Reviewing with our bodies

Preschoolers need little motivation to get moving. They have lots of energy, and they learn about their world through movement. At HO4K students are actively learning and engaged in activities that utilize their bodies. There are many benefits to this! Read below to learn about the recent activities and how they help our little ones learn!

"I can count to 31!"

"Finger Hanging" is fun but best of all it strengthens fingers (to improve writing skills), rote counting (trying to hang while we count to 50), develops self control (hold legs up landing on our feet), patience (while waiting turns) and self confidence (I can do it!) We maximize the health benefits by using both small and large muscle groups with this activity.
 

"I can count to 10!"

"I can count to 17!"

"I can count to 3!"

"I can count to 20!"

 Reviewing shapes, numbers and letters can be fun when we use our bodies! Working together, students discovered different ways to represent and review these concepts.

Above, students are making a human circle! What other shapes can we make with our bodies?

First we read an article in Highlight magazine about worms that made letters with their bodies to help a friend learn to read and write his name and then we experimented with it. They LOVED it! Making an X is so easy when we have friends to do it with! Students tried making an X with their own bodies, a partner and then in groups. What a great way to practice communication and listening skills as we work together!

It is always so wonderful when our older students take time with the little ones, teaching them new things and nurturing them! Children learn by observing and then doing. Here students teach one of our toddlers how to throw and roll a ball. She is having so much fun and actually has pretty good aim and hand eye coordination as she throws them back!

Salvation Army and Service

Recently we have learned about the SALVATION ARMY FOOD DRIVE. We learned that they collect canned food for people that do not have enough food to feed their family.

For the last 3 months the children have been helping to do extra jobs at school  like pulling weeds and keeping our play ground clean. At first our goal was to earn enough money to buy a new Razor Scooter. After talking about our scooters that we have, we decided they still work well for us. Instead of buying a new scooter we would like to spend our hard earned money to buy canned food to donate to others with a greater need than we have. 

We are sending home $2 with each child. If possible, please take your child to the store (or allow them to purchase canned food from your pantry) so that they can experience purchasing canned food to help others in need. We will have a SALVATION ARMY FOOD DRIVE box at school. Thank you for helping your child learn how it feels to work hard, earn money, spend money and most importantly feel empathy for others.

Please return canned food by Friday, Feb. 3rd.

Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Conscious Discipline

"Conscious Discipline is a comprehensive self-regulation program that integrates social-emotional learning and discipline.

It is the only program that integrates classroom management with social-emotional learning, utilizes everyday events as the curriculum and addresses the adult’s emotional intelligence as well as the child’s. Conscious Discipline empowers adults to consciously respond to daily conflict, transforming it into an opportunity to teach critical life skills to children."

We are so lucky at HO4K to have many wonderful resources and programs. The students have been involved in some of the activities tied to the amazing program Conscious Discipline. This program can be used both within the home and school environment. Mrs. JoAnn has worked hard to learn more about utilizing it within our school.  

One of the major aspects is providing children the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the classroom environment. The pictures above are of a student who is performing his "job" as the classroom horticulturist. He teaches the other students about any changes in the ongoing projects that we have and allows time for observation.  Daily the students are responsible and held accountable for their jobs. They take pride in their work and the routine of contributing to our school. What a great way of promoting life learners!

There will be opportunities for parents to learn more about Conscious Discipline within the home through classes facilitated by JoAnn coming soon.

The Magical World of Imagination

 Often parents don't realize the value of imaginative play. Preschool-aged children absorb experiences and make sense of their world most effectively when engaged in imaginative play. Research show that preschoolers who spend more time in dramatic play are more advanced not only in general intellectual development but also in their ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

(Welcome to another new Student at HO4K. He has joined "forces" with the other exceptional "SUPER" students! )

Children learn differently than adults. It is often through their curiosity that they experiment with dramatic play and then further comprehend new ideas. Creating "real-life" experiences is a major part of their learning process.

As children continue to engage in pretend play, this not only enhances intellectual development but exercises all facets of the developing child. Some of the important skills that children gain and further develop are social ability, emotional strength, creativity, discipline, comprehension and language fluency.

Although imaginative play is often a self or group initiated activity, as a parent you can offer support for creativity by offering space, uninterrupted time, props and encouragement to enhance their play! Also, children always love when a parent joins in to their magical world of imagination!

LIVING LOVE AND LOGIC TIP #27

Winning through Losing
Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

 

Do you like to lose? Most of us don't. In fact, some of us dislike it so much that we'll do whatever it takes to make sure that our kids are always winners. When they win this way, they always lose.

I sat on the living room floor, playing a simple board game with our four-year-old, Cody. As we took turns picking cards, the odds seemed consistently in his favor…he was nearing the always coveted goal of being the first to enter Candy Land.

Luck is a fickle friend.

Based on some quick calculations, it was clear to me that doom was on the horizon. His next card was sure to send him back a long way…far from carbohydrate heaven. Tension filled my body. Surely there was something I could do to prevent him from experiencing such despair. Maybe I could distract him and rearrange the cards so that he'd win.

