Pre-4 Busy at Work!

It seems like March flew by so fast and the end of the semester will be here before we know it! We hope you all have been having a good semester and like always, if you have any questions or need more information on anything, feel free to let one of our teachers know. Here is what our class has been up to!

Fire Fighters:

A big topic in our classroom has been different jobs that people can have. Last month, we had a restaurant in our dramatic play area, where we talked about the different roles needed in a restaurant. We then noticed that the children were talking about fire fighters a lot. Our practicum student Kaylee changed our dramatic play area to a fire station where we were able to extend their interest and knowledge about the career. We also added it to our block area where they children were able to work together to build their own fire stations. We ended the topic of Fire Fighters by having a visit from the DeKalb Fire Department. Something we learned was that their suit weighs about 60lbs!

Worm Exploration:

Once the last snow melted, everyone started exploring everything outdoors. Some of our friends made some mud art and others started noticing familiar animals starting to reappear. As soon as one of our friends found the first worm, the search was on to find more! We talked about where worms are found and what dirt they prefer. One of our big questions was, Why do the worms come out when it rains? We learned that it is because the worm burrows fill with water. The worms are not able to get enough oxygen so they come up to the surface to breathe.

Making Books:

Something else we wanted to focus on was working on our pre/writing skills. We gave the children blank books where they were then able to choose what their book would be about. Some of our friends chose to make books about dinosaurs and others chose to make family books! The kids drew their own pictures, and when it was time to write about their book, they asked teachers for help spelling the words they needed.

Lead Teaching:

Our practicum students are now doing full weeks of lead teaching. They planned so many activities for our friends, each with specific goals they wanted to focus on. One of Brittany’s goals was to focus on letter recognition. Each child was given three letters at random. While she read her book, the children had to see when their letter would come up and place it in the correct order. Sam chose to work on math with our friends. She made an addition machine that was a big hit in the classroom! Using UNO cards and colored chips, they put the quantities of each card into a cup on two sides. Then, they counted the chips at the bottom to figure out the equation. Kaylee and Lin are currently in the middle of lead teaching. Stay tuned for their update on next month’s newsletter!