Our PreSchool Blog

Our color for the month of April is the color “blue”. What a great excuse for us in the toddler classroom to make blueberry muffins all together! The toddlers love to help mix in each of our ingredients when we make different recipes, all of them waiting as patiently as they can for their turn! Turn-taking is a very important step in cognitive development for toddlers and young children, and the beginning stages of being able to communicate back and forth with their peers. Because of this, we focus on turn-taking as much as possible in our classroom. Taking turns in larger group activities also helps toddlers practice for when they encounter turn-taking in one-on-one situations during free play and/or recess.

Scooping and pouring are great for the muscle development in little hands and fingers…

different size beans created an early mathematical activity – sorting and classifying

Toddlers love to play – and at Tots we do tons of fun learning activities that teach important developmental skills every day.  This month we are focused on developing the concept top, middle and bottom. Take a look at our decorated tree as the toddler’s worked on placing the star at the top, the ornaments in the middle, and the presents at the bottom.

Here’s a website of month-by-month tips that will help you maneuver the ins and outs of toddler growth and development.

http://www.whattoexpect.com/growth-and-child-development-tips.aspx#

The Early 3’s are exploring winter weather this month. We took a closer look at our arctic friends and their habitat. We talked about what ice feels like, and whether it felt cold/hot, slippery, hard, etc. The early 3’s had an Arctic blast playing with these icebergs!

Dramatic Play is a cornerstone to a Toddler/Early 3’s classroom.  This is where you’ll find most of the children throughout their day.  It is a core experience where the children begin to use language with their teachers and their peers.  Other things that children learn at the dramatic play area include decision-making skills, cooperation and problem solving skills, social skills, self-expression, imaginative thinking skills, role-playing skills.