February has been a very busy month of fun and learning in 2/3’s-2! The Children have grown so much and in so many ways. Danielle and I want to highlight some of the learning through play that we have introduced this month.
We have been working on the skills to help us take care of some of our own classroom needs. We are mastering the “flip trick” to put our coats on independently and we continue to use our handwashing song to make sure our hands are cleaned properly. We also have learned to serve our own food and pour our own milk during our daily “family style” snacks and meals. We are learning how to “use our words” and take turns and share. With the help of several books, such as Hands are Not for Hitting and Sharing Time, and of course modeling from the adults in the classroom, we are learning successful techniques to express our wants and needs appropriately. Teaching independence is a goal that we are taking very seriously as we are preparing these children for preschool. I recently read an article that explained that there are 12 things that your 2 to 3-year-old can be practicing, both at school and at home, that can help foster independence and self-esteem. These include:
• Cleaning their spills
• Helping with cooking
• Taking dishes to the sink
• Feeding themselves
• Washing their hands
• Picking up their toys
• Putting away groceries
• Putting dishes away
• Getting dressed
• Picking out their own outfits
• Throwing away trash
• Brushing their teeth
The children are showing interest in math and science activities. In math, we have been counting to 10 and beyond as we provide many math manipulatives and table toy games. We have been learning about and matching shapes as we sing shape songs and discover that shapes are everywhere in our environment. We have been on shape hunts and have made a variety of shape posters. Puzzles have been an interest this month as our children have discovered that through trial and error and some scaffolding from teachers, they can successfully complete any age appropriate puzzle put before them. They are so proud of this accomplishment! Our scientific thinking had us learning about chemical reactions and changes in matter. We did experiments which included Magic Milk, erupting liquids, using baking soda and vinegar; and exploding soap using Ivory soap bars.
Literacy and Language had us diving into many different opportunities. We have been exploring letters and their sounds. The children love a You Tube video and song called, See It Say It Sign It, that has us signing each letter of the alphabet, saying its’ sound and saying a word that starts with the letter. Also, we have been learning to recognize our first names by studying our first initial. We show the children their name tags almost every day and we sing a song to dismiss them to wash their hands for lunch. They are quickly catching on to this concept, in fact, some of our friends can recognize their friend’s names. Furthermore, we have been exploring several different books about popular fairy tales. Our favorites so far have been The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood. The children displayed their comprehension of the story as they reenacted the stories using masks and various props. We have noticed this has really helped in each child’s vocabulary and speech growth.
Social and community learning took us on several NIU campus walks. We are exploring our immediate environment as we learn to take longer walks as a group. We have seen the new Holmes Student Center and we have watched the dancing students in Gabel Hall. We are learning about each other as a Little Huskie is featured every week in our classroom. With this, the children are learning to comprehend language, follow directions and speak clearly, all of which are a part of our Teaching Strategies Gold objectives. Many families have come to visit the classroom to read and do activities with the children as part of our Little Huskie happenings.
Please be aware of these upcoming events and be sure to mark them on your calendar:
• Spring Break- March 9th-13th
• Parent/Teacher Conferences- Leslie’s-Tuesday, March 30th & Danielle’s- Tuesday, April 5th
• Non-Practicum Family Night- April 15th 5:30-6:30 PM
• Book Fair- April 27th – May1st
• Week of the Young Child- April 13-17th
Thank you for your continued support. Danielle and I look forward to a great spring semester.
Leslie & Danielle
