Senior Kindergarten

With the few days we’ve had on campus this week, it’s been all things snow! From sledding down the big hill to bringing snow into the classroom for a colorful twist and creating their own interpretations of real snowflakes, the children’s bright, smiling faces have certainly brought warmth to these chilly days. A ski lodge theme is on our minds for next week as we prepare the classroom to start our exciting new deep dive!

Before the break, we asked the children, “What haven’t you learned yet?” Many of their curious responses led us toward an exciting focus on all things science! We can’t wait to explore this together!

We had candy canes left over from the holidays so we turned it into a guessing game. The children eagerly took turns guessing how many were leftover. Their guesses ranged from 21,000 to a modest 44. While no one guessed the exact number, we revealed the number 40; a few were close! 

After making it all the way through the alphabet, we spent this short week reviewing all the letters and their sounds during phonics. We’re so proud of their progress and excited to move on to exploring letter combinations next!

For our Martin Luther King Jr. Day project, we’re going to relaunch the “Loving Littles for Laughlin Button Sale”! The children were hard at work creating these beautiful buttons that will be on sale beginning Wednesday during drop-off and pick-up in the gym. Each button will be $2 or 2 for $3! 

Stay Safe and Warm! 

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

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MLK Jr. Day of Service at Wheeling Country Day School embodies the spirit of community and action, inspiring students to make a difference in the lives of others. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?'” This day reminds us that even the youngest among us can contribute meaningfully to building a better world.
Early Childhood, Preschool/ Junior Kindergarten/ Senior Kindergarten, will be collecting hygiene items for Laughlin Chapel. Laughlin Chapel has been an active community center in Wheeling providing various programs for local young ones. These programs include after school care, meals, transportation and much more. This nonprofit organization offers these programs free of charge to those in need. To keep MLK’s giving spirit going, we decided to collect the following items to help keep their children clean and healthy.

The early childhood classes will also be holding our annual button sale with proceeds supporting Laughlin Chapel. Right now the children are in the process of creating the buttons. Stay tuned for more information on when the sale will begin. Thank you in advance for your constant support!

Please bring items to school before Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20th:

• 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner  (16 oz average size-not travel or mega)
• Dove soap-unscented
• Disposable razors
• Deodorant-preferable neutral (Ok for either gender)
• Chapstick
• Hair brushes
• Toilet paper

Last week we left one another teary-eyed, but cheerful and we reunited just the same. We hope your break was filled with lots of family time, yummy food, laughter, and love. We missed every single one of these kiddos and we’re so happy to have them back with us! While this week was short and cold it was magical nonetheless. We loved hearing the stories about all the adventures everyone took during our time apart and the beautiful memories they made with family. That’s what it’s all about!! We can hardly believe that it’s a new year and our school year is just about half way through. We can’t wait to create more magic than before continue to build our brains!

The snow hit us by surprise, but it’s good thing that we love surprises! In preparation for more snow to come, please be sure to send your child in with snow gear. This includes: a snowsuit/snow pants, waterproof gloves, snow boots, a hat, and extra clothes. When we get a good snow like the one we had today, please feel free to bring in your sleds! We just kindly ask that your child’s name is written on it and they don’t mind sharing with friends.

Have a wonderful, Winter Wonderland, weekend!
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

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Good Morning SK Families,

What??? A Gingerbread Man Loose in SK?? We have to catch him!

Our classroom has been full of warm and cozy smells of cinnamon and Christmas spices this week. After reading The Gingerbread Man Loose in School by Laura Murray, the children channeled their elf skills into preparing our space for Family Night. Together, they made cookies, worked hard decorating our Christmas tree with carefully strung lights and thoughtfully placed ornaments, cut coffee filters to craft beautiful snowflakes, and even practiced wrapping “blocks.”
The restaurant vibes are still going strong in the classroom! To embrace the season, we transformed our Safe Garden Restaurant into a Bake Shop—though it seems we’ve left it nameless for now! The children took full ownership of the space, designing colorful signs to label the cookies and treats, making it easier for their families to browse and enjoy.

What a magical night we had; it was incredible sharing the night with you all!

In phonics the children have filled their binders with sound sheets as we made it all the way through the alphabet!! On Friday morning stop by to see the hard work they have accomplished. 

