REMINDER!!!!!!

We will not be having session tomorrow (Oct. 26).  Deanna, Heidi, and I will be at a literacy training for MN Reading Corps. 

Rearranging time...

Thanks to Heidi I did some rearranging this afternoon!!  There is nothing like re-organizing things to create more interest in "old things".  I can't wait to see how this room arrangement works with my little friends. 

Computer Fun!

Today we started using the classroom computer.  It was fun to see my friends learn how to move the mouse around and "click" it.  We were playing Curious George's Bubble Pop on the PBSKids.org site.  Curious George was in the bathtub and bubbles kept rising from the water.  The children had to move the mouse and left click on it for it to pop.  They LOVED it!!!  Check it out :} 

Is it over already???

I can't believe the week is almost over and it is MEA break already.  Where does the time go?  We had a fun week together.  We welcomed a new friend to our class.  Yesterday we started a fun "candy corn" man project with Julie (OT) and made a fun fall candy corn snack.  The children were able to measure and mix pretzels, chex mix, candy corn, and different small crackers together.  Today we spent a lot of time playing in the gym together.  We are really working on waiting, taking turns and not crying/whining if we don't get what we want right away.  This is a hard thing for children to learn.  It takes consistency, patience, modeling, and understanding from all the adults in a child's world.   I say many times to my preschool friends that I wish I were an octopus so I would have 8 arms to help all my friends at once.  But...  I am not so they will have to wait. :}  Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the time with your families. 

"The Silly Monster That Went Waggle"

It was sure a fun day today.  We had a great time playing with blocks and stayed in the gym for a really long time.   Our "Spooky Wheels on the Bus" story was a hit!  The children giggled at all of the sound effects I made during our reading.  I am often glad that my audience is made up of preschoolers because I look/sound pretty silly sometimes!  Before we started there was one little friend that said he was afraid of monsters.  At the end of the story I asked each child what their favorite part of the story was... this little boy said the silly monster that went waggle.  I love my little friends... they make me smile :) 

October 17-October 31 Read Alouds

Target Vocabulary:  spooky, silly, witches, ghosts, mummies

This is a super silly story that combines math concepts with literacy.  The book is fashioned after "The Wheels on the Bus" song.  First there is 1 spooky bus that rattles and shakes all through town, then 2 white wipers that creak, creak, creak.  After cats, wheels, spiders, mummies, monsters, witches, and brooms we end the story with 10 goofy ghosts saying Boo! 

Target Vocabulary: Scarecrow, bats, Jack'o'lantern

This is a story we read last year that I love!  It is about a mouse that goes along one night and sees all these scary shadows of things but then realizes that they were not so scary after all. 

We will also read several other fun stories during this time! 

Oh... What to do? What to do?

This time of year always brings me to a dilemma in my teaching world.  We hear about Halloween- no Halloween in schools.  Should we read stories and do art/craft projects that seem to "promote" Halloween or not?  Is it insensitive?  Will it offend parents or the community?  So many questions I ask myself. 

But... every year I bring myself back to reality by looking at my purpose and intent.  How can I help support my preschoolers and their needs?  That helps me a lot! 

Here is what I feel that young children gain from this unit:

*** Comfort and security- They learn through the funny stories we read and activities we do that it is not scary to walk down the street and see people dressed up in a costume-whether they are participating in "trick or treating" or just going home from childcare or the store.  They learn that it is ok if they walk past the costume aisle at Target and see scary things or hear that spooky music.  It is only pretend. 

*** They learn vocabulary.  They are able to put a name to that scary skeleton they may see and remember the story where the skeleton's bones "rattle, rattle".  They remember that we used the maracas to "rattle" the bones.  They connect the vocabulary with fun and silliness rather than something scary. 

*** Increases expressive communication.  Several children are SO EXCITED about Halloween.  They want to talk about it all the time.  Even children that have limited communication will often initiate conversations to tell everyone what they are going to be.  This is a way to extend their interests and learn about things that the children are interested in.  It has meaning to many children!

***  Without getting into "grown up" debates about what is "real" and not real we are able to look at real and pretend.  This is a huge developmental stage for children to go through.  They learn that they can pretend to be something that they are not and it is really fun.  This will extend to their play and social/language development.  When chidren pretend to be parents and take care of a doll they are practicing social/language/vocabulary skills.  When children pretend to be firefighters putting out fires they learn to cooperate/work together/solve problems.  These are all very important social skills that children need to learn.  So when I read "Clifford's Halloween" and Clifford is dressed up as a ghost we will talk about the real/pretend side of it in that manner.  Is it really a ghost or is Clifford just pretending to be a ghost and wearing a costume? If you see someone that is dressed up like a scary monster/pirate/dracula is it really a monster or is just someone pretending and having fun?  etc. 

*** I am in the business of teaching young children and helping them learn about the world around them.  Reality is that Halloween is part of their world.  I am not promoting Halloween or "Trick or Treating"  I am just helping children learn. 

I hope this offers some explanation of why I continue to do a unit like this every year even when it is not always the most "politically correct" thing to do.  If you have questions or concerns about this please call me and we can meet. 

Fire Safety Week

                                       

This week we read stories and talked about fire safety in our little group.  Today we had a school wide fire drill to practice what to do if there is ever a fire in our school.  Please talk with your children about what to do if there is ever a fire in your home.  It really makes a difference! 

When my own children were preschool age we had a kitchen fire in our house when making dinner one night.  Two of my preschool age sons heard the fire alarm go off and went to the "meeting spot" right away.  It was winter and they were in only their underwear after their bath.  Because they knew what to do and we had practiced going to the meeting spot I was able to get my toddler and get out of the house while their dad used the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. 

Since that experience things have changed a bit at my house.  I have high school boys now.  We no longer "practice" fire drills and if the fire alarm goes off it usually means that mom is trying to cook again and someone needs to fan under the alarm!!!  But... I know if there was ever a real fire they would know what to do. 

Thursday Fun!

Today Mrs. Grabow's 3rd grade class came in to read with us.  We had a great time listening to stories!! 

October 10-13 Going To The Firehouse

Target Vocabulary: firefighter, fire house/station, hoses, ladder, siren, smoke

This is one of my favorite authors!!  I love Critter books.  We read this story last year in preschool so some children will get to experience it again.  Children will learn more about firefighters and what they do to help us.  They will also learn what to do if there is really a fire. 

Our second book for the week will be Clifford the Firehouse Dog.  

 Each session we have 4 large group times. 

1) Read Aloud

2) Math Center/Calendar game then a thematic fingerplay

3) Supporting book/non fiction book that ties in with the read aloud. 

4) Nursery Rhymes/Fairy Tales then a group game

REMINDER!!!!!!

There will be NO PM SESSION on Monday the 10th or Wednesday the 12th. 

AM Session will meet as usual. 

Pajama Day!!!

Today we celebrated the MN Reading Corps "Read for the Record" in our preschool classroom.  We celebrated by wearing our pajamas and reading "Llama, Llama Red Pajama"  Mr. Denny's 5/6 grade class came to read with us today.  It was fun reading with our new friends :}

Bubbles....

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles.... 
Why are bubbles so fun?  :)

Today a friend brought bubbles to share and the children didn't even wait until we went outside before they opened the little bottles and started making bubbles.  It is so fun to hear squeals of excitement when children are trying to pop bubbles floating around the room :}