Our PreSchool Blog

After reading the stories about all the different gingerbread friends throughout the month of December, it was time to try our hand at making our own.  We measured and mixed the ingredients, stirred and stirred, rolled the dough then cut them out.  We knew that the recipe said to cook them for a whole eight minutes, no more no less and NO PEEKING.  We put them in the oven, but when we looked to see if they were done…our gingerbread friends were GONE!  Our tray was empty.  We quickly put our coats on and began searching outside incase they had slipped out while we weren’t looking.  They were nowhere to be found!  After searching high and low, we finally found them hiding in our classroom.  Thank goodness the fox didn’t find them before we did!

A scientist from “Mad Science” joined us today to introduce our preschoolers to the exciting world of color.  The “Mad Scientist” walked us through some exciting demonstrations about primary colors and color mixing.  Be sure to ask  your little one what they learned today!  The kids really seemed to enjoy everything she had to say and were intrigued at all of her experiments.  They will visit again toward the end of the year to share a different program with about worms!

A turkey is a funny bird

The children have been using bright and beautiful water colors to create turkey feathers.  This week we have been talking about the Thanksgiving holiday and they couldn’t wait to create their own turkeys! Here is a song we have been singing that you can try to sing at home!

(to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel”)

A Turkey is a funny bird

His head goes Wobble, Wobble

He only knows one word…

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Dancing Moon and Running Deer came to visit us today to teach us all about the Southwest Native Americans.  We had the opportunity to pop the dry corn kernals off the cob and grind them on a matate.  A matate is the large stone on which the grain is placed. A mano is a smaller stone used to grind corn or other grains. It is rolled over the matate to break down the grains into a powder.  The powder is then used to cook many different things with.  We talked about all the different uses the native americans had for corn then we husked our own piece of cooked corn and enjoyed it as a snack.

Running Deer showed us all of the different types of tools and weapons that were used to hunt and provide food for the native american families.  We also got to see and feel a real deer fur and antlers along with a fox fur and skunk fur!  We explored and dressed up in native american jewelry and clothing and had a chance to make our very own piece of jewelry.  We learned that native americans would have used many different things to make their jewelry including shells, feathers, animal claws other things they would find in the area where they lived.

We learned that native americans did not have books like we do, they had “storytellers,” or people in their tribe that told stories to the young children.  These stories always had a lesson that the children could learn.  Dancing moon told us the story about “How Chipmunk Got His Stripes.”  It was an exciting story that taught us that we should not tease others or to brag about ourselves.  We will be reading other Native American Folk tales later in the week, including How Jackrabbit Got His Long Ears and Kissing Coyotes.  The preK children got to listen to a story on tape about another native american legend…The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.

sensory table colored pasta

This week our sensory table is full of colorful noodles! The kids have been digging their hands in this colorful pasta and scooping and dumping it!  They have been using spoons to scoop the noodles into the bowls and pretend they are making soup!  Since all of the noodles are different colors this has been a great way to practice our color recognition as well!

As a farewell to Fall and the month of October, the PreK class explored the interesting parts of some of our classroom’s pumpkins. We opened up some of our Science Center’s ghords and pumpkins and learned about each one of their different parts. From the gooey pulp inside and the curving ribbed lines outside, we really enjoyed taking a closer look at the pumpkins. Once we  were finished exploring the kids were given lables and their own picture of a pumpkin. Together we takled about all of its parts and put each lable next to its corresponding part. We also have our pumpkins and ghords in the sensory table this week, the children can have one last chance to scoop out the seeds and gooey insides!

taking inventory

the anatomy of a pumpkin

how fun is this!

This morning the sensory table was full of slimy pumpkin seeds and a big old pumpkin!  The kids loved looking inside of the pumpkin and some were even brave enough to stick their hand inside to feel around!  It was sure a slimy mess!

more cooking today, this time . . . pumpkin pie!

We made Pumpkin Pie in a bag today!  The children helped to measure and pour all of the ingredients into our special plastic bag.  The best part was that after we zipped up the bag, everyone had a turn to mush and mix everything together with their hands!  It was so exciting for them to see what it felt like as they were mixing the cold pumpkin pudding.  To make the crust of the pie, the kids also crushed up graham crackers on the table.

We talked last week about how trees change during each season.  We sequenced these seasons during group time after reading A Tree is Nice.  We discovered that a tree “sleeps” during the winter even though it may look dead without the leaves.  We also discovered that all the rain in the spring brings small buds on a tree, which are the beginnings of the leaves.  Summer trees are full of bright green leaves but they begin to change colors during the Fall and tumble off the branches.  Some of the children in our Wednesday class had the opportunity to create their own seasonal tree using their arm as the trunk and fingers as the branches.  We added details to the trees with our fingerprints whether it be fall foliage, white snow, small green buds, or a full green canopy.  We are still working on these and our seasonal forest will continue to grow throughout the next week.   Check them out!

our seasonal forest project this week

Shape, pattern, and texture are properties important not only in art but in science and math as well. Preschoolers need engaging opportunities to explore these concepts.

Evelyn is very concentrated on exploring the pumpkins and gourds from our science shelf!  She is using her magnifying glass to really study the different bumps on the pumpkins.  She was talking about the different colors and shapes on the pumpkins and even moved positions to get a really good look!