Qq is for Quiet Tracing

Maybe it's a bit of a stretch.  Qq was a hard one to come up with a sensory activity!

 

We maximized our use of the gingerbread (before we had to say goodbye to make room for the Feb. sensory), and created this center:

 

Qq is for Quiet Tracing (Shh!)

 

We had the kids trace Qq in the gingerbread several times.  They rock at stuff like this!

 

We went over the /q/ sound during Circle, and named off some Qq words.  Sometimes I even need helping thinking of some!  We came up with queen, quiet and quarter.  I know there are many others, but since Qq is not the most popular of letters, my mind wasn't flooded with choices.

 

We did touch on the fact that more often than not, Qq is partnered up with Uu.  This will make more sense to them, once they start reading and spelling.

 

Try playing I-Spy with the next book you read to your kiddo, and ask him/her to point out some Qq words.  Have fun spending some quality quiet time with your kid!

The Missing Mitten Mystery

 

 Are you laughing yet?!  This is what I saw when I walked into the classroom on Monday morning!  Three mischevious Tiggers - one in a bassinet, complete with pacifier, diaper and baby powder; one riding the horsey; and one in the high chair, snacking on veggie straws.  Isn't this pure silly fun?!  I love it!  (Thanks for making my morning bright and sunshiney, Pops!)

 

*****

Today, after all of us finished gawking and oogling over the Tiggers, we read:

 

This book is adorable!  If you've not read it, you're missing out.  Check it out at the library or grab a copy at the bookstore.  I love love love the end!  After we read, the children took a few minutes (and by minutes, I mean seconds) to find our missing red mitten.  It was under the table by our library books!

 

At the matching table, the kiddos worked on a mitten color match game as well as a similarly-designed football number match game (1-10).  There was also another mitten matching game, in which they were supposed to match the designs on the mittens.

 

At the discovery table, we worked on the concept of left and right.  Your child brought home a yellow paper with a pair of mittens.  We placed our hands on the mittens, and sang, "This one is the left, and this one is the right" several times, while pointing to each hand.  We also worked on mitten lacing, which they did very well with!  These are in the hallway for your viewing pleasure.  :)  I'm very proud of the effort and concentration that these smart cookies used for this activity!

 

Wednesday, the kids will be introduced to the February sensory table in the block room.

 

The base is red and white beans, and the sensory items include:

• heart doilies and pink foam flowers
• pink and white feathers
• various sizes of red, pink and white bottle caps and lids
• 2 small empty playdough containers
• heart ribbon
• red and white pipe cleaners
• valentine cupcake liners

(Before Wednesday, we will also add some scoops, spoons and cups.)

 

The kids were eager and interested as I was preparing this table.  I knew they wanted to get into it right away, but I wanted them to have a few minutes of free play at the end of class.  It will be ready and waiting for them on Wednesday!





Pp is for Penguins

I really like to avoid worksheets as much as possible when it comes to working on letters.  I know sometimes I can't get around it, but for the most part, it's easy enough to find some way to incorporate a sensory idea.

 

I tried to think of something different to do for the letter Pp, and then came across an idea at Kindergarten Monkey Business.  It's called "Pokey Pins" and you use a push pin to poke holes into a paper.  We placed a carpet square underneath so that the pins had something to run into, rather than the table.

 

This is a pretty new concept for me, and I think you're supposed to poke the pin all along the Pp, then on the border surrounding the penguin.  What we did after the Pp was to poke holes on the penguin.  I thought that made it more meaningful to the kids.  Several times, we talked about how Pp begins the words penguin, push pin, and poke.

 

I also asked the children to say the /p/ sound and name something beginning with Pp.  You might see your kid putting his/her hand up to her mouth, because we learned that even though Pp makes a quiet sound that you can't hear very well, you can still feel the air coming out of your mouth when you say it.

 

This was a great time of year for the letter Pp, since we just finished studying about polar bears and penguins!



Groundhog's Shadow

On Friday, we learned all about Groundhog Day, which takes place every February 2nd, rain, shine, sleet or snow!  The kids learned that if Phil the Groundhog sees his shadow, we're in for 6 more weeks of winter, but if he doesn't, then spring is right around the corner.

 

We read:

 

We made cute little pop-up groundhogs, which started with the children coloring their groundhog brown...

 

followed by coloring the cup brown and gluing on grass at the top.



Then they glued their groundhog onto a tongue depressor, and added a little groundhog poem to their cup.

 

We cut a little hole in the bottom of the cup, and added the groundhog.  The kids quickly learned how to move the groundhog up and down, so that he can hide in his burrow, but "pop up" anytime he wants!

 

We wrapped up by reading:

This is an adorable book, perfect for preschoolers!

 

Our other activities included:

• playing a couple rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors while we waited for our friends.  One child came up with a different version - Fire, Earth, Wind.  Sometimes I can hardly believe the creativity these kids are capable of!
• reviewing the letter Qq
• practicing cutting on straight and wavy dotted lines
• discovering our shadows on the wall with the help of a flashlight
• predicting if the groundhog would or would not see his shadow

And I'm sure you heard on the news - Punxatawney Phil did NOT see his shadow.  Spring is right around the corner - hallelujah!

 

See you in the morning for more preschool adventures!

Penguins, Part 2

Hello!  I know you're all loving this weather, right?!  (You may hear just a *hint* of sarcasm at this point!)  One day it's 12 degrees, the next it's 50 and currently, we've got showers of icy, cold rain falling down!  Wonder what kind of weaher is in store for tomorrow?

