This week is another super busy week in the preschool. Monday’s class began the week with 2 special visitors – Mr. William’s music class and Buckle Bear. The children had a blast singing along during both programs, learning car seat safety during Buckle Bear. Each child was given a packet to take home after Buckle Bear, so please check the sign-in table for your child’s packet.
We were also working on our ORIGINAL ART WORKS which will go home in a few weeks. I worked with each child to begin a multiple step project which encompasses painting, cutting, gluing and assembling to create a unique scene. Keep your eyes open for those.
Our day was so busy we were only able to spend a short while exploring letter A. The children were introduced to using lap boards while sitting criss cross on the carpet. They were given their first large group instruction as how to trace the letter, echoing how I described how to make the writing strokes (“Up, Down, Across.” Circle, Tail.”) At the table after rest time, we used playdough to make the shape of both upper and lower case A and then we wrapped up the day sorting objects into piles of words that started with the sound of letter A and objects that did not.
The remainder of the week will expand upon our body unit, exploring our bones, blood and basic organs. We will also spend a great deal more time exploring letter A.
Tuesday’s focus was the nursery rhyme, RIDE A COCK HORSE TO BANBURY CROSS. The children worked in the hallway with Mrs. Lozano, reading the nursery rhyme and examining a classic painting that describes the tale itself. Next, the children were given puzzles of the same painting which they had to put back together and then glue onto a paper. She also had the children work on fine motor skills by tracing the shape of a horse and coloring it in using crayons.
While Mrs Lozano worked in the hallway, I worked in the classroom on the original art pieces I began on Monday. I also guided children to create beaded rings which we would use later in the day as we acted out the nursery rhyme.
After singing and chanting about letter A as well as skipping to some of our favorite nursery rhymes, we again reviewed a picture of RIDE A COCK HORSE and then I asked the children to tell me what a cock horse was. Although they were looking at an illustration of a child riding a cock horse, it was interesting to observe the children searching for words to describe what they saw (Peacock Horse was a popular answer…..it rhymes with cock horse and was a logical response to the children). I charted each child’s response and then took out a cock horse to ride….a STICK HORSE!!
The children worked in small groups to color, cut and put together their own stick horses. We then patterned with beads to create an anklet of sorts to allow us to have the “bells on our toes” of the nursery thyme before finishing our day with a stick horse race.
