Monday, October 12, 2015

We had a great start to our week in preschool!

First...2 reminders...

Dial 4 Screening...If you live in the Francis Howell School District you received a packet of information explaining Dial-4 screening.  This packet not only explains the screening completed by Francis Howell, there are also forms that you will need to fill out and return if you would like your child to receive the screening.  Please complete the forms and return to me by Wednesday, October 14.  Screening will begin on October 18.  As an FYI, some screenings will take place this fall, others will take place in the spring.

There is NO SCHOOL on Thursday, October 15 (Parent Teacher Conferences) and Friday, October 16 (Fall Break).

On to our day...

I love seeing friends enjoying a book together!  Korrinne takes some time to "read" to Laina.  Then, they switched and Laina "read" a bit to Korrinne!

It's also great to "read to self".  Jonah used the pictures to tell me what his book was about!

Reagan practiced her writing skills as she composed a letter for a friend!

Natalia brought a "treasure" map from home.  She was excited to share it with friends as they planned and worked together to search for the hidden treasure!

Luke improved his scissor skills as he cut more straws in the sensory table.

Jeremiah and Sophia improved hand-eye coordination while using rubber bands to make shapes on geoboards!

Brooke enjoyed acting out feelings and emotions as she played with the firemen and policemen.

Ben and SJ planned and worked together to build this awesome skyscraper!

Kyler improved spatial awareness and knowledge of the alphabet as he completed this puzzle.

Seems as though I have been saying this a lot lately...but what a GREAT morning outside!  We would have loved to stay out all day!

To finish morning meeting I placed 7 items on the carpet!  Our friends job was to study the items and then "lock" them in his/her brain.  I covered them up with a towel and took 1 or 2 items away!  I only fooled them 2 times!  Recognizing and recalling is an early cognitive skill.

Today we introduced the letter "E"!  

We remembered start your letter "at the top" then big line down, little line across, little line across, little line across for "E". Then we came up with words that start with "E"!

Anytime one of our friends thinks of a word that starts with "E" we can add it to our big letter.  Or, if at home, your child sees a small picture or item that starts with an "E", bring it in and he/she can tape it to our big letter!

Then we practiced writing "E" with our special handwriting without tears crayons (nice and short to reinforce proper grip)!

Time for small groups (centers)!

It was time for the doctor to help people, he had to give out band-aids!  Each friend was given a paper with the question, "How many band-aids did the doctor give?" and a # on it.  He/she told me the number and then counted out that same number of band-aids.  Identifying numbers and quantifying are early math skills.  Success for some was working with 1 - 5.  Success for others was working with 1 - 10.  While still success for some was working with 1 - 20!

With Mrs. Burnham we were excited to see how many cubes tall the pumpkins were that Mrs. Mudd grew at her house!  Not only did we practice one-to-one correspondence when counting the cubes, we also improved small motor control snapping the cubes together!

Where do many doctors work to help people feel better...the hospital!  Each group worked as a team, planning and building together a hospital out of blocks.

We took a little time to enjoy the below book!  It taught or reminded us that in many ways we are alike, but in many ways we are different.  We remembered that God made each one of us different, yet special, just how He wanted us to be!

Another chance to enjoy the fabulous weather (even if a bit windy)!

During Jesus Time Moses (puppet) came to visit, telling us all about his journey to free the Isrealites from Egypt.  It was a tough, scary journey, but God was always with him and the Isrealites.  To help us remember, we shouted out...WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!