This week we jumped into our regular schedule and began our “specials” as well.
Monday we began our morning with the children checking in: writing their names and graphing their shapes. Several of the children are already catching on to the concept of graphing – how impressive! As the children moved through various centers, I did some 1:1 work/assessments with some of the children. I had them label facial features and tell me what their function was. I then worked with them to cut out pictures of facial features and to glue those features onto a pre-drawn face. I am noticing willingness and ability to follow directions and how children perceive those directions and interpret examples.
Monday was our first music class with Mr. Williams. The children enjoyed seeing him once again and were quick to re-familiarize themselves with some of the songs we worked on last year. He played his key board as he recalled/taught lyrics and motions to the children, as both Mrs. Park and I modeled as well. After music, we had a quick snack and then took our turn in P.E. with Mrs. Stark. She had the children engaged in music and bean bag activities, having them listen to the directions and place the bean bags on specific parts of their bodies. Fun, following directions and body identification skills!
Although the day was packed with many activities, we even squeezed another art project into our day. The children created paper plate faces, again, learning to follow verbal and physical directions about which details they had to incorporate onto their faces, but with flexibility as to what materials they used for each facial feature. Again, this was a chance for me to observe ability to recall information, willingness/ability to follow directions and perception skills…all rolled into a basic, fun project.
Tuesday’s group began GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS. During morning rotations, Mrs. Lozano worked in the classroom 1:1, counting and patterning with children. Each child was given a task of varying degree, based on their skill sets, attention span and previous experience. I (Ms. Newman) worked in the hallway, with children, cutting out various objects from the story and gluing them in order from smallest to largest. Some children were required to copy words and even to use the characters from the story to create a model of their family. Those children labeled their family members and we discussed how their roles may have been similar to or different from the characters.
During group time, we sang several songs and introduced some of our classics. We marched to the GRAND OLD DUKE OF YORK, shook the apple tree and even sang LITTLE SALLY SAUCER. We had chanting PEAS PORRIDGE HOT, encouraging each child to think of an ingredient to put into the porridge and then recalling each ingredient in order. We even did a math song, pretending each child was a bear in the bed (on the carpet) as we sang “roll over.” One child at a time rolled over as we “subtracted” them from the group and then we counted how many children were left over.
Of course, we had to chart the question “What is porridge.” Some children who had been exposed to the concept previously recalled while others did not. We then tasted various flavors of porridge and charted whether the children liked each flavor or did not.
Our goal for the end of the day was to create puppets which the children could use to retell the story. Thursday’s group will do some porridge science, cut/sequence the story and create props and a setting in which they can act out the story. It will be so much fun for both them and for the teachers!
If anyone has some stuffed bears they would like to bring in to use in our story telling, please feel free!
