Family is Important!

Family is important!  Please take time to talk to your kids.  Having conversations around the dinner table is a wonderful way to do this!  Had to share this little video clip.  ( click on the link below )

        http://youtu.be/2wfbY3i4FY0

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.

Growing Crystals

We have been growing crystals for the past couple of days.  We dissolved Borax in hot water until the solution was saturated.  We inserted a heart shaped pipe cleaner and then patiently waited.  Pre K A needed to be extra patient, as no results were very visible the first day.  Pre K B could see crystals by the same afternoon.  One of the students shared some descriptive vocabulary about the result with her friends.  The crystals were "glittery" and "sparkly".  This science activity was an opportunity to practice social skills....being patient.  Language skills were used too, as lots of language was used by the children to discuss the activity.

Winter Weather?

The weather has been very warm lately....more like Spring than Winter.  We have been taking advantage of the nice weather to play outside. We are building strong Gross Motor Skills muscles when we play outside.  Strong Gross Motor Skills make it easier to develop strong Fine Motor Skills- the skills children will need when they are ready to learn to print. 

Playing outside also helps develop Social Skills and Language. Planning, cooperating, and negotiating are all part of building snow creations and playing on the equipment outside.

Construction Zone

We have a construction zone with real hammers and nails.  (Thank you to the parents who made donations!). The kids are having a ball!  Lots of coordination is required.  I have been hearing good language and negotiation taking place too.  What a fun way to learn!

Play Dough

Mrs. W made some new play dough for us.  We had lots of fun with it.  It helps build strong muscles in our fingers...muscles that we will need to hold a pencil properly when we are ready to print.

Lots of language was going on, too, as we talked about what we were doing with the play dough.  We even practiced our social skills by asking to share the tools.

Fun with Scissors!

This afternoon a few of the children discovered an old catalogue that they used for cutting.  They were very excited to find toys that they desired and to cut them out and save in envelopes to take home.  It was great for cutting skills, but I also heard a lot of language and a lot of social skills being practiced as they negotiated who was going to get which picture.  They amazed me with the sharing and cooperation they demonstrated.  Way to go Pre K!

Snow Fun in April!

Adults may not think that snow is fun at the end of April, but the kids do. It provided opportunities for Gross Motor development, Language and fun!