Preschool Prep had such a great first week of school. We focused on getting to know our classroom and our new friends on the first day. Then, we started learning our schedule and how our days are going to look. Our last day involved practicing taking turns and raising our hands during group time. They did so well, and I am so excited to watch how much they learn and grow this year!
The studio toddlers had a penguin party, using penguins to help us match colors. They had to match the penguin’s hat to the color scarf the penguin was wearing. Sometimes our friends will choose a color on their own, and then they try to name the color for us. Other times we will direct them to a specific color to try and challenge them to find colors they may not know as well as others.
In our other small group, we used our shape of the month, triangle, to make a penguin of our own! Here, our learners follow 1 and 2 step directions to complete the activity.
Ms. Kelsey’s toddler class helped make chocolate chip muffins for letter M week!
During our hands-on whole group activity, we talked about following a recipe, practiced taking turns, and used our senses.
Asking questions and letting our little learners process what they are experiencing through their senses helps to connect these ideas to other environments and experiences outside of the classroom. Some things we discussed: What color was the mix? What color did it turn after we added our eggs? Was it cold or warm? How did it feel? Squishy or solid? We could smell the muffins in our classroom after they came out of the oven. And of course, we got to taste them, which was the best part!
Learning patterns is a crucial foundational math skill upon which many other mathematical concepts are built on. Our preschool prep class has begun patterning and did such a great job!
We started with the basic concept of extending a pattern similar to ABABA… and they were to add what comes next. We will continue to work on patterns such as AABBAA… and work our way into even trickier patterns by the end of the month 🙂
The Studio Toddler class helped to make white play-dough that we will be using throughout the month of January for various activities.
We practiced following directions and taking turns to help mix the ingredients together. We also talked about what other things in our world are white. Not surprisingly, snow was the most popular answer 🙂
Learning positional words like over/under, on/off, and in/out is an important preschool skill. Not only do children develop spatial awareness by practicing these skills but they are also learning the fundamentals of early math. Using positional words in connection with concrete objects and situations helps children develop vocabulary. We had lots of fun this week learning the positional words IN and OUT as we took turns going IN the tunnel and coming OUT.
Did you hear?! We had a LEPRECHAUN in the toddler classroom! That sneaky leprechaun made such a mess of our classroom! We talked all about trying to catch a leprechaun to take his gold, and how hard it is to catch one! Below you can see what kind of mischief that leprechaun got into.
For this St. Patrick’s Day activity, our friends rolled a die and whichever number they rolled, that’s how many gold coins they counted into their pots.
Shamrock crafts! One of our crafts was turning our white shamrock green, using glue and tissue paper. Our other craft was, putting glue onto their shamrock, and then they sprinkled glitter on top of the glue, to make a leprechaun wand!
Our last activity for our St. Patrick’s Day celebration was going on a gold hunt! Once they found THREE gold coins, they got to turn them in for a “gold bar” (a twix!)
Happy 2017 from the toddler room! The transition back from holiday break has been so smooth, and we are so excited to have all of our friends back with us!
We have started off the month of January with focus on the letter “M” this week. We read the book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and made our very own chocolate chip muffins!
We practiced taking turns, and sitting for longer periods of time. We followed directions and used our recipe to help guide us along! A lot of our ingredients are white, which is perfect because we are learning about the color white this month! Check out our muffin-making process below.
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Learning about the letters of the alphabet is so much fun when you use a story to go along with it. The book, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”, is a toddler classroom favorite, and our toddlers had so much fun learning about all of the letters, and wondering if there will be enough room for all of them at the top of the coconut tree!
They all got to take a turn picking a letter from the mystery can, saying which letter it is, and putting it on the coconut tree!
Next we did a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom art project, where we used fine motor skills to peel alphabet stickers off, and then place them on their own coconut tree! We are working on the thumb and finger pincer grasp this month, and stickers are an excellent tool to practice this grasp, as well as improve hand strength.
“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” was such a fun unit, and we are so excited to get into our October themes for the month!
The color we have been focusing on in the toddler classroom this month is the color yellow. We incorporate the color of the month into different small group activities, art projects, and within our centers whenever we can!
For one of our small groups, we found yellow play-dough in Ms. Kristen’s mystery can, and we got to make our own yellow play-dough! Each of our friends took a turn adding different ingredients for our play-dough recipe. They do such a good job waiting for their turn!
It’s so exciting to be able to play with the play-dough you made yourself! 😉
In another small group, we made a yellow collage with glue sticks, yellow shapes, and yellow crayons.
Yellow bean bag toss to practice gross motor skills! Gross motor skills are such an important part of your toddler’s physical development. Having different types of movement activities helps to promote muscle movement, and strengthen coordination.
Yellow color sorting!
We love to do art projects with our friends, especially ones that involve using our senses! Our friends were able to make some lemon prints, using real lemons, which they got to smell and taste before we used them for painting. They were so sour! 🙂
Creative Tots has specialized in the private education of both toddlers and preschool age children for over 15 years. We began in the heart of Madeira and now also have a new Mason location. We are specifically designed to focus on early childhood development for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
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