The Toddlers learned about the letter P last week. The boys and girls made parrots out of the letter P, colored purple P’s at the easel, and played with pink playdoh. The children sang the letter P song during group time and went over their friends names.
Proper letter formation and effective pencil grasp are important to promote successful writing.
Beginning writers need instruction in letter formation. They need practice to develop the motor memory that influences speed and efficiency in completing written tasks.
Many children who are not instructed in proper letter formation acquire letter formation habits that are not helpful to an easy transition from a printing style to a cursive style. Getting rid of bad habits requires enormous conscious effort. It is an easier task to train the brain properly than to retrain the brain once bad habits are formed.
We focused on the circular letters today with an emphasis on which direction to create the circle (counter-clockwise). Learning to create these circular letters correctly helps children transition seamlessly into cursive writing in their elementary years.
Airplanes…rocketships…battleships…houses! The students used their creativity and their 100 legos to build something they created in their imagination. After building their creation, students drew a sketch of what they created and labeled it. We have some very creative architechs among us!
The manipulative center provides children with interesting materials to explore. Exploration is essential to the development of mathematical and logical thinking. Gears along with other manipulatives in our center allow children to refine hand-eye coordination and visual perception. Stacking, fitting connecting, stringing, comparing, matching, sorting, sequencing, building, classifying, persisting at tasks, turning knobs-children continue to build basic skills through manipulative play. Children also learn to think logically, understand cause and effect, recognize shapes, and predict outcomes as they manipulate toys from this center.
But let’s not leave out the FUN!
In celebration of Valentine’s day and all things love, our shape of the month is the heart! Today the boys and girls painted pink hearts using a stencil!
Creative Tots has specialized in the private education of both toddlers and preschool age children for over 15 years. We began in the heart of Madeira and now also have a new Mason location. We are specifically designed to focus on early childhood development for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
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