Tt, Trucks, Tractor, Tracks

This week we focused on the letter Tt and the color brown. 

LANGUAGE

1.K.3  Recognize and name upper and lower case letters of the alphabet

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

2.PK.4  Identify color, shape, and texture through art experiences.

The students got to experiment with different types of Tires on Trucks and Tractors and see what kinds of Tracks each one made in Brown paint! 

SCIENCE

P.PK.2  Explore and demonstrate how objects move

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL

G5.PK.1  Identify direction and location (up/down and above/below).

LANGUAGE

6.PK.1 Experiment with writing tools and materials to communicate.

5.PK.2b Trace and progress to copying basic shapes (horizontal line, vertical line, X. plus sign, circle, etc.)

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

3.PK.1  Demonstrate locomotor movements such as up, down, forward, and backward.

What a fun educational mess!

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL

2.PK.3b  Clean up or put away toys and materials when finished.

Chocolate Moose

We just LOVE a good book! What fun we have when we learn after reading a book that motivates us to explore and play!

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This sweet children's book is about a chocoholic moose who accidentally misreads a help-wanted sign for a mouse job at a bakery! In such a small mouse-sized bakery, this large moose runs into problems, making many mistakes and plenty of messes! But his sweet boss Mrs. Mouse, is patient and clever in helping him to feel useful! This wonderfully illustrated book helps children learn more about friendship and even the importance of reading!

After reading the story Chocolate Moose we were inspired to use our 5 senses in creating a project! First we ate chocolate "mousse" pudding. Boy, was it yummy! Next we used our fingers and the left overs to finger-paint brown paper to be used in the future! This was messy, delicious, and most of all FUN!

Throughout the story, the author uses colorful onomatopoeia (“Slurp, gulp, burp!”). We had fun coming up with our own sounds as we tasted our pudding.  This story really was silly!

Look at those sweet messy faces!  

                            After tasting and painting, we made moose antlers with our brown paper!

What a great story and what great fun we had making our very own moose antlers! This story is now one of our favorites!

Monster Soup

The students enjoyed the start to a magical Halloween season this week as they were introduced to Monster Soup! Ms JoAnn told the students how she found a recipe hidden by monsters under her bed! The monsters told her that whatever she does, NOT to feed it to children! It was full of wiggly stuff that kids will never eat. Of course, this exaggerated and imaginative story only made the children curious and excited to try such a mysterious meal!

Recipe

Ingredients

Rotten chicken broth

Moldy Bok Choy

Wilted Napa cabbage

Bug infested brown rice

Directions

1. First cook rice

2. Simmer vegetables in broth

3. Add rice

4. Eat and enjoy

Delicious!

Every kid that tried it liked it....and all but one tried it!

The delivery of the story was the best seller!

As students continue to study the #2, letter Uu, and Halloween they decided to create their own 2 ugly monsters to go along with the following chant:

There are 2 ugly monsters

Under my bed,

With floppy ears

sticking out of their heads.

With 1 (say body part ie; arm) up

And 1 (arm) down

They wiggle their (say body part, ie; hips)

Around and around,

Their faces get all scrunched up too...

Those ugly beasts look....just.....

Like....... YOU!

Such much more Halloween fun to come at HO4K!

Learning With Blue Jeans

Every child enjoys tearing and ripping things! So when learning about the letter J this week, students loved the hands on activity of pulling at and ripping old jeans. Some students had  to work together and some were able to do it alone! Students used their small motor skills, determination and strength to tear small pieces of jean material to later glue inside the letters Jj.

 

Anything that uses small motor skills such as pinching, is a great pre-writing skill. It helps with the pencil grasp and prepares students for writing skills. Of course it was a great time to also review the color blue. Wow, what fun we have!

Learning is fun!

When we work with our bodies, our brains remember! The students are again working together to review their letters while creating them with their bodies! What a great way to practice teamwork while reinforcing our alphabet knowledge!

The letter E had us exploring elephants!