In Math this week, the children enjoyed festive stations. They decorated paper Christmas trees using loose parts, carefully matching the correct number of items to each tree. We practiced pattern-making by using dice, they rolled to determine an amount and then created patterns with shape blocks based on their roll.

Stay warm this weekend and enjoy some cozy family time! 

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

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SK has been full of joy, applesauce, and cinnamon this week! Typically you don’t hear joy, applesauce, and cinnamon in the same sentence, (unless you find joy in those delicious cinnamon flavored applesauce pouches like some of our friends) and we’re sure your kiddos cinnamon scented clothes and backpacks have you curious about what we’ve been preparing… but, you’ll just have to stay curious! Just know that a little bit of applesauce and a whole lot of cinnamon is a recipe for guaranteed giggles and excitement. Speaking of recipes, we found the perfect combination of classroom materials that will really be the icing on the cake… or cookies. Okay, okay, no more hints! We’ve already said too much!! We can hardly wait for everyone to discover and experience all the magic we’ve been making this week at our Winter Family Night next week. With family on the brain, we also need to mention that we welcomed two new friends, Kyler and Cora! Everyone welcomed them with open arms and showed them how things run here in SK. We couldn’t be more thankful and proud of our hospitable, caring group and our new friends beautiful spirit have made our classroom family complete. We are so happy to have them with us!

The vowels are on the brain as we continue to discover more treasures in the world of phonics. The students love recalling the vowel names and pointing out how they each make two sounds! We’re also moving right along with our letter names and sounds. We only have TWO more letters to unlock until we’ve learned all the individual letter sounds in the alphabet. Some are already beginning to realize that some letters work together to make new sounds. We could not be more proud of the hard work and determination these kiddos are putting in during this time of the day. In math we’re continuing to test our number sense abilities while also revisiting some of the skills we’ve learned thus far. We can hardly believe that we’ve covered so much in such a short period of time. We’re constantly reminding the kiddos to kiss their beautiful brains, throw some glitter, and make it rain because they deserve to celebrate their power and progress!

Closing circle continues to be a beautiful way to wrap up our days together in SK. We are so thankful that you allow your children to bring in their special books from home to share with the class. These stories open doors to exciting adventures with every turning page, and it’s such a joy to see the children’s faces light up as they share their treasures with their friends. If you’d like to join us during this time and read a story to the class, we’d love to have you. Your support helps foster a love of reading and builds our classroom community. Thank you for being a part of these magical moments!

Have a great weekend,
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

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*Rest blankets were sent home for a nice wash over break! Also, please assess your child’s notebook and see if they need a replacement.

*Mark your calendars! Early Childhood Family Night: December 12th at 6:00 p.m. More information to come!” 

Hello SK Families,

This week, we read Holly’s Thanksgiving Wish by Kaine and Duds. The story follows a determined hedgehog named Holly who dreams of creating a balloon for the Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. Of course, balloons and hedgehogs don’t naturally go together, but with encouragement from her Dad to never give up, Holly creates a heart-shaped balloon that steals the show in the parade.

Inspired by Holly’s creativity, the children designed their own blueprints for a Thanksgiving Parade balloon. Their imaginations ran wild during the writers’ workshop!

Below are a few thoughts the children came up with: 

Nora- “I would make a cat balloon.” 

Regina- “I would make a rainbow balloon.”

Leo- “I would make a space balloon.” 

Griffin- “I would make a fire truck balloon.” 

Rowan- “I would make a horse balloon.” 

You are welcome to stop by on a Friday morning as you walk your child to class to see what everyone wrote. 

With only one full day of school this week, the SK’ers were excited as we prepared to celebrate our school-wide Thanksgiving! Tuesday was truly a day to remember. The highlight of the day was gathering in the gym for a delicious turkey meal, but not before the excitement of an amazing kickball game! The entire school community came together, with some watching from the hillside and alumni stepping up to challenge each other in a fun, spirited game of kickball. 

A huge thank you goes to Mrs. Becky, Mrs. Ray, Mr. Mark, and the many volunteers who worked to serve such a special meal to everyone at once.

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you have a wonderful long weekend filled with love, laughter, and time well spent with family and friends.

We absolutely love having your ‘little turkeys’ in class, they bring so much energy to our days! We’re looking forward to seeing their smiling faces back on Monday.

Enjoy the holiday and all the special moments it brings!

