Pencil Rhymes with Stencil

We have been learning about rhyme in Pre K.  Rhyme is a very important concept (and a difficult one for little ones to understand).  Children who understand the concept of rhyme will find reading easier when they are ready to learn to read.  Today we learned that "pencil" rhymes with "stencil".  A vocabulary lesson followed, as the children did not know what a stencil was.  I brought some stencils out to the art center and showed the children how to use them.  It was a hit with these three!

These girls pulled out a Math Activity to play with, this afternoon.  They rolled the die and placed the corresponding number of glass gems on the die.  Then they poured their gems in their bowls.  It is a great game to reinforce number sense and one to one correspondence.  They also played happily for quite a while without any intervention from me.  Great Social Skills, girls!

This young man focused for a long time making his "Rainbow Cow". He asked me to help him cut it because he felt he couldn't do it, but I told him that I knew he could do it.  And he did!  It was a confidence builder for him.

Working with scissors, markers, glue etc at the Art Center is great Fine Motor practice.  It builds strong muscles in the upper body, arms, hands and fingers.  This will help children to have enough Fine Motor strength for when they are ready to learn to print.