 

Today, we had lots of fun learning more about penguins.  We read the book:

In this book, we learned that penguin babies are called chicks, and that penguins are birds that have feathers and wings, but do not fly.  They do love to swim though!

 

In art, we finished our cardboard roll penguin craft.  My hope is that your child will play with his/her penguin at home, and that you will hear some penguin facts during playtime.  For instance, penguins like cold weather, and they love to eat fish!

Our math center had two games for the children to play.  This one is a Penguin Mommy and Chicks math match, in which we used black and white unifix blocks as the chicks and Emperor penguin cutouts at the mommies.  We numbered the moms 1-10, and had the kids match the same number of chicks to the mom.

The other math game was a penguin roll and cover, which I found online, but now can't remember where!  So, to whoever created this cute game, thanks!  The kids rolled a die (numbered 0-5), and placed the same number of goldfish crackers on the penguins.  What do you think happened when they were finished with the game?  Yep - the kiddos got to munch their goldfish!

I also like to incorporate simple science experiments whenever I can, and I thought the sugar cube experiment would be perfect to complement our penguin study.  We stacked up the cubes in a pie plate, and pretended they were icebergs for the penguins.  Each small group of kiddos chose the color they wanted for the water in the pitcher, dropped in some food coloring, and poured the water in the pie plate.  Then the magic happened!  The children were amazed to watch the sugar cubes change color and begin to dissolve.  When I asked them what was happening, several said, "It's melting!" or "It's breaking!"  They are so smart!

We also talked about how the sugar cubes absorb the water, like sponges, and then the water dissolves the sugar.  These experiments are very hands-on for the children, and when they get to participate by doing, it makes the activity more meaningful and interesting for them!

 

Other activities today included:

• playdough and easel
• dry erase writing and drawing
• penguin play
• block room
• penguin action rhyme

Our closing story was:

And for those of you who are still trying to figure out who Chilly Willy is, take a look here for a throwback:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8W9B-ftx_E

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Penguins All Around!

Look who greeted me when I walked into class on Monday morning!

Oh yes, the Tigger Bandit strikes again!

I love coming in and seeing things like this first thing.  It just puts a happy, positive spin on the whole morning.  I definitely had a good chuckle, as "Cool Tigger" chatted on his cell!

 

When the kids came in, they wanted to see their gummy bear science experiments.  They were pleased to find that most of the gummy bears grew a little, and that the red ones ended up with a slight hint of red water.  They also observed that the gummies were covered in bubbles!  This was a simple experiment in which the kiddos learned to patiently "wait and see" to observe changes.

 

During Circle, we reviewed the letter Pp and introduced Qq.  We began our discussion on penguins, and the children excitedly told us all about their trips to the zoo to see them!

 

We read a very informative, kid-friendly book:

 

Our Centers included Penguin Play, where they got to imagine and create their own stories with {my favorite} Madagascar penguins.

 

The children also practiced coloring and cutting a penguin.  We're intent on developing those fine motor muscles!  Also at this center, they played a penguin matching game with real-life photos of different kinds of penguins.  Miss D used a yard stick to (get in some math and) show the kids how short or tall each kind of penguin can be.  Did you know that the tallest are the Emperor Penguins, which can grow to be 4 feet tall?!  Amazing!

 

For art, we started the first part of their cardboard roll penguin, which they will finish on Wednesday.  We also built cute sticker penguins.  They could use the bow as a tie or on the head.  They turned out cute either way!

 

For our movement game, we pretended to be daddy penguins, balancing an egg (bean bag) on our feet.  Not as easy as one may think!  We tried waddling, jumping and turning around in a circle.  We also got in some letter recognition, because the bean bag set we used has letters on one side.  I asked the children to pop their "egg" back into the basket by identifying the letter on the bean bag.  They did a great job!

 

See you on Wednesday for more Chilly Willy fun!

(I know the kids don't know who that is, but you do, right?!)



Polar Bears

Oh it was fun getting to school this morning, wasn't it, friends?!  My commute is normally 20 minutes, but this morning, because of the freshly falling snow, it took 3 times as long.  Eeks!

 

We started the day in the block room, because I knew if I was late because of the roads, others would be too.  (It's just part of our lovely midwest weather, right?)  The kids had a great time playing in the gingerbread sensory tub, which they collectively decided was "inside snow".  Love it!

 

We read the books:

 

We learned where polar bears live, the temperature they prefer, why their fur is white and what they like to eat.  Ask your kiddo to share some new polar bear facts with you!

 

At the science center, the children played with the polar bear play set, which included large blocks of ice, water, and later on, cottonball snow.

 

We also did a gummy bear science experiment, just like the one at Teach Preschool.  The kids poured some water into a clear cup, then dropped in one gummy bear.  We talked about what might happen to the gummy bears, and how they might change over the weekend.

 

 

They came up with some excellent ideas!  Their brains were really working hard today.  I love their responses!  We will check on the gummies first thing Monday morning, and make some observations about what happened to them.

 

Our other centers today included:

• Art/Writing - painting at the easel, stickers (which promotes fine motor development) and tracing their highlighted names 3 times
• Coloring - polar bear coloring page (also good for fine motor)
• Puzzles/Blocks - variety of wooden puzzles and blocks

We also reviewed the letter Pp, and we will wrap that up on Monday.  We will also begin the letter Qq, and start our unit on penguins (my favorite!).

 

Ask your kiddo what was best about our polar-ific day!

Happy Weekend!!