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**** Upcoming Dates****

  • April 5 and April 9 No Early Childhood
  • April 23-- No Early Childhood Session
  • April 23- Big Wheels 5-7PM
  • May 17- Last Day of Early Childhood

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Hide and Seek


My little friends love this game!  Today the children took turns being the teacher.  It was lots of fun to see how they talked and took turns playing the game. 

Here is what we do... 

I have some pieces that we put on a table or in a pocket chart (as shown).  I have colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and sight word pieces to use depending on the level of the children that I have at the time.  I will hide a seasonal picture behind one of the pieces.  The children need to take turns trying to find it. 

Today, I have colored paint cans in the chart.  The children hide a tulip behind one of the paint cans.  The other children take turns guessing where the tulip is at and use the word "behind".  When the tulip is found, they all cheer and the child that finds the tulip was the next teacher.

Try this at home for a cheap game that will keep your child interested for a really long time.  :} 

Eagle Cam... We have baby eaglets!


We have been watching the Decorah Iowa Eagle Cam for a couple of weeks now.  Yesterday afternoon an egg hatched.   This morning when we turned it on, there was a second one that hatched.  We were able to watch the eagles this morning while we played.  I turn the eagle cam on in the morning while we are playing. 
It is fun to hear the sounds of nature while we play.  Once in awhile one of the children will notice something when they glance over at the screen.  This morning we saw the mommy eagle feed the baby some fish for breakfast.  Follow the link to see what we are watching. 

Spring Cleaning


It is that time of the year again.  At home and in school I get the urge to tidy things up and get rid of the winter dust and clutter.  We will be spending the week cleaning up our classroom.  Ok....  bear with me.  Before I hear phone calls saying "WHAT!!!  You mean my child is going to go to school to clean?  I thought he was supposed to be learning something!!!" let me tell you a little bit about what we will be learning this week.   

  • Children will learn vocabulary related to cleaning and messes.  (ie. clean, neat, mess, tidy, vacuum, cleaning spray, wipe, sweep, mop, etc)
  • We will be covering our early learning social studies standards, (sharing responsibility in taking care of the environment and beginning to participate successfully as a member of a group) We will be working together to achieve a common goal. 
  • We will work on math standards of sorting and counting as we sort tubs of toys and put them where they belong. 
  • We will work on concept/positional vocabulary like "put it beside the barn" or "it goes on the middle shelf"'
  • We will talk about sequencing and order of events (like steps to wash a window) using words like first, then, next, last. 
PS...  it would be GREAT if you would help your child practice our theme this week at home.  Have them tidy up their room or pick up their toys.  Talk with them about what they are doing.  An added benefit...  a neat and clean house!!!

WOW!!! I have so much to share :}

It has been a really busy week for me and I have not had a chance to update you on all the fun things that we are doing in school this week.  Stay Tuned....

Thursday, March 22, 2012

REMINDERS!!!!!!

There will be no school on Monday, March 26.  This is a Teacher Workshop Day. 

There are conferences in the Elementary on 3/29 and 4/3 after school.  I will not be having formal conferences with everyone because many of us have met in the last couple of months.  I will contact you if I need to meet with you directly.  I will be in the building so if you have specific questions, please stop in and visit.  

Flower Shop Donations Requested....


I would like to make a flower shop in our dramatic play area this spring.  I am in need of a few things though.  If you have any of the following around the house that you are wanting to get rid of please send them our way :}
  • artificial flowers
  • pretty ribbon
  • tissue paper
  • plastic flower pots/vases
  • seed/flower catalogs
  • magazines with lots of pictures of flowers
 

Spring Is Here!! Insects, Flowers, and Fish in the classroom :}

Some friends were sorting colored fish into colored bowls.  Won't it be fun to get out on the lake and do some real fishing! 

We are matching flower manipulatives to the number on the watering can.  This is a fun math activity that helps children practice number identification and being able to use one-one correspondence to put that number on their garden. 

Here a child is using a tongs to pick up insects from the grass.  This is a great fine motor activity that strengthens little muscles in the hands AND it is fun :}

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Making Trains with Doug...

