.  The children loved it (teachers, too!), and it will definitely be an activity to repeat!  Enjoy the slideshow.

WINTER CONCERT TOMORROW!

Don't forget our EC Winter Concert is tomorrow, Thursday, December 19th at 8:45.  Please have your child in the classroom by 8:30 dressed in red and white.  We are excited to see you there!

Weekly Words

It has been a magical week in EC2!  We met Munching Mike from Letterland, and he helped us learn the sound letter M makes.  This week we had many M objects from a map to Mickey Mouse to a moon!  Keep them coming.  The student love to show off their knowledge of the letter of the week.  Next week is letter N. 

With the holiday right around the corner, and "winter" settling in, we have had a lot of fun with our stories this week.  They were all about the cold weather and snow- Something that many of us have only seen in books like The Mitten and Snowballs.  This week we paired mittens, made hot cocoa, made patterns with candy canes, and sorted our seasons.  If you travel anywhere over the holiday where there is snow, please bring a picture of your child outside to share!  Everyone is very excited to see friends bundled up in the white snow.  We only ask you to not put a snowball in your pocket!  Thanks to the book The Snowy Day, we all knows what happens! :) 

Next week, we will have our EC Winter Concert on Thursday at 8:45.  Please ensure your child is in the classroom no later than 8:30 dressed in red and/or white.  We have been practicing for you and hope to see you there!

Enjoy the slideshow of a few of our winter adventures. 

 

M is for Marshmallow!

It's Tuesday-- cooking day!  Today we made Mugs full of hot cocoa with Marshmallows!  First, we heated the milk.  Then we got to pick out our mug and add 2 teaspoons of cocoa inside.  After the milk was warm, we poured it in and mixed!  It was so easy!  And an extra surprise, we got to add a marshmallow on top.  It was very yummy.  Most of us liked the marshmallows, but some of us did not.  Look at our graph in the slideshow to see!

Writing in EC2!

This week we began writing in our journals.  Please encourage your child to label their pictures at home.  Remember, it does not have to be "correct".  We want the children to take risks and use their letter sound knowledge.  Please see the example below. 

 

In this, you see that we used our phonetic knowledge to spell the words.  Even writing the first letter sound is progress so label, label, label!

Weekly Words

It has been a great week in EC2!  Gingerbread people have appeared many times through our books The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Baby, and Gingerbread Cowboy!  It has been so much fun baking, making, measuring with, sorting, and eating gingerbread!  Today we baked a special gingerbread man in our kitchen.  When we came back from recess, he was gone with only a note left for us to read.  Look at the pictures below to find out what happened!

The Gingerbread Man is gone!  Let's read his note to find out where he is!

Luke reads, "Run, run, as fast as you can.  You can't catch me.  I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

The search is on!  Where can he be?

Not under the rug!

I think we found him!!  What a sneaky gingerbread man!

Can you spot our gingerbread man?  We made sure to eat him quickly so he couldn't run anymore!

Reminders:

Winter Wonderland: Wednesday, Dec 12th 3:30-5:00pm  -  Please be sure to turn in your Winter Wonderland permission forms.  Remember parents must accompany all EC children. 

 Early Childhood Winter Concert:  We have been practicing all week and are excited to see you there!  December 19th at 8:45.

Below are pictures from our week (too many!).  I apologize for the overload.. catching up, I guess. ;)






Have a great weekend!

You're Invited!

Early Childhood Winter Concert

December 19, 2013

8:45*-9:30

In the Amphitheater

(grassy area outside EC classrooms)

-Brunch to follow organized by the room mothers-

-EC performers should be dressed in red and/or white.-

*Concert begins promptly at 8:45.  Please ensure your child is in the classroom by 8:30.

"Run, run, as fast as you can!" -Gingerbread Man

With the help of our trusty books The Gingerbread Man retold by Eric Kimmel and The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Ernst, we baked our very own gingerbread people today.  We left them in the oven without peeking the entire 8 minutes and not even one jumped out shouting, "Catch me if you can!"  We were lucky!  Enjoy the slideshow of the fun!








We concluded our day with reading the introduction of Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby.  Ask your child how they think the gingerbread baby will get away.  We will find out the answer tomorrow morning after sharing our predictions.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thank you baking mommies!  Because of your generosity, today we had a wonderful feast with really yummy pies.  The children loved the pumpkin, apple, lemon, and chocolate pies.  We invited all the EC classes to join us and had the chance to share our goodies with them too!  We are thankful to have such wonderful friends in Ms. Julie's and Ms. Carla's class.... not to forget, our amazing moms and dads!  Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy the slideshow!

