Pre-3’s Latest Happenings…

Tool Project: Kitchen tools field site visit to visit Beth in the CDFC kitchen.

As we have been moving through our project about tools, our focus has landed on kitchen tools. It’s a relatable topic for the children as nearly every family has a kitchen. This leads us to our most recent adventure- our field site visit to the CDFC Kitchen. I worked with the children preparing questions to ask Beth, and reflecting on the tools we have been observing, drawing and using.

She demonstrated to the children how she uses a sifter, oven mitts, pastry brush, and rasp. When she used the rasp, she showed how it cuts tiny pieces of the very outside of the orange peel from the orange. We passed around the tray with the orange peel, sniffing the strong orange fragrance emanating from the peel pieces. Jack said, “Mmmmm, that smells good!” We saw many kitchen tools in Beth’s CDFC kitchen! We learned a lot about the tools she uses. Beth also made homemade French toast, with orange butter and powdered sugar. It was amazing, thank you so much Beth!! You can find more documentation about our tool project on the wall outside of our Pre-3 classroom.

Here’s a few photo’s from our field site visit for your preview!

We have been working on providing a variety of activities that can support & enhance the children’s find motor skills & social-emotional development. 

For the children’s fine motor skills we have been using pipettes, scissors, tongs, a variety of pens & other drawing tools, stringing beads, and a wide variety of manipulatives such as peg boards, stacking tables, and Lego’s. 

Calvin using a gel pen to support fine motor development.

Tool project and fine motor development as Rakan uses a hammer.

Fine motor happens in so many areas of our room! This photo shows the children using their fine motor skills on my hair. They have to use a pincer grasp to open and close hair clips and bows to put them in my hair.

Using meditative breathing techniques to enhance our calm.

When the children are angry, upset, or hurt we remind them how they can “smell the flower and blow out the candle”. This exercise reminds them to breath in through their nose and out through their mouths. We have also been encouraging them to meditate with us during group times. In doing this we are providing a tool the children they can use anytime they are feeling mad, sad or upset. This is one way we can help them learn another way to manage their emotions and deal with them a more healthy way. Here are some meditations you can do at home with your child if you’d like.

Some reminders for you-

• Winter is coming! (And I’m not quoting Game of Thrones.) We go outside in a wide variety of weather, including cold and snowy. Please do your best to send the appropriate outerwear for the weather. This means, in cold weather below 40 degrees we will dress the kids in snow pants, coats, hat, snow boots, and waterproof mittens. To see a visual of how we typically dress the children for outdoor play according to the weather click this… Dressing for weather chart. 
• Feel free to bring an extra fabric mask for your child if you haven’t already done so.
• Let us know if you bring different clothes for your child’s extra clothes box and we can switch out summer clothes for fall/winter clothing.
• Parent teacher conferences are coming very soon! Look out for our parent conference schedule very soon!! We can’t wait to meet with you to discuss your child’s growth and development this semester!