Introduction
This month seems to be flying by in Pre-3. We have enjoyed some of the warmer weather we have been getting by spending some extra time outside whether it is going on walks or eating our snack outside on the playground. With some of our children going to kindergarten this fall, we have been trying to focus on more of the academics such as literacy and mathematics. We will continue to challenge the children by offering them plenty of learning opportunities through fun and engaging activities based off class and individual interests.
Literacy
Magic Tree House
This semester we have been reading the Magic Tree House book series at the beginning of our rest time to help the kids settle down. They really enjoy listening to all of Jack and Annie’s adventures. Reading these short chapter books really helps work on their listening skills as well as encourages them to use their imagination to picture what is happening in the books. The kids are also bringing Jack and Annie into their everyday play as well. We have watched the kids pretend to have their own Magic Tree House and go on adventures during our outdoor time. Some of the kids draw out the characters and adventures they have been on or use blocks to build a tree house and use the toy people to play Jack and Annie.
Word Wall – Sight words
Some of our older kids, who are getting ready to go off to kindergarten, have shown interest in writing words. We have added a word wall to the classroom next to our writing area to help encourage them to try writing more words. These word cards include their friends names, different types of food, sports, amongst other word topics they may be interest in writing. Providing a word wall offers all the kids an opportunity to practice writing which will strengthen their fine motor skills and letter recognition.
Orientation of the book and author/illustrators
Another way we are encouraging literacy learning within the classroom is by teaching the kids about books. Not only are we continuing to help their appreciation for books grow by reading to them, but we are also teaching them about the orientation of a book and who the authors and illustrators are. You can also do this with your child at home.
Reading with your child at home:
- Talk to them about the cover of the book stating that it is the cover of the book because it is in front.
- Point out the title and point to each word in the title as you tell them what it is.
- Point to where the author and illustrator’s names are. You may ask them what they think the author and illustrator do.
- Point to the spine of the book.
- Flip the book and show them the back stating it is the back of the book.
- While reading, use your finger to show them what words you are reading. This will help show them how to read from left to right and to sweep back to the beginning of the next line, as well as give them a visual of the word you are saying.
- Finally, when you are done ask them questions about the story as this will help their recall skills and show them books have meaning and that they can learn from them.
Mathematics
Patterning
We began to introduce patterning this month as well. For a small group activity, we began to look at if children understood patterning by using a large sheet of paper and writing numbers on it. The kids were asked to pick a number and create a pattern with it (i.e. the number 2 and picking 2 colors to create an AB pattern). During morning group time we allow the kids to play with waffle blocks. Diane explained what an AB pattern was and asked them to create a pattern with their waffle blocks while she read the story. We dismissed them from group time by asking them to show us what pattern they created. If they were unsure we explained how they could have made a pattern with the pieces they had, or asked them to fill in the blank of what would come next in the pattern they created.
Number recognition/Counting – Question of the day/ Writing
Our morning meeting is where we are truly intentional about practicing counting and number recognition. We go over our question of the day and choose a child for each of our options. We do this by asking the whole class to count how many children chose a certain answer and then we call a child up to find the number on our number board and then write it on our wipe board. Three children get the opportunity to help with this each day. At the end we practice simple addition with our question of they day (i.e. how many friends said yes + how many friends said no = how many friends we have total.)
Upcoming Events
April 8th– 12th we will be celebrating Week of the Young Child. During this special week, children will be participating in different activities associated with the theme of the day. Some example of activities we will be doing are decorating bird houses, pictures frames, and maracas. We will also be tie dying shirts, if you are able, please bring a white t-shirt for them to participate.
We are looking forward to meeting with all of our families during our parent/teacher conferences on April 2nd and 3rd.
