December 20, 2019

Highlights of the Week:

Sensory/Fine Motor/Creativity

The children engaged in different sensory explorations. Each promoting fine motor skills and creativity. Colored model magic, creating a snowman using white tempera paint, shaving cream, and glue, Incredible Foam-Dough (tiny colorful foam beads to create fun new textures and shapes not found in regular dough), and lightweight air-dry putty. Teagan used glittering rhinestone to adorn her structure.

Ophelia: “Happy birthday, cake!”

Ophelia was singing the Happy Birthday song as she molded the model magic and inserted the Popsicle sticks.

Building Blocks

Building with blocks provides one of the most valuable learning experiences available for young children. Block play stimulates learning in all domains of development, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional and language.  

Teagan: “I’m building a street for Annabelle!”

Teacher: "Teagan, what are you building?"

Teagan: "I building a see-saw!"

Teagan wanted Annabelle to sit on the see-saw with her, but there was not enough room.

Teacher: "Teagan, Annabelle cannot sit on the

see-saw because there is not enough room.

"How can you change your structure so that Annabelle can sit with you?

(She continued looking at herself in the mirror as she sits on the see-saw)

Puzzles

These new wooden puzzles promote color and shape recognition but they also teach children about 5 different sizes. The children interacted with 5 different shapes: diamond, square, oval, triangle, circle and squares.

Incorporating different food props from the kitchen center and demonstrating real food, help children to learn, and understand that shapes are everywhere, including the food we eat.

Dramatic Play

Pretend play is an essential part of children’s development. Children involved in pretend play; they are often mimicking what they’ve seen adults do. Providing dramatic play activities is a great way to engage toddlers in role-playing. Social skills are strengthened as the children interact with one another! 

Through pretend play, children learn to do things like negotiate, consider others’ perspectives, transfer knowledge from one situation to another, balance their ideas with others, develop a plan and act on it, explore symbolism, express and listen to thoughts and ideas, assign tasks and roles, and synthesize different information and ideas.

Teagan: “I putting my glove on. Annabelle put on your glove. I need to wipe the baby the baby has a poop poop.”

Annabelle: “I need to change baby. You going to the doctor!”

Teagan: “I doing a great job with the baby!”

Literacy

Books and stories fill a child's mind with knowledge and...

• contributes to the understanding of print concepts (left to right, top to bottom)

• listening to stories assists in the development of  literacy skills and language development  

• increase vocabulary skills

• stimulate imagination

• books provide children with a time for quiet and calmness

• stories provoke curiosity and discussion

• books provide inspirations, thought, and reflection

I believe that a love of reading is a stepping stone to becoming an enthusiastic learner and a confident reader, writer, and speaker.  With confidence and enthusiasm, children can enjoy a wonderful world of learning and exploration.

The children quietly sat together, sharing the space looking at different books. Annabelle and Teagan pointed and articulated the color circles they saw in the book.

Teagan’s mom, Rachel, came to visit and shared her tradition. She read books about Hanukkah, showed us her menorah, and talked about the dreidel game. The children appeared excited and interested as they listened.

Meet Aria, our new student that will start with us on January 2, 2020

She seemed excited to explore the different centers, as she navigates the room. Teagan and Aria worked cooperatively at the block center connecting train tracks.