Galaxy Room Update

This week we will continue our study of holiday traditions around the world. We have already covered Hannukkah, Kwanza, The Soltice and now we will turn our attention to St. Lucia's Day, The Posadas, and Christmas. Holiday program is set for Friday, December 18th at 3pm. Hope to see you there.

Here in the Galaxy Room, we are studying holiday traditions from around the world. We would like to encourage all students to realize that various people and cultures from around the world have different holidays and traditions that they celebrate and that we can all love and accept one another despite those differences. We have already covered Kwanza, The Solstice, and are currently discussing the history and traditions of Hannukkah. Next, we will move on to St. Lucia's Day, The Posadas, and Christmas. Our holiday program will be December 18th @ 3pm and you are all welcome to attend and invite friends and families as well.

Here in the Galaxy Room we are studying North America. We have been learning to identify all the continents by name and location and cardinal directions. The students have been learning to create their own compass rose, and reading maps of our school, our classroom, our neighborhood and the landmarks on the North, South, East and West side of each. This helps them in the process of understanding maps, directions and locations. We are also learning the various biomes of North America, and the plants, and animals of each. In the upcoming week we will continue to learn about the history of North America, more specifically, the United States of America. How it originated, the Native people of America and their culture and way of life. We will focus specifically on the Pilgrim voyage and early settlement in America and their relations with the Wampanoag tribe, Squanto and the first Thanksgiving. In afternoon kindergarten, we will also be incorporating more about Early America, the thirteen colonies, Louis and Clark expedition, and Louisiana Purchase. As a class, we are learning traditional songs about America, the history of the songs, and the composers. We will be learning to identify significant states (those of significance to each of us, and of course New York, Washington D.C., Florida, California, The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, etc.) If there is a state in which friends or relatives live, or that your child remembers visiting on vacation, be sure to let us know so we can make mention of this in our discussions and mark it on our map!!

Hello Galaxy Room Families! This week we are 'blasting off' into our space unit!! We will be studying the solar system and all that it consists of. We will also begin our study of Vincent Van Gogh and Sebastian Bach. We will review the letter sound 'Tt'. Everyone may plan to bring an item from home beginning with the 't' sound and present it to the class on Friday. At home, you could reinforce these things by: taking a moment to look up at the stars, moon, etc. and just open up discussion about space; look up some of Van Gogh's works of art on line; listen to some of Bach's music; create your very own 't' collage from magazines and such; create a letter t on dark paper with glue, then salt on top. If you don't have time for any of these, be sure to talk about these topics in the car and try to find out what they've learned. All students may not open up at first, but keep asking, and eventually they will tell! Remember, if it is important to you, it will be important to them. Also, we've been learning to dance to music with our rhythym sticks. Ask your child to demonstrate rhythym sticks with their 'pretend rhythym sticks' (fingers) and teach you some of the songs!!

Here in the Galaxy Room we are really 'Blasting Off' in the new school year! We are currently studying the human body beginning with body parts, facial parts and now the skeleton too! Mr. Bones is our new friend who is visiting our room right now so that the students can have the opportunity to view a skeleton and identify its bones and compare them to the structure of their own body. They will have the opportunity to take apart and assemble a small skeleton. We have some nifty slogans to help them remember all the bones as well. We also began learning about Picasso and some of his work this week. S is our sound of the week and share day will be Friday so bring something that begins with SSSSSSSS. Have fun!

July 12th

This week we are going to the Water Park at Loose Park on Friday! Details are soon to come check your child's folder on Wednesday. Last week we had a great time learning about the ocean and on Friday we had two special snacks. Thank you Ms. Shawna for the sea shell/ sand dollar treat, and Sophia's parents for the Sea of Jello. Hope the weekend went swimmingly and see you tomorrow.

