Jumping into learning

We wasted no time and just "jumped" (I know it's cheesy) into learning lots of new things in September.

 Playdough is always a hit!

 Using magnets to write their names!

 Learning to use a mouse on the computer is sometimes a group event!

We started our letters sounds and we usually tie an art project to it.  This is A is for Ark and Animals!

                                            We learned how to use watercolor paints!

We used stickers to practice the shape of letter A

We built with Marbleworks!

 B is for bubbles!

 Learning the shape of things with WikiStix.

 D is for dinosaurs!

 Building words with magnets!

C is for cupcake!

And the 2017 year begins.....

I love the first day of a new school year!  These little ones come excited and sometimes a little nervous to start a new adventure.  It's one of the many reasons I love teaching three to five year old kiddos, because almost EVERYDAY AND EVERYTHING is an adventure to them and I get to see the world through their eyes again!  This is my morning class!

   And this is my afternoon class below.

What we've been doing in January and February

In January we missed two days of school because of the record snowfall!  In fact the local news was calling Dec. 2016 and Jan. 2017 Snowpocalypse!  We beat 50 year old records for the amount of snow that fell and the number of days in a row that were below freezing so the snow didn't melt but just kept piling up.

We added three new students in January and February!  Welcome friends. 

We celebrated Groundhog day by climbing through tunnels, making our shadows on the walls (we

turned off the lights and used a flashlight to make the shadows) and crafting our own groundhogs.  We learned to sing a new song.  It's sung to the tune of "I'm a little teapot".  The words are,  "I'm a little groundhog, furry and brown, I'm popping up to look around, If I see my shadow down I go, six more weeks of winter, OH NO!"  Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow so I don't know when we'll get outside play time, but I hope soon.

In January our theme was being responsible and we made chore charts.  The kids chose the chores they put on their charts.

In January we spent several weeks reviewing the numbers 0-10 and the letters A-N.  After such a long Christmas break and the extra snow days we needed to spend some time cementing these concepts again.

We also had time to build

paint

and experiment 

In February we began introducing the new letters again.  We learned O makes a sound like Tarzan swinging through the trees and that the P is the beginning sound of lots of delicious food like pretzels, popcorn and pizza! Yum.

The kids made their pretzels in the shape of the letters in their names!

We also learned about parrots and made parrot masks!

We're learning more about being a good friend in February since that is our overall theme.

We read a book called "Big Hugs, Little Hugs" 

We have lots more to do this month so stay tuned!

 

Now accepting new students

Several of our students in the afternoon class that meets from 12:30-3:00 have moved or are moving in the next few weeks and that has opened several spots.  If you have a 3 year old that you didn't think was ready for preschool last September, but who you think is ready now,  maybe they would like to join us in January.  Or maybe you have a 4 year old that isn't currently enrolled in preschool and who would like to have that experience for 5 months before attending kindergarten next fall.  Just drop Cindy an email or give her a call and we'll chat about whether this is a good fit for your child.

A new year of preschool

We've just completed our first week of preschool and again I have two DARLING classes of students!  Our first week has been full and eventful.  

The kids have loved doing Guessing Can!  Guessing can is part of our circle time each day.  Children are assigned beforehand to bring an item from home that is usually tied into our theme or the letter we're working on.  For example, since we were studying the letter Aa they might bring an apple, a toy alligator or anything else that begins with an Aa.  Then they hide the item in a #10 coffee can and give the rest of the class clues to what's inside.  The class uses their deductive skills to guess what's inside.  This week it was so cute because several of the kids who were assigned guessing can just couldn't contain themselves.  When I asked one little boy "Is it an animal?" he responded "no it's applesauce".

We also learned what a #1 looks like and sang along to a DVD from Heidi songs  http://www.heidisongs.com/index.php about the number one.  The words are "Number one, number one, you are long and straight and tall.  Number one, number one, you're always first of all".  The kids LOVE to sing.  We learned the chant about 5 little monkeys swinging from a tree, because there's an ALLIGATOR in it and Alligator begins with A.  They enjoyed performing this chant for the parents during parent pickup.  They also sang "If you're happy and you know it" letting everyone know that "yes" they are happy.

We read "10 apples up on top" by Dr. Seuss, "Counting Apples" by Joan Holub and "The Pout-Pout Fish goes to school".  

We ate 3 types of apples for snack time and took votes on which one was best.  Red Delicious apples were the winners over Granny Smith's and Galas.  Another day we had friendship gorp.  Each child poured a different ingredient into the bowl, we stirred it together and everyone got a scoop.  The snack followed a discussion about how each of us in the class is different but we can all have fun together.

We practiced painting with watercolors and many of the kids opted the next day to paint additional paintings during free choice.

During our little scientist time we blended blue and yellow water and found out it makes green.

We made alligators from construction paper.  I got this cute idea from preschoolalphabet.blogspot.com!  

This next week we'll be studying the letter Bb, the number 2,  introduce our first sight word "and", investigate more science about the color wheel and talk more about "Courage" which is our overall theme for September.  We'll also begin work on our "All about me" books.

Registration for Fall 2016 is now open!

If you're interested in registering for Fall 2016, please download the registration form and return it to me with the registration fee of $50 to hold your spot!  If you have questions or would like to see the preschool, just drop me an email.