Hi Everyone!

October sure went by like a whirlwind! We are now getting into holiday season and we'll be focusing on <strong><em>Family</em></strong> in November and December. If you haven't started putting together your family box, please do so. We're having each child talk about their boxes in front of the class because they are so special. We will also be learning about web-making by making family webs. If you don't have a photo on the family tree, it would be great if you would put one up. We'll be glad to take pictures for you.

Thanks to all of you who helped make our <strong>Halloween</strong> party so much fun by sending in treats, sharing pictures and helping with the parade. Our 4th/5th grade buddies came down at the end of the day and we had a great time with them, too.

We'll be having another celebration this Friday (Nov. 9) as Rikesh and his family share their Diwali Festival with us. Diwali is the Hindu New Year. Here's what the Diwali website says:

<em>One of the biggest festivals of         Hindus, Deepawali or <strong>Diwali in India</strong> is celebrated with lots of         enthusiasm and happiness. This festival is celebrated for five         continuous days, with the third day being celebrated as the main Diwali         or as <strong>'Festival of Lights'.</strong> Fireworks are always associated with         this festival. The day is celebrated with people lighting diyas, candles         all around their house. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening to seek         divine blessings of Goddess of Wealth. Diwali gifts are exchanged among         all near and dear ones.</em>

This month we'll also be learning about an opera, <em><strong>The Magic Flute</strong></em>. Rikesh's mom works at the Lyric and has put  some software on our computers for the children to explore this fun opera further. What makes the Magic Flute fun this time of year is that we are watching the days get shorter and the nights get longer, a perfect time to learn about the Zoroastro (the sun) and the Queen of the Night. We'll be exploring the properties of light throughout November and December.

Some highlights from the classroom:   We started music class with Mr. Ben who comes from Music Together with Marsha Melsheimer. Mr. Ben has promised to help us with some Beatles songs, as well as his own program. In art we learned about color mixing with playdough. FYI, in case you are as illiterate in art as I am, the best colors to mix are not red, blue and yellow but <strong><em>MAGENTA</em></strong>, <strong><em>CYAN</em></strong>, and <em>YELLOW</em>. The children are learning the names of these colors.

We are continuing to learn about alphabet and many of the children are learning the alphabet in sign. We have several ways for our students to learn, with signing being one of them (kinesthetic). We also have sand block letters, letter cubes. magnet letter boards, magnetic letters, sand form letters, play dough cut-outs, and of course, signing in and journals. We also have fun with our alphabet book by the dance troupe, Pilobolus, who make letters with their bodies. **Please make sure your child finds their name on the attendance board and signs in after they wash their hands.

We are also learning a lot about counting. We count in English and Spanish. We are learning to count starting from different numbers. We count forward and backward. We even count by different numbers (2's, 5's and 10's or more!). Most children don't "get" the higher numbers, but they are hearing them and hearing the pattern of numbers. What we expect is that by the time they leave preschool, they have strong number sense to 5. What we hope is that they will have that to 10 or more. Some children with strong math skills will get the number pattern and have strong counting skills past 100!

<strong>**Everyday Math</strong>: We have started a new math curriculum designed for preschool that is in line with the one used by the rest of the school. Everyday Math Preschool Edition is less structured than what they will encounter in kindergarten, more focused on games to teach math, and has a strong home connection to it. I'll be sending home information so please check your mail boxes.  Jeff Gillespie, Bethanie Smith and I were all part of the project that this curriculum together so we know it well.

Parker Buddies

Every year we get regular visitors from Francis Parker School. 6th, 7th and 8th grade students earn their community service hours by coming to our preschool rooms to play with us, read with us, and do activities with us. Parker Buddies come monthly, along with their teacher and parent chaperones.

<strong>What We're Planning</strong>

Besides learning about opera and families, we're going to be reading a lot about Native Americans. You may notice on your calendar that there is a Powwow at the UIC Pavilion on Nov. 17 and 18. Ms. Robin and I will be attending and if you'd like to join us, please let us know. Ms. Robin is Ojibwe and was raised on a reservation in Ontario, Canada.

We will continue to learn about shapes, both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional. We'll be exploring movement properties of shapes as well as how they look and feel. You can help us by exploring shapes with your child. What shapes do you see in your home? On the way to school? How do they fit together or not fit together? Puzzles are a great way to explore the properties of shape, so doing a puzzle together is fun and educational.

Since we're learning about family, we'll be learning about one of the most famous families of all: The Three Bears. There are many versions of this fabulous tale and we'll be exploring many of them.

HOUSEKEEPING:

*Don't forget picture day (Tuesday, Nov. 6 in the morning). You must have cash in the filled out envelope by tomorrow morning.

*Scholastic Books: I'm a little behind so I'll send the November calendar out this week. The orders will be due on Friday, Nov. 16.

*Parent Conferences: We're unable to do conferences this week with the rest of the school. I will let you know when we have a date set up.

*POTLUCK DINNER: Mark your calendars! We're planning to make this a literacy night, so you'll get to see how we're learning to read as well as sharing great meals. You may bring in home-cooked meals to share. The children will be doing some cooking as well.

*Please include mittens or gloves as the weather gets colder. You may want to leave a sweater in your child's cubby as well slippers. PLEASE LABEL YOUR CHILD'S CLOTHING!!! It is very hard for us to keep track of what belongs to whom and it is impossible for the children to do this. We have sharpies available in the classroom.

*If your child has a major health issue, we must notify the school nurse. This is especially true for asthma and allergies severe enough for us to keep an epi-pin. PLEASE SEE ME.

Have a great week!