Happy Holidays!
12/21/2019
It is the time of year where families around the world gather together, celebrate holidays and winter traditions! Holiday celebrations can be wonderful opportunities for children to learn about the traditions and values that are cherished. Holiday traditions add meaning to our celebrations and strengthen memories that last for years to come. During Morning Meeting, we went around in a circle and shared a holiday tradition. It was lovely to hear about the traditions celebrated in your homes. This activity allowed students to learn about love, respect and acceptance for one another. The Holiday season is also a time to spread joy and kindness. Opportunities for kindness present themselves daily in the Orca classroom. The children practice taking turns, sharing, and speaking to each other in a respectful manner. We read the classic story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss. The Grinch comes down from his mountaintop home and sneaks into town to swipe everything holiday related. We talked about why the Grinch behaved this way. The students stated that the Grinch was isolated and lonely. Our mission was to teach the Grinch about compassion and to spread kindness. Kindness involves having empathy which requires the ability to take the perspective of others. The Grinch behaved harshly because he felt alone. The students decided that they would spread kindness by including him in activities, by teaching him how to share, and by complimenting him. Students used paper, sequins, and art supplies to decorate paper hearts. They wrote an act of kindness on each heart and taped it on the poster making the Grinch's tiny heart grow 3 times its size! We then incorporated science to help the Grinch's heart grow! This experiment not only taught students about kindness but it also allowed students to practice following step by step directions; an important preschool skill. The children divided into groups of three and took turns following the steps to grow the Grinch's heart. The first step was to add vinegar to an empty bottle. The students then attached a balloon or “heart” to the bottom of a funnel and filled it with three teaspoons of baking soda which represented kindness. We reviewed the different units of measurements including teaspoon and tablespoon during the experiment. We went around the room and shared acts of kindness. Lastly, the students lifted the balloon up and shook the baking soda into the bottle. The balloon started inflating. The students were excited and amazed to see the “Grinch's heart” grow! We also made salt dough ornaments using flour, salt and water. The students took turns adding ingredients and kneading the dough. Afterward, they used cookie cutters to shape the ornaments and painted them. We ended our week with a classroom holiday party where students decorated cookies and shared their holiday tradition Show and Tell items with each other!
Making Clothes!
12/14/2019
This week, students investigated where clothes come from and how they are made. They were introduced to new vocabulary including fabric, thread, sewing, crocheting, and knitting. Mrs. Smith, an Early Kindergarten teacher at PNA shared her talent with our Orca Class. She talked about the different fabrics used to make certain items of clothing. Mrs. Smith brought in samples of cotton, polyester, and wool for students to explore. As the students passed the fabrics around, she displayed beautiful hats and scarves that she had knitted. She also gave a wonderful demonstration of how to crochet. The students were fascinated to see how certain hooks can make different patterns and designs. After Mrs. Smith's demonstration, the students laced paper socks. They used their creativity to decorate the sock and mimicked the action of sewing as they inserted the tip of the yarn into the holes. Lacing has numerous benefits. This activity promotes hand-eye coordination and helps develop the pincer grip. The pincer grip is the ability to hold an object between the thumb and index finger. It is considered to be an essential fine motor skill and is an important skills for handwriting. For some, the most challenging part of this activity was being patient. The yarn would sometimes get tangled making it difficult to lace. Despite this challenge, our Orcas practiced patience and perseverance to successfully lace their sock. One of the math objectives for preschool is for students to develop a basic understanding of numbers and counting. In EK, children begin to work with numbers, count objects, and associate numbers with how many things are in a group. During Math Centers, students were given a number and were instructed to clip clothespins to the bottom of a hanger. This activity helped develop number recognition, one to one correspondence and fine motor skills. We also played a math game inspired by the story “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” by Eric Litwin. In this game, students rolled a dice, counted the dots and counted out the corresponding number of buttons. They played until their shirt was covered with buttons. In our Literacy Center, students practiced handwriting and played several letter matching games. In these games, they practiced letter recognition and matched uppercase to lowercase letters. Students were encouraged to say the sound of each letter while playing. We had a fun filled week in the EK class learning about clothes. Next week, we will conclude our clothes study by exploring the different types of clothes and fabrics worn around the world!
The Clothes We Wear!
12/7/2019
Clothing is something children interact with on a daily basis. By the time they are in preschool, students develop a preference for colors, fabrics and styles. This week we began our clothing unit. This study allows children to investigate the different types of fabrics, explore the traditional attires worn around the world, and learn about the process of making/ selling clothes. In the beginning of each study, we fill out a KWL (Know, Want to Learn, Learned) chart. This chart helps students organize their prior knowledge, generate a list of questions related to the topic and write down what they have learned after the study is completed. The children practiced sorting clothes into groups. They sorted the clothes by weather, size and color. Sorting clothes gives students practice in recognizing similarities, differences, size and function. We also talked about who would wear each item of clothing depending on the size of the shirt and when they would wear it. Afterward, the students explored items including a lint roller and an iron. In addition, we talked about the process of taking care of our clothes. We read the story, “Wash and Dry” by Trish Holland. This story helped students understand the steps of doing laundry. In this story, a young girl helps her parents carry, sort, wash, dry, fold and put away clothes. We talked about how before washers and dryers existed, people scrubbed their clothes by hand and dried them on a clothesline. Our sensory table was filled with water, soap and clothes. I attached a clothesline to the table using string and meter sticks. The children washed the clothes and wrung them dry developing gross motor/muscle strength. They hung the clothes using clothespins which provided fine motor practice We played a variety of literacy games after reading “The Mitten” by Jan Brett. The students practiced sequencing by placing the animals in the order they came in the story. They also used visual cards to retell the story. Lastly, we practiced rhyming by placing each animal card on the board and finding words that rhyme with that animal. The highlight of the week was the PNA Winter Concert! The students spent several weeks practicing songs and poems with Ms. Andrea in Music Class. They showed courage and confidence during their amazing performance. Thank you for your support in making the event a success!
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April 2021
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