Our PreSchool Blog

The preschoolers continued their focus on the numbers 1, 2, and 3 today with Ms. Manda’s very popular sticker activity. The students identified each numeral as they covered them with small stickers (great for those ever growing fine motor skills). Then it was onto the tricky part; How many is the number 1? The number 2? And the number 3? The students were asked to place the correct amount of smiley face stickers next to the corresponding number. The kids loved this activity and were very proud of their finished product. It was a great way to show the written form of the numbers as well as the spatial form.

Sorting, numeral sequencing and spatial arrangement. Unbelievable what a single exercise can convey.

exploring the sensory table

This week in our Sensory Table, the children are enjoying “Scooping up the Pom Poms!” We’ve placed shovels, spoons, scoops and tongs in the table along with our large, medium, and teeny tiny Pom Poms. Now, its the preschoolers’ very important job to make sure the colorful fluffs find their way into our Pom Pom containers. We love the soft and cuddly feel of these fuzzy Pom Poms.  Each week we have a new theme in our Sensory Table, whether its an ewy-gooy messy zone or a simple sand and water theme, the Sensory Table Center always has something exciting to explore!

There are so many fun ways to learn about colors at this age.  The toddlers are so excited during group time to play color matching games.  Their independence seems to grow with every day they come to school!  The best part of group time is when they get to come up to the magnet board to have that proud moment of accomplishment where they show us where something goes.

Independent color sorting

Exploring texture at the sensory table

At this age, children LOVE to pour and dump things out as I’m sure you have experienced at your own homes! The sensory table is a great oppurtunity for them to practice these skills.  This week the children have been able to play with packing peanuts.  In addition to pouring and dumping, they are able to explore the texture and weight of this fun new activity.

We have been graphing the weather over the past three weeks and the children have been drawing their own weather cards to help keep track of our crazy Cincinnati weather.  Graphing activities for Pre-K (and Kindergarten) include collecting data and organizing it in a variety of ways.  This is one way we will be practicing this skill throughout the year.  We will be using these weather graphs to compare and contrast the differences in our weather throughout the different months of the year.  We will also be using them when we talk about the terms, Greater, Fewer, and Equal.  These graphs will be used to make predictions of future weather as well.  When children are making guesses (predictions) about what might happen in different situations, they are learning about probability. The more experiences they have with concrete objects or situations the more accurate their guesses will be in the future.

Sunny Days

Cloudy Days

Iron’s Fruit Farm Field Trip

Don’t forget to get your permission forms and fees in by this Friday!  We will be meeting at Iron’s Fruit Farm on Wednesday, October 7th at 12:45.  Click the Link Below to check out Iron’s Fruit Farm Website.

THE ARTIST AT WORK IN PREPARATION FOR THE TOTS ART SHOW NOVEMBER 13, 2009

What could be more fun than taking paint and splattering it all over your paper!  The toddlers had so much fun making their creative masterpieces this morning with all kinds of paint and a big mess at the end!  These special pieces of art were inspired by the artist Jackson Pollock and will be shown at our Art Show in November.

Today was a great day for puzzles, but not just any puzzles…puzzles of our very own names! The students put together puzzles of their names as well as the names of their friends.
A child’s name is quite possibly the most important word in their young and growing vocabulary and therefore can be a great avenue to letter recognition. They begin to not only memorize the letters in their own names but also the letters in the names of their classmates. The children took great ownership in their name puzzles and were excited to take them home to show to their families.
We will use our names for many activities and learning games throughout the school year and these puzzles are great preparation and practice for what’s to come.

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