Hello 2s/3s families,
We have had a busy month of growth and laughter in our classroom. The children have been keeping us on our toes as they are growing at such a rapid pace. There has been progress in self-help skills such as toileting and getting ourselves dressed daily. Whether it’s getting our own socks and shoes after nap, remembering to flush and wash hands after using the bathroom or cleaning their own faces after a messy lunch- all of those “little things” are progress in the social/emotional domain of child development. Thank you, families, for promoting those life long skills at home as those seemingly little things are the foundation to all of the other self-help skills to come.
Current Emergent Literacy Happenings
Collectively, our classroom has an innate interest in books. Kat, the interns, and I are constantly looking for new books to expose the children to. In just a matter of months, they have went from the classic board boards to listening to non-fiction books about ocean animals or color-mixing and asking questions. As teachers, we intentionally tie in the children’s interest in reading to other areas of the classroom. For example- when we read Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh and Mix it Up! by Herve Tullet, we planned some hands-on color mixing activities. The children are still interested in ocean animals so Taylor our intern changed our sensory table to include ocean animals and we included more books about ocean animals with ocean animal materials in our science center.
Literacy experiences take on all forms in our classroom. Some children prefer to read one-on-one vs. in a group. Luckily for us, we usually have plenty of bodies to provide those varied opportunities throughout the day. Kat and I have been talking about bringing in nursery rhymes in the up-coming months. Stay tuned for more emergent literacy experiences in our classroom. Please take a moment to check out this article with some ideas on promoting emergent literacy at home.
https://www.beginlearning.com/parent-resources/emergent-literacy/
Block Play
Sometimes- a center “refresh” is needed to draw children to an area that isn’t used much. We noticed that the children do like to use vehicles, animals and people but not so much using the blocks in block area. We swapped the emergency vehicles with the wooden trains and added Lincoln Logs as an accessory. This minor change was enough for children to gravitate to the block area and try their hand at building. We also switched the “people” we had in block area. The “people” we have in there now are various community workers and people of varying abilities. These “people” have provided opportunities for various conversations in the block area of the classroom. The block area in our classroom provides opportunities for growth in all areas of development. We will continue to observe how the children are engaged with the materials in block area and change them accordingly. We have included a short article that illustrates how math and literacy are woven into block play.
Block Play, Math and Literacy (communityplaythings.com)
Reminders
- Please bring in diapers/wipes upon request
- As the seasons change, make sure your child has extra appropriate clothing (we are a messy bunch)
Until next time,
Nadine and the 2s/3s team!
