One of our focus questions was, “When do things happen at school?” We used our visual schedule to see what happens during the day and even took some time to plan activities together. Routines are very important at this age and their inquiring minds enjoy discussing what we are doing next. One of the activities on our schedule is story time. The story for the day was Peeny Butter Fudge. In this book When Mama leaves the kids with Nana, she also leaves a schedule and menu for the day on the fridge. But, when the door closes, all sorts of fun breaks loose. Then, Mom comes home, sees the house is a big mess and is temporarily annoyed until she sees that they've made peanut butter fudge.
We had our schedule planned for the day and who do you think showed up? Our very own Nana!
Nana knows how to take an ordinary day and make it extra special! She brought the recipe and all the ingredients to make peanut butter fudge. We read the recipe and discussed how important it was to follow the directions. If we missed a step, our fudge wouldn’t taste good. Knowledge of print and its uses includes understanding that print carries a message and that print is organized and read in particular ways. Each child was given a step from the recipe and couldn’t wait to help.
The first couple of days at school are exhausting for both teachers and students! So many routines to teach and so many little learners to get to know! The most important thing I do the first few weeks is to begin building trust and relationships with each child so they can feel safe and happy. If they feel safe and happy, our parents will feel confident in leaving their child in my care. Being able to establish relationships are essential skills for school and for success in life. During the first week, they learned how to do their morning chores, sit at circle time, get in line, eat lunch at school, wash their hands, clean up, and wait their turn.
The focus question for the week was, what names do we need to know at school? The children quickly decided that they needed to know my name, as well as their friends' names. This led to making name tag necklaces so we could introduce ourselves to each other.
During circle time, we are demonstrating phonological awareness by learning the following nursery rhymes: Humpty Dumpty and The Three Little Kittens. Phonological awareness, or phonological sensitivity, is the ability to discern the sounds and patterns of spoken language. Phonological awareness is an important skill in learning to read. Children become phonologically aware through experiences such as reciting poems and nursery rhymes, singing, and clapping the syllables of chanted words.
Humpty Dumpty
We discussed how Humpty Dumpty is an egg and easily broken when mishandled. I asked the students, "Where is Humpty Dumpty, and is it a safe place for him to be?" This led to an entire discussion about safety and making good choices so we stay safe.
The Three Little Kittens
We acted out The Three Little Kittens by going outside to find their mittens. Once we found all the mittens we matched them by color and size to make a pair. Afterwards, we ate our pie and discussed where things go in our classroom so we don’t lose them(backpack, folder, lunch box, toys).
Little Miss Muffet
As you can see, we’ve been busy! Check back with us on Friday to see what else we’ve been learning in Primary.
We started our new study about reduce, reuse, and recycle. The boys and girls are excited! This study offers opportunities for children to explore a topic that not only interests them but allows them to become more aware of the world around them, and solve problems. Our class is observing, gathering data, exploring our community, learning new information, and proposing solutions to problems. One of the ways the children decided to help was to make a recycling center in our classroom. They enjoy sorting and reusing the trash collected.
Make Everyday Earth Day
During our discussion about Earth Day and how to reduce, reuse, and recycle we decided to make a collage. We used old newspapers to paint a picture of earth and recyclable items we collected. Preschoolers need three separate skills in order to make a collage: ripping, cutting, and gluing. These skills are "process oriented" art skills and the child’s final product is often just part of that process. Children should be encouraged and praised not only for the final product but also for their progress in handling scissors, coordination in ripping, and the ability to use glue.
Making a Greenhouse
After learning about the life cycle of a plant, we made our own greenhouse.
What is environmental print?
Letters and words surround us all day, every day! There are labels on everything we use and signs everywhere we go. This is called environmental print. Environmental print is often a child’s very first exposure to print. Exposing young children to environmental print is crucial to early literacy because it allows them to understand that words and symbols convey messages. We used materials from our recycling center and made flowers. As the children glued on their petals, they could tell me what it was from.
Jelly Bean Graph
Not only is graphing with jellybeans a yummy way to spend some time, it’s also educational; there are so many learning concepts packed into this small activity. Obviously, the main is graphing. But graphing is just the umbrella that covers several mighty and oh-so important math principles. In this particular instance, the children must rely on their color knowledge to sort and classify the jelly beans. After placing the candy on their graphs, they will use their counting skills (one-to-one correspondence) to count and match the number of beans, in a row, to its corresponding number below. Graphing also incorporates the concept of more/less/same.
CLASSIFYING
GRAPHING
ESTIMATION BASKET
After each child looked at the basket full of bunnies, I asked them to give me an estimate of the number of bunnies. We then counted the bunnies and discussed what was the same/difference.
Jelly Bean Measuring
