Our PreSchool Blog

The importance of phonemic awareness and phonics instruction for beginning readers has received wide support among reading researchers.  When young children participate in specific instruction in how to identify and manipulate the sounds of language (phonemic awareness) and how to associate those sounds with letters and letter patterns (phonics), children are very likely to succeed in reading.  Skill at decoding, or sounding out unfamiliar words, is so critical for skilled reading that neither instruction instruction in sight word reading nor strategies in the use of context can compensate for poor decoding skills.  Decoding skills are considered an essential for fluent reading in later grades.  We begin this journey in our pre-k program to create a solid foundation in early phonics for your child to build on as they continue their path to becoming fluent readers.

In the toddler room today, we painted with marshmallows!!! The children had a lot of fun with this art activity. Today we learned the letter Z! We had fun coming up with “Z” words and making the sound for “Z.” We also learned our shape for the month: circle!!

{Miss Sarah}

Today in Early 3’s we learned the letter “Z” and its sound. We practiced our number recognition from 1 to 3. Our book for this week is “I Like Me.” Small Groups: Group #1 painted Z’s with black paint and marbles to make “Z is for Zebra.” Group #2 practiced writing out Z’s with magnetic dots. Group #3 practiced their one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills with a peg board.

{Miss Sarah}

An important piece of handwriting foundation is proper crayon grip. Holding a crayon the correct way allows children’s muscles to write easily. The preschoolers explored how to hold a crayon the correct way!

Ms Lori created a wonderful discovery group today using sand play-dough.  The play-dough had a cool sandy texture and smelled a bit like the seashore!  You can find the Sandy Play-dough Recipe by clicking the first picture below.  Have fun creating!

The highlight of our Friday toddler class was the art! We painted with cups to make circles! Next week we will be learning about circles –which is our “shape of the month.”

{Miss Sarah}

Today in one of our small groups, we worked on recognizing the first letter of our name and knowing the name of the letter. In another group, we practiced our fine motor skills and pre-writing skills by writing lines and shapes (with a Q-tip) on ziplock bags filled with paint. The other group worked on number recognition (numbers 1-3) by fishing for magnetic numbers. The early 3’s class is continuing to amaze me with how fast they are learning our routines and procedures! Today we started a new song called “Lettercise!” The song goes through each letter of the alphabet with its corresponding sound –while doing a little work out. 🙂

{Miss Sarah}