We had a very busy start to our day. After drop off we headed to class where we put our lunches in our cubbies and washed our hands. While we explored the new spider centers, we took our individual fall portraits. Once those were done we went upstairs for a visit from the Tobin Arts Center. They sent Ms. Allison and her violin. Ms. Allison showed us her beautiful instrument and played us a few songs. It was beautiful! For snack we had some cheese sticks and graham crackers. I decided this was the perfect snack to turn into a fine motor activity. So today we introduced knife safety and knife skills. We discussed the parts of the knife and what they are used for. We also talked about only using a knife if an adult is around and to only use butter knives. Some sharp knives are only for grown up hands. After everyone explored their knife, we unwrapped our cheese sticks and used the knife to cut them into smaller pieces. Everyone really enjoyed this responsibility and did well safely slicing their cheese. We will continue to work on knife skills when our snack allows. During circle time Tootsie asked us if we were afraid of spiders or not. Then we voted and graphed our answers. We were able to tell that most people are afraid of spiders in our class. What about you? From here we headed over to the big table to make some bracelets. The children pretended that the black beads were spiders. Some chose colorful beads while others chose glow in the dark beads. This fine motor activity was quite challenging but no one gave up! We had a few minutes before our playground time so we got out one of my favorites hand/arm muscle activities. Theraputty works both large and small muscles. We squeeze, pinch, stretch or twist Theraputty to strengthen hand muscles, improve fine motor skills, and decrease stress. Fine motor skills are crucial for completing daily tasks, like fastening a button or using a pencil. With TheraPutty, fine motor skills can be improved by strengthening finger and upper arm muscles. This stuff has great resistance and you can see in some of the pictures we really needed to pull hard to stretch our putty. When my kids were younger I always keep a container or two in my purse for when we went to an appointment or dinner where the kids had to wait around. It doesn't dry out and won't crumble into a million little pieces. It's a fun sensory material with fine motor benefits. You can find it on Amazon or at Lakeshore in town. It would make a great stocking stuffer! Outside we enjoyed running, climbing and finding acorns, sticks, rocks, and mulch to put in some treasure bags we brought with us. It was a busy day. I am looking forward to Friday. We will be "dissecting" spiders! I can't wait to see how everyone does with this engaging science/sensory exploration. Praying we get a little rain between now and Friday. See you then!
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Why Blog?Here you will find little snippets of our days together. When my children were in preschool and would come home I would always ask, "So, what did you do today?". All they ever said was, "Played." That didn't tell me much. I hope this blog will be a place to share what we have done and help you ask more directed questions of your child. You will see first hand just what we do after you kiss your little one goodbye in the morning. It will also be a great place to visit and see just how much your child has grown and learned throughout the year. Archives
March 2024
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