Students at HO4K were enthusiastic about creating their own elephant masks! The students started off by creating "elephant skin" by mixing and layering different paints to create a textured look. After the "skin" dried, we created elephant masks. The students loved participating in dramatic play, as they moved throughout the room as elephants, creating body movements and sounds that can only be heard in the African safari! Students will remember the letter E as it is tied to the memories of their elephant experience at school.

Writing is something that students develop at their own pace. Many will go through stages when they enjoy writing and then struggle to find the desire. It is always exciting when students engage in any form of writing independently. The above student used her chalk to not create with pictures, but instead with words. She wrote "Apricot,apricot go to the zoo “ ! What a great start for a future author!These are important pre-writing skills!

Whenever you get the chance, provide a few art and writing materials at home for your child. You will be amazed at how creative our little ones are. Their imaginations get the best of them as they sit down to create without specific assignments. It is then that they work within their own boundaries and creativity. There is nothing holding them back as they explore and create!

The letter "I" and IGLOOS

 

Research shows that children comprehend more when a concept is explored across the curriculum and incorporated into all learning domains. It is beneficial for there to be a strong connection between math, literacy and the other content areas. You will see how we do this with the letter I and our research with igloos.

First we reviewed the letter "I". We practiced writing both uppercase and lowercase "I's", we listened for the different "I" sounds in words and brainstormed words that we already know that start with an "I". After talking, we decided to investigate more about the word igloo, one of the brainstormed words that start with the letter "I".

First we observed pictures of real igloos on the Internet. We discussed Eskimos in Alaska. We learned that they don't live in igloos anymore but use igloos for temporary housing when they are hunting and fishing. Next we wanted to build our own. We made our own igloos with marshmallows.
Together we had to count out 50 marshmallows... That's a lot! We did a taste test of one...wow, that was not enough! With gentle fingers we learned the texture was soft and squishy as we gently stacked them from bottom to top.  Creating our own igloos, researching about them, using our different senses and incorporating different content areas, will help the children remember more about the letter "I' and all about igloos.  Ask your little one about the attributes of a real igloo and to show you a letter "I"!

Thoughtful Little Ones

Children who learn positive social skills early in life are more successful learners later on and are able to form social relationships successfully. One of the Social Emotional State Standard goals is for children to develop positive relationships with individuals and the community. At a young age, this is a broad, all encompassing concept. We have started a project introducing children to thinking of others. We have brainstormed many ways that we can be thoughtful. The children created "thoughtful kites" that display some of our ideas. The students came up with 7 ideas on how to be thoughtful and now these 7 thoughts have developed into a new classroom motto. The 7 ways we can be thoughtful of others are: Listen when others talk, ask and wait for a turn, include others, use kind words, use polite manners, keep our hands to ourselves and help others? Our classroom kindness kite, reminds us how to be thoughtful of others and helps us to have a positive and safe learning environment. It is our hope that the children will remember to be thoughtful of others not only in school but at home and daily as they interact with others. 

Another activity recently completed at HO4K that displays thoughtfulness towards others, is writing with the purpose to thank another for something they have done. The students above wrote thank you cards to a fellow peers grandmother who had done something kind for the children at HO4K. They were excited to show their appreciation through words and illustrations. It is important at a young age to help children realize that good manners include being grateful for the kind actions of others. Of course the children enjoyed completing the task as they mailed off their cards. What big kids they are to be sending things in the mail!!

Some of the Social Emotional State standards addressed through the thought process and activities listed above are:.

H3.K.4 Demonstrate respect for each other in the classroom and school.

3.PK.1 Identify a range of feelings (e.g., sadness, anger, fear, and happiness).

3.PK.2a Express feelings, needs or wants in appropriate ways.

3.PK.2b Demonstrate awareness of feelings of others (e.g., gets blanket for friend and comforts him/her when he/she feels sad).


4.PK.1a Demonstrate appropriate affection for teachers and friends.

