October 5, 2018

The children are learning as they play and interact with their peers and materials. They are gradually adjusting to the routines and schedules of the classroom. This week we started our self-portraits, and it will be a monthly routine. Self-portraits are drawn once a month. We sit one-on-one with a mirror, paper, and a sharpie marker. The mirrors encourage children to look closely at the shapes of their facial features. They observe and explore their image. As they look at their features: eyes, nose, mouth, and hair, they notice that each location and shape is different. For example, the direction of their nose is different from their hair. They learn to recognize themselves.

Also, self-portraits are not only about who they see in the mirror but also about their surroundings. They may include mom, dad, siblings, and pets. As the month’s progress, self-portraits will gradually change. Children and teachers will see how they are changing and growing. Children self-awareness and self-identification are displayed as they progress in their self-portraits. Each of our faces will vary in shape and proportion because we are all unique individuals!

Children utilize a tool to draw the self-portrait. The continuous movement helps and builds fine motor skills and bilateral coordination skills as well. The tool promotes the use of the pincer grasp and naturally strengthens the small hand muscles. Providing opportunities, practice, stimulation, and encouragement to refine their fine muscles will help them when they begin to learn to write.

We also started a schedule for all the children to have an opportunity to feed the fish. Caring for a small pet, such as a fish, can provide young children with the opportunity to learn more about animals. As preschool teachers, we know that young children are engaged and learn best by doing. We can certainly teach about animals through books and pictures; however, they can learn more when they can interact with one. They can learn about caring for animals and the responsibility that goes with it.

Among the books we read and songs we sang are:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Subway
You Are My Sunshine!
Five Little Speckled Frogs
No, David!
Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes
Pete the Cat, Five Little Pumpkins
Hug Machine
Touch and Feel, Halloween book! among

Songs:

Johnny works with one Hammer..
Head and Shoulder, Knees and Toes…
The Muffin Man
ABC
Five Little Speckled Frogs
Five Little Monkeys
What is red? Color Song
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Where is Thumbkin?
Mr. Sun
Old McDonald Had a Farm….
The Itsy Bitsy Spider (English and Spanish)
The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round…

Happy Birthday, Leo!

.
We celebrated Leo's 2nd birthday with his mom. We all sang “Happy Birthday” to Leo, shared a snack, and his mother read a story. Leo seemed to enjoy having his mom in the classroom and sharing this special day with the children and teachers.

Art:

Clothespin and Cotton Ball Painting!

The children appeared interested and curious as they pressed paint onto the paper with the new art tools, a clothespin and cotton ball. James seemed to enjoy the activity. He worked there for quite some time engaging with the materials.

Creating Pumpkins using paper plates and their handprints!

The children were partnered in this wonderful activity, Texture Collage.

Specialists: Every Tuesday we have Spanish and Cooking with Diane!

The children were mesmerized as they listened to the words and different songs in Spanish.

The children participated and enjoyed the special snack, apples, oranges, and lemon juice mix, which Diane prepared with the children.

She demonstrated the core and seeds of the apple to the children.

Pom Pom Storage Activity:

The children are working on their fine motor skills. They are also working on counting, color, grip the pom-poms and push and pull them out. We talked about when the bottle is full or he/she has half-left to fill and talked about big and small pom poms, compare sizes.

Circle Time:

Reading stories, singing songs using finger puppets, and learning colors using a painted glove, enable children to absorb language, colors, and numbers in a fun and interactive way.

Self-Portrait:

Nathaniel: “I working!”

Leo

The children have enjoyed many reading sessions listening to Brown, Bear, Brown, Bear! Therefore, this year Halloween's theme will be Brown Bear, Brown Bear. We printed and laminated the animals from the book and during circle time they each selected the animal of their interests.

Pom Pom Drop:

Recycling activities introduce young children that the materials used are part of our environment. This activity promotes one-to-one correspondence, counting, color recognition, size (small and big), fine motor skills, and geometry (round shape). Paper roll and different size of pom-poms are excellent materials to explore the hypothesis, “Will this pom- pom fit and drop?” The children eagerly continued inserting and releasing them into the opening. They appeared amazed and smiled as they noticed the pom poms went through the opening. I wonder if they realized that the opening of the paper roll and the size of the pom-pom makes a difference for a pom-pom to drop.

Magna- tiles are versatile learning manipulative they strengthen motor skills including pincer grip, which is so crucial to fine motor development control. These magnetic building tiles are innovative, colorful, and vary in shapes to build and rebuild different structures. Children will develop spatial and tactile skills, and learn basic shapes, and patterns. They foster critical developmental skills, imaginative play, and creativity.

Nicole began to explore and manipulate the Magna-Tiles. She maneuvered them and aligned them horizontally. She worked there for quite some time engaging with the manipulative.

James explores, creates and manipulates the Magna-tiles. He carefully placed each square shape side by side. He maintained focus and used caution, as he proceeds to add a square. There were different geometric shapes, but his interests were with the square shapes. Children’s creation evolves as they use materials that are available to them. As their young minds develop and grow with each interaction, they form an idea and construct the object of that idea. James did not express what his structure was about but continued putting them into precise adjustment. Size and shape are essential features that help children to decide how they want to build their structure. They contribute to James’s creativity and imagination as he explores.

Puffy Paint:

Some of the children looked curious and intrigued when all the ingredients were combined and mixed. There were a few participants that wanted to mix, while others observed.