Our PreSchool Blog

We practiced our sight words today along with writing by rainbow writing the sight words in our weekly reading group book along with two from last week’s book.  The book we have been reading this week is a nonfiction book called, Birds by Bruce Larkin.  The book series we use in our reading curriculum has also been made available to parents for purchase through the creator of the curriculum.  If you click on the picture of the book you will be taken to the website.

Bird by Bruce Larkin

Always Start at the top to Write a Letter

Underline and Read the Word Each Time

This is an easy at home activity!

Your child has been working super hard with Ms. Penny and Ms. Lori to prepare for the upcoming art show on November 13th.  Ms. Penny has been in class two to three days a week over the past few weeks to help the children create their masterpieces that will be on display.  As you look into those “artless” cubbies day after day, please remember that all the very special artwork that your child is doing with our fantastic Ms. Penny, is being kept at school for their special debut!  Mark Your Calendars!  The children have also been working VERY hard on a top secret holiday surprise for their families…you’ll have to wait for December to see that!  It will be worth the wait!

Every child is an Artist!

Homework folders were sent home on Friday of last week.  I hope that you have had a chance to read through the parent information and gotten started working on it right away!   Lily’s mom was kind enough to send us a great photo of Lily on her first night of homework.  Way to go Lily-Keep up the good work!  These simple activities are very important to build the skills needed for school.  Have fun!

Lily's First Night of Homework

Please join us for our First Annual Harvest Festival on Friday, October 30th.  There will be a petting zoo, pumpkin decorating, apple prints, and of course, food!  You won’t want to miss it!  This Friday from 5:30 to 7:00.  Bring the whole family!

We had a really cool visitor today in Pre-K!  Our friend, Bentley, brought a very special show and share to school today….She brought one of her grandfather’s chickens that he shows at fairs.  The kids were able to watch as Bentley took “Sparkie” out of his crate and strut around showing off his beautiful feathers.  Wow, was he gorgeous.  Thanks Bentley and grandpa!

Sparkie Strutting His Stuff!

Bentley and Her Friend, Sparkie

Our Pre-K class had a special art class with Ms. Penny on Wednesday.  She taught us that artists create all kinds of art, not just paintings.  We learned about Edgar Degas, a famous artist, who was not only a painter but also a sculptor!  His famous sculpture was Little Dancer.  Then, we tried our hand at sculpting.  Our sculptures will be displayed at the art show on November 13th.

sorting ourselves by hair length, shoes by color and frogs by pattern

We had a ball on Friday sorting on our giant math grid.  We sorted our shoes by color and type of closure.  We sorted frogs by the patterns on their backs and size.  We also sorted geometric pattern blocks by color, shape and number of sides.  And for the finale we sorted OURSELVES!  We sorted ourselves by hair color, type of clothes we were wearing (pants vs. skirts), and hair length…Pre-K sorting activities are easy to incorporate into your child’s everyday play. You have so many opportunities to practice sorting with your child.  Your child probably does some of it naturally- putting green blocks together, lining up matchbox cars, or putting farm animals in a play barn. Click the first picture for some other great sorting ideas to do at home.

Ms. Penny joined our class today to talk about a famous Japanese artist, Katsushika Hokusai.  Hokusai loved to draw when he was child and as a teenager loved to make woodcut engravings.  The children learned today that he was famous for his block printings.  He made his art by carving a picture onto wooden blocks, rolling them with ink and pressing them onto paper.  He would use one block for each color.  His most famous print was The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.  The children followed in Hokusai’s footsteps today and tried their hand at block printing.  They made their own carvings, rolled them with paint, and printed a picture that will be presented at our Art Show on November 13th.  Here’s a sneak peak…

Block Printing

Preparing our Block for a New Color

The Great Wave by Hokusai

When your child arrives don’t forget to have them find their name on our class name board by the sensory table and to answer the question of the day!   Some of the answers we get are just a hoot!  If you have a child in our PreK class, don’t forget to have them sign their name when they arrive in our Signature Book!  We encourage you to have your child carry their own backpack, find their name on the cubbies, and hang it up along with their own coats etc.  These are great experiences in independence, fine and gross motor development, name recognition and responsibility.  They all doing a fantastic job with being responsible in the classroom, we are so proud of all of them!

Class Name board and question of the day

Ms. Lori taught the children how to create their own log cabins in the block center last week.  Today the kids began making their own cabins in the “woods.”  Wondering what your child is learning at the block center?  The block center is ideal for large motor development and coordination skills as the children, lift, move, and stack the blocks.  They are acquiring critical social skills as they work, share, and talk with other children while they create with blocks and block accessories.  Children are also acquiring knowledge and skills which will provide an important foundation for later learning.  The children solve problems and gain confidence while working with the blocks.  Building with blocks helps children learn what numbers stand for, and it encourages children to practice scientific, trial-and-error thinking.  Other learning opportunities in this center include critical-thinking and decision making skills, making comparisons (more/less, taller/shorter), recognizing shapes, classification of objects (by shape, size, color, etc), matching and sorting, experimenting with balance, seriation, equivalence and creativitiy.  Never knew the children could learn so much from a collection of blocks!

What does your child learn in the block center?