Doug helped us make train cars out of old kleenex boxes, paper, tape, and markers.  The children had a great time and some even stayed at the table for almost 45 MINUTES!!!  This is a great rainy day idea for families.  Throw out craft supplies and recycled items and watch children create and have fun for long periods of time!

Lucky Charms Math Activity


This afternoon we did a Lucky Charms math activity.  We sorted, counted, then graphed the number of each marshmallow shape that the children had on their napkin.  We talked about more, less, most, fewest, and the same.  It was a fun way to begin a graphing unit in preschool!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Dressing for Outside Play...

I love spring!  The weather here is so nice outside right now.  I really hope it stays this way.  We try to have our preschoolers go outside everyday and it makes it so much more pleasant when the weather is warm and sunny.  A few things to remember about outdoor gear as the weather changes:

  • If we get more snow, snowpants and boots are required.
  • If your child comes to preschool in the morning it may still be pretty cool in the morning.  Your child may be more comfortable outside if they are wearing mittens/gloves, a hat, and warm jacket-especially if wearing short sleeves. 
  • If your child comes to preschool in the morning he/she may be more comfortable having a warm jacket for awhile rather than a lighter spring jacket.
  • Right now the playground is pretty dry but if we get more snow or rain and it is wet outside boots may be a good idea to keep your child's shoes/feet dry.  Puddles attract young children :}

Patterning


Today we worked on patterning in school.  We used colored trains and other transportation pieces to make patterns.  Most of the children are really getting pretty good at AB patterns (red, green, red, green, red, green, etc).   Patterning is one of the math standards that we work on in preschool.  When children are able to understand, identify, create, and extend patterns they are practicing skills that will make them more successful in math in their Elementary years.  It helps them practice reasoning and memory skills as well. 

The patterns that we practice in preschool are:
AB patterns (red, green, red, green, red)
AAB patterns (red, red, green, red, red, green, red, red, green etc)
ABC patterns (red, green, yellow, red, green, yellow, red, green, yellow, etc)

Some things that you can do at home to practice patterns:
  • Use ice cube trays and small objects (buttons, shaped erasers from dollar store, pom poms, etc-- make sure that objects will not be a choking hazard for your child)
  • Use pictures of family members (Susie, Grandma, Mom, Susie, Grandma, Mom)
  • Use common household objects to make different kinds of patterns (fork, spoon, fork, spoon, etc)
  • Use movement to make patterns (clap, stomp, jump, clap, stomp, jump, etc) 
  • Use sounds or words to make patterns ( cat, frog, mouse, cat, frog, mouse, etc.)
  • Identify patterns in familiar story books
  • Find patterns in buildings or nature. 
  • Use stampers or stickers
  • Music!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo! Read Alouds for March 12-15--(maybe longer)





Target Vocabulary:   mountains, engine, train tracks, roundhouse

This week we will be reading train stories.  This is the first time I have ever done this unit so I think I may be learning right along with the children! 

Other Train Stories:  Goodnight Train, Freight Train, and Tracks

"Spring Ahead"

Each year I find that when the clocks "Spring Ahead" in the spring a couple of things happen. 

 First, the rest of the school year seems to fly by!  The sun goes down later and later.  The weather is warm and windy.  Spring events are in full swing. 

Second, I find that many children are quite often plain worn out and tired.  They are losing an hour of sleep and their little bodies need to adjust to the time change.  As it stays light longer many children play outside later at night as well. 

When children are tired they are not as able to learn and behave in the manner that we would expect of them.  It is harder for them to concentrate on learning tasks.  It is harder for them to sit and attend to an activity.  I find that in myself, I move around more when I am tired than when I am well rested.  If I didn't, I may just fall asleep!  :} 

Please try to keep a consistent bedtime routine and make sure that your child is getting to bed no later than 8:00.  Preschoolers need 10-12 hours of sleep a day.   There is a lot of learning that happens in the preschool years.  They need sleep to recharge their bodies and brains. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Plans Change...



