Farms??? In January? Why not!!!??

Well, I have a new "first" in teaching Early Childhood... 

Today while the children helped me take down the holiday things in the classroom, I asked them what we should learn about in January when they come back.  I gave them a few ideas (winter, snowmen, etc) that I usually teach in January.  Well...  one of my little friends said "Farms.  Because I am a farmer.  And that would be good."  The friends he was playing with all chimed in...  "Yea!  Let's do farms."  Then went on to tell me about farms and tractors for the next few minutes.  So I guess we are going to learn about farms in January :}  I am really excited!  I think it will be a nice change. 

We will really be working on rhyming next month.  Please help your child recognize rhyming words and play games/read rhymes to them to help them to hear the similarities in rhyming words.  There are even children's games online that you can have them play for a burst of novelty.  Research tells us that children that are able to rhyme in their early years are much more likely to be good readers at age 8.  This is a really hard concept for some children to learn so the additional help and support from you would be great!!!

Week of 12/19

This week we will be listening to the story "Snowmen at Christmas"  on CD.  This is a fun story about all the things that snowmen could do when we are sleeping.  The children really enjoyed listening to the music and narration that went along with the story.

This Week....

Target Vocabulary:  sleigh, wait, owl, mantle

This is a super fun story that is similar to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."  In this story, Santa Claus comes into the cabin and does some silly things!  He eats gingerbread men cookies, leaves a trail of crumbs, sits on/breaks chairs, and tries out the beds upstairs.  All through the house Santa is leaving a trail of outer wear as he goes (coat, mitten, hat, boots). 

We will be doing some rearranging in our classroom this week.  Isn't it amazing how children will play with old toys more when they are moved to a new location??!!  We will also be decorating our playhouse as a Gingerbread House.

Cognitive Skills (early academics)....

It is exciting to see so many children come into preschool knowing their colors/shapes...some even know some letters/numbers.   As a well rounded learner though, we want children to be able to use information that they know visually and use it in different ways. 

An example of this might be...  Melisa knows all of her colors!  YAY!!!  But...  can Melisa tell you common objects that are that color?  (Tell me 3 things that are yellow).  Another example might be...  Melisa knows LOTS of animal pictures and can name them all when asked.   But....  when asked questions like "What animals can fly? or live in the ocean? or can you ride?" can your child process that language to give you an answer?

Processing information, using knowledge creatively, problem solving ...These are important skills that children will need to use as they go through their school years and beyond. 

How can parents help....

***Read to their children-- the more vocabulary they hear and learn the more background knowledge they will have.  While reading, ask them questions and give them lots of time to respond (giving clues if they need it).  Not just "what is this" kind of questions but "Why do you think..."  "What else could she have done?" etc. 

***  Hang out!  Spend time playing, fixing things, cleaning together, baking, etc.  Help them to think or solve problems as you go. 

*** Play games in the car-- ("Hey, we just passed a farm!  What kind of animals might you find there?"  "The light turned red.  We need to stop.  Can you think of other things that might be red?"  etc.

The possibilities are endless....  Have fun and enjoy helping your child learn!

This Week...

We are reading a really fun story about Santa Claus.  He has a cold and is sneezing a lot!  Thankfully, his friends help him finish all of his projects and clean things in the workshop so Santa can get some rest.  The really used teamwork!!!

We are talking about covering our sneezes and coughs, washing our hands well, and using a tissue instead of our sleeves when needed.  Please reinforce this at home :)


Target Vocabulary: sneeze, quilt, "Bless you" (manners/being polite)

It's a Busy Week!!

This week my friends helped make a special tree for Doug (speech teacher).  They worked together to cut it out, make hand prints, and then cut/glued on decorations.