Wow! What a wonderful first week back at Buckle My Shoe. The 2A teachers have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each and every little learner in our classroom and cannot wait to see what the 2017-2018 school year will bring!
Below you will find a few of this week's highlights and notes on why we are implementing our curriculum! We will be focusing on themes such as these throughout the course of this year.
Reuniting with old friends!
Finding wonder and joy within each other and our environment!
Our friends working alongside one another at the easel! Easel activities promote language development as the children are standing side by side one another. They can work togehter, comment on each other's work as their language progresses, and it builds on fine and gross motor skills.
Nicholas is never afraid to get messy!
Sharing some love in the 2A class - we've truly enjoyed watching our little learners take on such a loving role with one another
This week explored the water table as a means to a sensory exercise in addition to measuring, comparing, and contrasting. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. The sensory activities allow children to refine their thresholds for different sensory information helping their brain to create stronger connections to process and respond to sensory information.
Self portraits encourage the study of one's identity - even at two we can start promoting individualism in our students.
(Also, side note - check out Mia's pincer grasp!)
The 2A class working together to make smoothies with peaches, banana, spinach, and almond milk! We had so much fun making these yummy concoctions! The skills learned from working together and team building are vital learning tools in human development. Within activities that build on team work, children are allowed the opportunity to share, listen, communicate, and work towards a common goal together. Through practice being a team member children develop confidence in their own abilities!
Max exploring the light table with his mom!
Charlotte was having a hard time separating from her mommy - and took great comfort in the 2A baby dolls. Whenever Charlotte was without her dolls and would become sad again, Emilio was sure to bring her the dolls to comfort her! We are so thrilled by Emilio's display of empathy and compassion for his classmate!
One of our literacy activities for this week was reading "Then the Rain Came Down" - we accompanied the read aloud by making rain sounds with our instruments prompting the children with questions regarding the story. By reading aloud and prompting children with questions, we are encouraging their receptive and expressive language skills.
As a follow up activity we painted a rain cloud, so that the children could further make meaning of the story and the world around them. Painting is also a wonderful pre-literacy tool in gaining fine and gross motor control while using a paint brush. It's also just really, really fun and messy!
Exploring clay for the first time with our students! The children enjoyed poking, prodding, squishing, and rolling their cars and trucks through the clay. Clay is a really great tool in strengthening fine motor skills, and is another wonderful way in furthering pre-literacy skills. In exploring materials such as these, we are encouraging children to eventually be able to hold a pen or pencil with control.
