Future Firefighters

Today was a very special day.  We had Fireman Ryan visit us from the Kiel Fire Department.  He helped us review our emergency number 9-1-1.  He also reminded us how to stop, drop, and roll if our clothes catch on fire.  The best part of the experience was when Fireman Ryan dressed up in his uniform.  We got to see first hand what a firefighter would look like if he or she needed to rescue us.  This was a good experience because some children were a little afraid of him all dressed up.  We repeated the fact that if there was a fire they should not hide from the fireman.  The children also had the opportunity to try on his coat and helmet. I hope we have a few future firefighters in the bunch!

Today for centers the children made a fire helmet of their own.  They also followed multiple step directions to make a ladder snack out of a graham cracker.  We also worked on identifying objects that start with the letter "F."

F is for Fire

This week we have begun discussing fire safety.  Today we talked about how if there is an emergency we dial 9-1-1.  I made sure to stress that we only dial this number in an emergency.  Today we did a large group project.  This project involved making a firetruck.  I like to have the children work in centers because it is easier to meet the needs of the children when they are in small groups.  Large group instruction has its benefits too.  When children work as a large group they have learn to be good listeners, so they don't miss any steps in the process.

When the children finished assembling their firetrucks they were able to draw a steering wheel, a hose, a firefighter, and anything also that they felt would be on a firetruck.   In 4K one of our goals is to help the children draw recognizable pictures.  To help with this at home you may encourage your child to draw pictures for their loved ones and friends.  This way they are practicing the skill as well as having a purpose to do it.

Please enjoy the following pictures of our classroom fire station and events of the day.

Rockets

Today continued to learn about forms of Transportation.  We saved my favorite vehicle for last, which are rockets.  The children enjoyed listening to the story Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, I'm Off to the Moon.  In the story they were introduced to rhyming words like; blast and fast, space and place, and rover and over.  Please practice the skill of rhyming at home by reading books with rhyme, saying silly rhymes like house zouse, and reciting nursery rhymes.

At one center the children played a space shape game.  I sent home a copy of this game if you would like to play it as a family.  The children are doing a great job identifying the shapes.  If your child is still learning one or two shapes try to point them out in you natural environement.  Many foods are packaged in squares or rectangles.  You can cut cheese slices into triangles.  The hardest shape is the diamond, but you can find it if you touch your thumbs and pointer fingers together and push down.

At another center the children made a rocket picture as a way to practice shapes and fine motor skills.  They also listened to the story When Pigs Fly at the computer listening center.  To end the day we went outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

iPads

One of the options that the children have during play time is to visit our iPad center.  The following apps are currently used in our classroom.  Many of them are free, so they may be a good option for the devices you have at home.
Cute Math:  This app works on counting skills.  As the children progress it introduces subtraction and addition, which may be used in the years to come.


Bugs and Buttons:  This app offers 18 different game choices.  It works on counting, sorting, and fine motor skills.

Bugs and Bubbles:  Color recognition, patterning, and letter identification are all choices when using this app.


Little Writer:  This app works on letter identification, as well as introducing the sounds that the letters make.  The best thing about this app is it works to help children form their letters correctly.


Chicktionary:  I can't share favorite apps without sharing my favorite one to play.  This app for older kids and adults works on vocabulary and spelling skills.  The best part of it is it makes you laugh!!

Airplanes

Today we learned all about airplanes.  At one of the centers the children cut out an airplane and propeller.  We then assembled the two pieces and used crayons to add details to the plane.  At circle time the children flew their planes.  As the traffic controller I had the children fly based on if they were a girl or boy, if they were 4 or 5 years old, and by how many letters were in their names.

At another center the children made a book titled How Many? a transportation counting book.  We worked on pointing to each word in the sentence starting at the left and moving to the right.  We also worked on counting using one-to-one correspondence.  When we make paper books the children read them one more time to a buddy.  Once they are sent home please add them to your child's library, for a good book is read more then once.

Fun Friday

Each day we use our smart board to write a daily message.  To start I draw a picture of one thing that we are going to do during the morning.  The children guess what they think we are going to do.  I then confirm their response and write a message to go along with it.  Usually our message starts with, "We are going to ________________."  We talk about how the message ends with a dot that we call a period.  We also discuss how some words are short and some are long.  The area between words is called a space.  We even clap the syllables in some of the words that I write.  After I write the message I pick sticks for children to come up and circle focus letters.  

One of the centers today had the children practicing number identification.  The children were given a train recording sheet.  In each boxcar a number was written.  The children took turns rolling a die and dotting the corresponding number on their sheets.  At the second center the children were introduced to our classroom Ipads.

All Aboard the Learning Train

 Today we continued to focus on our theme of transportation.  Our day revolved around trains.  The two stories that we read were Freight Train and I Love Trains.  We learned that the word freight means the goods/items that the train is carrying from one place to another.  The goods can include cattle, grain, coal, and even food.

 During centers today the children made a name train.  First they counted how many letters were in their name.    Next, they counted out the same amount of train cars.  The children formed their train by gluing their cars behind an engine.  Then they wrote a letter from their name in each car.  Lastly, they added a track for their train to run on and wheels.