 

To find out the best way to help your little one win through losing go HERE!

Playing with Play-Doh!

Playing with clay or Play-Doh is a natural outlet through which children can express their emotions and creativity. While working with others,
they are expressing cooperation with one another and creating together.

According to sixtysecondparent.com some of the benefits of Play-dough are:

The benefits of play-dough

• Helps to strengthen little fingers, hands and wrists.
• It's fun.
• It is an open-ended toy - play-dough can be anything - food, animals, bowls, shapes etc.
• It helps to foster your child's imagination.
• It helps children develop self esteem -there is no right or wrong and the child has the opportunity to gain mastery over their environment.
• It is a great release for tension or angry feelings - squeezing, punching, poking are all acceptable if done to playdough.

This fun activity is an open-ended tactile learning experience. Children get a lot of manipulative practice as they squeeze, roll, pinch, cut, shape and pound away. As children play with the Play-Doh, they gain control over hand and arm movements which improves coordination. Play-Doh can be used to review so many learning concepts; letters, numbers, combining, fractions, colors, shapes, etc. These are just a few skills you can review at home with your children while "playing" with Play-Doh!

LIVING LOVE AND LOGIC TIP #26

Make Them Part of the FamilyWeekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

One of our basic human needs is to be needed and to be a part of a family. When children live their lives as guests in a four star hotel instead of as a contributing member of a family, this basic need is denied. The usual result is for them to feel increasingly resentful without knowing why. 

One way to help a child feel needed, important, and valued in the family is to put him/her in charge of one family meal per week. See how you can successfully help your child feel a part of the family HERE!

Compost

It is that time again where we assess the progress in our compost bin. This on-going project is a favorite, as all students participate and contribute to our recycling and reusing of old materials. We love seeing the soil that we have created and cant wait to put it to good use this spring as we plant new things! What a great lesson for children about life cycles and environment.

As stated in the Nevada State preschool standards the 4 main science goals are:

To enhance children’s natural and instinctual observational skills.

To support and guide children’s curiosity and their need to experiment.

To encourage exploration and discovery.

To highlight the wonders of the world around them.

These goals continue to be addressed throughout our science curriculum and the activities that students are engaged in at HO4K.

Students tested their past hypotheses as to which materials would decompose over time and which would not. Here students sort out objects such as a pen, spoon, plastic stickers off the fruit, wipee, paper clip, bracelet, straw, plastic wrapper, ribbon, yarn.....and a plastic cup! These results were concrete and observable, making it easy for the children to draw their own conclusions. These early explorations and experiments will help young children to gain a greater understanding of the world around them.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

DANCING WITH MS. JENNY
Please be advised that effective January 2012, Dancing With Ms Jenny Movement and Music Class has been moved to the 4th Thursday of the month from 9:30-10:15 ONLY! If this is not your regularly scheduled day, you are welcome to bring your child and stay during this time.

 Our New Friend
We always love when a new student joins us at HO4K! Students have enjoyed getting to know our new friend. Please make sure to say HI and make him feel welcomed. He is a great addition!

LIVING LOVE AND LOGIC TIP #26

It's a Great Time to Donate Those Older Toys Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic® Experts   The holidays are wrapping up, and chances are, your kids have a whole bunch of older toys they're no longer interested in. By involving our kids in selecting and packing up the toys they'd like to donate, and taking the toys to a local church, synagogue, shelter, etc., we do good for the world and good for our kids. Get the process started in a brief and simple way. To see how go HERE! Good luck!

dance

Students love using their bodies to move to music! Here we are using our bodies to make "snow angels". We practiced moving our bodies slowly, and then fast. Although challenging at times, we worked on moving specific body groups while remaining still with others. The children always enjoy the different music we listen to and love to sing along!

Some of the state standards addressed:

6.PK.1

Identify simple elements of music such as loud/soft and fast/slow.

10.PK.1a

Move in a variety of ways to music to reinforce physical

development basic movements (e.g., over, under, in, out, in
and between).

10.PK.1c

Respond to changes in tempo.

4.PK.1

Engage in daily moderate to vigorous physical activity.

5.PK.1

Participate appropriately during physical activities.

5.PK.2

Demonstrate turn taking and cooperationduring physical activities.

5.PK.3

Interact positively with others regardless of personal differences (e.g., skill level, gender, race, and disability).
1.PK.1
Make a variety of sounds with their voices.

1.PK.2
Create and sing chants.

1.PK.3a
Recognize and select a variety of simple songs, finger plays, musical games, and musical activities alone and with others.

Through dancing and singing, we understand the simple elements of music and demonstrate how to incorporate these elements with both our voices and bodies. We explore our creativity and learn! Its amazing how many of our Creative Expression state standards are addressed when having fun! Make sure to incorporate a little bit of music and dance at home. Your kids will love it!