Innocence of a preschooler

As I was asking the children questions about their favorites for our monthly bulletin board I am once again reminded of just how special my job is. 

 I love that Cody has no idea what he wants to be when he grows up. And really why should he, he is only 4 after all. 

Then again at 3 Kloe a lady knows she wants to be a rock star. She has the personality for it too! Maybe she really will be a rock star in the future, or she may have picked a rock star because her sister wants to be one too. Who knows? I also love the fact that h favorite animal is sheep! Take that you lions and tigers in the world!

Then you have the opposite of Kloe in Halo. She did not say one word today, until her mom picked her up. And then she uttered words at the speed of sound! 

I like that Rylan wants to be a big cop, not just a cop.

I like that Allison listed a bunch of different animals and then followed it up with a career choice of 'a person that takes care of animals'. 

I like that Ethan is comfortable enough with me and himself to change the question. I don't like animals, I like robots. And boy does he ever. C-creep-io is his favorite, which explains the light saber career goal.

My favorite has to be Selah's answer though. When I grow up, I want to be.... A grown up. Don't we all? Isn't that what we should really be focused on? Teaching the children how to function, gain independence and social skills, so that one day they can all be grown ups?

Here's to an incredible new year!

First day of the school year

The first day of school means something different to everyone. For some parents it a relief that the summer months are over and a schedule is now being set. For other parents it is a painful reminder that life is short, another year has passed. For me it is an opportunity. 

An opportunity to show 25 children just how incredible knowledge is. An opportunity to make children excited about learning. An opportunity to instill confidence in 25 bright young minds. An opportunity to show 25 people that love and kindness are still two of the most important things on this Earth. An opportunity to join 25 families in a partnership where we learn and grow together with their child. 

For me it is an opportunity to renew my passion and share it with 25 more families.

I love the first day of school!

Where are Wash-wash and San Diego?

Well, I know San Diego is a large coastal city in Southern California, but Wash-wash? Maybe it is short for Washington? 

Those would be 2 intelligent guesses an adult might have based on the words provided. As it turns out, San Diego and Wash-wash are not locations but rather children. These are not their given names, these are the names I overheard the children using on the play ground.

Both Wash-wash and San Diego are outgoing 4 year olds in my classroom. So, naturally, the children, both boys and girls are flocking to these unrelated boys. As I heard the children calling for the boys to play in their imaginary games I thought of yet another reason why preschool is such an important step in the education of every young person. 

Children, or rather people in general learn new information based on information they have already acquired. This previous knowledge helps us sort and understand new information with ease. As children enter preschool they come with vast knowledge of their home life, and all the people they associate with in their environment. Preschool, however, comes with an entirely new set of information, and people to learn from. At home they may have a sofa, so when I mention I have a red couch at my house, it takes but another second for the children to understand they are one in the same, and have now learned a new word. 

Preschool has a wonderful way of bringing diverse individuals together in a non threatening environment where children named Wash-wash ( Joshua) and San Diego (Santiago) can hear different words and grow their vocabulary with ease.

I love preschool.

Kristin Schlicht

Literacy fun with dollar store felt letters

A few months ago I took a tour of a nearby Montessori preschool. I learned a lot about their practices and how they approach education. I love the 'jobs' (educational games and manipulatives) they have available in the classroom to help the children learn. I've already started to make my own versions of some of the games I saw that day. I found some 8.5 x 11 sheets of felt and a big bag of felt letters at my local Dollar Tree store. I made some small cards with Dolch pre-primer site words and the names of the children in the class. I placed 5 cards in a plastic Baggie along with all the letters needed for those words and a felt sheet. The children were all trained on how to play the game:
1. Empty the entire contents of the bag.
2. Place the letters face up on the left of the felt sheet.
3. Stack the word cards in a pile and place them at the top middle of the felt.
4. Begin to use the letters to the left to spell the word on the card.
5. When the word is spelled compare the letters one by one out load to double check.
6. Once the word is correct return the letters to the left side of the felt sheet.
7. Take the top card and place it on the bottom of the pile, and begin again.

