Miss Amber’s Preschool Class

1. Miss Amber’s Preschool Class

2. My name is Amber Hasan and I will be your child’s preschool teacher. I have been teaching preschool at Rice for 9 years and love teaching this grade level. I believe that every child should leave preschool with a love for school and confidence in their ability to learn. is for Books. Your child will have two communication books for the school year—one for the classroom and one for the therapists working with your child to communicate with you. Scholastic Book Club orders will be coming home each month. We receive free books for our classroom library with bonus points that we earn from each book order. Books can be ordered online with our classroom code.

3. is for Creative Curriculum and Conferences. Our program utilizes the Creative Curriculum, which is a research-based preschool program with an emphasis on “exploration and discovery as a way of learning.” The curriculum focuses on social and emotional development, physical skills, cognitive development, language, literacy, math, science and technology, social studies, and the arts. Conferences will be held in November and March. Every child will receive a conference in November, while March conferences may be requested by either the parent or teacher. is for our Discipline techniques. Most disruptive behaviors in the classroomare addressed through redirection, giving choices, and purposeful ignoring. Short time-outs may be used for aggressive behaviors. Each child has his/her own needs, and behaviors will be addressed accordingly.

4. very Friday is Show-and-Tell! Children love to share information about themselves and their families. On Fridays, the children have an opportunity to bring in something special to show their classmates. Some weeks there may be a theme to show-and-tell that coordinates with our theme or study.

5. is for Handwriting Without Tears. The afternoon class will participate in a handwriting group each Wednesday with Miss Melissa, one of our occupational therapists. It is a fun group that uses a multisensory approach to teaching children to form the uppercase letters. is for Interest Areas. Our classroom is organized into six interest areas, or centers. They are the pretend center, blocks, puzzles and games (math), literacy center, art center, and discovery center.

6. is for Kindergarten. As children age out of the preschool program, they need to be re-evaluated to determine eligibility for services as a school-aged child. We begin planning for these re-evaluations during November and March conferences. is for language development and literacy, two areas that go hand-in-hand. Language development is a major focus of our preschool program, and your child is encouraged to expand his/her language skills throughout the school day in a variety of ways. Some of the literacy skills we work on throughout the year include story comprehension, letter recognition, rhyming, beginning letter sounds, print awareness, and writing.

7. is for Math. We incorporate math skills throughout our school day. Math concepts that we focus on include rote and object counting, comparing sets of objects, numeral recognition, patterns, shape identification, and spatial relationships. is for Nurse and Newsletter! Mrs. Lois Shaya is the nurse for Rice School. We have a weekly classroom newsletter that keeps you informed of our weekly theme, class activities, and upcoming events. The newsletter is typically sent through email.

8. is for PARTY! School and state policy permits five classroom parties each year. The room parents will usually organize these events and coordinate volunteers and donations. Birthdays are very special occasions in the life of a young child. Although birthday snacks and goodie bags are not permitted in school, your child’s special day will be celebrated in the classroom in other ways.

9. is for Themes and Technology. Our activities each week will be centered around a theme or study. Studies are driven by student interests and may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. We have ipads in the classroom for student use. They will be used as a center activity on certain days. We are also sharing a SmartBoard with another preschool class.

10. is for Vacations. The preschool calendar differs from the school district calendar. Preschool students do not come to school when there is a half-day or delayed opening. Also, every other Friday is a teacher planning day and children do not attend school on these days.

11. is for having eXtra clothes! In the event of a bathroom accident, we will send your child’s soiled clothes home in a plastic bag. Please promptly return a set of clean clothes for us to keep in our classroom bathroom.