Happy Friday Everyone!
We have had such a fun and productive first week of school. The kids are adjusting to being in school and we love getting to know their personalities. This first week has been a great opportunity for the children to explore the classroom on their own time, as everything has been open for them and free play was encouraged. We look forward to what is to come!
Morning Meetings:
Throughout this past week during the morning meetings we focused on getting to know each other (songs, talks, social interactions, and silly games), talked about classroom rules so we can all stay safe as well as we toured our classroom’s centers (so far library and the block center). We also introduced the children to our classroom routines (i.e. the circle time routine, self served snack, sign in book, restroom routines, reflection meeting by the end of the day.)
Literacy:
3B children love to read books! This week we read some books related to the beginning of the school (emotions) as well as fiction books chosen by the children.
We also had our first story time with the Secret Reader. Yay!
This past week we played a sticker game- this game supports children’s language skills, expand their vocabulary as well as their descriptive language.
Art:
The children engaged in individual painting activities (easels), some beading to make bracelets, as well as in pipe cleaners free design on a Styrofoam (we created random designs such as fish, bridge etc. as well as the children created letters). Also, we made “hand prints- signature” under our classroom rules as we all agreed to follow them.
On Tuesday we explored clay. The children mostly manipulated clay with their hands by rolling it and pounding on it. Clay offers an open-ended explorations, it supports children’s creativity as well as delivers an important sensory input for young children. They really seemed to enjoy working with clay.
Science/Math:
On Wednesday we made fruit salad with Ms. Diane. The children had an opportunity to taste, smell and touch berries. Each child had a turn mixing fruits in the bowl as well as squeezing lime and lemon (taste it as wellJ).
Throughout this week most of the children had an opportunity to work in the light table area. This is one of the most popular centers as not only light attract the children’s attention but most importantly the magna-tiles.
Also, we introduced the children to the block area (talked about safety rules). Soon after that we saw a lot more action happening there. As we would like to see girls in there too, we are going to focus on inviting them over to build and construct in the boys/girls mixed groups.
Sensory table- sand and water
Pattern blocks
Movement:
Gym everyday from 10.30-10.50
Dramatic Play:
A lot of cooking is happening in our kitchen area. We also had a picnic on Wednesday.
This week has been full of excitement and full of explorations. From what we have observed, the children were most excited about seeing each other (and that is the most important part of being at school). As educators we promise to nurture and support our children in developing friendships, love, and good laughs througout the year.
Also, this week the children have been engaging and interacting with the environment in a variety of ways. In the Reggio philosophy, the child has three teachers. First are the parents, second are the teachers, and third is the environment. As educators we are aware that the environment contributes greatly to the child's sense of comfort, curiosity, confidence and creativity. That is why this week was all about making 3B students feeling comfortable in the new classroom.
Today we had a story time with our first "Secret Reader"- Kenya (Zara's caregiver)! Thank you for joining us. Everyone really enjoyed story time with you.
Please let us know if you would like to be a "Secret Reader" some time soon. :)