Young children learn best when they are taught using a multi-sensory approach, involving as many senses as possible. Try a few of these hands-on letter formation and name writing activities for beginning writers and your child will have all the skills she/he needs as a beginning writer

Air Writing. Have your child write letters in the air first. These large muscle movements will help your child process what she is writing and make it more likely to stick. As she writes the letter, have him/her say the letter name or the directions for writing the letter. For example, for the letter T, you might say, “Start at the top, go straight down. Pick up your pencil and cross it.”

Foamy Fun. While your child is in the tub, spray a bit of shaving cream on the side of the tub or wall. On a hot day this is also fun to do outside, and your patio table will sparkle when you're done! Allow your child to practice writing letters, then erase and try another set. A playful challenge will get your child even more excited to write.

Kitchen Tracing. Pour a small amount of sand or salt In a cake pan or baking dish. Allow your child to practice tracing letters without the pressure of more permanent writing utensils such as markers and crayons. If she/he makes a mistake, she/he can simply erase what she/he wrote and try again.

Paint Practice. For a non-messy alternative to finger paint, put a bit of finger-paint inside a quart or gallon zipper bag. Remove the air, seal the bag and double the seal with some masking or duct tape. Your child can practice tracing letters on the outside of the bag, manipulating the paint with no mess or cleanup!

Puzzle Practice. Make a name puzzle by writing your child’s name in large letters on a sheet of paper. Cut the letters apart and have your child reassemble the letters of her name in the correct order.

Sand Writing. Write the letters of your child’s name on a sheet of sandpaper. Allow  him/her to trace the letters with his/her finger for a tactile name experience!

Learn Your Letters. When he/she is ready to move to paper, give him/her large sheets of paper and show him/her the strokes to make different letters. If you can give the letters human characteristics, it will be even more fun! (For example, a letter E is a straight line with a hat, a belt and a shoe.)

 

How to Practice Preschool Letter and Name Writing

 

By Traci Geiser

Boats

During center time today the children used a meat tray to make their own boats.  They then floated their boats in our sensory table.   Each child was able to experiment with small rocks and play people to see how much weight their boat could hold before it sank.

At another center the children were given a blue sheet of paper that looked like water.  They were also given 12 dot stickers.  First, the children placed their stickers on the paper, then they used a marker to make their stickers look like faces.  At this time we are practicing holding our writing tools close to the bottom.  I am also working with the children on using their "pinchers" (thumb, pointer finger, and tall man finger) to hold the writing tool.  When your children color or write at home please correct any four or five finger grips, for a three finger grip is more efficient when making letter strokes.  After the children turned their stickers into people we said the rhyme "Rub-a-Dub, Dub" and the children circled a groups of three stickers as a way to put them in a tub.  

Today we also opened our Math & Science center.  The children explored the marble run, fished for numbers, and built structures with blocks.  At this time all of the centers in our room are open for business!

Today we had a great day at school.  The children enjoyed listening to the story My Truck is Stuck during reading time.  The main character in the story gets his truck stuck in a hole that the beavers have made in the road.  A car, a moving van, a jeep, and a school bus try to use teamwork to pull the truck out, but they have rotten luck and the truck stays stuck.  In the end a tow truck gets it unstuck, but in the mean time the beavers have taken all of the bones out of the truck.  The poor driver will certainly have a surprise when he goes to unload his truck. During centers today the children finger painted with pudding to make their own mucky truck.

During centers the children also worked with a partner to inquire about objects that can roll down a ramp.  Sharing with one another was put to the test during this experiment.  Today the children also made a stop light treat for snack.

Are you looking for a new way to instill a love of reading in your child?  Look no further.  If you visithttp://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp you will find a variety of age appropriate books that relate to the themes that are being taught in your child's class.  This week some of the children enjoyed the story Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.  Our school's login is: kielschools and the password is: books.

Trucks Roll

Today our read aloud was titled Trucks Roll by George Ella Lyon. "Trucks bring ice cream.Trucks bring blocks, books and bulldozers, dolls and socks. Through mountains and flatlands, past deserts and towns, the trucks are rolling!"  During center time the children made a semi truck of their own.  The children then drew a picture of what they would haul in their semi.  Some children would haul wood, peaches, their mom, hearts, and even cookies.

At their second center the children cut out an outline of a stop sign.  They then painted it red.  As they were painting the letters STOP appeared through their paint.

Wheels

At one of our centers today the children listened to the story Forest Friends Go to School.  This story taught the children how to take care of books.  We will use clean gentle hands to turn the pages, and gently put our books away when we are finished with them.  Each child then took a book out of our classroom library.  We then went over the following concepts of print; where is the top of the book, the bottom, the front, the back, where do we begin reading, and how do we turn a page.  Please take some time to review these concepts with your child when you read to them.  To conclude the center we practiced putting the books away neatly on the shelf.

