Please join us for the Garrison Mill Educational Foundation’s BIG fundraiser of the year!  Our ultimate goal is to enhance the Science and Technology curriculum.  By using only Garrison Mill volunteers for the auction 100% of the profits will go directly to our school!

Please help us meet our goal by returning the following form by Friday, January 21st.  Download Auction Tickets and Donations form

Thank you!

October 7, 2010

Just a quick note to inform you of some upcoming events.  Please send in a white t-shirt for your child to decorate.  It does not have to be new, and should be pre-washed if it is new.  We are going to spray dye the shirt next week.  I did this two years ago and it went well.  Be sure to have the shirt here by Tuesday, October 12th.

The grandparents luncheon has been scheduled and we are tentatively on for Wednesday, November 17th at 10:40.  As in the past, we will get our lunches from the cafeteria and come back to the room to eat.  More information will follow.

Color Unit

Last week, and for the next two weeks, we will be learning about colors. We read Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Seeger, and will be reading A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni and Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll. These books review colors and talk about mixing colors to make new colors.

It is important to use color language yourself, so your child can understand the color names within the context and expand his/her use of adjectives... Can you make the blue train go through the tunnel?  Should we have green peas or yellow corn for dinner?  Do you want to wear your red sweater or your blue one?

Play the "I'm thinking of" game: I'm thinking of a color that is the color of the sky. What color am I thinking of?

Play "I Spy": I spy something green. What is it?

Related literature:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors? by Jane Yolen

My World of Color by Margaret Wise Brown

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

Rainbow Fish: Colors by Marcus Pfister

Elmer's Colors by David McKee

Parents, we have had a great time with the book on endangered animals, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?  We have talked about how the animals' homes, or habitats, are being destroyed or polluted.  We have discussed the need to take care of the forests and the oceans and Earth.  To culminate the unit, tomorrow we are planting a tree on the school grounds. 

After the break, we will begin a three week unit on Colors.  Thank you for sending in the small color items.  We will be making color posters to hang in our room.

I encourage you to take your child to the zoo or the aquarium next week.  We have just talked about African animals and some aquatic animals in our last two books, and a trip to actually see these animals would be a great learning and language reinforcer.  This is a wonderful time of year for the zoo, and I plan to go with my 17-year-old son next week as well.  See you there.

Dear Parents,

The first month of school is over!  Our first unit, About Me, was a resounding success.  The children were particularly fascinated with the book about the human body and everything inside.  We also had a lot of fun with the book about the 5 senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting all kinds of different things.  We have begun our unit on Animals, and are reading a book about animals and small creatures (science) who live in our neighborhood (social studies).  As with all our units, language development is a major focus.

Next week, we will be studying about animals (science) who live in Africa.  We will be talking about the Maasai tirbe in Tanzania and learning the names of animals and numbers in Swahili (social studies).  We will be counting the animals as we go (math).  This is one of my favorite books because there is so much wonderful information in it.

Our schedule has solidified.  Ms Andrea, our speech therapist, is here on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Circle, Snack and Centers.  Ms. Erin, the occupational therapist, is seeing children individually during our center time.  For the children who stay all day, we are going to Art with kindergarten on Mondays, computer lab on Tuesdays, and Music with kindergarten on Wednesdays.  We do Letter of the Week, Handwriting without Tears and a math activity Monday thru Thursday and focus on math on Fun Fridays.

Thank you for sending in school and snack supplies.  Our class is now well stocked.  Contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  My email address is Tracy.Kuehn@cobbk12.org.  That is the best way to get in touch with me.