Rockets

Today we wrapped up our Transportation theme.  We saved my favorite vehicle for last, which are rockets.  The children enjoyed listening to the story Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, I'm Off to the Moon.  In the story they were introduced to rhyming words like; blast and fast, space and place, and rover and over.  Please practice the skill of rhyming at home by reading books with rhyme, saying silly rhymes like house zouse, and reciting nursery rhymes.

At an independent center today the children cut out a cow, wrote their names on it, and colored it all on their own.  During outside play time today I recited the rhyme Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cows with the letter "c" may jump over the moon.  The children had to see if the letter I said during the rhyme matched one in their names.  If it did they jumped over the moon.

Grace's Mom also came to our classroom today.  Some of the children played the game Rocket to the Moon.  To play the game the children picked a card, identified the color on it, and moved their counter to the correct colored star.  Even if your child knows their colors the reason I chose this game was to learn turn taking, sportsman ship, and the fact that everyone can't win.  All of which are hard lessons at this age.

Smart Board Fun

Each day we use our smart board to write a daily message.  To start I draw a picture of one thing that we are going to do during the morning.  The children guess what they think we are going to do.  I then confirm their response and write a message to go along with it.  Usually our message starts with, "We are going to ________________."  We talk about how the message ends with a dot that we call a period.  We also discuss how some words are short and some are long.  The area between words is called a space.  We even clap the syllables in some of the words that I write.  After I write the message I pick sticks for children to come up and circle focus letters.  Today I showed the children how to make a letter "e" and the children then came up and circled them.

This picture shows how one student tried writing their own message during play time.  It just goes to show the importance of modeling behaviors that you want your child to to.

Today we also used the smart board to sort forms of transportation by those that travel on land, in water, and in the air.

Soaring High

Today our centers revolved around airplanes.  At one of the independent centers the children were given clouds(Ziploc bags with paint in them) and q-tips.  They used the q-tips to practice writing their names in the clouds.  The purpose of using q-tips is to increase the children's fine motor abilities.  By making their fingers stronger they will be better able to grip a pencil, crayon, or marker, and cut with a scissors.  When the children were done practicing their names they could write letters in their cloud or draw pictures with the q-tip.

At Miss Sue's center the children were given airplane mats with numbers programed on them.  They then counted the correct number of passengers on the plane.  The children who are beginning this skill practiced counting 1-6, while the children who are more secure in this skill counted out 7-15.  You don't need fancy counters like we have to practice this skill at home.  You can have your child give you 8 leaves from a pile, count out 7 forks for the table, or take 5 pieces of apple from a dish.  The possibilities are endless.

At my center the children cut out an airplane and glued it to a piece of paper.  They then glued on cotton balls for clouds.  Lastly, they drew an illustration of what they would see from their plane.  I then recorded their responses.


At the fourth center the children played the Milk Cap game.  Each child was placed with a partner.  They each had a set of six milkcaps labeled with the numbers 1-6.  The children took turns rolling a die and turning over the corresponding number.  The objective of this game was to teach number recognition, learn how to work with a partner, and how to be a good sport.

Blue Day

The children truly enjoyed "Blue Day" today.  The liked sharing the objects that they brought in from home, as well as their blue clothing.  During snack today we even tried blueberries.  Some children loved them while others decided to just that a no thank you bite/nibble.

To review shapes today we played Math Motion.  Each child received a shape on a stick.  They identified which shape it was.  Then we sang the following song;

Triangle, triangle, triangle is the shape I see.

If you have a triangle, please show it to me.

Stand up and turn around.

Show your triangle and then sit down.

One of the centers today had the children practicing letter identification.  The children were given a train recording sheet.  In each boxcar a number was written.  The children took turns rolling a die and dotting the corresponding number on their sheets.  

For the first time this year we also journaled.  Journaling in 4K is a lot different from the older grades.  Right now the children are asked to draw a picture.  They then dictate to me what their picture is of.  In some cases I write the sentence that they say, while others had me label objects in their pictures.  As the year goes on the children will start to write the letters for the sounds that they hear in their words.



All Aboard the Learning Train

Today we continued to focus on our theme of transportation.  Our day revolved around trains.  The two stories that we read were Freight Train and I Love Trains.  We learned that the word freight means the goods(stuff) that the train is carrying from one place to another.  The goods can include cattle, grain, coal, and even food.

During centers today the children were given a plastic baggie with a train engine, train cars with the letters of their names stamped on them, and a caboose.  The children formed their train by putting the letters of their names in order.  Then they traced on top of them.  Lastly, they added a tack for their train to run on and wheels. 

In our independent centers the children played a roll and cover game or with play doh. To play the roll and cover game each child was given a transportation game mat, a die, and wheel pasta.  The children rolled the die and placed that many pasta pieces on their mats.  When each form of transportation was covered the game ended. Today I modeled for the children how to make play doh snakes.  I then showed them how to turn the snakes into letters with our letter charts. 

