September 17-28

Observation of baby turtle

working out those little fingers in play doh

Observation of baby turtle

Abby's fish picture

Logan's fish picture



Our class next

Get comfy because this is going to take awhile!!

Sorry for skipping last week, here is the weekly blog for the past two weeks with condensed information.

 

The Hawks learned about the homes of creatures.  The children got to observe a hatchling turtle and we talked about the home (habitat) of turtles.  They also learned where fish live and created a fish scene.  I included the pictures above because I wanted you to see how instruction is differentiated in the classroom.  The younger children's fish scenes were a lot more basic, the older children colored and cut all their pictures alone.  We often cover the same topics, but the content is taught at a different level to remain age appropriate.  We also talked about bird homes- nests.  The children observed the class nest that the Eagles made and they made their own individual nests on paper.  Discussion in the class also focused on what animals live in the jungle.  The Hawks made monkey puppets on Tuesday of this week and made snakes on Thursday.  The kids got to "fish" in our water sensory table and worked their fine motor skills while working on lacing cards.  Of course we continued to talk about circles and the color red and counted every day to 10 and recited the alphabet (this happens daily).   

 

The Eagles continued on with the monthly themes and read the book "Big" and journaled every day.  Their books and journals went home today.  Please praise all their hard work in their journals and encourage them to continue reading "Big" at home to you.  They often "read" from the context clues (pictures), this is ok and is to be expected.  I want them to practice the left to right at this stage and to guess the unknown words by reading the first letter of the word.  Please have them track the words left to right with their fingers and help them guess when stuck by asking what sound the first letter of the word makes.  The Eagles talked about habitats too.  We covered the habitats of fish, birds, jungle animals, and people.  To reinforce learning, the children made the following art projects- a river scene, a nest, door hangers (for their rooms), a fish scene, a lion puppet, and a snake (to go home Monday).  The Eagles also "fished" in the water sensory table, worked their fine motor skills while lacing, and practiced identifying numbers 1-10 with bear counting.

 

Thanks to the Eagle parents for sending in nesting materials, all of the materials really helped with the projects I had planned!  I used the scientific method with the kids (minus the terminology) as we selected prime building materials and left them out for the birds to "borrow".  We guessed what would be taken and then left the tray out for two days.  The birds took a lot of our materials, then we brought the tray in a discussed the results.  They were very excited at the idea that a bird could be building a nest with our materials all the way in Mexico!  Ok, perhaps unlikely, but in theory possible.  I also started the "direction activity" with the Eagles.  In this activity I give them a picture and give directions, like "color the middle door red", or "color the biggest tree green".  The kids try to focus on the directions and color as directed.  This is always interesting the first time, but I'm sure with practice they'll be listening like champs!  I'm also in the process of assessing the students to check for Kindergarten readiness.  I will discuss results with you, and don't worry, we don't expect them to know much of it at this point.

 

We went to chapel on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  The kids LOVED the live guitar music played by Ms. Barbara as they danced around.  We're excited to be back to meeting with Father Gary and Ms. Barbara.

 

I think that's it for now... enjoy your weekend!
Ms. Jen

September 10th-14th

What a busy week! 

In addition to our monthly themes, we talked about habitats this week.  I brought in a baby turtle for the M/W/F class (now called the Eagles) and I'll bring him back for the T/Th class (now called the Hawks) to observe during this upcoming week.

The Eagle class talked about body parts as we did the hokey pokey.  We are talking about less discussed body parts like the ankle, calf, wrist, shoulder, etc.  The children learned about turtles when I brought in our new baby red-eared slider.  We discussed animals having land and water habitats, discussed the habitats of many different animals, and the kids made their own turtle.  On Friday we discussed their feelings and how to control anger, they learned that by counting to 10 they give themselves an opportunity to cool down and not act out in anger.  We also talked about what makes us happy, sad, mad, excited, etc.  They worked on subtizing (recognizing small numbers by sight without counting- ie. on dice).  They also made two books, one with animal habitats and the other called "Big".  They are getting really good at cutting skills and patient with assembling books, which requires putting pages in order, cutting, coloring, etc.  Then we practice reading books which is really exciting for the kids!  The kids have practiced the letters a and b.  We discussed fire safety this week and had a fire drill.

I encourage you, as a family to talk about what to do in a fire at your house and to pick a "safe" family meeting spot outside your home.  I meet with my boys at the mailbox which is in our cul-de-sac.  If your family knows where to go in the case of a fire (first OUT of the house, then to the meeting spot), it can help reunite your family if an emergency does happen.  And, then no one is trying to go back into the house to look for missing children.  This concept may be too much for our Hawks, but I think the Eagles can learn and remember this, especially if you take time to practice every month or so.

