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.
It’s all about down under this month! We have been exploring the Great Barrier Reef and learning about the animals in the ocean. Today we made Sea Anemone prints, ask your preschooler about animals from down under!
We introduced letter formation through pre-writing lines in sand. Tracing in sand or various substances creates a sensory connection to help little ones remember letters and numbers. This is a fun and easy way to explore at home too!
The preschoolers practiced name recognition, direction following, listening skills, and glue stick skills while creating an adorable sea turtle from the Great Barrier Reef!
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 have reached week 3 of our school year!! Yay!! Today the children listened to a read aloud called “All About You.” We talked about where we live, what we wear, who we live with, what we eat, etc. The children are currently learning the color red and the letter “R.” During group time, I had a bin with various items, and the children had to identify which items were red. During small groups, we painted rainbows (for the letter “R”) for our ABC book we will be working on throughout the year. They also painted a muffin tin and printed it on paper for the art show in March. The children worked on our numbers for the month (number recognition 1-3). They also practiced one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills with pipe cleaners and colanders. The playground has a new feature that the children absolutely LOVE: a sandbox!! Check out all of the fun photos from our day!
{Miss Sarah} 🙂
(Muffin Tin Art: Art Show Piece)
(“R” is for Rainbow)
Fine Motor Development is an extremely important skill at the preschool level. Fine Motor skills serve as a strong foundation for handwriting development and letter formation. Strengthening these little muscles take a lot of work and practice.
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.
Click below to learn more about our program offerings: