Hello Pre-1 families! Can you believe we made it to December? It has been a busy month as we wrapped up our tree study. We spent several weeks learning about trees and how trees are a part of our world. We ended our tree study with a taste test of three fruits that grow on trees. The children placed their picture on a graph we created. We then tallied our results and apples was the clear winner of “best tasting fruit that grows on trees.” We look forward to moving onto our “Simple Machines” study over the next several weeks.
Dramatic play
The campsite in our dramatic play area has been very popular with the children. When we first opened the campsite, grilling hot dogs and roasting marshmallows was the favorite thing to do. As the campsite evolved, the children have taken our classroom campsite a step further and created “a van to go on vacation.” The children line up chairs to resemble a van and used the bread bowl as a steering wheel. They assign themselves and each other different roles such as mother, father, sister, brother, etc. You will often find the passengers of the car holding babies and using the compass as a telephone! It has been fun watching the children stretch their imagination with their peers.
Music and Movement
This month we have noticed the children have been interested in getting more involved in our action songs and fingerplays. We spend time singing and moving before lunch daily. The children sometimes request the old favorites, but we also try to include new songs occasionally. Music and movement provides many life-long benefits to young children which includes creative expression, strengthening motor skills and building language and literacy skills. Music and movement also helps build children’s social emotional skills as engaging in music and movement as a group helps foster that sense of belonging within our classroom community. We have included the links to a few of our favorite songs. Please let us know if you share them at home with your child.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CX-jFsVtR4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg-wnQKRHTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-wrtk1P11I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w___K_ZQJBs
I have included an article from NAEYC (The National Association for the Education of Young Children) which includes some simple music activities you can do at home with your child!
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/playing-music-home
Reminders:
- Last day of PFAE is Thursday December 16th
- PFAE Parent Teacher Conferences are Monday December 20th and Tuesday December 21st. Stay tuned for the sign-up sheet to be posted
- PFAE resumes January 4th
- Our classroom will be going outside daily if the “Real Feel” is above 15 degrees. If your child needs snow pants or any other type of attire please let us know.
Nadine, Jen and Pre-1 staff!