The Hawk class learned about turtles as well.  We also discussed animal habitats (although I called it animal homes) and they completed a sheet reinforcing this concept.  They are really learning to cut well also, with almost half of the children cutting with assistance at this point.  We worked on gross motor skills as the children tossed bean bags in to a hula hoop (called a giant circle to reinforce our circle theme).  The kids also colored circles, traced their hands as we discussed body parts, and worked with pattern bears (recognizing and predicting patterns).

Both classes worked with our parachute as we played inside during part of our play time on the extremely hot days.

For those of you who missed Back to School Night on Thursday, here is an outline of what was discussed.  Please call or stop in if you would like more information...

ELM PARK PRESCHOOL

Back to School Night

1.      Basic Educational Goals for Eagles (4-5 year olds) - Letter recognition (upper and lower case), sounds of letters, shapes, counting to 20, number recognition to 20, write name, & identify colors.  Why we don’t stress upper case letters.  Overall goal- have fun and love learning! 

2.     Basic Educational Goals for Hawks (2-3 year olds)- Social Growth, letter recognition, increase eye hand coordination, strengthen hands (pincer grip), share, take turns, follow directions, take instruction from adults, recognize name, etc.  Overall goal- have fun and love learning!

3.     Read blog and ask questions.  Blog can be found off main webpage www.elmparkpreschool.com.

4.     Assessing- Kids will be assessed.

5.     Introduce room moms- discuss holiday traditions.

6.     Picture Day- Will be set for November.  Date to be determined.

7.     Nuts and bolts

a.     Birthday Treats- please bring in small treats, limiting sugar

b.  Don't forget to sign your child in and out daily

 

c.      Sharing will be on Wednesdays (Eagles) and Thursdays (Hawks)

d.    Please have children wear loose clothing for toileting- to promote independence.

e.     Shoes (closed shoes with socks)- are needed for playground

f.       Snack- you may bring snack for your child if you prefer.  Please have Hawks practice drinking from cups.

8.      Donations- Any donations would be appreciated

a.     Snack- dried or fresh fruit, crackers, bread, veggies, etc.

b.     Wipes for the kids

c.      Paper- white copy or construction

d.     Playground equipment- balls, chalk, etc.

September 4th-7th

This week we continued with the monthly themes of red, circle, the letter a, and how we are all special people.

The M/W/F group worked on writing the number 1 and the letter a.  They wrote on white boards, in blue finger paint, with food, and in their journals.  We talked about why we think the other students are special, it was hilarious.  Grady likes Abby because she "likes his mom".  Sydney liked Rowan because he is "hardly ever mean".  Their answers were precious.  We talked about the homes that we live in and the kids drew their own house.  The kids are practicing writing their names.  When they can't, I write it with their hand- helping them.  I'm trying to have them write their names at least 2-3 times per day.  The children worked on recognizing the numbers 1 through 5 (this is review for some) by sorting beans into egg containers.  This group gained two students this week, Helena and Logan.  Our new students are awesome, we are happy to have them!  We started a star incentive program this week.  The children earn stars for good behavior and will get rewards for stars.

The T/TH students worked on circle rubbings, cutting and coloring a circle, and stamping.  We are focusing on increasing hand strength that will eventually help them with the difficult coordination required for writing.  We try to give them many opportunities to work those little hands, sometimes with play doh or free drawing.  They practiced their pincer grips while sorting beans into egg containers.  The children made their houses and put their family in open doors.  We also tried a parachute activity inside to get some exercise inside away from the heat.  Maddox joined this group on Thursday.  He fits in perfectly with our students and had a great day!  We have another little girl joining our group on Tuesday named Gabby.

Sorry there are no pictures this week!  I'm searching for my missing camera and took pictures on my phone, which I can't figure out how to get on the blog.  I need an IT guy!!  Rest assured that the kids were cute as usual this week, and look forward to pics next week (I hope)!

August 27-31



Jackson's building



Paige

Grady

The kids painting

Troy

The second week of school was another great one!

At Elm Park, we continued on with the themes of - the letter a, the number 1, the color red, the shape of circle, and the idea that we are all unique and special.  The children made the letter a in shaving cream, on white boards, and with goldfish.  We continued to talk about how special we are all are.  The children made "me puppets" and made a me collage.  The older children counted and matched beans.

The kids began their journals, practicing letters and numbers.  The children are getting into a routine and getting to know each other.  The older children are really expanding their work skills, practicing patience and fine motor skills.

We are looking forward to starting chapel this week!