Our PreSchool Blog

It was such a rainy day outside! We decided it was the perfect day for a parachute party! We were able to sing and laugh with our friends while working on our gross-motor skills and out hand-eye coordination!

The toddlers are working away in their new classroom! Learning happens naturally throught play! It is an integeral part of language development and expressing feelings. The boys and girls are exploring new books and using their fine motor skills to mold playdoh and stack blocks.

Using scissors safely is an extremely important skill to learn in preschool. Working with scissors strengthens fine motor muscles and promotes independence in the classroom. Today we reviewed how to hold scissor safely while we are not using them.

We learned how to hold scissors while we are cutting with them. The way to hold scissors while using them is with the thumb in the top hole always facing up.

The index and middle fingers in the bigger hole on the bottom.

“Two in the bottom, one in the top, CHOP CHOP CHOP!”

In our Early 3’s room, we have a shelf of activities that only our Early 3’s students get to play with. They feel so proud that they are old enough to investigate these fun activities! Since our theme of the month is water, we have wave makers in the science center. The children discover the connnection between movement and the creation of waves. In the math center the students work to put pretend birthday candles in little birthday cakes. The goal of this activity is to focus on one-to-one coorespondance and developing their fine motor skills.

Reading a story to your preschooler is a great way to excite them about reading. Stories can help teach important lessons and skills while entertaining little ones. In the classroom we have been exploring stories in different ways. We read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to practice our alphabet. Then we watched Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on the ipad.

We started our reading groups today in Pre-k.  The children were introduced to their magic reading finger which helps them become better readers!  As young readers begin their journey into early reading, it is important for them to point to each word as they read.  The children were also introduced to the sight words the and I today.  These are great words to begin with during homework practice.  They were excited to spot the new sight word in the book they read today. I Jump

We used rainbow writing to begin our writing unit today with a focus on our names as well as lowercase letters c, o, and s.  We focused on starting at the top of each letter and holding our crayon the proper way (pinch it with your two fingers!).  It is also important for your preker to write their letter o in a counterclockwise direction to make the transition into writing an easy one.

We learned about the volcanoes of Hawaii today during science small groups.  After watching a video clip of a REAL volcano erupt we talked about magma that is found in the center of the earth and when it come ups and out a volcano, we call it lava!  We cut a playdough earth in half to reveal the layers of the earth with the magma at its core.

As we began practicing our letter and letter sounds cards this week there was one question that the children kept asking after practicing the letter X…”What is an X-ray?”  Luckily we have a light table and Doctor on call to help us out.  The children explored x-rays of the human ankle, spine and brain!  We also compared the x-ray of the human leg to an x-ray of a lizard.  Teachable moments are sometimes when children learn the most.  Take the time to answer your preschoolers many questions they throw at you during the day and you will be amazed at what they remember!