Week one of school year 2008-2009 was a blast! What a great group of kids and we can’t wait for Caleb and Marko to get here! Here’s a look at some of what we did this week and many pictures that are either adorable or show a glimpse of what Miss Tracy and I get to enjoy each day…
Theme: All about me!
Sound of the week: Mm
Sight word: me
Classical composer: Mozart
Table Activities: Pattern Block Pictures, putting the letters of our names (on separate 3x5 cards) in correct order, fingerprint and handprint art, stringing beads, chain links in patterns or comparing lengths/colors
Music: “Name game” song, piano posture with beanie babies balanced on our heads, “Shaky Egg” song, “Peanut on a Railroad Track” (Maybe you’ve heard it from your child? I hear it about a million times a day at my house!), several Mozart pieces including “Sonata in C” while playing on and with the piano, “Jenny Works with One Hammer”, the Happy Day! Pre-K version of the “Shark Song”, verses as follows: (Baby Shark, Momma Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandpa Shark, Swimmer Dude, Hungry Shark, Swim away!, Safe at last!), clapping in rhythm (a continual effort of our program!)
Handwriting: HWT stroke names and wood piece hokey pokey, Writing the first initials on a large piece of paper on the wall while naming the strokes in order. The students then wrote a big line from top to bottom under their letter to “sign in”
A note about fine motor skills such as cutting and handwriting: Hand strength is essential for children to develop these skills with confidence. Activities such as Play-doh, kneading bread, goofing around on a piano (not a keyboard), squeezing squirty toys, wringing out wet towels, etc. all help children exercise and strengthen these key muscles. These kind of activities should be done as frequently as possible beginning as young as possible.
Art: Miss Cristina debuted with experiments in DOTS. The children searched for dots around the classroom and in magazine pictures. They created dots with many different tools such as dot painters, toothpicks, crayons, markers, plastic straws, and paint brushes.
Theme: “Name game” song, teaching their first and last initials, body-part bingo and numerous body-part activities, what they did this summer dice game, handprint in salt dough (baked and painted), finger and handprint art
Storybooks: Chrysanthemum, How do Dinosaurs Go to School, I Like Myself, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, The Long and Short of it
Math: number recognition 1-6 numeral, dot pattern and one-to-one counting (everybody picks up the number of chain links shown on the card, for example), using the big dice to match the numeral with the dot pattern, sticker grid 1-6
Reading: putting the “Mm” beginning sound pictures in Mozambique the monkey’s bowl, numerous word games and rhyming games continually throughout each day.
Other: This week was a great start to establishing our Happy Day! routine and behavior expectations. We are working hard to help the children establish positive interactions with us as teachers and with the students as friends. Each student has 12 known or new friends here at Happy Day! Pre-K! We continually work to help the children identify and appropriately express what they’re feeling and needing. This is a great group (and handsome/beautiful, too!) of students that Tracy and I are privileged to work with and enjoy!
Please note that due to time and other constraints, outside play and reading loft cannot occur every day. We are trying out having free-choice activities (such as Legos and puzzles) while everyone finishes their lunch.
We are excited to give blogging a try…we aren’t sure about how frequently we will realistically be able to update, but every one to two weeks we’ll post and advise you of the update!
Week one of school year 2008-2009 was a blast! What a great group of kids and we can’t wait for Caleb and Marko to get here! Here’s a look at some of what we did this week and many pictures that are either adorable or show a glimpse of what Miss Tracy and I get to enjoy each day…
Theme: All about me!
Sound of the week: Mm
Sight word: me
Classical composer: Mozart
Table Activities: Pattern Block Pictures, putting the letters of our names (on separate 3x5 cards) in correct order, fingerprint and handprint art, stringing beads, chain links in patterns or comparing lengths/colors
Music: “Name game” song, piano posture with beanie babies balanced on our heads, “Shaky Egg” song, “Peanut on a Railroad Track” (Maybe you’ve heard it from your child? I hear it about a million times a day at my house!), several Mozart pieces including “Sonata in C” while playing on and with the piano, “Jenny Works with One Hammer”, the Happy Day! Pre-K version of the “Shark Song”, verses as follows: (Baby Shark, Momma Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandpa Shark, Swimmer Dude, Hungry Shark, Swim away!, Safe at last!), clapping in rhythm (a continual effort of our program!)
Handwriting: HWT stroke names and wood piece hokey pokey, Writing the first initials on a large piece of paper on the wall while naming the strokes in order. The students then wrote a big line from top to bottom under their letter to “sign in”
A note about fine motor skills such as cutting and handwriting: Hand strength is essential for children to develop these skills with confidence. Activities such as Play-doh, kneading bread, goofing around on a piano (not a keyboard), squeezing squirty toys, wringing out wet towels, etc. all help children exercise and strengthen these key muscles. These kind of activities should be done as frequently as possible beginning as young as possible.
Art: Miss Cristina debuted with experiments in DOTS. The children searched for dots around the classroom and in magazine pictures. They created dots with many different tools such as dot painters, toothpicks, crayons, markers, plastic straws, and paint brushes.
Theme: “Name game” song, teaching their first and last initials, body-part bingo and numerous body-part activities, what they did this summer dice game, handprint in salt dough (baked and painted), finger and handprint art
Storybooks: Chrysanthemum, How do Dinosaurs Go to School, I Like Myself, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, The Long and Short of it
Math: number recognition 1-6 numeral, dot pattern and one-to-one counting (everybody picks up the number of chain links shown on the card, for example), using the big dice to match the numeral with the dot pattern, sticker grid 1-6
Reading: putting the “Mm” beginning sound pictures in Mozambique the monkey’s bowl, numerous word games and rhyming games continually throughout each day.
Other: This week was a great start to establishing our Happy Day! routine and behavior expectations. We are working hard to help the children establish positive interactions with us as teachers and with the students as friends. Each student has 12 known or new friends here at Happy Day! Pre-K! We continually work to help the children identify and appropriately express what they’re feeling and needing. This is a great group (and handsome/beautiful, too!) of students that Tracy and I are privileged to work with and enjoy!
Please note that due to time and other constraints, outside play and reading loft cannot occur every day. We are trying out having free-choice activities (such as Legos and puzzles) while everyone finishes their lunch.
We are excited to give blogging a try…we aren’t sure about how frequently we will realistically be able to update, but every one to two weeks we’ll post and advise you of the update!
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