GALAXY ROOM NEWS WEEKS OF MAY 11-22

Due to a change in my father’s illness Friday was my last regular day for this school year, I will see you all for the fall term. I truly have enjoyed all the children and will greatly miss those who will be continuing own next year at other schools. I know that they will do great wherever they go.
We have had many exciting adventures the last two weeks. Cowboy Bob came and spoke to us about his marathons on the North Pole & Antarctica. He showed us pictures & let us try on some of the layers he had to wear, including the boots with a 3-inch sole. We cannot wait for him to come back next year and tell us about his adventures on the other continents.
The children did such a great job performing the hula at International day and their displays were fantastic. We learned a lot.
We have had many Celebrations of Life this last couple of weeks. We celebrated Ian & Joshua turning 3 years old last Thursday and Friday and will celebrate Maren turning 3 years old on Tuesday.
This week is Spirit Week with a different item for each day, Tuesday-Crazy Socks, Wednesday-Wacky Hair and Thursday-Favorite Book -please bring one of your favorite books to read with your friends.
The end of this school year is coming to a close quickly, be sure to take home your child’s Grass Head that is in the classroom window and clean out your cubbies this week. Please turn in all library books by Thursday, May 28.
The school will be closed the 1st week of June to clean & prepare for the summer term. June 8th will be the first day of the summer term. Everyone will be receiving end of year reports and updates by the beginning of summer term look for them in the mail or by e-mail. If you do not receive, one please let me know. If there are, any questions during the summer please feel free to call or e-mail.
I have taken our classroom’s believed stuffed elephant Elmer with me and will be sending pictures & postcards from our adventures in Colorado. Encourage your child to practice their writing skills this summer by sending letters to me. I have left my parent’s address with Ms. Sara.
Here is a list of the events happening in the last few weeks of school:

May 25th - No school - (Memorial Day)
May 26th - Maren’s COL @ 3pm
May 27th - Ladybug release & presentation by Powel Gardens @ Global
May 29th - 1/2 Day-Last Day of School Picnic at Westwood Park @ 12
Food @ 12, activities start @ 1pm & field day @ 1:30pm
June 1-5th - No School Teacher In-service/work day (Private childcare avail. see sign in board)

Have a fantastic summer,
Ms. Mel
Ms. Lora
Galaxy Room

GALAXY ROOM NEWS WEEK OF MAY 4-8

This week we had a pared-down Cinco de Mayo festival with chips & salsa, read about Antarctica and penguins, worked on Mother’s day gifts, and practiced for international day.
The children are doing great with the Fish & Poi song but please still practice at home. I will send home/attach the lyrics and hand movements for the song.
I cannot believe how fast the end of the year is coming. Lora & I have talked to the children some about the changes that will be happening for the summer and fall. As some of you know, Ms. Lora will be leaving us at the end of this school year. She will be pursuing her Elementary Montessori credtianial with the KCMO school district. Ms. Sara from the toddler room will be our new assistant. Many of the children already know her from her work in after care, toddler room and as a substitute in our room. I will be taking a leave of absence this summer to spend time with my father who is ill. I will be with the children until June 15th & will be returning for the fall semester. We have a great Montessori trained teacher who has been working with middle school students but is trained in primary as well, named Libby, and she will be the lead teacher for the summer. Some of the children may be feeling many emotions at this time of year. If your child seems sad, just listening and helping to give them the words for their feelings is important. We will have many friends moving on to new schools this summer and in the fall. We will also have many new friends joining us.
Please be sure to check your child’s cubbie and bring in at least one full change of clothes labeled including socks & underwear. If you are spring-cleaning and happen to have outgrown shorts, dresses and pants both for girls & boys we could use a few for the extra clothes box. Some of the items seem to have not made it back and others the children have outgrown.
International Day will be at noon on Friday the 22nd. You can bring in your displays in the morning when you drop your children off.

Here is a list of the events happening in the last few weeks of school:

May 19th –Board Mtg. -6pm-All are welcome
May 22nd- International Day 12 pm in Fillmore chapel
May 25th- No school - (Memorial Day)
May 29th –1/2 Day-Last Day of School Picnic at Westwood Park @ 12


Happy Mother’s Day!!!!!

Ms. Mel
Ms. Lora
Galaxy Room

GALAXY ROOM NEWS WEEK OF APRIL 20th -24th

I’m glad to have been back for this great week. We had a lot of fun & learned a little too.
We started our week with visits from our two toddler friends that will be moving up on May 1st - Rhys’ little brother Ian and Marin.
On Wednesday, we celebrated Earth day with a visit from JoHo the storyteller and all learned to how to be a C.H.E.R.U.B. (Children Helping the Earth Remain Utterly Beautiful.) We even had parts in all the stories, some of us were lions, elephants, geese, polar bears and trees. All the children have planted grass heads that they will get to bring home once they sprout some hair. They will need regular haircuts just like the grass in our yards.
Thursday was a very exciting day. Cece started the day by giving a presentation on a special research project she has been working on about domestic cats during morning circle. Then a visit from Delta Dental’s Tooth Wizard and his nasty pal the Plaque man. We learned how to take care of our teeth and send the Plaque man packing; some of us even had a chance to brush huge teeth & be a part of the floss lesson. Before lunch Ms. Victoria’s son Jackson came to class as part of “Bring Your Child To Work” day and did a PowerPoint presentation and read a story to us about Australian animals. He wants to be a teacher when he grows up and had a chance to see what it would be like. He left us a great book for our class to read year after year. Then at the end of the day, we had Ms. Lora’s Celebration of Life and shared in her wonderful news that she will soon be a mom.
Our new Eden Alley lunch program is going great; just remember to sign up on the Galaxy Room list by 10:30. The food comes piping hot on our new plates everyday at 12:30.
This next week we will begin practicing for our International day performance on Friday, May 22nd. Please let me know if your child will not be here that day to perform or if they are planning to attend and this isn’t a regularly scheduled day for your child. We will be performing a children’s traditional Hula dance. The performance will be at 11am in the Fillmore Chapel. After the performance, all presentations that the children and their families have done will be on display in the hallway and classroom D. You are not required to do this, but the children seem to really enjoy putting together a display or even just making a dish from a country that they are from or one they want to know more about. Families have brought everything from family photos and favorite dishes to doll collections, music, and even a brick pyramid. Some people choose to do a poster board or even a photo spread presentation. If you will need anything special for yours please let me know and most of all have fun with it.
Snack & participation list will be up by Friday of this week. Please try to bring items in early; we are out of most snack foods.

Namaste,
Ms. Mel
Ms. Lora

Galaxy Room News week Of April 6th - 10th

Hope you all had a great holiday with your families and are ready to get back to work.
Thank you to all the parents who helped with the Eggs this week. It was so nice to have the natural foods to use for dying so the children could see and taste them. Also thanks to the parents who helped with the actual dying and hiding, the children really appreciate it and so do I.
We finished the alphabet this week with the “Y” and “Z” sounds. We will be reviewing and working on blends the rest of the school year. Please continue to work with your children at home on the sounds of the alphabet.
With it being springtime, please be sure to check your child’s cubbie for both long & short sleeve shirts and extra pants & socks. The children seem to go through many clothes this time of year.
I am attaching the library book check-out slip again; incase you still need one, please fill out and return if you would like your child to check out a book. Children may check out one book at a time and keep it for as long as they would like. Some children bring them back the next day and others keep it for a few months. Every time your child brings a book back, they get to check out another book. All books will need to be returned by Thursday, May 28th.
We are still in need of a few more items on the monthly participation list. If you haven’t already signed up there are still a few things left that have been highlighted.
Here is a list of upcoming items to put on your calendars:
Tuesday, April 21st -Board Mtg. (childcare Avail. If pre-arranged)
Wednesday, April 22nd -Earth Day-JoHo Story Teller Assembly
Thursday, April 23rd – Ms. Lora's Birthday
Thursday, April 23rd – Smile Land Assembly by Delta Dental

- -- - -- --- -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---- --- ---- --- --- ---- ---- --- ---- ----

I,_________________ give permission to my child/children______________ to check out books from the Kansas City Public Library Books to Go program. I agree to pay for or replace any book damaged or lost while in my child/children’s possession.


Signature & Date

Print Name

Namaste,
Ms. Mel
Ms. Lora

GALAXY ROOM NEWS WEEK OF MARCH 30th -APRIL 3rd

We are off to a good start for April. We had Lina's Celebration of Life on Tuesday and ate some delicious homemade apple cake and a type of creampuff pastry filled with chocolate or vanilla pudding.
We thought of a lot of “W” words and only a few words that started with “X”. For the week of April 6th we will be finishing the alphabet with “Y” and “Z”.
I'm sure with us starting our study of the green continent, Africa, that our friends should be able to think of some great words this week.
At lunch time we are talking about what foods are healthy and good for us, and that we should eat those foods first. We are also talking about which foods are okay in small quantities and those that should be eaten after the good-for-us foods. Some healthy choices we have talked about are soup, sandwiches with whole wheat bread, tacos, beans, carrots, broccoli, tofu, oranges, apples, strawberries, and yogurt. The foods that are okay in a small quantity or on occasion are chips, pudding and juices. Also, the children are opening their own lunches and would find it helpful if their lunches had either easy-open containers or plastic baggies that the food could be put in. The plastic baggies can be returned each day to be refilled. Some other easy-open reusable containers are used yogurt containers and screw-top containers.
If you are signed up to bring items for the egg dying please remember to have them here by Wednesday. Also please save the egg cartons & any green strawberry basket you may have and bring them to us.

