A Typical Day at Preschool

Since our parents are busy getting errands done, or getting a much deserved break during preschool time, I thought I would give an idea of what happens throughout the day.

Today would be a great example since we started our groups, and it went great!

First, I meet with the kids individually as they come in. I didn't do any assessment as the school started, because I was planning on completing some formal assessments later on.

We had circle time- Welcome, calendar (months, days of the week, updating our calendar), we go over the letter we are working with that week. They do a "hunt" for things that start with that letter/sound etc.

Blue Group met with me first. The other three were to participate in the centers. At first green group wanted to sit with me, but soon they figured out that they got to "play" first.
The blue group worked with me on making patterns using unifix cubes. They did abab patterns, and abbabb patterns. They had a great time working independently, then showing the others what colors they used.

As they were working independently, I pulled the green group members one at a time to work on a formal assessment- concepts of print. I would ask them to pick out a book, show me the cover, the back cover, the title, the author. I would read the title to them and ask them what they think it is about (prediction). I would ask them to pretend to read, (see if they could follow the text from left to right etc). This gives me an idea of how familiar they are with books etc.

The next activity for the blue group is tracing, cutting, and gluing squares. Sometimes these projects don't seem that complicated, but to a child who is working on fine motor skills, it is a challenge. They have fun completing these little projects. Some of the students colored their projects when they finished gluing them. They looked a little messy, but they spent a lot of time on them.

Then it was time to trade groups. I would have gone outside for a break or snack, but they were working so well and behaving, I didn't want to push my luck.
Green group worked on unifix cubes,too- but they were working on sorting. This is a great activity to do with any group of objects. Give them a box of plastic utensils. or mix up pasta for them to sort, anything you can think of. They really feel proud to be able to sort by color, or shape, or whatever!
This group is still working on holding their scissors, so we practiced that a little, but then I cut the remainder of the squares so they could practice tracing and gluing. I have to be careful not to expect TOO much from them, or they get frustrated. They have to build confidence before you introduce the next skill.

I pulled the blue group members independently while the green group was working.

They did awesome with cleanup! They worked together and didn't fight over who got to put what toys away. Since there was only 2-3 playing at a time, the mess was a minimum!

Then it was snack time. I had apple slices and triscuits for the students. We had a student who brought some snacks and wanted to share. Thanks for the orange and organic treats! They were so yummy, and the kids were being so good outside, I taught them their lesson on ears and hearing outside. It was fun to talk about sound waves, to be careful with our ears, to make sounds with our bodies- clapping, clicking our tongues, etc. Also, it was nice for them to discover how the wind made a sound, but you couldn't see it. Just as sound waves are invisible, but they make sounds, too. We could hear cars, birds, etc. This is also a fun acitivity to do when out on walks, etc.

It was time to go inside for music time. I think they still had some energy to burn off, they were pretty mellow outside, so we played freeze dance. We are still learning how to respect other people's space, so this is when we saw a few behavior problems, but we used this time as learning experiences.

All in all, this was a great day. We have many great days at preschool! Every day is different, and hopefully the students learn something new everyday!

Thanks for being such great, supportive, parents!

Please feel free to talk to me about any questions or concerns you have.

New Schedule

Since this week is about completion of assessments, and since we have 6 students now, I felt it was a great time to alter my daily schedule to better accommodate the needs of our class. I do spend one on one time with the students, but would like to spend more time with them independently and in smaller groups according to the skill that is being taught. The new schedule will come in to effect on January 12th. This is how we will work:

9:15-9:30 Individual assessment
9:30-9:45 Welcome, Calendar, Sharing Time
9:45-10:00 Shared Reading (whole group)
10:00-10:30 Group A meets with me while
Group B has center time
10:30-10:45 Snack & Outside (weather permitting) or activity
10:45-11:15 Group B meets with me while
Group A has center time
11:15-11:30 Craft/Thematic Activity
11:30-11:45 Music and movement

Please be on time at drop off as to allow enough time for all of the activities planned for the day.

We have a great time each preschool day and are learning more every day! Thanks!

Penguins, Polka dots, and Planting

This last week was all about the letter "P" and studying animals who live in the tundra. The students love anything penguin or polar bear. We also looked at pictures of An Arctic Journal with real people studying the Arctic. The kids of course related everything to Happy Feet. At least they remember how the baby penguins are cared for the father when the mother hunts, and how the parent penguin feeds their baby by regergitating in their mouths!

The kids made these cute penguins on Tuesday, then on Thursday made purple and pink polka dots on the letter "P."

They also planted plants in pots. We were all about the letter "P"! Too bad we were out of pretzels, but they did have peanut butter!

Session 5

We have a fun session planned. Here are the scheduled activities/ themes:

December 15: Fire Safety Position Words "f"
December 17: Holiday Party and Crafts

January 5: Penguins Patterns "p"
January 7: Tundra Patterns "p"

January 12: Senses (sight) Square "s"
January 14: Senses (smell) Square "s"

January 19: Animals Shape Review "a"
January 21: Asian Culture (Chinese New Year) Shape Review "a"

Please take note of what we are studying each day in order to participate in sharing/ circle time. I like to encourage the students to learn to be comfortable speaking in front of others, as well as teach listening skills. The students may bring in anything they would like to share, if at all possible have them bring in something relating to the theme, or the letter we are discussing that day. Thanks for being such great parents and letting me teach your children! Happy Holidays!

Letter J, and Jobs

The students had a fun time making the letter J j out of their pretzels and making brown paper bag costumes for various jobs in the community.

They loved pretending to wear the Home Depot Aprons and work with the tools.

They loved designing their uniforms.

Here is our Police Officer and our Doctor.

Session 4

To keep the parents updated on the themes, the letters, and numbers that will be studied in the upcoming session- here are plans:

Session 4- November 17-December 10

November 17: Dinosaurs
letter D
number 9

November 19: Dirigibles (Hot air balloons)
letter D
numbers 0-9

November 24: Thanksgiving (we are thankful for our families)
letter T
number 10

November 26: Happy Thanksgiving!

December 1 & 3: Community Helpers
letter J
numbers- one to one ration

December 8 & 10: Airplanes and other modes of transportation
letter A
position words

Preschool Complete!

Finally the chairs and table I ordered came in and, voila!- the preschool is complete! I do have a few more manipulatives I would like to buy, but I need to take it easy on the $ going out until there is more $ coming in. My kids love to come in and play with the puzzles and the living center. As you can see, there is a 'bee" theme for Mrs. B's Preschool- I kind of went a little overboard- but it is fun! I have my long range plans completed for the year and am having a blast researching for fun activities that are engaging and educational. Feel free to send me any fun activities- I am all about new ideas! Here are the pictures I took of the preschool room.

Notice the bathroom and closet through the door on the right.

Ryan put in rain gutters to hold the books. The living center is in the left corner. Notice the vacuums- the kids love to "pretend" clean.

Here is the "circle time" area. There is a calendar and a map behind the projection screen.

Last, but not least, is the child size chairs and adjustable table that finally came in. The kids love to play at the table and the chair sizes are just right.