Week of April 25th!!

Welcome Back to School!!

WEEKLY REMINDERS

 

             Please remember to bring sleeping mats back to school.

·      Wednesday, May 4th, 9:00am- Mother's Day "Muffins with Mom" Celebration in the gymnasium. (One (1) Adult Permitted per Child)

 

·      Friday, June 8th, 9:00am- End of Year "Moving Up Ceremony" in the gymnasium. (Four (4) Adults Permitted per Child)

 

·      Friday, June 14th, 9:00am- Father's Day "Donuts with Dad" Celebration in the gymnasium. (One (1) Adult Permitted per Child)

 

Please keep in mind that these celebrations may have to be canceled if the COVID numbers increase and guidelines change back. 

 

Always make sure to read the OLQM School Blog for additional information, located HERE!

   

If you have any questions or concerns, you can email me at mrsgonzalez@olqmnyc.org or text/call (862)248-2941 I will do my best to answer at the end of the day. 

 

Unit Topic:

   Plants 

 

Essential Question for the Unit:  

How do plants grow and why are they important? 

 

Focus Question for this Week

What are plants? 

 

Focused Learning Activity for this Week

     

  Flower Shop 

 The teacher will work with students in the dramatic play center. She will discuss the roles available to children in the classroom flower shop and what each job requires. Students will choose a job, either customer, cashier, or florist, and assume the roles they selected.

 

Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard Addressed:

PK.SOC.3 Demonstrates an understanding of roles, rights, and responsibilities

 

 

 Foundational Text for the Week:

 Flower Garden by Eve Bunting

 

 Link to the foundational text HERE! 

 

Questions that will be asked throughout the week related to the foundational text:

 

Level 1: Recall 

What did the girl plant in her garden? Where did the girl plant her garden? Why did the girl plant a garden? 

 

Level 2: Skill/Concept 

Where did the girl get the flowers for her garden? How do you know? Why do you think people smiled at the girl when she was on the bus? Where does the girl live? How do you know?

 

Level 3: Strategic Thinking 

How do you think the girl’s mom felt about her birthday gift? Why? How do you think the girl felt about making a garden for her mom’s birthday? Why?

 

Level 4: Extended Thinking 

Let’s look closely at the garden and see what we notice. What do you notice about the plants in the garden? How are they similar? How are they different? Which one do you like best? Why? 

 

Lessons and Activities for the Week:

 

Blocks- Students will be invited to build a garden using blocks and materials added to the block center.

 

Pretend Play- The teacher will turn Dramatic Play into a flower shop by adding pretend flowers, containers, pictures of flower arrangements, a cash register, a notepad, writing utensils, etc. Children can pretend to make, buy, and sell floral arrangements. Vocabulary words such as bouquet, floral arrangement, florist, and flower will be highlighted.

 

Art- The teacher will supply pipe cleaners as well as tissue paper circles. Children can pierce the middle of the tissue paper circles with the pipe cleaner, adding as many as they would like, then fold the circles up to create a flower. After creating these flowers children can use them in the Dramatic Play flower shop.

 

Science- The teacher will provide individual pictures of the plant life cycle. Students will be asked to sequence the pictures. The teacher will provide pictures/diagrams for children to refer to as they discuss each stage in the life cycle. 

 

Math- The teacher will cut out several paper watermelons, add a number to each one, and ask children to put the appropriate number of seeds on each watermelon. Students are encouraged to write the corresponding number.

 

Library- Students are invited to read books about our theme, plants.

 

Writing- Students will write letters on a sheet of construction paper.  They can glue seeds onto the letter.  The teacher will talk with students about words that start with the letter.

 

Sensory- Students will be able to play with their own individual containers of play-doh.

 

For more information on the Lesson Plan, click HERE!!

 

If there are any questions regarding the Pre-K for All program that cannot be answered by the office or classroom teacher, please feel free to contact the HelpLine at 888-227-8175

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week of April 4th!!

