We fine tuned our sorting skills today by identifying and sorting our buttons by their various attributes. The children decided to sort them by color, size, shape, number of holes, and number of sides. Sorting is a great activity to do at home. You can sort most anything!
The PreK children strengthened their fine motor muscles and had some holiday fun today creating their own turkey treat for snack time.
What is on your Thanksgiving plate? Mr. Turkey! Today, Ms. Lori worked on fine motor with the boys and girls as each child painted his/her own turkey. Using water color paint, the children did an excellent job of dictating where the paint should go with a very tiny brush. They made quite the array of Thanksgiving masterpieces!
As the season of thanks gets into full swing, we have been discussing things that we are thankful for. We worked together to come up with our favorite things that we are thankful for. The children did an excellent job telling why they were thankful and drawing a picture to represent that.
Running Deer and Dancing Moon visited our classroom today to teach us about the Native Americans of the Southwest. We have been talking about the pilgrims traveling to America and meeting the Native Americans that already lived there. This was a great connection to what we have been learning about the first Thanksgiving. We had the opportunity to visit four learning centers during their visit as well as hear a old Native American Cautionary Tale. We learned about a variety of hunting tools they used to survive and how they made them out of items found in nature in around where they lived. We also learned about the importance of corn. We shelled corn and ground it into cornmeal using a mano and matate. In the jewelry center we discovered the different types of items they used to create their jewelry, then tried our hand at making our own piece of jewelry to take home using duck feathers. Lastly, we shucked our own corn and ate right off the cob for a snack.
As Thanksgiving nears, it is that time of year to learn about Native Americans. Ms. Penny and Mr. Ron joined our class today to teach us all about the Native American culture. The children rotated between four centers: crushing corn to make corn meal, jewelry making, learning about weapons used to hunt, and corn shucking & eating.
In the first center, the children learned how to pick the corn off of the cob, gather it onto a rock (similar to a mortar) then using another rock (similar to a pestle), crush the corn into cornmeal. The children learned how to work together towards a common goal by helping each other pick of the corn and crush it.
In the second center, the children learned Native American traditions when it comes to jewelry. The boys and girls were able to try on different pieces, learn about the different textures, then make a necklace of their very own!
In the third center, the children were able to discover bows and arrows, arrow heads, different animal skins & furs, and real bear claws. The children enjoyed learning about the need for Native Americans to hunt and gather their food. Holding a bow the proper way showed the children just how difficult hunting can be!
In the fourth center, the children were able to shuck the corn, just like the Native Americans did, and eat it right off the cob. This was our most delicious center!
The young 3’s counted at least 8!
We used 3 of our 5 senses to Taste, Smell and Touch!
We also discovered we can make pottery with “corn” meal!
The letter H is one of the easier letters to write. Writing it in crayon, pencil and marker is excellent practice. Writing it in paint makes it a memorable experience. Today, Ms. Lori showed the children how to create a capital H and a lowercase h using art dot painters. The children caught on quickly and enjoyed using these special art utensils!
Blocks come in different shapes, sizes and materials.
Building with blocks not only provides opportunities to create, cooperate and communicate but it also promotes social learning as children work together to share materials, space and ideas!
We build the blocks up……
and knock them down!
There is never a dull moment when our friends from the Cincinnati Museum Center join us for the day! In keeping with our farm theme, Ms. Deann brought a lot of (pretend) furry friends that live in the barnyard or the backyard. The entire presentation is interactive as each child gets his/her own barnyard or backyard animal to hold on to. One-by-one, the adult version of the animal is pulled out and matched with its baby. Each child was able to come up, learn the proper names of the animal and its baby, and discuss if it is found in the backyard, barnyard or pond.
At the end, Ms. Deann brought a very special furry friend – a live bat named Griffin! The children learned the term “echolocation” and what that means. Before they got to see Griffin, they were able to use a finger puppet bat and bug to actually play out how echolocation works. Just another day on the farm!
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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