During centers today the children also made a book titled I See Wheels.  They read each page to see how many wheels they were supposed to have for an illustration.  Then they dipped an empty spool of thread in black washable ink and made wheel prints.  We will reread the story one more time in class and then I will send it home.  Please keep these little paper stories in a box or empty ice cream pail, for it is a wonderful idea to have story time at home to reread these books.

Today we also added wheels and details to the scrubbly bubbly car we made yesterday.

Scrubbly Bubbly

Today we read the story The Scrubbly Bubbly Car Wash by Irene O"Garden.  The best part of this book is that it introduced the children to rhyming words.  Words that sound the same like top and mop, track and back are rhyming words.  A child's ability to rhyme plays a part in their ability to read, thus your child will be assessed on rhyming in fall, winter and spring.  During centers today the children cut out a car of their own and then finger painted it.  Lastly, they sprinkled it with glitter so it could be sparkling clean.

Today I also introduced the children to our class writing center.  They learned about all of the tools that we have to offer.  We have crayons, markers, coloring books, coloring papers, magnet letters, wiki stick letters, letter puzzles, dry erase markers, dry erase boards, and words to trace over.  We also have a book making section in our writing center.  Today I encouraged the children to listen for a click when they close their markers.  The click means that the cap is on tight and we will have them to use another day.  We also talked about coloring the whole picture that we take, verses waisting paper by only coloring a small spot.

Pete the Cat

Today the children followed multiple step directions to make Pete the Cat.  When children have to follow directions they are learning position words like above, below, under, behind, and in front of.  If you think back to when we had "Child Development Days" we screened your child on positional words.  These words will be used throughout the school year when we are assembling projects.  We will use our Pete the Cats on Monday to graph our favorite color.

During play time we are working on taking out only the toys we are using verses dumping out the whole tub of toys on the ground.  I must say the children are doing a great job in this area.  We are also working on cleaning up old toys before we take out new toys.  This is a little harder to grasp, but we will keep trying.

Terrific Thursday

Today during circle time we read another Pete the Cat story.  This one was titled Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes.  To make the story more interactive I created a flannel board of Pete the Cat.  Each child was given a different colored shoe before we began reading the story.  Pete began the story by wearing his white shoes, but they changed color throughout the story.  When he stepped in strawberries they turned red.  When he stepped in a large puddle of mud they turned brown, ETC.  The children did a wonderful job of listening for when it was their turn to change the shoes.  After each "accident" the author wrote, "Did Pete cry?  Goodness, no!"  The moral of the story is:  No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song...because it's all good.  

Today we also learned about our helper chart.  In our classroom we have a calendar helper, line leader, and snack helper.  Our calender helper  helped us read the day of the week, recognize our shape(circle), and read our nursery rhyme for the month(Rub-A-Dub-Dub). The children also used our classroom school bus tent to act out the rhyme "One Lonely Bus Driver."
One lonely bus driver all alone and blue
He picked up a passenger and then there were two.
Two people riding, they stopped by a tree
They picked up a passenger, and then there were three.
Three people riding, they stopped by a store
They picked up a passenger, and then there were four.
Four people riding, happy and alive,
They picked up a passenger, and then there were five.
Five people riding open swung the door
Four passengers got off the bus,
The driver's alone once more. 
This song was originally posted at:http://bussongs.com/songs/lonely-bus-driver.php

We Made It!!

The first day of school is officially under our belts.  Today the children learned a lot about our classroom procedures and school rules.  We learned that at circle time we site criss-cross applesauce on the carpet.  We talked about earning orange slips in the hall if we are making good choices.  We also learned that on the playground we need to keep the stones on the ground, as well as go down the slide on our bottoms, and swing on our bottoms.

The children did have fun today.  They liked meeting new friends, playing in the house and block center, and making a school bus project.  To make the bus we did do some cutting.  This can be a hard concept to grasp at first, but just like anything else in life practice helps.  Using scissors develops your child’s hand strength, coordination, motor planning and eye/hand coordination. These are all skills that carry over to other activities, like writing, doing math problems and even playing sports.  We use this rhyme to teaching cutting in our class.  Feel free to try it at home:

Open, shut, Open, shut.
That's the way we cut, cut, cut.
Fingers on the bottom, thumb on 
top.
That's the way we cut, cut, cut.

The children also listened to the story Mouse's First Day of School by Lauren Thompson.  They then watched the YouTube video Pete the Cat the Wheels on the Bus by Eric Litwin.  I have attached the link if you would like to check it out too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0icbqvmehs We will be reading many Pete the Cat books this week.

The First Day of School

I used to be little, but not any more.
Tomorrow I'll get up and walk out that door.
I'm going to school-it's the first time for me.
It's great to be big, but I'm scared as can be.

My tummy's in knots.  Do you want to know why?
I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, I'll cry.
When you leave the room and I'm there all alone,
I'm thinking that maybe I'll want to go home.

But wait-You said I'll play lots of new games,
and meet lots of friends-I can learn all their names.
The first day of school, there's so much to do!
There's painting and books and a big playground too.

I used to be little, but not any more.
Tomorrow I'll get up and walk out that door.
I'm going to school-it's my first day you see.
It's great to be big!  I'm so glad that I'm me!