Our PreSchool Blog

Since we could not go outside to play in the snow, I brought the snow in to the children for a snow science day. I laid out five surfaces to put snowballs on so we could see which one would melt the snowball the fastest. I put out a piece of cardboard, a paper towel, a piece of black paper, a plastic tray, and a cookie sheet.

We predicted which surface would melt it the fastest.

I showed the children how snow melts into water by holding a small snowball in my hand then squeezing it to melt it with the warmth of my hand. We watched as the water dripped out.

At the end of the day, we determined that of the five choices… the snow melts fastest on the cooking sheet.

To continue our snow theme, we brought in more snow for the children to paint…

In Early 3’s this week, we began the exciting process of learning to write our names. This is something we will be working on the rest of the year to prepare the children for preschool…and eventually K-Prep. Learning how to write their name by the end of year will give them a head start in preschool or K-Prep and will allow the preschool and K-Prep teachers to focus on writing other words since they will already know how to write their name. Practicing at home will help them expedite this process! Have them practice writing their name in sand or shaving cream…or write it out for them in chalk and have them “paint” over it with water. Every bit of practice will help! We are also teaching them how to grip the pencil correctly. You can help them practice correct grip by breaking crayons into small pieces so that your child HAS to grip the crayon correctly because they are forced to pinch down at the bottom (just like they should on a pencil).

This week we are continuing our study of nocturnal animals by studying OWLS! I absolutely love teaching science and giving your children the chance to explore the world around them and the creatures that live in their world! After reading a book about owls and looking through a non-fiction book with pictures of real owls, we discussed what owls might eat. We talked about how an owl’s feathers are designed to make very little/no noise so they can swoop down on their prey without making a sound. I explained to the children how an owl cannot digest things like bones and teeth…so they regurgitate it, creating what we know as an “owl pellet.” I showed the children an owl pellet, and I carefully opened it so they could see the bones, teeth, and fur of the little creature the owl had had for dinner. {might sound gross…but we thought it was awesome!!!} Check out the photos from our group time!

In one of our small groups, we made our own owls! Check out the fun we had as we made them!

Our small groups on Monday:

{group #1}

We started our “Handwriting Without Tears” curriculum this week! Our first activity was introduced in whole group time and practiced in small groups. The children had to practice forming the letters “A” and “B” with magnetic wood pieces. We talked about “big lines” “curved lines” “small lines” etc. This helps the children break down writing out a letter into simple steps. For an “A” we say: “Big Line, Big Line, Little Line!”

{group #2}

This group was centered around our shape of the month: RECTANGLE! Check out the various ways we made rectangles!

{group #3}

This group focused on our numbers for this month {1 and 2} as well as one-to-one correspondence and fine motor development. The children had to roll the die {which only had one or two dots on each side}, count the dots, and put the corresponding amount of beads into their bowl.

On Friday, we continued our “How We Go” transportation theme with HOT AIR BALLOONS! We read the book “Up, Up, Up”…Our question of the day was: “Which hot air balloon is your favorite?” {the blue hot air balloon got the most votes!} We do the question of the day to give the children a chance to interact during group…and I use it as a chance for them to recognize their names when I hold up their little person. “H-A-N-N-A-H…..who is H-A-N-N-A-H?” {“me!!!”} “Hannah, Which is your favorite hot air balloon?” This also gives the other children a chance to learn/practice their classmates’ names.

Next we talked about hot the air that is used to make a hot air balloon fly is HOT. Cold air is what makes it sink in the sky. I got a hair dryer and a grocery bag to demonstrate how the hot air blows into the balloon to inflate it, lifting it into the air.

In one of our small groups, the children decorated hot air balloons. They used their fine motor skills to glue tissue paper onto their “balloon.” In another group, we painted butcher paper with combs to make the hot air balloon basket. While we painted with combs, we practiced pre-writing words like “up”, “down”, “across”, “straight lines”, “curvy lines”, etc. This will help the children develop the vocabulary necessary for learning to write. {i.e. “Today we are making a ‘B’…it has a big straight line and two little curves.”}

Ms. Sarah

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!! We are looking forward to a fun year of learning together!! Check out a few faces from our 2013-14 Early 3’s class!!

Ms. Sarah

Today we started two new things! 🙂 During whole group time, I introduced the class to the clip system –which is used in the preschool room– for choosing a center. The children are to choose a center, take a clip off of the sign, clip it onto their shirt/dress, and play at that center. When they are finished, they clean up their mess, remove their clip, place it back on the sign, then choose a different center with clips available. This keeps the room calm, and the popular centers are not overcrowded. After I talked about how the system worked, I had the children, who are in the preschool room in the morning, demonstrate how to put on the clip and remove it when they are finished. The preschool children are now my official “teacher’s helpers” –whether it’s helping the younger children with clips or reminding them to use/take off their clips.

We also used clips for another activity. When the children arrived this afternoon, they had to find their mounted photo {with their name on the bottom}…then place clips {with the letters in their name on each clip} on the matching letters of their name. {See the last 4 photos for an idea of how it works!} 🙂

{Ms. Sarah}

Today Ms. Joanie came to our class to sing and play instruments with us! We always love having her in our class! She even brought her special gold sheet for “5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.” Today we practiced holding a large crayon to draw and build our pre-writing skills. In small groups today we had fun with an “I Spy Alphabet Bag” –hair gel in a ziplock bag with foam letters. The children had to look for the first letter of their name, as well as the letter of the week (“Z”). We worked on our one-to-one correspondence by taking turns passing out sparkly pom-poms for each friend to put in their bowls. We are continuing to practice recognizing our names and the letters in our names. Today we molded play dough into the letters in our name. Hope you have a fantastic weekend! See you Monday!!

Miss Sarah 🙂

Today in Early 3’s we learned the letter “Z” and its sound. We practiced our number recognition from 1 to 3. Our book for this week is “I Like Me.” Small Groups: Group #1 painted Z’s with black paint and marbles to make “Z is for Zebra.” Group #2 practiced writing out Z’s with magnetic dots. Group #3 practiced their one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills with a peg board.

{Miss Sarah}