We began with several tray explorations. The children could count apples, sort apples by color and explore apples and their parts at the science table. We even had red and green paint at the easel for the first time today and it was a major hit. I don't think I have ever had a class take more of an interest in the easel than this group. They love to paint!
This is a class of apple lovers! We played with apples, painted with apples and taste tested apples today. This group had such a full morning. We began with several tray explorations. The children could count apples, sort apples by color and explore apples and their parts at the science table. We even had red and green paint at the easel for the first time today and it was a major hit. I don't think I have ever had a class take more of an interest in the easel than this group. They love to paint! The children are also enjoying our circle time where we spend time listening to a story, singing songs, participating in finger plays or working on a particular skill as a group. Today the boys and girls helped the numbered worms find their matching apples. Simple counting from 1-5, 1:1 correspondence and number recognition were all part of today's skill. We also read a wonderful non fiction book about apple which set us up for some taste testing. Yummy! We spent time talking about the different types of apples. The children got a chance to see different varieties, hold them in their hands and taste how each was unique. And of course our painting tools today were apples. One of the things I love the most about teaching the five senses is that it lends itself so naturally to hands on exploration. We continued to use our hands, ears, nose, mouth and eyes to learn about our surroundings. The simple activity of popping popcorn had the children very eager to participate! We sat together and listened as the kernels began to pop. We watched them fall out of the machine and into a bowl. We felt them in our hands. Some were still warm. We smelled the fresh popcorn and finally tasted it. Many of my little friends came back for second and third helpings. We also enjoyed making a texture collage and playing in shaving cream. It was a day dedicated to sensory fun! Shaving cream is a great tool. We can practice writing our letters, numbers, shapes etc. with our fingers. An added bonus is that is a quick clean up only requiring a rinse. A little nervous about touching it to begin with, the children all dove in and enjoyed the cool foam between their fingers. Some were up to their elbows in no time!
We began our morning by exploring our 5 senses. We felt different textures, smelled an array of different scents, listened to a story, looked through a kaleidoscope, and tasted both salty and sweet treats for our snack. There was something for every one to enjoy. Some of us got a little silly and tried on my giant Listening Ears. For art today we listened to some music as we free painted. We even added a jingle bell on the end of our paint brush for some more sensory fun! Then the fun arrived. Zoo Man from the Austin Zoo brought some of his special friends for a visit. A 35 year old Cockatoo. She sang and whistled to us. She was very well behaved and we even heard her say, "Pretty Bird". Next up was Sausage, the Blue Tongue Skink. He likes to eat bananas, eggs and bugs. We also learned that he is a very slow mover. We met Jojo the Wallaby. He is 9 months old and loves to eat apples and carrots. One of my little friends was extra brave and volunteered to hold the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach!!!! What visit from the Zoo Man would be complete without a snake. Goldie the Ball Boa joined us today. Although none of the children touched the snake they got a nice up close and personal look at him ( I kept a healthy distance.) The boys and girls were attentive and enthusiastic guests at the Zoo Man's show. Special thanks to the Zoo Man for another great show!
This morning our little artists made their own owls! We were beyond excited to break into the paints. Each child chose a rock to decorate. We painted them and added colorful feathers and eyes. I got quite a chuckle when the children told me their owls had more than two eyes. It is their creation so who was I to say what their owl should look like. I love the risk taking and creative expression they are already freely enjoying. And they were all so proud of their own unique rock owl. Overheard today... "My owl has seven eyes." "I love this painting stuff." "My owl is my new pet." "How long do you think he needs to dry?" "My owl has wings. See." "This owl is too heavy to really fly." A very special thank you goes out to our Playdough Maker this month. The children LOVED it! Each child was given a lump of playdough. We then talked about where owls live. We used our hands to try and form our playdough into small nests. Then each was given a small glass gem ( and egg ) to place in the nest. We buried the gems in the playdough and challenged our friends to find our egg. This activity is great for developing those finger muscles. Once those hand muscles are stronger there will be more success when holding a pencil, paint brush or even scissors. Some children even took things a step further and tried to roll their own eggs and make playdough snakes. I love how they naturally extended the task at hand into something more complex and challenged each other to try. Here are a few more snapshots from our busy day. Enjoy the weekend. Up next week...Our Five Senses!
