Our PreSchool Blog

Cooking with children is a wonderful way to teach them the benefits of measuring, numbers and working as a group.

Today we worked together to make apple crisp!  We sat around the table and talked about how we use measuring cups to help us make different kinds of foods.  For our apple crisp recipe we measured flour, sugar, and baking powder and stirred it all together.  We sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top of our crisp apples and put it in the oven to bake!  The kids loved the smell of our wonderful creation as we all sat and ate it for snack!

Color sorting

Color recognition

The kids have loved practicing their sorting.  Parker and Ryan have seperated all of their bowls and are putting the color bears in their matching bowls. This is such a fun skill for them to practice at this age!

The colorful clips and clothespins hanging around the preschool classroom might seem odd at first glance but the system and reasoning behind them has added a whole new sense of responsibility and indenpendence in the students. At each of our many Centers there is a Center Sign along with its matching, brightly colored clips. Each of these centers offers a wide variety of ever changing themed choices ranging from Dramatic Play and ABC Centers to Bookmaking and Block Centers. During our Free Choice time you can witness the students participating in any number of activities; whether they are playing a game individually or taking turns with a friend the centers are always a place for FUN as well as academic growth and development.

You may have heard a teacher asking the question, “Do you have a clip on your clothes?” once or twice. Placing a clip on our clothes is chosing to play at a center and while at that center it is the preschooler’s responsibility to play a game or work together on an activity with friends. When a child is finished visiting a center it is their job to make sure they have put their tools and toys away so that the next child to chose that center may come play. They put the clip back on the Center Sign and move onto their next center of choice.
The children have done a fantastic job picking up the new ways to enjoy and take care of our classroom. Great work, preschoolers!

The preschoolers continued their focus on the numbers 1, 2, and 3 today with Ms. Manda’s very popular sticker activity. The students identified each numeral as they covered them with small stickers (great for those ever growing fine motor skills). Then it was onto the tricky part; How many is the number 1? The number 2? And the number 3? The students were asked to place the correct amount of smiley face stickers next to the corresponding number. The kids loved this activity and were very proud of their finished product. It was a great way to show the written form of the numbers as well as the spatial form.

Sorting, numeral sequencing and spatial arrangement. Unbelievable what a single exercise can convey.

Color recognition is learned quickly through the use of color mats and sorting.

Today we used a color sorting mat to practice color recognition and sorting.  The children loved taking the special items out of their containers and placing them with the correct color circle.  From brown footballs to yellow bananas to green frogs, the toddlers enjoyed playing and sorting with these fun items!