The children were also partnered up with a classmate to cooperatively make a Mat Man.  Each pair of students was given one dry erase board to share.  One student drew a circle face with the dry erase crayon and then pasted it to their partner.  The partner then added the eyes.  Then past the crayon back.  In the end by working together they were able to create wonder drawings of people, as well as learned to share.

We did not have time today to play on the playground, but we did have enough time to take a stroll on the walking trail.  We were able to listen to birds singing, and observe the changes in the season. 

My Name

Today at one of our independent centers the children used Do-a-Dots to dot the letters in their names.  The children are doing a wonderful job of recognizing their names when mixed with other names.  Our focus now will be on helping the children to write their names correctly. 

Young children learn best when they are taught using a multisensory approach, involving as many senses as possible. Try a few of these hands-on letter formation and name writing activities for beginning writers and your child will have all the skills she/he needs as a beginning writer

Air Writing. Have your child write letters in the air first. These large muscle movements will help your child process what she is writing and make it more likely to stick. As she writes the letter, have him/her say the letter name or the directions for writing the letter. For example, for the letter T, you might say, “Start at the top, go straight down. Pick up your pencil and cross it.”

Foamy Fun. While your child is in the tub, spray a bit of shaving cream on the side of the tub or wall. On a hot day this is also fun to do outside, and your patio table will sparkle when you're done! Allow your child to practice writing letters, then erase and try another set. A playful challenge will get your child even more excited to write.

Kitchen Tracing. Pour a small amount of sand or salt In a cake pan or baking dish. Allow your child to practice tracing letters without the pressure of more permanent writing utensils such as markers and crayons. If she/he makes a mistake, she/he can simply erase what she/he wrote and try again.

Paint Practice. For a non-messy alternative to finger paint, put a bit of finger-paint inside a quart or gallon zipper bag. Remove the air, seal the bag and double the seal with some masking or duct tape. Your child can practice tracing letters on the outside of the bag, manipulating the paint with no mess or cleanup!

Puzzle Practice. Make a name puzzle by writing your child’s name in large letters on a sheet of paper. Cut the letters apart and have your child reassemble the letters of her name in the correct order.

Sand Writing. Write the letters of your child’s name on a sheet of sandpaper. Allow  him/her to trace the letters with his/her finger for a tactile name experience!

Learn Your Letters. When he/she is ready to move to paper, give him/her large sheets of paper and show him/her the strokes to make different letters. If you can give the letters human characteristics, it will be even more fun! (For example, a letter E is a straight line with a hat, a belt and a shoe.)

 

How to Practice Preschool Letter and Name Writing

 

By Traci Geiser

Does it sink or float?

Going along with the theme of transportation today we talked about boats.  Our story today was titled Who sank the boat?  In the story a cow, donkey, sheep, and pig get on a boat.  Then a little mouse gets on the boat and the boat sinks.  As a class we had to use our background knowledge to figure out who sank the boat.  After some discussion we concluded that it wasn't the mouse who sank the boat, it was the weight of all of the animals together that sank the boat.

During center time the children used a meat tray to make their own boats.  They then floated their boats in our sensory table.  This week our sensory table also has pieces of foil by it.  I modeled for the children how to make a foil boat.  They then can use the small rocks and play people in the sensory table to experiment with how much weight their boat can hold before it sinks.

During outdoor play time today we inquired even more about sinking and floating.  The children were placed in groups of three.  Each group was given a bucket of water.  Then each child was given an object to test if it sank or floated.  We tested a feather, penny, plastic spoon, metal spoon, toy car, craft stick, crayon, bouncy ball, and Lego.  We concluded that objects that are heavy sink and objects that are light float.

Are you looking for a new way to instill a love of reading in your child?  Look no further.  If you visit http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp you will find a variety of age appropriate books that relate to the themes that are being taught in your child's class.  This week some of the children enjoyed the story Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.  If you visit the Fond Du Lac Libray web site you will find even more options for listening to books on line.


We also used our inquiry skills to build ramps out of foil, sandpaper, and bubble wrap.  The children used toy cars to test which ramp the cars traveled down the fastest.  The majority of the children concluded that the foil ramp provided the least amount of resistance.

A Great Day!!

Today we had a great day at school.  The children enjoyed listening to the story My Truck is Stuck during reading time.  The main character in the story gets his truck stuck in a hole that the beavers have made in the road.  A car, a moving van, a jeep, and a school bus try to use teamwork to pull the truck out, but they have rotten luck and the truck stays stuck.  In the end a tow truck gets it unstuck, but in the mean time the beavers have taken all of the bones out of the truck.  The poor driver will certainly have a surprise when he goes to unload his truck.

During centers today the children made a book title I See Wheels.  They read each page to see how many wheels it was supposed to have for its illustration.  Then they dipped an empty spool of thread in black washable ink and made wheel prints.

As a large group we played the game "Little Mouse."  I set out a group of  colored houses.  The children closed their eyes, and while they were closed I hid a mouse under one of the houses.  We then sang, "Little mouse, little mouse are you under the ________ house?"  The children each took turns picking a colored house to see if they could find that tricky mouse.

To end the day today we went in the cafeteria and played with the parachute.  I saw lots of SMILES during this activity!

