June Newsletter Pre-2
Welcome Back! Although June was a short month for us, we were very busy and productive! We have become very good at wearing our masks and social distancing within our classroom environment. Keeping each other safe and healthy is very important to us. We are getting very comfortable in our new summer classroom and we are learning about each other and making new friends. We have completed “All About Me” posters that display our photo, name, age, family members, favorite pet, food, color, and ice cream. The posters are displayed in the hallway for everyone to see.
Literacy was explored through books about friendship and fairy tales. Journals were given to each child for writing and coloring activities. Building those hand muscles are important for our friends heading to kindergarten in the fall as well as for our beginning writers. We are practicing writing our name using both uppercase and lowercase letters. The children enjoyed our group time games called “Doggy, Doggy, Where’s Your Bone?” and “Bug in a Rug” which taught us rhyming word phrases and how to take turns with our friends.
Fine motor development had us placing dot stickers on our first initials. We made individual balls of playdough for each child to control and manipulate. “Squishy bags” were created using zipper bags, cornstarch, water, and food coloring. We also strung beads onto string and pipe cleaners to make necklaces and bracelets.
Gross motor development had us heading to the Gabel Annex playground each day which helped us to further our social distancing from other classrooms. We rode bikes and scooters and used the climber and tunnels. Obstacle courses were set up by both teachers and the children and we used a stopwatch to see how fast we were in completing the courses.
Social studies had us studying babies as we turned our dramatic play center into the “Pre-2 Nursery.” We shared baby pictures of ourselves and talked about how much we have grown and changed from our baby days. During group time the children enjoyed the “Little Cat” rhyme and used their elimination skills to find out which hat the cat was hiding under. This game had us talking about the jobs of community helpers, such as fire fighters, nurses, construction workers, doctors, etc.
Science activities had us mixing baking soda and vinegar to create a chemical reaction. We did a fun STEM activity to create and launch straw rockets into the air. We stocked our manipulative shelves with a variety of math games which included dominoes, checkers, and matching card games.
Creative expression had us painting on small pieces of tin foil using Q-tips as our paint brushes. We laid out huge pieces of construction paper on our classroom floor, stepped in paint and painted with our feet. Using a large piece of paper canvas and rollers we mixed primary colors. The children were amazed when secondary colors started to appear. We brought art outdoors and made liquid chalk and painted murals on the sidewalk.
June has been a very exciting month in Pre-2. We look forward to more summer fun!
Leslie, Xena & Danielle
