The Orchards Newsletter 2013 | Page 5

What’s new in Pre-K? By: Amber Ankrom Pre-K Teacher at The Tree House Our Pre-K class has been very busy over the last few months and it has been a wonderful experience getting to know all of the students and their families! During our first month of school, we concentrated on getting the students acquainted with the classroom environment, daily routine, learning centers, and each other. The students have transitioned so well and are successfully helping us create and maintain a “safe” learning environment. Through The Creative Curriculum we have studied familiar rhymes, such as 1, 2 Buckle My Shoe and Mary Had a Little Lamb. We have also used discovery learning techniques to learn concepts such as size, what colors are created when colors are mixed, how to classify items, and so much more. We also were able to take our first field trip to Janoski’s Pumpkin Farm. We took a hay ride, picked pumpkins, toured a haunted house, and even got lost in a corn field maze! We are currently doing a mini-study on sounds. The students have learned to identify how many syllables are in many words. The students had a blast hearing their own voices in a microphone and were amazed by the different sounds glasses of water made. Each student found an item in our classroom that made noises and playing them all together, we made beautiful music! We look forward to each day we get to spend with all of our wonderful students. Every day is an adventure and it has been amazing to see the strides the students have made so early in the year! Teacher Spotlight Andrea Williams Miss Andrea works in the Toddler Room and has been employed at The Tree House since August of 2011. She is 20 years old and currently resides in Wellsville, Ohio. She is pursuing her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Eastern Gateway Community College and is in her last year. After her Associate’s degree is complete, she plans to obtain her Bachelor’s degree from Kent University. Miss Andrea’s favorite color is pink and her favorite part of her job is interacting with her students and seeing the children learn and grow everyday. Wee School Update By: Lisa Shaw, Wee School Assistant Teacher It has been a spook-tacular month in the Wee School room! We have been learning new letters each week and have almost mastered the poem “The Five Little Pumpkins.” While we have had lots of new things happening in Wee School, we also had a visit from Justin Shaw with the Wee our old School Class friend and firefighter, Justin Shaw. As always, Justin taught us the importance of fire safety. During his visit he brought different pieces of equipment and gear as well as a fire truck. October has been a very busy month with all of our activities and five students with birthdays! As always, we end the month of Ellis Mick, 3 Years Old October with our big Halloween Party. This year we had a photo booth with a big bat flying through a spooky sky! We hope that everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween as well!