February 2023
Dear Pre-2 Families,
We have concluded our ball study and have recently moved on to the recycling study. During the ball study we explored a plethora of balls. To expand on their vocabulary, we introduced visuals of a wrecking ball, a billiard ball, a ping pong ball, and a volleyball, just to name a few. We created our own bouncy balls, even rolling them down the hallway to see how far they would roll. We explored the various properties of balls, asking the children if their ball bounced, rolled, or if they were hard or soft. We sized balls all the way from tiny glass marble balls to large plastic bouncy balls. The children even enjoyed making food into balls even with our protein ball recipe!
We are just a few weeks into our recycling study and the children are already learning about the meaning of recycling. You may have noticed your child bringing home recycled art such as a paper towel tube. In our classroom we keep a box of recycled material known as our “junk box.” We encouraged the children to use materials from the junk box to create rather than classroom paper. This way children are learning the reuse concept of recycling.
To introduce the children to the concept of littering, we have taken walks around the university to pick up trash. We have found chip bags, plastic straws, Starbucks cups, candy wrappers, and face masks! As we picked up the trash, we have encouraged the children to think about how impacts our environment and the environment our animals live in. We want the children to make a connection that any help they make toward their environment will impact those to come.
For our dramatic play, we have created an art studio. The children have developed an interest in working together to make art projects. We encouraged the children to use their self-expressive skills through the art materials we provided, some examples include, shape punchers, paint pallets, various sized paint brushes, textured paper, and a mirror for self-portraits. We displayed their art on the closet door in dramatic play area, also know as our gallery. Peek around the corner when dropping off your child to see their wonderful artwork!
Upcoming dates to remember. PFAE will be closed Thursday, March 2nd and Friday March 3rd & March 13th – March 17th for SPRING BREAK!
Thanks,
Hillary, Bri, and Hailey
