We are working hard with our letters! We are learning to recognize them, name them, give their sounds, and build them.
Before we start learning to write letters it is important for children to really know what a letter looks like, and what kinds of lines it contains. So for example, uppercase A is made of only straight lines but lowercase a is made of a curved line and a straight line.
We work hard to learn to build them the correct way, to make the transition to writing them much easier. Starting at the top and going down is always important!
In the PM Preschool and Preschool Prep classes, we have been planning our days around a children’s book and integrating other curriculum objectives into that theme.
For example, we read Pete The Cat as a class and the kids were able to snack on some of the different foods Pete steps in to help retell the story (strawberries, blueberries, chocolate- in place of mud, and water). To incorporate letter recognition, we had the children feed letters to our Pete The Cat Character Box. If it was not a letter we had learned yet, the children would say “goodness no!”- just like in the story. To continue with this theme, we had a question of the day for the children: “What color would you turn your shoes? What would you need to step in to turn them this color?”
We were able to integrate literacy, letter recognition, sense of taste, color recognition, and story retelling!
Sensory play is extremely important for children to engage in! It allows them to learn and explore in a way that allows them to be successful. There are many things in life, especially at school where children can do things in a “right way” and a “wrong way.” Sensory play can be whatever a child wants it to be, and they can just be creative and have fun! Sensory play is also a great way to engage in learning and allows children to engage in multiple senses. When this occurs, children are able to learn more! Playdoh is a great resource and one that we use frequently in preschool. We mold it into shapes, letters and numbers and while we do this we are feeling the material, seeing the material become something specific and learning while having fun. We can squish it, roll it, squeeze it, and flatten it which helps us work our hand muscles.
For the month of November, we will be focusing on the use of our five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound. Early education focuses a lot of learning through sensory play and active learning because our senses are some of our most useful learning tools! It is important for toddlers to continue to develop their different senses, as well as to learn the use of their senses, because that is their means of processing the world around them. Use of the five senses can help children link their senses to recalling memories, which helps with overall cognitive development.
With our toddlers, we made pumpkin muffins as a class, and we used our senses to explore what we were making along the way. Here goes some multi-sensory learning!
Ms. Kristen had some already made muffins in the Mystery Can, and our friends listened to the sound it made in the can. We then started making our muffins, by adding each ingredient in a big plastic bag, one step at a time. Our friends got to smell each ingredient we were adding (yum, cinnamon!) throughout the process.
After adding all of our ingredients, it was time to mix the batter together. Each of our friends got to take a turn (yay, sharing!) mixing our muffin batter in the bag. They loved how squishy and soft it felt!
After putting the batter into the pan, our friends got to add their own chocolate chips on top–we always love to sneak in some fine motor skills 😉
They used their sense of taste at snack time, when they got to enjoy what they helped make!
To celebrate Halloween this week, we had all Halloween-themed activities! We did Halloween art projects, played Halloween games, had spooky snacks, and of course–COSTUMES! We had so much fun celebrating Halloween with our friends. Have a safe and happy Halloween, from the Creative Tots Toddler Room!
Creative Tots has specialized in the private education of both toddlers and preschool age children for over 15 years. We began in the heart of Madeira and now also have a new Mason location. We are specifically designed to focus on early childhood development for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
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