Just Dance

It has been fun to study different careers in preschool this month. At Fun Friday we ended the month by learning about being an athlete.  We practiced catching balls, throwing balls into little bowls for points - Congrats Jeter for winning with 30 points!  We also practiced dancing and it was fun to see the preschoolers move!

Singing Time

Here is a little simple of how music time goes around here. Enjoy!

A Leprechaun

What Will I Be?

This month is When I Grow up... month.  We will be talking about a variety of job options these kids get to dream about for years to come.  We have already explored being an author and artist.  We will be looking into other options like doctor, engineer and pilot.  I can't wait to see how these things spark their imaginations.

Rotations

Rotations is a time where each child is encouraged to work independently.  Independent work can be a difficult thing to ask a preschooler to do, it requires focus and creative thinking.  Here are some of the things these preschoolers have learned to do.

Counting:  This may seems simple, but the kids can practice number order and tracking by counting stickers and putting them on the correct standard form number.

Lower case letters:  This is another skill kids need to learn in order to read.  Knowing your letters is the beginning and crucial skill needed to decode words and learn sounds that correlate with them. This rotation has the added bonus of helping kids with their fine motor skills.

Writing you name:  Another skill every kid needs to know before they go to school.  Every preschooler practices this every day.  Making sure to get the correct letters capitalized and also practicing the direction we write (and read).

Sorting and letter recognition:  Sorting is a skill that helps to organize the brain.  It helps children see that there are orders, similarities and differences between things.  It may not look like it, but it helps a child begin to decode reading.
Play dough letters teaches kids to recognize not only the capital letter, but also the lowercase letters that can be tricky for some children to correlate, especially when they look so differently like Rr or Qq.

The cake stack:  This is just fun...or is it?  Each cake has a number on it, and while this rotation is excellent at developing engineering skills; kids also need to be able to put these cakes back with their original numbers and colors.





I hope you enjoyed a little look into what we do every day.  These kids have come a long way at being able to do these things on their own.  Way to go kids!

Friendship

One of the great perks of going to preschool is the FRIENDSHIPS you make.  There is no greater feeling than being loved, accepted, encouraged and just having a really great time.  Preschool can be a place where great friendships start and can last a lifetime.
Here at Little Sprouts, kid are encouraged to always speak kindly and encourage one another. Our differences make us stronger.  I love watching these kids play with one another, making compromises and being creative together helps build bonds and strengthen each kid as an individual. So 3 Cheers to friendship!

Roses are Red

Creativity

 We have been working on coloring this whole year?  Why?  It teaches a few concepts.
1. Small Motor Skills or fine motor skills -- Children have the distinct challenge to learn how to use their bodies correctly by the time they get to school.  Some, even most, kids come to preschool with something I like to call "monkey grip".  They will hold a crayon with their whole fist and try to color this way.  It makes for a sloppy mess.  I had to teach quite a few of my kiddos how to hold their crayon properly, over many, many, many days.  There is probably a daily reminder, for some, for almost 2 months.  We have now reached a place where I don't have to remind any of these kids about "monkey grip" at all!

2. Completion --  Children generally start out the year trying to get through this task as quickly, and sloppily as possible.  They are often told to slow down and do their best work.  It becomes a source of pride for them when they can look at their art and see that they did a "good job".  I don't try to emphasize competition, but doing the best we can do is sometimes a skill.

3. Creativity --  Some kids want to do an accurate version of an animal, some kids want to color crazy, wild colors.  It is all alright with me.  Color can be a form of expression and creativity.  It can also be cathartic to put your emotions in color.  I have often seen a preschooler put into color what they cannot put into words.

So, color on!