We have five senses!

The last couple of weeks we have been learning about our five senses.  Today we discovered different flavors we taste.  We know that a lemon is SOUR and honey is SWEET.  Below is a slideshow of our faces when we tasted a lemon and honey.  Students are encouraged to think about the taste of the food they are eating.  Is it sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or spicy?  Did you like the way your food tastes?  Why or why not?

ES PJ Day

As you have read in the school newsletter, the Elementary School is having pajama day tomorrow.  Early Childhood has a pajama day during Dr. Seuss Week in March; therefore, do not have pajama day tomorrow.  Sorry if there was any confusion. 

Happy Birthday George!

Our sweet George turned 5 over the weekend, and his family joined us today to celebrate with a car cake.  Even his grandfather visiting from India was able to be here!  It was a wonderful treat.  Thank you Matthew and Mary for making our afternoon so special!  Happy Birthday George!

Weekly Words

Hello Friends,

This week was definitely eventful with Ms. Wendy being here, National Day, and Rainbow Day!  We were very lucky to be able to join the big kids outside for the Rainbow Day picnic today.  We enjoyed our time outside and are looking forward to being part of this special day next year!  

Next week we will be learning about the sense of taste.... right in time for Thanksgiving!  Tuesday, we will have Pie Sharing with all of Early Childhood.  Ms. Hina, our classroom parent, may be contacting you to help supply pies.  We do not need many, so if Hina has not spoken with you, then we have it covered! :) Thank you for all your help!  

This coming Wednesday and Thursday there will be no school in celebration of National Day and Thanksgiving.  We hope you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy the time with your family. 

Here are a few pictures from this week.  Have a lovely weekend!

J is for Jam

Strawberry jam or raspberry jam?  Which do you like the most?  Watch the slideshow below to see which type of jam sandwich was the class favorite!  It is a lot of fun to use our sense of taste!  

I is for Ice cream milkshakes!

It's Tuesday, and you know what that means!  Cooking day!  Today we made Ice cream milkshakes.  Granted, we are cooking with the long "i" sound, but that short "i" is a difficult one!   I have posted a few pictures in the slideshow below... even ones of our milkshake mustaches!  It is "Movember" of course. ;) 

There are also a few photos of us learning about our sense of sound with our shakers we made in class.  We observed that depending on the size of object you put inside the shaker, the softer the sounds became.  Enjoy!

I will be out until Monday for a funeral in America.  Ms. Wendy will be in our classroom along with Ms. Gita and Ms. Muna.  They will complete our week with There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Number and a special sound walk on Thursday.  Sunday, they will begin the sense of touch and the letter J... finally an easier one for objects!  Please send in an object beginning with the /Jj/ sound.  Thank you, and see you next week.

I is for iPad!

How lucky are we? The week we are learning about letter I, the technology fairy brings us iPads!  Today the students met Mr. Mike and learned about the correct way to use iPads in the classroom.  We are excited to finally utilize this new teaching tool and look forward to showing all the wonderful activities possible! 

My Five Senses

This week 20 little children began to learn about their five senses.  We began with the sense of sight. With the help of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, everyone saw many animals and made up some creatures of their own.  In our classroom we now have a polka-dot giraffe, a purple cat, and many more!

Next week we will be moving on to the sense of hearing.  This one should be an interesting sense since you must not talk to "hear".  Hopefully, it means it will be a nice and quiet week... we will see! ;)  We will also be learning about the letter I and the short vowel sound it makes.  Please bring in an object with the /Ii/ sound. 

We also had a couple of our friends turn FIVE this week!! :)  Jash's birthday was November 5th.  Jash's mommy Mrs. Madhavi brought in chocolate cake and goodie bags for everyone.  Thank you for making the class' day so special and we hope Jash had a wonderful birthday.  

Lenny's birthday was today!!  Our sweet Lenny told me that he feels a year older and he is now ready to be six!  ;)  Lenny's mommy and daddy brought in donuts for the class to share.  Thank you Monika and Joergen for the treats, and Happy Birthday Lenny!!

 

 I did not take as many pictures this week for some reason.. I will try to do better. :)  Below is a slideshow of the few I have.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Fall Festival Fun!

Hello Parents!

Below is a slideshow of our Fall Festival Parade.  Enjoy!  I hope to see you tonight at TAISM from 6-8pm for trick-or-treating and more fun Fall activities.  

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday Nour

Sunday was sweet Nour's 4th Birthday! She brought chocolates to school to celebrate.  Thank you and Happy Birthday Nour!! :)

Conferences Tomorrow!

