December Newsletter

Little Valley Learners Newsletter

November was a blur. It felt excessively long, but also flew by. I’m not sure how that works. We got a great snow storm just in time for our lesson on winter and then dove into all things Thanksgiving. I loved adding feathers to our turkey on the wall with the things they are thankful for. A few favorites that made me laugh or warmed my heart were: pink, hugs, knees and the table. There were lots of mom and dad feathers on our turkey. I want to thank you all again for being so gracious with me when I canceled school the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Let me tell you it was well used. Lincoln was in heaven playing with his brother and we got in a lot of quality family time. 

Caterpillars and Butterflies 

Dec. 5-9: The letter K, numbers 0-3, the color green, shape: star, Christmas, mid year assessment

Dec. 12-16:Review of letters A-K, numbers 0-3, the color green, shape: star, Christmas

I am still undecided on a Christmas party. I will let you know more information. If we do have one it will be on the 15th. 

Dec. 19-30: Winter Break

I am so grateful to each of you for trusting me to teach your children. I have had so much fun with them and look forward to continuing as we finish up this calendar year and move into 2023. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your Christmas season is filled with happiness, peace and lasting memories. 

Keep reading!

The Newsletter will be posted on the blog as well as sent out in an email and a copy will be sent home with your child.  

November Newsletter

 Little Valley Learners Newsletter

Another month in the books! We had a lot of fun in October with some really fun crafts from Donuts to Frankenstein. My personal favorite was the mammal footprint painting craft. I was nervous to do the paint, especially with the younger group, but they did amazing and they turned out so cute! I don’t know about you, but my refrigerator is becoming an art museum. 

I’m sad to see our beautiful fall weather leave. I feel like it was an exceptional year for fall. Not too excited about snow this early, but heaven knows we need it. Send your kids with a coat and good shoes, I’m going to still try and let them play outside. We will see how they do. If it’s too cold, we will have to be creative with some fun inside activities. 

Caterpillars (age 3)

Nov. 1-4: The letter G, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Winter

Nov. 7-11: The letter H, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Spring

Nov. 14-18: The letter I, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Summer

Nov. 21-25: numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Gratitude NO SCHOOL ON THANKSGIVING

Nov. 28- Dec. 2: The letter G, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, My family

Butterflies (age 4)

Nov. 1-4: The letter G, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Winter

Nov. 7-11: The letter H, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Spring

Nov. 14-18: The letter I, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Summer

Nov. 21-25: numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, Gratitude NO SCHOOL ON THANKSGIVING

Nov. 28- Dec. 2: The letter G, numbers 8-10, the color yellow, shape: triangle, My family

Keep reading!

The Newsletter will be posted on the blog as well as sent out in an email and a copy will be sent home with your child.  

September highlights

 What an adventure the first month of preschool has been. I am learning every day and I love it! It's been a bit exhausting, but so worth it. These kids are amazing and so fun. I love them! Thank you for trusting me with your little learner. 

In September we talked about letter A-C and numbers 1-3. We got to do sensory bins, lots of coloring, sorted, counted and ate gummy bears, we read 14 books, made cookies, learned new songs, played outside (a lot), played inside, ate snacks and really just learned how to be at preschool. 

               

         

               

October Newsletter

 

Little Valley Learners Newsletter

Hello October! We made it through the first month. I think the kids and I all needed some adjustment time, but I think we’ve got it. They are each so unique and they are doing really well! I love them!  A lot of preschool, especially the first year, is exposure. Some things will stick and others will be great exposure for them, and will help prepare them for it to stick the next time they see it. I have to remind myself of this when I ask them what letter says b, b, b and they shout APPLE! 

Caterpillars (age 3)

Oct. 3-7: The letter D, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square, Mammals

Oct.10-14:  The letter E, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square NO SCHOOL ON THE 13TH FOR FALL BREAK

Oct. 17-21:  The letter F, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square, How to read a book

Oct. 24-28:  Halloween, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square, Halloween Party

* The Halloween Party will be on the 27th with both classes meeting together from 10-12

Butterflies (age 4)

I was a bit ambitious with trying to do two letters each week. They need both days to really work on things. This class does move through things quicker since there are fewer students so we get to do more activities. I have decided to just continue with one letter a week and extra activities. 