Here is a list of upcoming items to put on your calendars:

Tuesday,April 7th – Ms. Victoria’s Birthday
Thursday, April 9th- Egg Dying
Friday,April 10th - Egg Hunt
Monday,April 13th -Teacher In-service/No School or Childcare
Tuesday,April 21st -Board Mtg. (childcare Avail. If arranged)
Wednesday, April 22nd -Earth Day-JoHo Story Teller here
Thursday, April 23rd – Ms. Lora's Birthday
Thursday, April 23rd – Smile Land Assembly


Namaste,
Ms. Mel
Ms. Lora

Easter Egg hunt info

Dear Parents,
For the Easter Egg Hunt on Friday the 10th we will need parent volunteers to hide the eggs and help with the hunt. We will also need 4 parents to bring in 1 dz hard boiled eggs by Wed.,the 8th and 4 parents to bring in 12 dz plastic eggs. We need 2 parents to volunteer to help with dying the Easter Eggs, we will be using natural dyes and possibly some of the regular egg dyes. I will also be posting the snack list on the door and we will need the items for the Egg dying by Wednesday the 8th. Those items will be highlighted. Look for more updates.
Ms. Mel

New Morning Schedule

Dear Parents,
Please remember starting tomorrow morning Wednesday, April 1st class starts at 8:30am. Children are to have slippers on and be at circle no later then 8:45. If your child is not in circle at this time they will have to wait until we are finished with our morning routine before joining the class and will have to wait in the coat room or office. The reason for this change in schedule is so the children can have at least a 2hr uninterrupted work time and go outside, weather permitting. Thank you for your cooperation with this schedule change.
Ms. Mel
Galaxy Room

GALAXY ROOM NEWS
WEEKS OF MARCH 9-13 & MARCH 23-27

Welcome back; hope you all had a great spring break. The room has been very busy lately and the children really earned the time off.
We had a great St. Patrick’s Day celebration and a wonderful visit from the dentist.
We learned the Irish jig and that “Colleen” is the Gaelic word for “girl”, and Ireland is an island and part of the continent of Europe. Thanks to Rhys & Lina’s families we also had French food, listened to Peter & The Wolf and looked up words in a French dictionary.
Ask your children about good for your teeth snacks that they should choose and the tooth brushing song. We will be brushing every day after lunch with the new schedule in April.
It was nice to speak with all the parents at the spring conferences while the children had a great day collaborating with the Rainbow Room.
A few of the children returned their Library permission slips and have checked out the Library books. Please remember to return the permission slip if you want your children to be able to take home library books to read with you.
With spring upon us we will be learning about plants, flowers, and gardens and planting some seeds of our own. We will also be talking about the weather and the water cycles that help our gardens grow.
We will look at the continents of Africa & Australia this month too. If you have anything to share about these continents please let me know. I have a feeling that we will be playing “Fear is not a Factor” with some taste testing.
There will also be an Egg hunt and the children will be dying the eggs. You will get more information on how many eggs we will need and how you can participate.
Kevin & Lina will both have Celebrations of Life this week. Kevin will be 5 years old and Lina will be 4 years old.
This Saturday, March 28th is Earth Hour. Please turn off your lights for an hour at 8:30pm. Read books or play board games by flashlights or do a shadow play or just sit quietly listening to the sounds of the night. For more information or to play games go to http://www.earthhourkids.org/ or http://www.earthhourus.org/
Have a great week and I will see you all on the 30th.
Namaste,
Ms. Mel & Ms. Lora

Week of March 1st - 6th, 2009

On Tuesday, we saw the Paul Mesner production of Martha Speaks and had a great time. The children showed the great manners that they have been practicing all year.This week we celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday with vegan & vegetarian green eggs & ham. Most of the kids liked the eggs & vegan ham but not the tofu eggs. A little too hickory smoked.

We have started our study of Europe with some Leprechaun fun and a taste of France. On Friday, we had warm brie and baguettes for snack and listened to Pierre & Le Loup (Peter & the Wolf). Some of the children were able to pick out the instruments used for the different animals.

We are excited to start our Books to Go take home program just in time for spring break. Your child will be allowed to check out a book from our Books to Go Library program. They will have a special book bag with their name on it to take home the book they select. They can keep it up to a month and read it as many times as they like or return it right away and check out another. These are library books from the Kansas City Public Library system and we ask that you help teach your child how to care for them. We are asking that you sign a permission slip for your child to check these books out. It is attached at the bottom and once returned your child can start checking out some of the exciting books we got in. New books come in the 1st Thursday of every month.

With the weather turning warmer we were able to go outside and play but please remember just because the weather is warm does not mean the playground is dry. We will be going outside if the temperature is nice even if the ground is still wet.

All children will need a change of clothes including underwear and socks. Make sure that all clothes and jackets are labeled, so many of our friends wear the same size, and shop at the same places that changing time gets very confusing.