Red Light, Green Light

Today we read the story Red Light, Green Light by Margaret Wise Brown.  During recess we had lots of fun playing the game Red Light, Green Light.  To play one person is designated as “the stop light." The other kids line up about 20 feet away.  The "stop light" calls out “Green light!” The other kids then take large steps moving toward him/her. The "stop light" then calls out “Red light!”  Then the children need to stop in their tracks. Play continues until someone reaches and tags the “stop light.” 

Today I also began assessing the children on their ability to name colors.  In the next few weeks I will ask them to identify the numbers 1-15, shapes, and the letters of the alphabet both upper and lower case.  I will also ask them to count as high as they can for me.

I can't wait until Thursday when we can read one of my all time favorite books My Truck is Stuck!

The Seals on the Bus

Today during center time we read the story The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort.  When the seals went on the bus they said, "ERRP, EERP, EERP."  When the tiger went on the bus he said, " ROAR, ROAR, ROAR."  Our favorite part was when the skunks came on, for they said, "SSSS, SSSS, SSSS."  After reading the story we cut out the outline of a bus and sequenced the animals from the story in the correct order.

Ms. Dessloch is scheduled to come into our classroom for thirty minutes each day.  I am having her come to help out with centers.  Today at her center the children cut out the outline of a stop sign.  They then painted it red.  As they were painting the letters STOP appeared through their paint.

Sing, Sing, Sing!!

Wow!!  It sure feels good to have the first few days of school under our belt.  The children had a wonderful day today.  Each day we become more familiar with the routines, room, and expectations the smoother the day goes. 

Today we had lots of fun singing.  Last night I used some old Easter eggs and filled them half way with rice.  I then taped them up tight, so we could use them today as instruments.  We played our new instrument as we listened to the song "Play Your Instruments."  This song works on a child's ability to self- regulate, which means to learn to consider ones own behaviors.   During the song the lady would sing and we would walk around the room and play our instruments.  When the lady said, "..until you hear the word stop."  We would all stop. 

We also used manipulative's during our writing time to create "Mat Man."  For "Mat Man"  I would sing something similar to ... Mat man has two ears, two ears,two ears, Mat Man has two ears so that he can... and the children would fill in the word hear.  We we t through each body part and in the end Mat man emerged.  We will repeat this activity next week.  Our next step in the process will be working with a partner to draw a person with all of its body parts using a dry erase board.

Pete the Cat Returns

Today during reading time we read another Pete the Cat story.  This one was titled Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes.  To make the story more interactive I created a flannel board of Pete the Cat.  Each child was given a different colored shoe before we began reading the story.  Pete began the story by wearing his white shoes, but they changed color throughout the story.  When he stepped in strawberries they turned red.  When he stepped in a large puddle of mud they turned brown, ECT.  The children did a wonderful job of listening for when it was their turn to change the shoes.  After each "accident" the author wrote, "Did Pete cry?  Goodness, no!"  The moral of the story is:  No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song...because it's all good.  We tied the story into an accident that happened in our classroom today.  A student spilt their milk on their shirt, but they didn't cry, for we just had them change into a dry one.

Today was also the first day of centers.  I split the class into four centers.  They do two centers on the first day and two on the second day.  As one of our centers the children listened to the story Forest Friends Go to School.  This story taught the children how to take care of books.  We will use clean gentle hands to turn the pages, and gently put our books away when we are finished with them.  Each child then took a book out of our classroom library.  We then went over the following concepts of print; where is the top of the book, the bottom, the front, the back, where do we begin reading, and how do we turn a page.  Please take some time to review these concepts with your child when you read to them.  To conclude the center we practiced putting the books away neatly on the shelf.

Routines, Routines, Routines

Today our main focus was to get some of our classroom routines down pat.  We worked on sitting criss-cross applesauce.  We also learned about our helper chart.  In our classroom we have a calendar helper, line leader, and snack helper.  Our calender helper today was Kyra Jo.  She helped us read the day of the week, recognize our shape(circle), and read our nursery rhyme for the month(Rub-A-Dub-Dub).  After circle time we learned about or play centers.

 Today for centers we were able to play at the sensory table, with blocks, or in the house corner. I have wrapped the other centers in caution tape.  As we learn about the ins and outs of the other centers we will unwrap them.  This has caused much excitement in our room. 

Besides having lots of fun playing with our friends today we also enjoyed the story Pete the Cat Rocking In My New School Shoes.  When we finished reading the story we bee-boped to the song that goes with it.  I have included the link for your enjoyment at home. www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat

At this time I am unable to share a large amount of pictures of our friends, for we are still waiting for some permission forms to be returned.

The First Day

The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile
As you entered my room today.
For I know how hard it is to leave
And know your child must stay.
You've been with him for four years now
And have been a loving guide,
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave him/her at my side.
Just know that as you drive away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love him/her as I would my own
And help him/her learn and grow.
For as a parent, I too know
How quickly the years do pass.
So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more
For I will love your child and take him/her in
When you leave my door.

poem by Jamie Solley