Our PreSchool Blog

Here comes the cold! Coat season is in full swing and your preschooler is learning how to put theirs on all by themselves. “The Preschool Flip” is an easy way for your little one to gain some independence, confidence, and responsibility. Start with the hood or collar of coat at your toes open side up. Slip arms into arm holes and slowly flip the coat up over your head. Practice, practice, practice! We also learned how to hang up our belongings so nothing gets lost at the cubbies. Please label everything you send to school! Gross Motor Movement is so important at this age, we will be heading to the playground on days 32 degrees and above. Hats and mittens, please! 220 fingers is just too many to slip into all those little spots in gloves.

Take a look at what your little one is learning by playing in our classroom centers this month!

When children build at the Block Center they explore with their imagination while recreating ‘The First Thanksgiving’. Preschoolers enjoy peer interaction through parallel play or socializing and creating with a classmate.

While exploring at the Sensory Tub children exercise problem solving skills, natural curiosity, and teamwork. Preschoolers connect real world materials with experience and senses while developing and understanding of volume and capacity. Pouring, scooping, sifting, and digging strengthen fine motor muscles as well.

Independence is the main skilled fostered at the Practical Life Skills Center. Preschoolers strengthen fine motor muscles while practicing every day life tasks such as buttoning and zipping or pouring and scrubbing vegetables. They develop hand-eye coordination and other similar skills needed as handwriting foundation. These skills will promote confidence as your little takes over more responsibility with self-help skills.

At the Light Table, children discover concepts of shape, size and spatial awareness. They exhibit motor control, coordination, and balance. Preschoolers imagine and create together at this center.

Paging through picture books in the classroom Library gives children the opportunity to tell their own story. Exposure to different types of print sparks a love for literature. “Reading” books at any age helps with comprehension even just by looking at the pictures. Letter recognition, letter sounds and the association between both concepts are developed while exploring books.

The Art Center is the place to express creativity and build a sense of accomplishment. Open-ended art activities give preschoolers the chance to explore their interests and create masterpieces all by themselves. Fine motor and planning skills are key concepts at this center. I know many of you are benefitting from beautiful, hand-crafted jewelry this month! 🙂

These are just some of our classroom centers. Ask you preschooler about their favorite center and see what they discovered playing at school!

A great way to support independence at school and home is teaching your preschooler ways to take care of themselves. Ownership of tasks and responsibilities helps a little one feel proud and accomplished. Everyone should have received a magnet today with the steps of The Preschool Flip. Ask your preschooler to show you how to put their coat on, they are all very proud!

After practicing The Preschool Flip we learned how to hang up our coats. We search for a Magic Loop and hang our coat around the yellow hook. Then we hang up our backpack on the bigger hook. This keeps our coats and backpacks from falling off the cubbies.

Today we practiced holding scissors the correct way. Scissor skills are a definite aspect of independence in the classroom and at home. Understanding the correct way helps keep your preschooler safe and strengthens fine motor muscles. Click here for a great video on teaching preschoolers to use scissors.

1. Index and middle fingers in the bottom hole, keep at the bottom.

2. Thumb in the smaller hole always facing up.

3. Use other fingers to support the outside of the scissors while cutting.