It’s always an exciting day at Tots when Ms. Joanie teaches us music! Today, she introduced the metronome: a device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick. The children used a drum stick to mimic the “tick” that the metronome was giving. These keen ears didn’t miss a beat!
Today, the children got in touch with their creative sides using a cob of corn to roll out some art! Using different textures sparked curiosity and interest. The children had the opportunity to explore the corn a little more in our sensory tub. The corn can be manipulated and plucked off of the cob to follow up this creative art activity. The United States is, by far, the largest corn producer in the world. Here’s to home grown food made in the USA!
This month, as we focus on the letters M and N, the children are working hard to remember the distinct difference between the two. Word associations are a great way to practice. Today, using a word sort, each child identified the picture or letter, decided if it began with a M or N, and then put it in the corresponding bowl. The children learned first hand how tricky some sounds can be!
The preschoolers explored all different types of harvest vegetables from the farm today. Cutting them open we found that some have seeds while others do not. Some are soft and easy to cut through while others are hard and tougher to cut. Some have prickles on the outside leaves and some even have a large pit in the middle! Vegetables of all kinds were the exploration of the day! We had a ball!
Sorting items is usually done by their obvious attributes: shape, and color. Today, Ms. Courtney challenged the children by suggesting different ways to sort squares, and then letting the class decide which way was best. The children came up with the first way: to sort them by color. After that was complete, suggestions were made, and they decided to sort by how many holes were in each square (very clever!).
What starts with the letter M? Mirror, marble, markers, magnifying glass…the list goes on. Having the children manipulate these items and make the connection that these items begin with the letter M, helps the M to become more concrete in each child’s memory. What child doesn’t love to use markers?!
Counting and number recognition are two very important mathematical foundations. Putting those together and practicing those skills brings a child’s thought process to the next level. For example, some of the older children were able to recognize the six dots on the die with out counting them, and then identify the number six on the paper and stamp it. These types of hands on activities are excellent practice to those children who are still working on building up their math skills.
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.
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.
Click below to learn more about our program offerings:
