Our PreSchool Blog

Today the Toddlers worked on the cognitive development skill of matching. Matching is the ability to perceive that two items are identical. It hones in the concept of sameness and differences. During group time we read the book “Animal Babies on the Farm”. The boys and girls did a great job matching the animals based on the sound the animal makes! Next we dug through the sensory tub and tried to find matching mom and baby farm animals. Look around your house and see if your child can find things that match!

Today we started October with our book of the month, Color Farm by Lois Elhert. We went on a shape hunt on each page. The illustrator created animals from the farm out of shapes. Next we practiced our glue stick skills and shape recognition while creating a rooster.

Today our preschoolers explored and discovered triangles in all kinds of ways! We first learned about the shape during groups. Click on the first picture to watch The Shapes Song with your preschool.

Next we counted the sides of a triangle. We used triangle shaped sponges as stamps.

During Yoga Relaxation today we used our bodies to practice Triangle Pose. Integrating new skills and knowledge with any physical activity is a really fun way to help preschoolers memory.

In the Toddler room, the children have been going over the shape of the month… a Circle! During group time, the boys and girls have been looking around the room for circles. Today, Ms. Bree-Anna read the book “What is Round?”. It highlights objects in everyday life that are the shape of a circle. For example a nickel or a balloon! The children also used their fine motor skills to paint a circle yellow. Go on a scavenger hunt around your house and look for all of the round objects!

To play Alphabet Cover-Up write letters on the spaces of the board. Show your preschooler a flashcard of a letter on the board. Use anything around the house to cover up the spaces. Then play by calling out the letter. You can also play by saying the sound the letter makes. Use the board for many different games from the suggested activities list. Remember not to overwhelm your child with more letters or numbers than they are ready for! Add some more fun and practice by asking your child to cover up a letter with a certain color or with a number of marbles, etc.

We have been learning about the green sea turtle during our study of hawaii.  We had the opportunity to watch baby sea turtles hatch, dig their way out of their nest and scurry to the open sea!

Friday we read Up, Down and Around by Katherine Ayres . We discovered all kinds of different seeds just in time for Summer!  At small groups the boys and girls used their sorting skills and separated their own bag of seeds based on shape and size. Then they glued each seed onto their seed graph and was able to see how many of each seed they had. What a fun way to learn about seeds and sorting!

Summer has yet to make it’s official arrival, however, the weather has fooled us!  To kick off the season to come, we made Summer Fruit Pizza.  This delicious, kid friendly recipe was a blast to make, and even more fun to eat!

Summer Fruit Pizza:

Pillsburry pizza dough

Cream Cheese

Blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, and mandarin oranges

Directions:

1. Bake pizza crust according to package directions

2. Cut up fruit while pizza dough is cooking

3. Spread cooked dough with cream cheese, and then top with cut up fruit

A new month means a new theme: Go Green!  As we learn about recycling, the children explore the new activities in each center.  We spent time today learning about the new activities and how they are used.

Today, the boys and girls practiced counting, tracing and writing the number 18.  With all of the loops and turns involved, it proved to be a tricky one!  When making the 8, it help the children to identify the letter “s” that is made when half of the 8 is written.  After realizing this, the boys and girls became masters of 18 in no time!