Show and Tell
11/22/2019
Show and Tell is a wonderful introduction to public speaking as children are given the opportunity to talk about a topic they are interested in. Each Friday, students bring an item from home that is special to them. Show and Tell has numerous benefits for young children. This experience helps to build effective speaking and listening skills. It also promotes emotional development in children as they share their interest with the class. We begin this activity during morning meeting and its an exciting start to our day. The children take turns presenting their item by answering questions like “Why is this object special to you?” “How does it work?” or “Where did you get it from?”. Afterward, the presenter may call on two peers to answer their questions. Students are encouraged to give compliments as well. We practice using kind words such as “Thank you” and “You're Welcome”. Some benefits of Show and Tell include... Self Esteem and Confidence: During this activity, a child explains the significance of the item he or she brought while other children listen and ask questions about that special item. This positive social interaction can boost a child’s self-esteem as they realize that their thoughts and ideas are valued. Students also applaud each other at the end of each presentation as a way to show appreciation for the presenter. Oral Language Skills: Show and Tell is a structured question and answer activity. Oral Language skills are strengthened as they use descriptive words and full sentences to describe their item. Social Skills: During Closing meeting, the children have the opportunity to share their item with each other. We call this activity Show and Share. Students practice sharing, taking turns and are given the chance to talk about similar interest with each other. Show and Tell is a special part of our week and is a time the children look forward to. The Benefits of Baking!
11/16/2019
Often, children learn by observing, exploring, reading and listening. This is why baking bread is a perfect opportunity for learning. This week, we explored the process of baking bread! We began by talking about the steps for making flour. We read the classic story, “The Little Red Hen”. The story is centered around a red hen who finds some seeds on the ground and decides to plant them to ultimately make bread. She plants a grain of wheat, harvests the wheat crop, picks the wheat, grinds it, and then bakes a loaf of bread. The little red hen works hard while the other farm animals just lay around and sleep. Not only does the story help teach children the value of hard work, but it encourages them to work together to reach a goal. Afterward, the students worked together to make delicious pretzels! Besides being a delicious snack, making pretzels with children provides many developmental opportunities. Baking bread is a great fine motor activity as children work the dough and twist it into a shape. Rolling out dough, flattening it, and pouring ingredients are all ways for kids to practice their hand-eye coordination. Before we started making the pretzels, I listed the recipe on the board with illustrations for students to follow. The students attempted to follow the illustrations as well as verbal instructions. Following a recipe can boost a child's listening and sequences skills. It also encourages children to follow instructions which is an important school skill. Spatial perception and planning skills were strengthened when the children had to divide the dough in equal portions to make pretzels. They worked with real life math concepts such as measuring and using a variety of measuring tools. In addition, baking offers a great opportunity to help with language, math and science skills. As the children took turns measuring, pouring and mixing ingredients, they were exposed to new vocabulary. Some vocabulary discussed during this activity included harvest, rise, wheat, and knead. Baking also involves counting, number recognition and measuring which are just a few of the many mathematical skills we work to develop in EK. Lastly, the children watched the flour change color, texture, and odor throughout the process. We talked about the role yeast plays in the bread making process. Yeast begins feeding on the sugars in flour, and releases the carbon dioxide which makes bread rise. The children were amazed to see the dough rise after waking up from their naps! Lastly, we coated the pretzels with butter and salt. The children absolutely loved them! As an extension to this activity we made the perfect play doh using similar ingredients!
Pre-K Pizzeria
11/9/2019
Children spend many meals examining, tasting, and exploring bread. After exploring several different types of breads, the children concluded that pizza was their favorite. Pizza is a fan favorite among young children for so many reasons. Not only is it delicious but it also easy and fun to make. A study of pizza offers a meaningful way for children to use literacy, math, science and art skills as well. One of the highlights of the week was our Field Trip to Papa Murphy's. At the tour, the children got a chance to see how dough and pizza toppings are prepped daily. The children worked together to make the dough by adding flour, water and yeast. They also learned how to use special equipment to knead and press the dough. The students shredded several pounds of cheese to make pizzas. At the end of the tour, the children created their own Mini Murphy Pizza with their favorite toppings. It was wonderful to see the process behind pizza making! Our dramatic play center was transformed into a Pizza Restaurant. The students used pizza boxes, cutters, dough, toppings and an oven to bake pizzas. The children took turns being the chef, waiter and customer. Dramatic play helps children consider other perspectives as they recognize various roles of people in their lives and communities. The students' interest in pizza was incorporated into play on a daily basis. We measured flour, water and yeast to create dough for our sensory table. I added some cookie cutters and rolling pins to our bin to strengthen fine motor skills. We ended the week with our first Parent Lunch! I would like to thank all of the parents/grandparents for joining us and participating in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activity. STEAM is all around us, so why not get hands-on with it at an early age. After reading, “The Three Little Pigs”, the students and parents worked together to create a sturdy house for the pig using spice drops, toothpicks, straw, shredded paper and blocks. The house needed to be able to withstand the “big bad wolf blow dryer,” and not fall down. At PNA we work towards becoming effective communicators, problem solvers, and collaborators This activity was designed to encourage critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills, as well as, problem solving and teamwork.
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April 2021
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