4.PK.1b Express common courtesy to others (e.g., saying "thank you", "please" and "excuse me", or passing a plate of cookies).

4.PK.1c Respect rights and belongings of others (e.g., "It is my turn to use the bike, but you can have the bike when I am finished").

Little kiddos

Our smallest learners continue to amaze us as they develop and grow so quickly. Daily they improve their language skills and more through the hands on activities at HO4K. This younger age learns through exploring and experimenting with the different objects that are all around them. This is always a fun and often messy learning process!

What is more fun than art? The children are developing pre-writing skills as they use small motor skills to hold onto paint brushes, crayons, glue sticks, etc. Some of our early learners are experimenting with different colors and ways to paint. The student on the left is working with ovals in all colors. As well as enhancing language skills describing and identifying colors and shapes, she is creating an art collage.

Modeling for children is very important. Our older students love to use blocks, so it is only natural that our younger ones start to copy them. The younger children are beginning to creatively play with blocks. Several are in the introductory "Play Stage", while others are beginning to enter the "Building Stage" with blocks. Above, the student is building his own tower with blocks. He is able to replicate the building of the tower after an older student models how. His towers continue to grow in height and so does his understanding of how blocks work. This too is a great small motor skill, as students need to have great hand eye coordination and control while building with such small blocks and/or pegs.

To learn more about the stages go BLOCK PLAY go HERE!

Physical movement is just as important for younger children as it is in older ones. Students who are developing hand eye coordination need to have plenty of practice with different manipulatives and situations. Above, the students are learning how to take turns as the play catch with Mr Timmy. They listen to the verbal cues and then either roll, catch or throw the ball. What good listeners they are and what a great way to practice our language skills as we follow simple commands.

Young children spend the majority of their time learning through tactile experiences. At HO4K we know how important it is to provide many learning opportunities to explore with a variety of surfaces and materials to touch and manipulate. This helps them to develop their basic fine motor skills and reinforces their sense of touch. Above the children are using sticky tape to put "on" and pull "off" the table. They are listening to the commands and following through with actions. They also loved using the tape to create and play with.

Valentines Day!

Valentines day is right around the corner! We enjoy celebrating our friendships and love for family on this special day. Students have been busy creating their personal Valentines box and other special projects. Please make sure your child has Valentines to pass out on MONDAY! We are doing it Monday so that your student can open them up Tuesday and not have to wait! This is the perfect time to have your little ones practice writing their names, as well as a time to reinforce how important friendships are.

 Our little ones are getting in on all the Valentines action! They also are creating Valentines box and have fun experimenting with the glue, paper and other materials. While working, they are comprehending the commands of on and off, recognizing colors and shapes and working to develop greater small motor skills as they brush on the glue. We are sharing materials and taking turns! Plus, we are no longer putting the glue in our mouth. Its so much fun to do art projects.

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!

Out little ones are growing and learning!

There are many ways that our little learners participate throughout the day. We love watching them grow and develop. Everyday it seems we see growth. Young children develop confidence in writing when they are included in real writing activities and have many exploring opportunities. Below are some of the activities we have done recently.

She HAS to keep up with the big kids! She got a noodle and tried coloring on the table...so we gave her a crayon and paper since SHE knew what she wanted to do! Wow! Not only is she practicing her fine motor skills, she is getting familiar with text and writing utensils! At the same time, she is learning that she can communicate ideas through pictures or symbols.

Painting? Why not? Little ones love to express themselves and have fun seeing the changes that occur on paper when first discovering paint. This is another way to encourage younger children to communicate and explore. These pictures, squiggles, and lines are the beginnings of their writing.

We provide many opportunities for our toddlers to develop the physical skills that will be needed for future writing. In order for children to be able to control tools like pencils and markers, they must develop motor coordination in their hands. We encourage the children through several hands-on activities such as: stacking blocks, puzzle work, finger painting, and Playdough play. These will help develop the necessary fine-motor skills needed for writing.