Hello Pre-4 Families and Friends!

As we enter into our last few weeks of Summer, we want to give you all a chance to look into all our classroom has been doing these past few weeks.  A few highlights of our time include our large motor time (outside and in), our group times, and our artwork.

Large Motor 

The weather, not as cooperative as we would like it to be, has kept us inside more often than we’d like but with that being said, we sure have made the best of the time we have. We have been able to participate in some water play days which is always enjoyable. Using the hose, we connect a sprinkler, fill buckets, use sponges, and other equipment. It’s a great feeling to splash in the water on those hot, sunny, summer days. Also outside, we have opened our sandbox occasionally, giving our friends the chance to dig in, build castles, and experiment with the sand. The climber is popular as ever, promoting that big body play and climbing that our friends need. The children climb, slide, jump, and run from the climber to the trees and back.

We sure have some tired friends at the end of the day! When we can’t get outside, we have been able to use the large motor room to shake our sillies out. We throw bean bags, jump off the balance beam, ride on scooters, and dance like no one is watching! Large motor time is something the children and teachers alike look forward to and for good reason, participation in gross motor activities at the preschool age is a strong indicator for participation in  physical activity moving forward, as noted within the link below.

https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/pubs/btjlearningleapsbounds.pdf

Group Times

Another area of peaking interest is our group times, which range from a timespan of 10-20 minutes dependent on the reaction/current attention span of the children. They involved a wide range of activities from reading books, to sorting games, to counting, writing, taking attendance, and much more. We read rhyming books, books about related topics to our classroom environment, books about going to school, and books we may just find funny! We do large motor activities during this time as well, playing some freeze dance, listening to some Jim Gill, and playing listening games.

Lately, about once a week, we have been “taking attendance” using pictures of our friends. We count how many friends are at home, how many are at school, and the total number of friends. During this activity, we also have our friends practice writing their numbers, based on some number poems. We count and write the totals, then compare which group has more, which has less, or if the numbers are the same.  These group times enhance the ability of the children to focus on a task, engage in an activity, and learn something new. We enjoy our time together at group time, as it is a time for all of us to come together, sit down, and spend time as a school family.

Art 

We love making art here in Pre-4! Our easel is always open and stocked with paints of all colors! When we don’t have paint we have dot markers, stamps and stamp pads, tape, markers and more. Stickers have been our most popular medium by far, we have stickers in all shapes, sizes, and colors for our friends to use. We use different tools to paint including sponges, paint brushes, cookie cutters, and popsicle sticks. We like to keep things interesting here! Our classroom is constantly full of colorful artwork, as we’re sure you notice when those cubbies start overflowing!

Wrap Up

Us teachers are having a blast with our friends as they explore the classroom, the outdoors, and their friendships. While we are sad to see the summer coming to an end in a few weeks, we are overjoyed to see our friends utilize their skills as they move onto kindergarten, into new classrooms, and some staying in Pre-4. We look forward to spending these next few weeks together as a school family before these transitions begin.

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to any of us.

Reminders: Pick Up and Drop off will both be taking place outside, weather permitting. If weather does not allow us to be outside, pickup will be in the Large Motor Room, next to the classroom. 

Talk to you soon!

Xena, Melissa, and Ana