I really do love my job!  Last week I prepared what I thought was going to be a SUPER FUN lesson plan for this week.  I had my books prepared.  I had my activities ready.  I was excited for another week reading stories from one of my favorite authors, Eileen Christelow.  

Then, Monday comes.  Little did I know that the children would be really interested and excited about the "ghost story" that the little monkeys were reading in bed.  Also, the shadows that were talked about in the book were the source of a lot of questions.  So, my lesson plan changed and we cut out ghost shapes and I wrote down what the children said about the "ghost story" in the book.  I also took out the overhead projector and the children learned about shadows while playing with shapes. (see picture from yesterday's blog post).  It was a fun and meaningful day and the children were interested and engaged in learning.

Today I came to class prepared to get back on track with the GREAT lesson plan I prepared.  As I was changing the bulletin board in the classroom a little friend saw the brown piece of paper I was going to use as a tree trunk.  He was so excited because it was a "brown swamp" just like in the 5 Little Monkeys Wash the Car story.  He and another child put a car in the swamp.  We found a paper crocodile and monkeys for them to color and cut out.  It was really cool to see them act out the story! 

As for tomorrow...  who knows what we will end up doing!  I still have my GREAT lesson plan ready to go but you never know what kind of interesting learning activities the children will bring up.  Did I say "I Love My Job!" yet   :}

March 5-8 Read Alouds

This is a super fun story about 5 little monkeys that are bored and have nothing to do.  Mama finds things for them to do though!  The monkeys clean the house because Grandma Bessie is coming for lunch.  But wait...  the end makes me laugh and giggle out loud because it reminds me of my own house when my children were small.  By the time Grandma Bessie arrived the house was messy again!  Silly monkeys :}

Target Vocabulary: 
whispers, shadowy, frightens, jokes

RHYMING:
This is a fun story about the 5 little monkeys.  There are lots of rhymes on each page that I will focus on when we read the story.  Remember...  research says that if children are able to identify rhymes in their  preschool/Kindergarten years they will be much more likely to be good readers by 3rd grade.  Try to add a nursery rhyme or two to your day.  Children love them because they are fun!   

Monday, March 5, 2012

Fun with the Monkeys!


We played with shadows today putting shapes on our overhead.  My little friends had a lot of fun making shadows with their bodies and shape pieces. 


In our story today the monkeys wanted to keep reading in bed after their mommy told them it was time to go to sleep.  It was really fun to see a couple of my friends reenact the scenes of the book during play time today! 

Monday, February 27, 2012

February 27-March 1 Read Aloud


Target Concepts: 
  • Rote Counting to 20 (when Lulu is waiting for the monkeys to hide)
  • Finding Details in the illustrations (looking for the hidden monkeys on the page)
  • Using concept vocabulary (under, in, behind, beside, etc) to describe to friends where the hidden monkey is at)
  • Prediction- Where will the monkeys hide next?
  • Rhyming- I will point out rhyming words in the sentences as I read. 

Monkey-ing Around!

I love the 5 Little Monkeys!  They remind me of my little friends :}  This week we will have some fun continuing our "author" unit.  We will be reading books by Eileen Christelow this week and maybe next! 

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Read Alouds 2/21-2/23

We read this story in November but are bringing it back for the week.  We are talking about the author (the person who wrote the words" this week.  We will be looking at how Eric Carle books are similar. 

This is a new story for the group.  The text is very similar to that of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See" in many ways.  However, there are really unique animals in this book that we will learn about. 

Target Vocabulary: (It seems like a lot but some animals have been introduced before)
Panda Bear, Water Buffalo, Bald Eagle, Spider Monkey, Sea Turtle, Macaroni Penguin, Sea Lion, Red Wolf, Whooping Crane, Black Panther

We are also reviewing the sense of sight this week. 

We Love Eric Carle

This week we will be reading stories by Eric Carle and talking about how they are the same. 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Pancakes Read Alouds


We will start reading books about pancakes for the next week.  Since we do not have school Wednesday we will begin the 4 day read alouds tomorrow.  We will read about Curious George making pancakes, the pig that was given a pancake and wanted more and more and more, and a fun story that does not have any words-just pictures. 


