Our PreSchool Blog

This week in Early 3s its been all about names. On Friday during small groups name recognition took things to a new level. We practiced our fine motor muscles while pinching clips. This is great practice for our fingers and classroom routines. At our centers in the room there are signs with clothespins (clips) for the number of friends allowed to play there. This is a big piece of independence in the Early 3s program. By practicing the action of pinching a clip in multiple ways the students are set up for success when trying to use them independently.

The letter R was introduced this week in preschool. We practiced writing the letter R on the Smartboard while strengthening our fine motor muscles.

Click here for The Letter R Song to practice recognition and sound of the letter R.

Today the Toddlers had a blast digging in the sandbox outside! Sand play promotes physical development. Large muscle skills develop as children dig, pour, and scoop sand. Eye-hand coordination and small muscle control improve as children manipulate sand play tools such as shovels and buckets. Sand play also promotes social skills such as sharing and working together. Exploring in the sandbox is considered open ended play which allows the child to use their imagination and play in any direction that they might like. Watch as the children build on these developmental skills!

We went digging in the “dirt” today on the farm to search for our names.

In Early 3s we explored foods that grow on the farm. We talked about the difference between the inside and outside of foods. We discovered the way they smell, look, and feel. We talked about the colors of the different foods. Foods grow in all different ways on the farm. Ask your preschooler what foods they explored today!

Today the Toddlers worked on the cognitive development skill of matching. Matching is the ability to perceive that two items are identical. It hones in the concept of sameness and differences. During group time we read the book “Animal Babies on the Farm”. The boys and girls did a great job matching the animals based on the sound the animal makes! Next we dug through the sensory tub and tried to find matching mom and baby farm animals. Look around your house and see if your child can find things that match!

This week in Early 3s we have been exploring our names.

Everyday during arrival a name recognition activity is on the tables for the students to independently match the letters of their name.

During small groups on Monday, we practiced the letters of our name while strengthening our fine motor muscles. We used toothpicks to poke holes in the letters of our names and create constellations.

Also in small groups on Monday we put together name puzzles with the letters in our name.

On Wednesday we did name rubbings with crayons to discover our name.

We searched for letters in our name and decided which ones belong and which ones do not.

Exposure to names at this age is helpful in any way! Ask your child about the letters in their name.

Today we reviewed the letters F, E, and D. We worked on recognition, sound, and handwriting. The preschoolers are ready for the next set of letters!

Watch The Letter F Song, The Letter D Song, and Ee Song to review the letters with your preschooler.

The Toddler room has be transformed into a farmer’s paradise. The play house is now a big red barn, there is a farmers market full of fruits and veggies, and tractors galore at the transportation center. The boys and girls have had a field day exploring with farm animals in the sensory tub full of chicken feed!

Today we worked on the handwriting process, name recognition, and how to hold a crayon while rainbow writing in small groups.