Happy Holiday Fun!
12/21/2019
This week in the Beluga classroom as we have been preparing for winter break, we have had lots of holiday fun. We have painted, crafted and wrapped several holiday projects, and we have played many holiday-themed games, and sung holiday songs together. One of the benefits of all our crafting and some of our other activities is that they have provided opportunities to work on our fine motor skills. Good fine motor skills help children develop the hand and finger strength needed for a good pencil grasp and control of a writing instrument. They help provide a strong foundation for handwriting. We have used our pattern blocks to make lots of holiday shapes. While pattern blocks are very useful in teaching children about shapes and geometry, they are important learning tools for other reasons as well. Pattern blocks help children develop their fine motor and visual discrimination skills. We decorated a few projects with beads, sequins and jewels which were challenging for little fingers to pick up. Managing glue bottles and trying to get small dots rather than puddles also was a bit of a challenge. They were determined though and did a great job! Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays! See you next year!!
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Winter Wonder
12/14/2019
This week in the Beluga Classroom we continued our theme of winter activities. Although our weather was not very cooperative, we read books about the special circumstances actually needed for snow to fall, and we looked at photographs of the many different types of beautiful snowflakes which can form. It really is amazing to look at them!! These different themes we focus on each month or so in preschool give us terrific opportunities to teach and reinforce important literacy and mathematical concepts in fresh ways. Here are a few of the winter-themed activities we did this week which supported the children in their mathematical learning:
Math even sneaked its way into our sensory play! These students have used beads and straws to give their snowmen's arms AB patterns! Way to go girls! We're all looking forward to next week when we are hoping very much for some real snow to continue our winter theme!
Community and Courage
12/7/2019
This week the PNA community came together to enjoy a truly wonderful winter concert. The setting was beautiful, the audience was huge and the children, besides looking adorable were all so well-prepared! As everyone knows, these events take much planning and preparation and practice, and we are so grateful for our Preschool music teacher, Ms. Andrea, who made the preschool participation in the concert possible! An African proverb states: “It takes a village to raise a child”. Well, at PNA we have a REMARKABLE village! Our village consists of a group of amazing and dedicated educators, devoted and committed families, and outstanding and enthusiastic students! There is a wonderful synergy between family and teachers and students, and every day I am so grateful to be part of our PNA community whose goal is to help students succeed at becoming “exceptional learners and independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity." The opportunity to participate in our Winter Concert certainly helped our preschool practice courage! But what does courage mean for preschoolers? It can be different for each child, just as it is for every adult. Performing in front of a large group can be nerve-wracking, even for adults! Because this was a first time most of our preschoolers had ever done something like this, we practiced a lot and talked about what it would be like when everyone came to listen to us. Most of our class was excited about it, but one of our friends was definitely not excited. In fact, he was quite adamant that he was NOT participating. From private conversations with him we finally discovered that he was terrified of performing in front of everyone – so much so that he wouldn’t even go inside the gym to practice lining up. How could we help this child practice courage? Our wonderful Preschool Director, Ms. Anna, came up with the solution: We allowed him to choose the space where he would be comfortable standing with the children, and she would stay with him during the performance. The place he chose to stand? Behind one of the pieces of the set. He stood just out of sight, next to the line of children, holding Ms. Anna’s hand. So, when everyone was watching all of the adorable preschoolers singing, what most of the audience couldn’t see was one member of our PNA village, caring for the needs of a single child and supporting him as he was developing the courage to do something scary. But I saw it, and it made me proud to be a member of the PNA community!
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Melissa SmithMs. Smith has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught kindergarten for many years. Alaska has been home to Ms. Smith for 28 years, and she can't imagine living anywhere else! She has four children, a dog and two cats. She loves reading, camping, gardening, and genealogy! Archives
April 2021
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