This Little Light of Mine

Another busy week in the preschool room. The students continue to surprise me each and every day with their knowledge and communication skills. This week the students were doing a VERY good job at cleaning up after work time. They are able to work together and communicate with one another to find where an item went. It is wonderful to see the students forming relationships with one another this early in the year. They continue to play well together and problem solve effectively. What a blessing!

The students enjoy playing Cashier at the grocery store during work time.

Morning Stories:
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe? by Jane Yolen
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Another example of shopping at the grocery store!

Bible Time:
The students are learning about Jacob seeing a beautiful dream this week. They are now able to sing through Jesus Loves me as a group and work together to do the sign language portion of the song. They are focusing on Isaiah 41:10, "Do not fear, for I am with you." Throughout this bible story the students are able to understand the importance of having trust in God. He will take care of you and provide for you each and every day. They are also learning the song, 'This Little Light of Mine.' 

A new item in our classroom - a can opener!

Movement:
The students are working on jumping this week. They are working on jumping forward and backward from their homes. The students are also working on using only one leg to perform a jump. They are seeing how far from their home they are able to jump. This seems to be a challenge for some. They are also able to experiment with being able to jump with their legs bent or straight. Will it make a difference? Your child is about to find out this week!

Music:
They are able to focus on long and short sounds this week. They are working on showing this with their hands. They are learning a new song this week called 'White Sand and Gray Sand' which is a great way to learn the long and short sounds. They are also able to review some of the songs from past weeks. This means the students are able to use hand bells when given the opportunity during review time.

Small group this week focused on classifying.

Small Group:
The KDI (Key Developmental Indicator) for this week is classifying. The students are doing this in a different way this week and with different items.
Monday: The students are able to sort the alphabet. I made it their personal goal to find at least the first letter of their name, as many as they could find. The students did this successfully. As a challenge for some, I asked them to spell out their name. A few of the students were able to do this - very impressive!
Tuesday: They are able to sort in a different way. The students were given a piece of paper with a line down the middle. They were asked to sort their shapes by color. They were then able to glue the shapes on a given side as long as they were the same color. The students did this fairly well.
Wednesday: The students were able to sort beans. They were able to take a sensory bin and comb through it to find the different types of beans. They were then able to sort the beans based on size, shape, or color.
Thursday: They were able to sort beads. The students were able to use several different types of beads to do this. They could sort by color, size, and shape. The students were able to make that decision independently. 
Friday: The students were able to sort blocks. They were doing this by color or shape. They were once again able to choose how they wanted to sort their items. They were fairly successful in doing this.

Sorting and gluing shapes in small group.

Afternoon Story:
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Afternoon Table Activities:
Monday (Math): Puzzle game with addition and subtraction through pictures. Unit cubes were another option for the children.
Tuesday (Tuesday):Eyedroppers and water for the students. As well as egg connectors to help the students work on their fine motor development.
Wednesday (Manipulatives): The students were able to play board games. Chutes and ladders and also memory were available for the students. With a smaller group in the afternoon, we were able to teach the students how to play the games.
Thursday (Art): They were able to do leaf printing this afternoon. As well as painting with the leaves. 
Friday (Sensory): The sensory activity for today was shaving cream and cars. The students are able to make different lines (wavy, zig-zag, straight).

Ordering the cars onto the semi!