BEGINNING THE SCHOOL YEAR

We had a fabulous week in Pre-K.  This week we have focused on getting to know one another and the rules of the classroom, centers, and playground. Being able to establish caring relationships and to enter successfully into ongoing social interactions are essential skills for school and for success in life.  Children’s ability to form positive relationships with adults is important to their social development and academic success.

We read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, and went on a Chester hunt.  Chester came into our rooms and left us four clues about trying to find him.  This allowed us to work on our ordinal counting: how to indicate the position of something in a sequence, e.g., first, second, third, and so forth. Finally, Chester left us a special treat before jumping back into the book.  The children loved this activity!

We worked on fine-motor strength and coordination by cutting out triangles and squares.  The children also had to use tweezers to pick up a peg and put into a pegboard. Fine-motor skills involve grasping and releasing objects using fingers and hands, as well as using both hands together and often coordinating these movements with the eyes.  They require hand and finger strength and dexterity.

We began journaling this week.  Journaling gives me the opportunity to find out what is happening with the children outside of the classroom.  It also demonstrates emergent writing skills. Writing is an important aspect of emergent literacy. Writing begins with making a mark, originates from drawing, and is supported by make-believe play.

The children put puzzles together and worked on their spatial relationships and shapes.  Understanding spatial relationships and shapes helps children build the foundation for understanding geometry.