Conferences will begin at 8:30 am tomorrow until Wednesday afternoon.  I look forward to seeing you at your scheduled time.  

When the children return on Thursday, please send them in costume for the Fall Festival parade.  :)  

Weekly Words

Our classroom is in full Fall mode with pumpkins popping up everywhere.  This week we have measured pumpkins with nonstandard units, measured our own height with pumpkins, learned how they grow, and made our own pumpkin patch. 

Did you know that most of us are 5 pumpkins tall?  By looking at the slideshow below, you can see the majority of our class are around 5 pumpkins in height.  Measuring our classmates with pumpkins taught us to always begin measuring at the bottom and not the middle. 

We also estimated the circumference of our pumpkin with string.   A lot of thought went into how long we cut our string.  We tried very hard to predict how fat the pumpkin was.  Many of us were right on target!

Later in the week we painted our very own pumpkin patch for the hallway.  We also made a real scarecrow to keep all the crows away from them!  We hope you like it when you come to conferences.  We worked very hard on making sure our pumpkins had all the parts we learned:  the shell, stem, and vine!

Today was Hussein's 4th birthday.  Hussein's mommy brought cupcakes to school to celebrate.  Thank you Yasmine for the special treat.  :)

Next week we are making pumpkin soup and learning about the letter G.  Conferences are Tuesday (29) and Wednesday (30); there will be no school for children.  I look forward to seeing you all next week at your scheduled time. 

Fall Festival is also next week on Thursday.  Early Childhood will have a parade in the school hallways on Thursday morning.  Please send your child in costume.  No toy weapons allowed.  After the parade, the events are planned by the teachers.  In the evening TAISM is hosting trick or treating and Fall Festival Fun at 6-8pm for the whole family!  I hope to see you there!

Lastly, the school nurse has sent home a few forms in some students' folders.  These are informing you that she is missing some paperwork.  Please have a look and act accordingly.  Thanks!

Have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the slideshow!

Kareem turns 4!

Over Eid, Kareem had a birthday, and today his mommy brought a cake and goodies to celebrate.  Thank you Hamza for making our class' day extra special!  Happy Birthday Kareem!

I'm Back!

Finally, after a long flight and a quick nap, I am back in the classroom!  I missed the children so much and was happy to receive all the hugs this morning!  My sister's wedding could not have been better, and I appreciate you all understanding my absence.  The picture below is me with the beautiful bride.  Even with a cold front and an outdoor wedding, she could not have looked prettier!

 

Ms. Wendy told me all the students were wonderful.  She said they tried extra hard to follow all directions and kept telling her to make sure she would "tell Mrs. Liz they were good!" :)   I came to the classroom pleasantly surprised to find all of the lessons I had left were completed and the students' work displayed.  Great job kids!  As many of you noticed, Mrs. Muna was also out on Sunday and Monday.  Her daughter, Talia, was hospitalized for a stomach virus but is now at home and doing much better. 

It also saddens me to inform you that Mrs. Gita's mother passed away on Monday.  She will be flying to India to be with her family October 29th thru November 3rd.  Please keep her in your thoughts. 

On a lighter note, the Early Childhood has a new addition... an awesome playground!!!  This playground was funded by the TAISM Ball last year, and is already loved by all the children.  Below is our class with their new playground. 

I hope you have a lovely evening.  Be looking for the weekly blog post tomorrow with more updates and information. Good Night! :)

AND Break!

Hi Moms and Dads!

This post holds a ton of information, so run and grab your calendars. :) 

Fall Break is next week.  School will resume on Sunday October 20th. Have a wonderful EID!
 
Over the break, I will be traveling to Texas for my sister's wedding.  I will return on Wednesday October 23 and will miss the first 3 days of the week.  Luckily, Ms. Muna and Ms. Gita will be here to greet, teach, and love your little ones while I am away.  Ms. Wendy will also be joining them to help out.  She has subbed multiple times in Early Childhood and has also been in our class in the years past.  She is so much fun, and I know the children will love her!

After break, we will be learning about letter Ff, so please send an object that begins with the /Ff/ sound.  We will also begin our pumpkin unit.  We will learn how the pumpkin grows and what's on the inside.  In math, we will begin measuring with the pumpkin using a variety of manipulatives.

The week after is also a busy one for the calendars.  Please mark these important dates.

October 29&30-  Parent/Teacher Conferences-  No school for children.  You will be receiving your assigned time soon.  If you are unable to make this time, please contact me to reschedule.

October 31- Fall Festival-  Early Childhood and Kindergarten will be having a costume parade around the hallways of TAISM.  The children ARE encouraged to dress up this day.  We ask that you do not send any toy weapons.  This will be a day of Fall Fun.  Parents, you are welcome to join/watch the parade!  We will begin at 9am.

In addition, TAISM and parent volunteers host an amazing Fall Festival for all friends in the evening 6 to 8.  It will be a night of trick or treating and games for the whole family!  I hope to see you there. 

Mrs. Beata, the parent volunteer coordinator, has asked us to remind you to please send a bag of candy with your child to school for the Fall Festival.  No nuts please.  

That's all the information I have for you now!  Sorry for the overload.  Have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to seeing the children on the 23rd and all of you at conferences! 

Below is our weekly slideshow.  Enjoy!

Elmo's Elegant Eggs

Tuesday at cooking, we made Elmo's Elegant Eggs.  This are one of my personal favorites (probably because my mother makes them every Thanksgiving).  We had a split class on the children liking the eggs with me.  13 said "thumbs up" with 7 "thumbs down".  Below is a slideshow of them elegantly making their eggs. :)  

Picture Day Tomorrow!

Sorry for the late blog post. As I was about to go to bed, I realized I did not remind everyone about picture day tomorrow. Send your child in their best smiles and camera ready in the morning! Thanks! :)

Hello October

Hi Parents,

We hope you had as great of a week as we did in EC2!  If you haven't seen our Early Childhood wing this week, you are missing out!  The children have been working hard since the 2nd week of school to complete their body paintings and they are finally displayed!  I took individual pictures of the body art for you that are unable to see them... It is scary how much they look like the children.  See if you can find yours in the slideshow below. 


This week was Delightful learning about the letter D and beginning our Fall Unit. Next week, we will move on to the letter E. Please send one object beginning with the /E/ sound for our Letter of the Week table. We will continue learning about Fall with the help of Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman.  Earl will show us what clothing we should wear in the Autumn season.  

Mark your calendars!
TUESDAY, October 8th is PICTURE DAY.  This will be the photograph that will be placed in the 2013-14 yearbook.  

Below is our weekly slideshow.  Enjoy, and have a lovely weekend!

D is for Dirt

It's that time again!  Tuesday = cooking day!  Today we made Daisy's Dirt Dessert.  After recess, we washed our dirty hands and dug right in!  We made an AB pattern by layering dirt (crumbled oreo) and mud (spoon of chocolate pudding) and topped with a worm.  Of course, the children thought it was Delicious!  I try every year to think of a healthy alternative for this cooking, but then I think of how much the kids LOVE it... and I give in... sorry mom and dad!  I will be better the rest of the year! ;)  Enjoy the slideshow. 

It's Fall Y'all!

Finally... it is Fall.  The temperature is beginning to decline and the tree leaves are changing color.... well maybe not in Oman.   However it IS Fall in our classroom!  We began our unit with learning about the changing colors of leaves and how they fall off of trees.  With the beautiful leaves of red, yellow, and orange in our discussion, we decided to see what would happen if we took red and yellow and mixed them together.

Look at the slideshow below of us marble painting our Fall leaf.  Can you see what color yellow and red made?

Weekly Words

Hello, again!

This week was crazy with letter C!  We met Clever Cat and Corduroy.  Many children brought in C objects ranging from calculators to cars!  We cooked Cathy's Carrot Salad and learned about patterns through Caps For Sale!

We will begin our Fall unit on Sunday.  We will begin by learning about the seasonal changes that happen in the Fall... (in most places ;) ).  We will continue reviewing patterns and shapes in math and meet Dippy Duck from Letterland.  Please bring one object beginning with the /Dd/ sound for the letter of the week table.   

This Monday is an early release day for teacher inservice.  School will be over at NOON.  Please make arrangements for your child.

Mark your calendars!
Conferences will be next month on October 29th and 30th.  Be looking for your scheduled time in your child's folder.  I am excited to speak with you.

Enjoy the weekly slideshow below, and I hope you have an awesome weekend!
Ms. Liz  

Cathy Cook's Carrot Salad

It's Tuesday, and you know what that means!  Cooking!!  Today we went to the EC kitchen and made a tongue twister, Cathy Cook's Carrot Salad, that also happened to be a tongue pleaser.  The children loved it!  This carrot salad is definitely not my favorite (not a fan of mayo), but the kiddos crunch away.  You can find the recipe in the slideshow below and in your child's folder.  They made a small recipe booklet so they can recreate at home.  Let me know if you have any luck in your kitchen!