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

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Since Monday morning we’ve been on the go! We started off the week with a game of “Finish the Lyrics” where the kiddos were challenged to complete the lyrics to some of the most famous pop, rock, and hip-hop songs. It started off easy, smooth sailing with the classic: We will, we will… ROCK YOU! But when it was time to really play our music masters cracked UNDER PRESSURE.
Another one bites… the dog?
She took the midnight train… to the train station?
Can’t stop, won’t stop… going?
Some serious thinking and belly laughs filled the air as this group tried to recall and guess the lyrics to these hit songs. The days to follow were just as fun and filled with activities! We’re breezing right on through our letter names and sounds, making it easier for us to read simple words – real and nonsense! We now know ALL of our vowels and are putting their short sounds to use in a multitude of word families. Such as: -at, -og, -in, -up, and -ed! Their burning passion for reading and writing is growing with each day and we are truly so fortunate to be able to fuel that fire!! We have invited the students to bring in their favorite books for us to read during our closing circle and we’ve even had some of them volunteer to read to us. The joy and pride these kiddos display as they read to their friends is just such a beautiful sight to see and the clapping that occurs so naturally from their friends makes the moment that much more heartwarming.

During provocations, we read the story If You Find a Leaf by Aimée Sicuro. This magical story inspired us to go on a leaf hunt and create some beautiful pieces of our own. We saw everything come to life from just a few leaves, markers, paper, glue, and scissors! There were masks, leaf monsters, parachutes, and so much more. Their creative minds never cease to amaze us. We also realized that with our Thanksgiving lunch coming up we should probably prepare for the guests! Therefore, decorations were a MUST. This lovely bunch continued to use their creative abilities to turn a plain ol’ tarp into a beautiful table runner. They also transformed a blown away branch into an elegant centerpiece. We can’t wait to display them for the entire school, faculty, and WCDS alumni to see on Tuesday!

Well, SK, we did it! We went to Bob Evans. We ate the pepperoni rolls. We wore the PJs. We danced until we couldn’t dance anymore. We couldn’t have asked for a more action-packed, entertaining, and enjoyable week. They say time flies when you’re having fun and our time is flying first class! It can be so easy to get lost in it all and forget to make time for the little moments, that will turn into big moments, that we never forget. So while this group may forget that “FF” stands for “french fries” when using shorthand, server writing, they will never forget creating their very own restaurant and serving their peers and teachers. This group may forget if they ordered Piggy Pancakes or Tic Tac Toast, but they will never forget taking a walk to Bob Evans for lunch to celebrate their successful restaurant opening. This group may forget that we achieved 100% participation in our 29 Hours of Giving fundraiser, but they will never forget eating pepperoni rolls in their PJs and an epic, all school dance party. And that, SK, is how we do it!

Have a great weekend,
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

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SK Upcoming Events

Who: The SK Class 

What: A field trip to a restaurant.

Where: Bob Evans

When: November 20th at 10:45 

Why: To celebrate the children’s hard work opening their own restaurant. 

How: We will be walking to the nearest Bob Evans on National Road. Each child will need $7 to cover their meal. Please send their payment with them to school on Tuesday, November 19th. 

To prepare for our exciting field trip to Bob Evans, we called ahead to make a reservation and to confirm if they could serve our whole group at once. They kindly asked for an idea of what the children would like to eat so they could plan accordingly.

To help them out, we went through the kids’ menu together, and the children eagerly chose their meals. This not only helped Bob Evans get ready for us but also gave the children a chance to practice making decisions. Everyone is excited and looking forward to a delicious and fun dining experience! 

 Good Morning SK Families, 

🎉 The SK Safe Garden is Open for Business! 🎉

After weeks of planning, prepping, and learning, the big day has finally arrived! The children were excited as they welcomed their first set of guests—the Junior Kindergarten class. Every detail they had carefully thought out came together for this beautiful celebration of teamwork. 

The children were absolutely thrilled to showcase their accomplishments during our special 29-hour spotlight with Miss Stephine and Miss B.

We’re so glad you all had the opportunity to see all their hard work on camera—witnessing their creativity, teamwork, and dedication come to life. Each child played an important role in building the restaurant, from setting up tables and menus to preparing a welcoming atmosphere; every detail was thoughtfully planned to create an excellent restaurant experience. Mr Alex was also our special guest! Stop by our Great News station to see his five star review!!  

