Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Thank you for checking out our Wednesday in preschool!

Our friends are excited to be learning how to use our new listening/reading center.  Each friend can enjoy listening to/reading a book on CD.  We are learning the proper way to read a book:  front to back, and left to right.  We are beginning to understand that letters make words, and words make a story. We are also improving our listening skills...we have to wait for the special sound that tells us when to turn the page! If a friend is waiting for a turn, he/she places his/her nametag on the table showing who is next!

Sorting by color!!!

While others were enjoying free choice time...each friend found out "How Many FLOWERS Tall Are You?" 

Once measured he/she found the correct number, for how many flowers tall he/she measured and wrote his/her name on our chart/graph.  The ability to compare and measure, using non-standard forms of measurement, is an early math skill!

Wiggle worm was here to welcome the start of baseball season!!!  If a friend picked a number on a baseball, that friend said the number aloud.  Then I gave the class an activity to complete that number of times...

Touch your toes 9 times!

 If a wiggle worm was picked...

WIGGLE, WIGGLE, WIGGLE...and FREEZE! A great way to practice self regulation, having to stop and freeze when having so much fun wiggling!

 Due to a funeral in Zion's church sanctuary today, we enjoyed Chapel in the commons.

Mrs. Stanglein's class reminded us...but that's okay..."the rock (clap, clap) was rolled away, HOORAY!!!"

 Mrs. Mudd brought 5 different balls from home!  We noticed right away that they were all different sizes and colors.  One even had holes in it!  We passed some of them around and realized some were light, like a balloon, and others were heavy, like a rock.

Then, a question was presented to our friends..."Which ball will hit the ground first when dropped?"  So, each friend made a documented prediction.

 We tested our predictions will different balls.  After each friend dropped 2 balls, Mrs. Mudd dropped the same 2 balls to see if being taller made a difference!

We quickly discovered that every ball, big or small, pink or swirled, light or heavy, or even those with holes, ALL hit the ground at the same time! We learned this happens because of gravity.  Gravity makes things hit the ground when dropped instead of floating in to the air.

Time for small groups (centers)!

We "picked a rabbit, any rabbit".  Each friend took a turn choosing a rabbit, turned it over to reveal a number, and said the number aloud.  Then, Mrs. Mudd gave them an activity to complete that number of times.

We improved our small motor control and patterning skills as we strung beads on to pipe cleaners.

We strengthened the finger, wrist, and hand muscles and improved shape recognition as we rolled playdoh with our hands and then formed different shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, and diamond) with the playdoh.

We improved our rhyming and spatial reasoning skills as we made little puzzles with words/pictures that rhyme!

We then headed to the gym for some large motor free choice time!