The toddlers were giving their little fingers a workout with this activity! The boys and girls were given a piece of white chalk to draw lines up and down, circles or scribbles on a black piece of paper. This activity really had their fine motor skills and creativity working!
The K Prep students did the first entry in their journals today about what we were thankful for, after reading Bear Says Thanks. We saw a lot of family faces in those entries!
Journal writing is one of the foundation blocks of our language arts philosophy. Each week, the children have a set time to write in their journals. The journal serves as a valuable learning tool. The children are beginning to get their ideas on paper and learn first hand the power of words. Research shows that journaling is one of the most effective ways to teach and learn phonics.
Children at the beginning stages often use “scribble writing” or random letters to represent words. As they progress, they will begin to use the letters that represent the sounds in the words that they are attempting to write (“btrfli” for butterfly). We make good use of the children’s growing phonics by helping them listen carefully to the words they wish to use. Our ultimate goal is for each child to learn to communicate on paper whether it is through words or illustrations.
Children draw pictures as the main part of their communication at these early stages. Drawing helps them find the words they might want to use in their writing. We saw a lot of words in these first entries….very impressive!
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).
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
The K Prep students did their second entry in their journals today. Last week our entry was about what/who we love. We saw a lot of family faces in those entries! Monday, after reading the book, We Love School we wrote/drew about our favorite thing at our own school.
Journal writing is one of the foundation blocks of our language arts philosophy. Each week, the children have a set time to write in their journals. The journal serves as a valuable learning tool. The children are beginning to get their ideas on paper and learn first hand the power of words. Research shows that journaling is one of the most effective ways to teach and learn phonics.
Children at the beginning stages often use “scribble writing” or random letters to represent words. As they progress, they will begin to use the letters that represent the sounds in the words that they are attempting to write (“btrfli” for butterfly). We make good use of the children’s growing phonics by helping them listen carefully to the words they wish to use. Our ultimate goal is for each child to learn to communicate on paper whether it is through words or illustrations.
Children draw pictures as the main part of their communication at these early stages. Drawing helps them find the words they might want to use in their writing.
"Painting Center"
"I like to play on the playground."
"Me and Bode Playing Basketball"
"To Draw with Sam on the Chalkboard"
"I like to play in the writing center."
"I like when my family comes to school."
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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