This is a really fun book!  It has only pictures.  The children get to look at the pictures and help me write the words to go with them.  I can't wait to see what they come up with... it is always fun!   :}

Pancakes.  Hmmmm...  I wonder if there is a cooking experience in the plan for next week... 

Pancakes, Pancakes, Pancakes!


My afternoon crew is so sweet and creative!  They helped me organize our "pancake" counter area.  We have a mixing bowl, measuring cups, griddle, fruit, and pancakes marked with the letter P!  There are even some burnt ones in the pan.  My little friends reminded me that we needed "syrup" for the pancakes.  OOPS!  I need to find a few empty boxes of pancake mix and empty syrup bottles to add to this center.  Guess what my family is going to have for dinner tonight!  :}

Tip:  Children love pretend play!  Don't be afraid to put a tablecloth on the table, some bowls and spoons, mixing cups, and empty boxes.  I bet they would play for a really long time! 

Sharks Galore!


We have finished our shark unit for this year.  The children had a lot of fun with it and learned lots!  :}

I talked to the PM group today about sharks and it was so fun to listen to the things that they knew about sharks.  It was also really fun to hear both groups using words like "pretend" "fake" or "real" to describe the books that we were reading.  We will continue to work on the vocabulary of "fiction and nonfiction" in the upcoming weeks. 


Fun With Math!


This is a really fun math activity that our preschoolers have a lot of fun with.  I have made this game from a cute notepad/shaped post it notes.  I put numbers on the fish sheets then laminated them so they last (lots of little fingers wear them out fast!).  I have a bucket of ocean animals to put on these fish shapes.  Children learn to recognize the written number, count objects to that number, and learn that a number means something.  Oh!!  The most important part...  it is FUN :)

I have several of these games.  I find a lot of the little pieces at the dollar store or Walmart/Target clearance.  One of the favorites here is putting mice (rats from Halloween) on a chunk of cheese (a piece of yellow paper cut into the shape of cheese). You can make some of these at home using buttons or beads(be careful of choking), plastic spoons, pennies, etc.  Anything can be used for this.  


It is really easy to do this at home as well!

Friday, February 3, 2012

February 6-9 Read Alouds

We are going to be reading 2 very different books again this week.  We will have one book that is fiction and one that is non-fiction.  We will continue talking about how these books are different and that we can learn a lot of really fun things when we read non-fiction books!






Afternoon Group Learned About Sharks

The afternoon group brainstormed things they thought they knew about sharks. 

1) Big Mouth
2) They have a thing that goes on top of its head
3) eat fish
4) eat people
5) has a tail
6) grow babies
7) they have teeth
8) they live in the ocean
9) they have cheeks and can eat piggies
10) they bite so fast.

We have only met twice so I will report on things that they have learned next week...  Stay tuned :)

Measuring


We measured how long sharks can grow to be.  We found out that girl sharks are usually bigger than boy sharks and that they can both be really big!!!

Morning Group Learned About Sharks!

Before we read our "Amazing Sharks" book this week we brainstormed what we thought we knew about sharks.  Here is what the children said:

1) Eat fish
2) they splash in the water
3) sharks have long teeth
4) bears get mad at sharks
5) they eat fish with their sharp teeth
6) they can swim in the water

At the end of the week, this is what the children said:
1) they can eat fish when they are hungry
2) sharks can eat pups (NOTE: baby sharks are called pups.. sometimes sharks will eat pups)
3) they eat fish and sea lions and get big and strong
4)they are predators-they hunt
5) they are as long as my dad's truck
6) if you throw things in the ocean sharks can die.  (we talked about littering, recycling, etc.)
7) shark babies are called pups. 

It is so fun to see the learning that takes place over a week! 

Sharks!

This week we read 2 books about sharks.  One book was pretend or "fiction" and the other was about real sharks "nonfiction"

We talked about the differences about the books during the week and learned that we can usually tell a book is pretend if it has animals wearing clothes or doing things that people do.  We found out that we can learn things from non fiction books. 



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Playdoh is GREAT!

