Our PreSchool Blog

Recognizing his/her name is most likely the first word that a preschooler learns.  Once that is established, the next step is to learn the letters and the order they belong in.  Today, we reviewed the order of the letters by matching them to the name that was written above.  We then talked about what each letter was, and counted the amount of letters in his/her name.

Fall is a colorful time of year.  Today, the children were able to express their creative sides with Ms. Lori while creating their own fall tree.  The children discussed fall colors and why the leaves change colors.  Using our fingers to paint is always a memorable experience!

Apples or….apples?  Apples are a healthy snack, especially if you’re on the go.  Today we learned about how our yummy snack can differ: dried apples.  Using our taste buds and Smart Board, we made a graph that told us who liked fresh apples and who liked dried apples.  The results?  Fresh won by a landslide, but dried had a few votes!

Cutting with scissors is a skill that takes time to develop.  Since the beginning of the year, the children have learned how to safely hold scissors when not using them, how to properly hold scissors when cutting, and how a line can be followed to help guide your cutting.  We are still working on the latter.  Today, the children did an excellent job trying to follow the lines while cutting out a barn.  Following lines to cut out specific pictures or shapes gives the children purpose for cutting.  When they finished, they glued the barn onto red paper, and then practiced tracing their names.

Working on more fine motor skills, Ms. Lori had the children make (adorable!) cotton ball sheep!  The children used their fingertips to pull the cotton apart and glue it onto the sheep.  Manipulating objects with fingertips is an excellent way to build fine motor muscles.  These sheep are being used as classroom decoration.

As a preschooler, the letters M and N are very tricky to decipher between.  Building the letter N first, along with working on the /n/ sound, helps to transition to building the letter M.  The /m/ sound is best described by rubbing your tummy and saying “mmmmmm.”  The children enjoy learning this one! We also had lots of fun stretching our bodies and learning new yoga poses with Miss Laurel today!

Numbers one through five are the easiest for preschoolers to count because they are able to do those on their fingers.  Once we move on to six, seven and eight, it gets a little trickier.  Today, we focused on the numbers four, five, six and seven.  Using barnyard animals and a pretend barn, we hunted for those numbers hidden in our barn.  The children identified the number they found, then matched it with the corresponding animal on the paper.

We worked today in small groups on sequencing events. Sequencing is the ability to put the events of a story in the order in which they occurred.  Teaching sequencing to early learners is important because logical order of thinking is fundamental to reading and everyday life.

We practiced our problem solving skills, teamwork, and fine motor skills during small groups today as we worked together on a giant floor puzzle of the farm.

As a preschooler, it is very common to mix up the letter N with the letter M.  How do we fix that?  Memorable experiences!  Today, Ms. Lori worked with the children on the letter N.  The children first practiced writing the letter, while discussing the sound it makes.  Using real hay, the children then built a nest, using real hay, for Nellie the hen.  As children recall these tactile experiences, they become more successful in deciphering between letters/sounds that can trip them up, such as N and M.

Learning the letter N and associating it with words and names we already know was very exciting today.  While tracing the shape of the letter with our finger, we learned the sound that the N makes, and discussed items that begin with the letter N, such as nose, no, noise, note and newspaper.  Using a glue stick, the children traced the N again, then tore newspaper to glue onto the N (excellent fine motor practice!).  Some children remembered that they have the letter N in his/her name!

With a new month comes a new theme: Farms of America.  There are many different types of farms to discover.  This month, we will be learning about apple farms.  Ms. Lori worked with the children on parts of an apple tree.  Today the children enjoyed painting the trunk!