Our PreSchool Blog

Happy Halloween!   We had so much fun at our parties!  We have done several special crafts (handprint bat, spider, and peek-a-BOO ghost cup).  We played lego monster, beanbag monster, in and out of the tunnel, and practiced trick or treating.  Our special snack was a big donut with teeth! We even tried to get all of our friends together for a group photo.  After  full days of singing, dancing, stories, snacks, and crafts these toddlers might need a nap before the big night ahead!

Orange discovery bins have been a big hit this month.  The toddlers practiced fine motor skills, counting and sorting while finding Halloween cats in the orange lentils.  We also painted hands orange to make a page for our color book.  A wall mural, orange playdough, and painting with orange have all been fun and engaging activities to celebrate the color orange.

The month of October presents itself with many opportunities to explore pumpkins.  We opened a pumpkin and used our senses to feel, smell,  and observe the pumpkin.  The toddlers also did a 5 Little Pumpkins craft and acted out the fingerplay in front of the class!  We decorated pumpkins using washi tape and plan to bathe them next week!

We have counted the sides of a triangle many times in the toddler room in October!  We made triangles with popsicle sticks, created triangle owl art, played at the easel center with contact paper and triangles, and glued triangle collages.  Stay tuned for the shape of the month in November!

We have been making our way through the alphabet in the toddler room.  Each week we focus on a letter.  We read a letter book, sing letter songs, watch letter videos, hold and count items that begin with the weekly letter, do a letter craft using fine motor skills, and even do a sensory activity focusing on the letter.

A is for Ant

B is for Button

C is for Cat

D is for Donut

E is for Eagle

The month of September has been a study in the shape CIRCLE!  We have colored circles, matched circles, glued circles, played with circle toys, discussed our favorite circle shaped food, sang circle songs, read circle stories, eaten circle crackers and cookies…basically immersed ourselves in circles!

We have spent the first few weeks getting to know each other.  At around 18 months, there are changes in cognitive skills that help real friendships blossom.  Toddlers become more consciously aware of themselves and others.  Even when toddlers are playing side by side, without much interaction, they are still picking up play behaviors from one another.  These shared experiences help toddlers gain the play vocabulary they will need when they begin to play with friends.  We try to foster an environment that invites interaction, observation, as well as parallel play.  As teachers, we play alongside the children giving them simple words and vocabulary to help facilitate communication.  It has been so fun fun to watch the toddlers begin to bond.  We look forward to a year full of friendships.

Our toddler orientation days were unBEElievable! We explored our classroom, met new friends, listened to bumble bee stories and songs, and played outside.

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Thanks a “melon” for a fun summer camp season!  See you in the fall!

A review of the colors we have learned about this year led to a chart of our favorite colors.  We then had a yummy review of colors and sorting using Fruit Loops.  After sorting the cereal by color – the reward was a colorful snack!

A review of shapes led to a shape collage.  We will laminate these for the toddlers to take home over the summer.  Keep in the car or take to restaurants to review shapes while waiting for a table.

During small groups, we matched up foam numbers to the outline.  Physically holding the shape of the number sometimes helps with recognition in the future.  We also practiced counting every time we placed a number on the line.