Playdoh is a great activity for children!  Squeezing and molding playdoh strengthens hand and finger muscles that young children need to draw and write.  There are several recipes out there for playdoh but this is one of my favorites.  I love the color and SCENT of the koolaid playdoh!  It makes it so much fun to play with.  This playdoh is not as crumbly as some. 
 
I remember when my children were young.  I would always have an ice cream bucket of playdoh and some cookie cutters on hand.  It was a great "rainy day" activity that would keep them busy and happy for a long time.  I could even get dishes done or fold the laundry while talking to them and watching them play. :)
 
 
Koolaid Playdoh
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 (4 g) packages unsweetened Kool-Aid powdered drink mix (Orange and Grape are my favorites)
  • 2 cups boiling water 
  • 3 tablespoons oil

Directions:

  1. Mix flour, salt, Kool-Aid until blended.
  2. Add oil and boiling water, mix with spoon until cool enough to knead.
  3. Continue kneading until color is blended.
  4. Store in air tight bag or container in the refrigerator. 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

IGDI'S

It is really hard to believe that it is already time to do the IGDI's again.  I always say that after Winter Break the school year just flies by!  Your child will be participating in the Individual Growth and Development Indicators.  This assessment looks at a child's pre literacy skills in the areas of vocabulary, rhyming, letter identification/sounds, and alliteration.  We give this assessment to children in the fall, winter, and spring.  I am hoping to see nice gains. 

REMINDER!!!!!!

We will not be having session on Monday.  It is a Teacher Workshop day.  Stay warm and enjoy an extra day at home. 

What A FUN Week!!!



HOMEMADE BUTTER!!!

We made homemade butter by shaking whipping cream for a really long time (about 5 minutes).  We watched it change in consistency until it turned into a solid!  We ate the homemade butter on crackers for a snack.  ( I used a plastic container with a cover instead of a glass baby food jar.  It seems to drip less)




We got to play in flour and "mix up the dough" just like the Little Red Hen did. I was so pleased to see how careful my little friends were so they did not get flour on the floor!

 We made our February Calendar!  Expect a fun Valentine surprise coming home next week. 


"Little Red Hens" 
We made little red hens out of our hand prints.  They turned out adorable!


Thursday, January 12, 2012

January 17-January 26 Read Alouds



Target Vocabulary:  hen, fox, tomato, chop

This is a fun story about a little red hen that asks her friends to help her make lunch.  The duck and fox had lots of reasons why they could not help.  In the end, she makes a delicious pizza for lunch and her friends are out of luck! 

There are lots of rhyming words in this story.  We will talk a lot about helping others and being a good friend.  We may just end the week sharing a delicious snack! 


Story 2:
The Little Red Hen

We will also read the original version of the story "The Little Red Hen" in our group.  We will do some comparisons between the two stories.  We will make fresh butter from cream to put on top of some homemade rolls!

Story 3:

This is a very short story that does not have a lot of words in it.  It is an excellent story for learning/practicing positional concepts with young children. 

REMINDER!!!!!!

We will not have school on Monday the 16th.  Enjoy your time with your children :}

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Classroom Fun!

We started our mural today.  Painting pigs was a lot of fun!




In both of our stories this week, the pigs get a bath.  These friends giving the colored pigs a "bubble bath"

It is GREAT to have my little friends back!

We have had a fun couple of days!  It is fun to see my friends again and my how some of them have grown!  We are settling into a classroom routine again.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Snack

I just checked our cabinets and they reminded me of "Old Mother Hubbard"

If you are able, please send in a snack donation with your child.  We would love to have crackers, cereal, fruit, granola bars, cheese, yogurt, etc.  Thanks!!

January 10-12

Target Vocabulary:  Instructions, Duck, Trouble, Giggle

This is a funny story about a farmer that goes away on a vacation leaving his brother in charge of the animals.  The duck is quite a clever animal.  He writes notes for the brother on how to care for them...  After a pizza delivery for dinner, bubble baths for the pigs, and a movie night for the cows... the farmer figures out something is up and heads home. 




This is a fun and interactive story about animals that need a bath!