Our little owls had a great morning full of fine motor practice and fun. As the children arrive each day there are a variety of trays set out for them to explore. The trays help provide each child a defined space that is all their own. The activities are fine motor, early literacy and math based. Each tray is fun and engaging. My hope is that the trays are opportunities for the children to find success with little or no instruction or frustration. They enjoy watching as one friend tries an activity and patiently wait for their turn. I love to watch the concentration on their little faces and they work through the task at hand. The sense of accomplishment once they complete a task is very exciting to witness. During our story time we learned that owls are nocturnal and hunt at night. We also learned that owls hatch from eggs and have feathers. The boys and girls had an opportunity to explore feathers, a nest, an xray, a scull and bird prints under the magnifying glass. The freedom to touch it all was very inviting and the children spent a good amount of time exploring the science table. We also continued to work on their scissor skills today. The children were each given a divided paper strip and a sheet of stickers. I asked them to peel their stickers (a much more difficult task for young learners than you might think) and place one in each box on their paper strips. Once they had done so they got their scissors to snip the boxes apart and place in an envelope to bring home. Overheard while working: "I peeled it!" "Look, I can do it!" "Look at me. Open, close, open, close." " Mommy's gonna love this!" "I need help." We also used the glue bottles again today to make special birthday collages which will hang over our cubby area. Each collages is so unique! They will be hung as the children celebrate their birthdays.
I am so pleased at how well the children have adjusted to preschool and I'm so looking forward to all the possibilities this year brings. This bunch is eager to try new things and as their teacher, I am very excited to witness their discoveries! This morning we were busy learning how to control glue bottles. I know glue sticks are probably preferred at home (and there is nothing wrong with them) but coming to school and learning how to control a glue bottle for the first time is VERY exciting for a three year old. We read a story called Too Much Glue by Jason Lefebvre. In the story we saw a little boy, Matty, get into a sticky situation when he used too much glue. The children were more than eager to try using a glue bottle after the story. We all sat together and after I demonstrated they had the opportunity to squeeze away. I was extremely impressed with their control and understanding of how to squeeze just the right amount. We kept repeating, "Dot, Dot, Not A Lot". Give them a bottle this weekend and see if they can dazzle you with their control. Our little artists had a great time with our painting project. Today we used balloons filled with corn as our painting tool. What a fun sensory experience to not only squish the balloons with our little hands but to use them as our primary painting tool. The color mixing was an added benefit. I must say they turned out beautiful! The Owls were also introduced to pipettes. This little tool is one of the best for strengthening the pincer grasp. It is also one of the most fun to use! It takes some serious thought to pinch it in the air, put it down in the water, release, watch the water enter the tube, transfer it to the second cup and pinch again. It can be frustrating at first but once the order of things is established it can be mesmerizing for a young learner. The children are having a great time and don't even realize the foundation is being set for future fine motor success. Not to mention the complicated set of directions one must follow. When you think about it this is some pretty high level learning our kiddos are doing. We also had several candid moments caught on camera.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It was so nice to sit down and chat with everyone this afternoon. Looking forward to next week when we learn all about Owls! I can already tell this is going to be a great year! We are off and running! Our classroom is filled with smiling faces and eager learners. We are spending some time this week getting used to how things work in preschool. We are big kids now after all. We can carry our own totes, help pour our own water at snack time and even work with scissors! I was so impressed at how the children adapted to all that we did today. They were eager to try new tasks and make new We spent some time today exploring finger paints. Finger painting is not just fun but also a sensory experience. It is interesting to see which children jump right in and squish paint through their fingers, which need to see others do it first to know that it is alright and which get upset at the idea of getting dirty. It is a simple activity that shows who are the risk takers? Who are the observers? Who are the explorers? Who is an experimenter? Each of us approaches new learning experiences differently. No one way is the right way. To be well rounded learners we need a little of each. I can say this group is not afraid to get dirty! We enjoyed every second of our sensory art today! We spent some time with an introduction to scissor skills. For some of these little learners this may have been their first experience with cutting. It is an awkward skill for a new learner to master but it will get easier with more practice. We do a lot of cutting exercises and work to strengthen those fine motor hand muscles. It always makes me chuckle to see how awkwardly a child new to scissors holds them, tongues sticking out in concentration, hands strangely upside down. They boys and girls were very happy to package up their clippings as a gift to remember their first day. Finally, what is a day at preschool without some outdoor fun!
|
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
May 2023
Categories |