Our PreSchool Blog

We continued our phonics study today in small groups.  We hear about the phonics but what is it?  Simply put, phonics is the connection between letter symbols and sounds. As adults, this relationship seems apparent and common sense. However, in reality there is no natural connection between words and their meanings.

At the very core of phonics lies the alphabet. In order to master phonics a person must master the alphabet. Letters then need to be connected to their corresponding sounds. As we know as English speakers, this is easier said than done. Many letters can represent a number of different sounds. This means that learning phonics is an ongoing process for a developing reader.  Because letters and sounds were introduced in our Preschool Program we will have a “crash course” in letters and their sounds over the next nine weeks.  We will be focusing on three letters per week.  We will complete letters Aa, Bb, and Cc this week and the next three will be introduced on Monday.

We continued our phonics study today in small groups.  We hear about the phonics but what is it?  Simply put, phonics is the connection between letter symbols and sounds. As adults, this relationship seems apparent and common sense. However, in reality there is no natural connection between words and their meanings.

At the very core of phonics lies the alphabet. In order to master phonics a person must master the alphabet. Letters then need to be connected to their corresponding sounds. As we know as English speakers, this is easier said than done. Many letters can represent a number of different sounds. This means that learning phonics is an ongoing process for a developing reader.  Because letters and sounds were introduced in our Preschool Program we will have a “crash course” in letters and their sounds over the next nine weeks.  We will be focusing on three letters per week.  We will complete letters Aa, Bb, and Cc this week and the next three will be introduced on Monday.

We continue to review letter sounds as we prepare for our sight word study and our reading groups!

We discovered the Blue Ringed Octopus today during our Country Study.  We created our own as we spied letters as a letter sound was called out.  Both upper case and lower case were included.  This is our final week of letter Aa, Bb, and Cc Review.  Next week we will review letters Dd, Ee, Ff and their sounds.  Keep practicing at home!  They are doing a GREAT JOB!

We read Somewhere in the Ocean by Jennifer Ward today and discovered the beautiful Jellyfish!  We watched a video about the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish and the Common Jellyfish.  Click the pictures of the Jellyfish below to view the videos we watched in class, again!

We were so excited to see Ms Joanie today for the first time this year!  She brought along some of her instruments and a new song about the ocean.  What a perfect way to start our study of the Great Barrier Reef!

Children who grow up hearing music, singing songs, and moving to the beat are enjoying what experts call “a rich sensory environment.” That’s just a fancy way of saying they’re exposed to a wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds. And researchers believe this forges more pathways between the cells in their brains.

Musical experiences are an important way to help create these pathways, also called neural connections. And while listening to music is certainly key to creating them, it’s when children actively participate in music that they make the strongest connections.

Research shows that kids who are actively involved in music (who play it or sing it regularly):

• do better in reading and math when they start school
• are better able to focus and control their bodies
• play better with others and have higher self-esteem

Our class is traveling to the Great Barrier Reef this month as we visit Australia during our country studies.  After learning about the difference between an octopus and a squid, we dove straight into our small math groups today and worked on number recognition and one to one correspondence.

There are many benefits to incorporating yoga into our children’s lives.  Yoga for young children develops body awareness, language, good listening skills, cooperation and powers of observation.  It teaches pre-kindergarten children about nature, their environment and inspires their imaginations.  They learn by playing, singing, moving and imitating.   Looking at the smiling faces below, it’s clear that FUN may be reason we love it!

We continued our letter sound practice today with a twist!  When given a sound, the children found both the upper and lowercase letter that makes the sound and prints it into the play dough!  Making learning fun is the quickest way to get our little ones engaged and ready to learn!

The best way a child learns at an early age is through song or rhyme.  We introduced number formation 0-9 today through number rhymes.  We will be using these rhymes all year to help your child remember the proper way to write their numbers.  In a few weeks you will be recieving a packet of number formation rhymes along with a “squishy bag” so you an practice at home.  Remember, learning can be fun!

We are all readers and all writers at any age.  In pre-K we will begin introducing proper letter formation for upper and lowercase letters throughout the school year.  It’s important to start with the basics of lines…curves, zig zag, straight, and slanted.  As we become familiar with the language of letter formation we will begin putting these lines together to properly form letters.  Written word is a powerful tool that we use every day and we are well on our way to becoming a classroom of writers!  For pre-writing printables you can do with your child at home click on the first picture below.