WEEKLY REMINDERS

  

In-person tours have resumed at OLQM.

• Parents must have a mask on when entering the building. 
• The tour will run approximately from 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM so as to not interfere with snack/lunch nap periods. 

 Tours this week: 

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Parents of students in Mrs. Gonzalez's Class

Parents of students in Mrs. Serbones' Class

Parents of Students in Ms. Ocasio's class.

Mr. Woods and Mrs. Zogda will be available after 

the tour for any questions.

 

• Friday, April 8th- We are having our Spring Pizza Party. 

• Easter Recess 2022- April 11th - April 24^th

• School Resumes April 25th

• Please remember to send sleeping mats to school. 

• There are no early pickup/appointments etc. - if there is an appointment the child should remain home.

• All parents etc. coming near the building are required to have a mask on their face for the safety of all students and staff.

 

   Unit Topic:

• Water

 Essential Question for the Unit:

• What does water do?

  Focus Questions for this Week:

• How does water help us? 

 

Focused Learning activity for the week:

Carnation Flower Experiment 

 

• Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Madera will work with students in the Science Center.  The teacher will supply students with a container of colored water. The students will be invited to add carnation flowers to the water.  The teacher will ask students to predict what will happen if you leave the flowers in the water overnight.  The teacher will record students’ predictions and invite them to monitor the flowers periodically.  As the colored water becomes visible in the flower petals, the teacher will invite students to discuss how carnation flower transports the water.  The following day, the teacher will refer back to students’ predictions to summarize and draw conclusions.  The teacher will inform students that water helps move nutrients through plants. This helps plants stay alive.  Without water, plants will start to wilt and eventually die.

 

Open ended questions

• What did you observe here/when ____?
• What did your sense of ____ tell you about ____? 
• I wonder what would happen if ____?
• How do you know? How could we find out?

 

 

Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard Addressed:

·PK.SCI.5: Plans and conducts investigations to determine how familiar plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive in the environment. 

 

Foundational Text for the Week:

• Ivy and the Lonely Raincloudby Katie Harnet

Link to the foundational text HERE!!

 

 

QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE ASKED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK RELATED TO THE FOUNDATIONAL TEXT:

 

Level 1: Recall

• Why was the raincloud sad at the beginning of the book?
• Where did the raincloud look for a friend?

Level 2: Skill/Concept

• No one wanted to be friends with the raincloud. Why?
• Ivy was grumpy for most of the book. Why was Ivy so grumpy?
• How did the raincloud help Ivy?

Level 3: Strategic Thinking

• Why can it be nice to have friends?
• How did Ivy and the raincloud grow beautiful flowers together?

Level 4: Extended Thinking

• At the end of the book, it looks like the raincloud was inside the flower shop with Ivy. What would you think if you went in a store and there was a raincloud there? What would you do?
• Rain from the raincloud helped Ivy grow beautiful plants, how does water help you?

Lessons and activities for the week:

 

Blocks- Pictures of bridges will be added to the center. Students are encouraged to try to build bridges. 

Pretend Play- Large cardboard boxes will be added to Pretend Play for students to pretend they are in a boat. 

 

Art- Students are invited to draw a picture with crayons. They may choose to draw an underwater or rainy day scene. After their drawings are complete, watercolor paints will be used to lightly paint over their crayon drawings. 

Science- Students are invited to sort animals into two categories: those that live in water and those that live on land. 

 

Math- Seashells will be added to math center. Students will be able to match the correct number of shells to a number card. 

 

Library- Students are invited to read books about or theme, water.

 

Writing- Students will be asked the question, "Where can we find water?" and be asked to write or draw their answers.

 

Sensory- Sand and water, or play-doh.

 

For more information on the Lesson Plan, HERE!

 

Please always make sure to read the OLQM School Blog for additional information, located HERE!

 

If there are any questions regarding the Pre-K for All program that cannot be answered by the office or classroom teacher, please feel free to contact the Help Line at 888-227-8175