The children in my class have really enjoyed this new activity. Hope this inspires you to create new activities for the children in your class.

November Bulletin Board

 This is our Thanksgiving Bulletin Board. It reads:

           Getting In Shape For Thanksgiving

We used only triangles to create our turkeys. I think the children did a great job. I love the fact that you can give each child the same materials and when they are done... no two are exactly alike.

Thanksgiving Day Celebration

I usually celebrate Thanksgiving with the children singing a few songs for their families, followed by a Thanksgiving pot luck feast. This year I am trying something totally different. Most of the children's siblings will be out of school so I've created a family fun event. I will have four colored teams. The children in my class will be pulling a colored paper out of a bowl on Monday to indicate which team their family is on (familiy members are encouraged to be on the team and participate in the games). These are my plans so far:

Family Fun Event

 

            9:00 to 9:30: Craft

9:30-9:45: Greeting and explanation of day's activities

9:45 to  ???  Implementation of games

·        Game one: Dressing for Thanksgiving

      Each team chooses one person to "dress" for the big day. Each team will be given a roll of toilet paper to dress their person with. The team that uses the entire roll of paper first and then puts a hat on their person is the winner.

·        Game Two: Going to Grandma’s House

                  The entire team participates in this event. Using the play equipment on the big 
                  playground each team takes a turn running the timed course. The team with the
                  lowest time is the winner.

·        Game Three: Errands for Grandma

                 Grandma needs some items from the store. Each team will choose 6 players in this
                 relay. Players will ride the bike to one end of the basketball court to shop for the items
                 that grandma needs. Only one item can be picked up at a time (Box of stuffing, Can
                 of Cranberries, a potato, a roll, a carrot, a can of gravy, and a gallon of milk).

·        Game Four: Help Grandma stuff the turkey

                  Each team will choose a turkey to stuff. Using an extra-large t-shirt, teams will
                  stuff their turkey with as many balloons as they can in one minute. Team with the
                  most balloons stuffed is the winner.

·        Game Five: Help Grandma Deliver the food to the table

                  Each person on the team will take turns holding a plastic plate with one hand. The
                  other hand may help to hold the plate, but not the food. Food dropped may be picked
                  up and placed back on the plate. Be the first team to deliver all your food from one
                  bin to the other and you are the winner.

·        Game six: Make a pie for Grandma

                  Using the recipe card supplied, each team will gather the correct ingredients and
                  make a pie for Grandma. The first team to make the pie correctly will be the winner.

 

Following the games we will enjoy a feast together. Winner of the games will be able to eat first. Second will go second and so one.

 

All of the games and the feast will take place outside. I am lucky enough to have my classroom located within a beautiful park. I will update the blog with pictures of the day and let you know how this event went later in the week.

 

Teachers put a great deal of time, money and planning into holiday celebrations. How ever you chose to celebrate Thanksgiving with your class, I hope you have a snag free day, and can enjoy the children and the festivities.

 

Kristin

Morning Check In

When the kiddos and their parents enter the classroom each morning the children find their name on their octopus and move it to this area to "check in". This helps them to recognize their name in print, as does their name on their cubby. It usually doesn't take long for the children to be able to recognize their name. Within a few weeks they all have it down, and many can recognize/read their friends names as well.   

 

As part of our curriculum we focus on one letter each week. I wrote each person's name on a word card (the teachers, the fish and the hamster too). On Monday mornings when I introduce the new letter I hold up each person's written name. I ask the children who's name it is and if the name contains the letter of the week. If it does then it is displayed for the week. We count the number of names and then transfer the data to a graph showing letter frequency. I ask the children to predict how many friends they think will have the new letter in their name before we begin. Then we compare the number of names with that of the previous week.

 

Thank you for stopping by to have a look inside Miss Kristin's Class.