Our PreSchool Blog

We learned about the life cycle of a red eyed tree frog today and watched the actual frog transform through the process on our SmartBoard.  We then created our own book describing the steps of the life cycle.

We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar today during group time.  Through a SmartBoard video clip, we watched a butterfly go through the entire life cycle!  We then had the chance to watch The Very Hungry Caterpillar come to life on our very own SmartBoard!  If you would like to check out the video, click on the photo of the book below.  Then, we tried our hand at Eric Carle’s illustrating technique and created our own butterfly.

There are lots of unique dishes that come from Brazil, but none as tasty as biscoitos de maiz.  These cornmeal cookies are popular in Brazil, and easy to make.  The children enjoyed making this yummy Brazilian representation!

Biscoitos de Maiz (cornmeal cookies)

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2tsp salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the cornflour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and blend thoroughly then add the butter and mix well.
3. Set aside for 15 minutes to rest.
4. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper
5. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the lined baking sheets, spreading well apart. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Recognizing the difference in size amongst shapes and objects is the first step to sorting.  Today, the boys and girls ordered circles by small, medium and large.  Using fine motor skills to peel the stickers off, the children caught on to this sorting very quickly!

Our memory is a muscle that is constantly at work.  Using different tactile ways to learn how to write helps to strengthen motor memory.  Today, the children used sandpaper to write their numbers.  They put a piece of paper over the sandpaper and wrote the numbers one through six.  Each child took their sandpaper home to practice with.  It can also be used for letters.

The letter O makes the /o/ sound, as in octopus.  The short o sound is most commonly found in three letter words, such as hot, top and lot.  Today, the boys and girls brainstormed some letter O words while stringing their very own letter O’s using Fruit Loops.  It was a tasty  way to practice the /o/ sound!