After reading Minnie’s Diner by Dayle Dodds, we were all swept away by the story of farmers dropping everything and heading to Minnie’s Diner at the irresistible smell of her cooking! Inspired by the book, our classroom whipped up a similar buzz on campus as the aroma of pizza cups, hamburgers, and homemade french fries drifted through the air. Just like in the story, students and teachers from other classes couldn’t resist stopping by, hoping to catch a taste of our culinary creations! The children were so proud to share their delicious work, and it was a fantastic way to bring our story to life.

In phonics, the children were introduced to Writer’s Workshop, and we kicked things off by reading Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. The story had everyone giggling as we followed the many creative (and sometimes silly) ways the character tried to get his kite out of a tree.

After the laughs settled, we asked the children to put on their thinking caps and imagine what they would use to get a kite out of a tree. Their responses were both clever and hilarious! 

Griffin said, “A magnet and dot.”

Edna, Caston, Mia, Ollie, and Isaac said, “Pigs.” 

Joanna said, “A cup.”

Savannah said, “A heart.”

Ellie said, “A house.”  

Dermot said, “A bannan.” 

Rowan and Nora said, “A hat.”

Dylan said, “yo-yo.” 

Felix said, “A basketball.” 

Leo said, “A pillow.” 

Regina and Gemma said, “A dog.” 

Makayal said, “A ball.” 

Finn said, “Godzilla.” 

Pierce said, “A peg.” 

Hudson said, “Beach.”

In math, the children stepped into the roles of restaurant workers; some children were focusing on writing bills for their customers, and some children were adding up the totals. With a little help, they were introduced to new math skills by adding the cost of meals and the host and hostess provided their customers with the correct change.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm!

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

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“A great employee is like a four leaf clover. Hard to find and lucky to have” – Tammy Cohen

How fortunate are we to be surrounded by 27 little chefs, bakers, servers, hosts/hostesses, bussers, and managers?! These employees haven’t had a day off since they started this gig! We prepped REAL burgers, learned how to properly set the table, and practiced using “restaurant talk” (“Order up!”, “What could I get you to drink?”, “Would you like a table or booth?”) We thought for sure that we could open our doors to the public by Friday, but after our soft opening we realized there was more work to be done! Did that discourage our kiddos and cause them to give up? ABSOLUTELY NOT! After reading Chez Bob by Bob Shea, the students were humored, but motivated to have the best restaurant in town. It was truly inspiring to watch this ambitious crew prep more food, stock up on supplies, and put the finishing touches on their elegant restaurant to ensure a successful Grand Opening. Next week… during our whole-school Monday Morning Meeting… we will announce… that SK Safe Garden Restaurant… is… OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!! Each and every one of them have been working so hard to bring this beautiful vision to life and it’s finally time to show the world (or at least everyone on campus). Due to limited seating, reservations are encouraged, but all are welcome. We cannot wait to see these workers in action next week!

Math brought us some marshmallows and pretzels to represent the ones and tens as we continue to expand our knowledge on place value! The students had a blast showing off their skills (and eating them too!). We also had to take advantage of the beautiful weather, therefore, we grabbed our chalk and we went outside! Using what we learned with place value, we put our number writing to the test. The students number recognition and ability to properly write them is improving daily.

In phonics and literacy, the students are continuing to blow us away as they are continuing to learn new letters and sounds. Their growing ability to spell and read words is incredible and seeing their confidence blossom as they tackle these new skills is just an added bonus! This week, we introduced a brand-new literacy station, which has been a big hit. (Ask your kiddo what “literacy” means—they’ll probably tell you it has nothing to do with litter or trash, much to our amusement!) At this station, the students picked a C(consonant)V(vowel)C(consonant) word, wrote it down, and then drew a picture to match. “Frog,” “map,” “pin,” and “cup” were just a few of the words this bright bunch effortlessly sounded out. They had so much fun bringing each word to life with their illustrations. We also started a new “Listen to Read” story called Duck for President. The students had a great time giggling as they followed along with their guiding fingers while the “stereo box” read to them. We’re so proud of the effort and progress each kiddo is putting forth, daily. Before we know it these little learners will be reading us chapter books!

Have a good weekend,
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

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Hello SK Families

“This is Halloween, this is Halloween!” What a fantastic day we had in SK! The kiddos certainly put on a fright—well, some of them did! We had a wonderfully spooky lineup, with a few princesses adding a touch of sparkle to the mix. A huge thank you to all the parents who donated party supplies; you truly made the celebration special! The children loved walking the loop to show off their costumes, but the main event was definitely the hayride. As the tractor pulled us around, the children chanted, “Let’s go in the creek!” It was a day full of laughter, costumes, and memories.  

Our classroom routines have officially transformed as we dive into the restaurant business! The children have been putting in long hours to bring their vision to life. The kiddos used their phonics, literacy, and math skills all week long as they prepared the critical restaurant necessities! “Man, this is hard work,” Griffin shared as he thoughtfully designed his menu. With our “Grand Opening” set for Monday, excitement is building as they create a one-of-a-kind sign, choose their roles, and put the finishing touches on the menu. Real teamwork is turning SK into an iconic place to dine!

As the children worked hard, we realized we still needed a name for our restaurant. We discussed the differences between chain restaurants, like McDonald’s, and locally owned like Sarah’s On Main, and talked about what makes our restaurant special. At first, the concept was a bit challenging, but once the ideas started flowing, the children lit up as they described their second home here at 8 Park Road. Words like fun, happy, safe, rocks, slides, and trees were shouted as we thought about what makes our campus awesome! We wrote their wonderful ideas on slips of paper and placed them in a basket, gave it a little shake, and after a drumroll moment, our restaurant’s name was born… SK Safe Garden!

The excitement only grew after we read Restaurant Owners by Cecilia Minden and Mary Minden-Zins! In the story, we learned about all the different roles in a restaurant, from the dishwasher to the server. Afterward, the children were invited to choose their own roles for our upcoming “Grand Opening.” Here’s what some of them selected and their ideas on each role:

Dishwasher: “Cleans” – Jackson, “Tells you what to do.” – Joanna
Hostess: “Gives you a menu and takes you to your seat.” – Isaac
Uniforms (aprons): “It’s where they put straws and pens.” – Hudson
Server: “Brings the food.” – Gemma, “Cleans up the tables.” – Winston

One of the things we absolutely love about the children is watching their creative sides come to life as they play, learn, and grow! Each day brings new ideas, big imaginations, and joyful discoveries that fill our classroom with inspiration and excitement. We can’t wait to see what unfolds next week! 

Have a great weekend! 

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

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With the Fall weather treating us well, we’ve been able to spend the majority of our days outside. Extra recess time and more moments in the mud kitchen are just what we needed to get by this week! We completed our first, successful evacuation drill and painted our beautiful fall trees that we started last week all while soaking up as much vitamin D as we can while it lasts. In the midst of it all, the students have still been hard at work on their fast food restaurant business. To make sure we create the *perfect* space for these cooks and crew members, we had them create a blueprint of their dream restaurant. The students were very precise and thoughtful while visualizing and mapping where things should be placed in the room to make their restaurant a success! As you know, building doesn’t happen overnight (just look at how long we’ve waited for this Dunkin Donuts across the street… which opens Monday by the way… so if Miss Tylar is late to work, check the Dunkin line), so while the restaurant is under construction the students decided to focus on the behind the scenes work! Menus were a must!! We drafted up some menus and discussed all the things we need to ensure that our restaurant is the best in town. The students also underwent some intense training during centers. The front of house and back of house crew members will be well equipped once this thing is up and running. Stay tuned for the *GRAND OPENING*

Phonics and math continue to remind us how bright this bunch is! On Monday we introduced the students to another component of our phonics portion of the day… Listen to read! The students were thrilled as they listened to the CD player read to them Little Tree by Loren Long. They used their guiding finger to follow along and turned the pages as they heard the special *brrrrinnnng*. We were also thrilled to discover that a lot of them knew what a CD player is! Griffin even made reference to “The olden day CD players that have a big stick for the CDs” … Children really do keep us young!
We are moving right along with our letter names and sounds AND even “trick” words. The students were so excited to see how trick words aren’t so tricky once you learn their foolish ways… In math we continued to work on number sense, identifying, and writing our numbers 1-30. While numbers in our teens and twenties can trip us up, we are seeing great efforts and strides! Next week we’ll dive into the world of place value which will really help us master those tricky numbers.

The leaves outside are changing and so are these kiddos, but one thing remains constant and that’s the joy that each and every one of them bring to us. Daily. No two days are alike and yet every day is exactly the same. Their passion for learning is our driving force. Thank you for sharing them with us!

Have a great weekend,
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina