Who would have thought that 2020 would bring COVID-19 and a shortened school year, but we could not let it keep us from doing what we do best.  We put together weekly packets which consisted of focus questions and activities that go along with our box and bread study, as well as, number and letter work and delivered them to our students.  I have really enjoyed seeing the work my kiddos are accomplishing at home!  

Our focus question this week was what can we do with a box? Here are our answers:

Able - "you can sit in them"

Gabbi - "you can mail stuff in them"

Braxton - "you can build a fort with them"

Aubrey - "places sell boxes"

Every child brought a box and they had to turn them into cars. They have had so much fun this week with this project. I have never heard so much laughter! We decided we could not make cars and not put them to good use, so the children were able to sit in their car and pretend they were at a drive-in movie. They enjoyed a movie with popcorn, gummies, and a drink. They have proclaimed this was the best week ever!!

The children have been working over the last couple of weeks with clay to create sea creatures for a movie they started making in technology. Technology enables children to respond and represent their learning in individual ways.

Check back in a couple of weeks to see the end of our box study and the beginning of bread study!

Mrs. Tracy

Candy Heart Sorting and Graphing

Each child was given a box of candy hearts. They had to open the box and sort the hearts by color on the sorting sheet, count the hearts and then color one space for each heart on the graph. They all whipped through this activity easily and then were able to eat their candy hearts.

Valentine Party

The children decorated bags for all of their Valentine goodies. I put Valentine cards in our writing center and the children had a blast writing cards for all their friends. Each child passed out Valentine cards to their friends at our party and then they enjoyed cookies and juice boxes.

Grandparents’ Day

I love Grandparents' Day at St. James. This day really gives us a chance to shine and show off everything we do at this school. The children did so well on their performance. I also enjoyed seeing and visiting with all the grandparents!

Box Study

We have moved on to the box study.  A simple box is endlessly fascinating to young children.  Perhaps more than any other toy or game, boxes have the power to hold children’s attention and spark their imagination in astonishing ways.  

Our focus question this week was what can we do with boxes?  Check back in a couple of weeks to see what we turned our boxes into and the celebration we had! 

We read the book Guacamole by Jorge Argueta, and decided that we would make our own!  The children followed the recipe in the book and everyone took turns helping. They tasted it and almost all of them liked the finished product. I love bringing a book to life and activities like this help with their comprehension of books.  Children who engage in frequent activities with books have larger, more literate vocabularies.   

The tooth fairy stopped by for a visit to PreK!! She talked to the children about the importance of taking care of their teeth. She told them they should be brushing twice a day for two minutes and they should limit sweets to once a week. She taught them the importance of flossing and how to properly brush their teeth, and sprinkled everyone with a little fairy dust on her way out. Thank you  to Drs. Glass and Bunch for providing this presentation to our school!

We made Valentine repeating patterns to go in our windows for Grandparents' Day. The children got to choose which type of pattern they wanted to make, e.g., AB or ABC. Guiding children to understand patterns is a foundational skill in mathematics. As they learn to label patterns by having one name stand for something else, they are creating an algebraic representation.

Both PreK classes took a field trip to FwdFit for a yoga lesson. This went along with our focus question and was a great ending to our exercise study. The children had some pretty good yoga moves. A big thank you to Amanda Willis and FwdFit for making this happen for us! Activities like this help with regulating emotion and behaviors. In order to manage emotions and regulate his or her behavior, a child must learn to control impulses, tolerate frustration, cope with strong emotions, follow limits and expectations, and delay gratification. Children have to develop a basic understanding that actions have positive and negative consequences, know what behaviors are acceptable, be aware that they are capable of controlling their behavior, and know they have the power to manage their emotions.

We are moving on to the box study!  Check back at the end of the month to see what we have been doing!

The older students helped our Pre-K class make lego Christmas ornaments in Technology.  Activities like this is what I truly love about St. James. The students had so much fun creating their own ornaments!

We had our Christmas party and Santa made a special visit to our classroom and brought each child a gift.  It was heartwarming to see each child get so excited to see and tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. After the gifts were opened the children painted a Christmas tree on canvas and then decorated their own cookie.

The new year brings a new study……..excerise!  Our bodies are made to move. Young children are in nearly constant motion when they are awake.  Moving makes children feel capable and confident, releases tension, and builds strong bodies and minds.

A study of exercise not only offers opportunities for children to explore a topic that interests them, but also enables them to gather information, become more aware of the world around them, and solve problems.  Children will explore many types of exercise, observe people while they are exercising, and learn about the mechanics of movements and how to use special equipment to stay safe when exercising. They will also learn about nutrition and jobs related to exercise, and the connection between exercise and healthy bones and muscles. 

We have turned our home living center into a gym.  We borrowed a trampoline from Coach Nicole and the students have loved taking turns jumping!