Oct. 3-7: The letter D, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square, Mammals

Oct.10-14:  The letter E, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square NO SCHOOL ON THE 13TH FOR FALL BREAK

Oct. 17-21:  The letter F, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square, How to read a book

       

Oct. 24-28:  Halloween, numbers 4-7, the color orange, shape: square, Halloween Party

* The Halloween Party will be on the 27th with both classes meeting together from 10-12

Please be reading with your child every day. Ideally for 20 minutes, but something is always better than nothing. If they have older siblings that can read, have them read aloud to your preschooler. It will help both kids!! There is a reading log attached to the newsletter and also a page for your child to color every time they read a book. The coloring page is just a fun page for them and doesn’t need to be returned. 

The Newsletter will be posted on the blog as well as sent out in an email and a copy will be sent home with your child.  

September Newsletter

 

Little Valley Learners Newsletter

Happy September! I am so excited to get this school year started with your little learner! My goal is to have a Newsletter out at the beginning of each month, with a learning plan for each week. I’m going to reserve the right to change it, but will do my best to stick to it. I’ve been going over the state standards for ages 3 and 4 to familiarize myself with what these kiddos need to be learning. A lot of it is fine and gross motor skills and social skills. The math and reading skills are very basic at this age, but I will do my best to meet your child where they are and help them to progress. If they are more advanced, I’ll try to challenge them and help them to continue on their accelerated path. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like your child isn’t “excelling”. We know that every child is different and like popcorn kernels, they each pop when they are ready. 

Caterpillars (age 3)

Sept. 5-9: About me bags, routines (calendar time, lining up, daily schedule, classroom jobs), bathroom, fire drill, Body Safety, assessments 

Sept. 12-16: The letter A, the number 1, the color red, shape: circle, Emotions, finish assessments

Sept. 19-23: The letter B, the number 2, the color red, shape: circle, Making Friends

Sept. 26-30: The letter C, the number 3, the color red, shape: circle, Autumn

Butterflies (age 4)

Sept. 5-9: About me bags, routines (calendar time, lining up, daily schedule, classroom jobs, etc.), bathroom, fire drill, Body Safety, assessments

Sept. 12-16: The letters A&B , numbers 1&2, the color red, shape: circle, Emotions, finish assessments

Sept. 19-23: The letters C&D, numbers 3&4, the color red, shape: circle, Making Friends

Sept. 26-30: The letter E&F, numbers 5&6, the color red, shape: circle, Autumn

Please be reading with your child every day. Ideally for 20 minutes, but something is always better than nothing. If they have older siblings that can read, have them read aloud to your preschooler. It will help both kids!! There is a reading log attached to the newsletter and also a page for your child to color every time they read a book. The coloring page is just a fun page for them and doesn’t need to be returned. 

Open House

 I am so glad I did the open house. It was so great to meet all the little kids and you! I am so excited to start preschool and get to know all of these little people and their personalities. 

It's been busy trying to get things all ready and I'm sure there will be many adjustments made as I figure out what will work best for the kids and myself. I hope you'll be patient and understanding with me. I am going to try to send out a monthly newsletter as well as post it here. It will have highlights of what we've been doing as well as an overview of the next months topics and activities. I am always open to suggestions! 

I didn't get a single picture from the open house, but I will try to do better as we move forward into the school year. 

Get to know the teacher

Hello! I'm Miss Cathy and I love to learn!!

Since I was little I have loved school. I was so excited to finally start school. In the third grade I was hospitalized for pneumonia and I cried and cried because I was missing school. I always wanted to be a teacher, but for whatever reason I went into communications when I went off to college. Finally in 2015 I decided to go back to school to become a teacher. I got a Masters in Elementary Education and started teaching 2nd grade in 2017. After my first year I got married. After my second year I had a baby and decided to take a break from teaching to stay home with my baby. I'm excited to be back teaching again.

I am originally from a small town in Idaho. I'm the oldest of 5 children. Babysitting was my first job and I still talk with some of the kids I used to babysit. Let's not talk about how they have kids of their own now. I love to be outside, quilt, run, read, spend time with my family and sleep. I've been married 4 years and I have 4 kids. 2 stepkids: Kylie (17) and Ethan (15) and two of my own: Lincoln (3) and Olivia (1).