We're Back!

Thank you one and all for coming to parent teacher conferences. It is always so nice to get some face time with the grown ups, and we appreciate you taking time out of your day for us - especially with having to rearrange things for the 3 year old class - way to go, Kansas City Royals!

This blog hasn't had much love since mid-October, mostly because we've been focusing on conferences. We hope to have much more time in the coming weeks to update with photos and stories about our days. Until then, here are some things we've been up to.  Both classes are VERY in to the marble run. It is so much fun to watch how the children play with this toy. They have to work together, and they really have a good time trying to figure out how to make the marbles go down the most paths. We are always looking for ways to scaffold play between the 3 and 4 year old classes, and the marble run is a great example of how play can continue to grow and change as the children do the same.

This week was Kansas Reads to Preschoolers week, and the book we read this year was Is Your Mama a Llama by Deborah Guarino and Steven Kellogg. Miss Irene came to read to both classes, and we also chose to include Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. In conjunction with reading that book, the children in room 103 decided that we should have a pajama day and a pajama drive. Information about the pajama drive went home in cubbies this week. Pajama day for the 4 year old class is Monday, November 23rd, and for the 3 year old class is Tuesday, November 24th! Wear your jammies to school - yay!

Enjoy some photos from our week!

last week we got to watch the progression of the new steeple as it moved from Mission Road to the top of Village Church!

October 19-23

Hello! While the goal is to update the blog on a weekly basis, some weeks are less crazy than others! As most of you know, Beth was out of town visiting her family in Michigan, and we had a great time with Renee, Anita, and Kitsy, who were here in Beth's place. The children will be happy to see her back tomorrow, however, and we thought you and she would all enjoy seeing a few photos from our week.

The three year olds got into the fall spirit by painting leaves and making "Halloween night sky" playdough (which is really just playdough that turned out to be such a pretty dark blue that we added glitter to it for "stars"!). We also read the book "Going on a Leaf Hunt" in EPD on Thursday and then we looked outside for red, yellow, and orange leaves to collect.

The four year olds had their visit from the farm animals on Friday. We got to see a pot bellied pig, several goats, a donkey, and two sheep. The children were given small cups of food for the animals and could choose whether to feed them with their hands, or to place the feed in a shovel. Some of us loved letting the animals eat out of our hands. Others? Not so much. 

We also had Halloween sorting activities for both classes at our workbench and water tables, we all helped to make a Royals banner as well as Royals streamers and pennants! Finally, ALL of the children are enjoying the musical instruments that we have hanging on and around the playground. Our class as well as the other preschool classes helped create the instruments, and last week they were hung around the playground. Be sure to look for all of the different pieces when you come or go this next week. 

How We Build Fine and Gross Motor Development in Preschool

Each Monday afternoon, we have a staff meeting at Village. Some meetings are used for professional development, and sometimes we use the time for planning or sharing what is going on in our classrooms. It's a gift to teachers, really, to have a set time each week where we know we will meet with our coworkers and spend time talking about what we do each day. This past Monday, we spent time during our staff meeting talking about gross (large) and fine (small) motor development in preschoolers. The four year old class will begin Movement is Fun this coming week with Ms. Joy, and we learned about that curriculum and what the children will be doing during this time. Some of the large motor skills that the children work on in movement are moving in nonlocomotor ways (anchored movements like bending, twisting, rocking, swinging arms), and moving in locomotor ways (nonanchored movements like running, jumping, hopping, skipping, etc.) The children will have sensory activities, and will work on moving with objects and acting upon movement directions.


Later, we heard from Jill Kirkland, who teaches in room 101, about a webinar she took on fine motor skills. We talked at length about the things we already do in our classrooms to help develop these fine motor skills, and also about what we could be doing better. We wanted to share with you some of the key points about fine motor development in preschool aged children. 

·      Fine motor development zone is from 3-6 years old

·      A mature, tripod grasp will naturally occur if precision muscles are properly developed.

·      Play is critical to hand skill development

-In previous years, children used more hand skills in their play - 

-cutting out and playing with paper dolls (versus the magnetic ones used today)

 -board games were played more often

 -Barbie dolls were more popular- changing their clothes and putting on those tiny shoes worked hand skills

 -forts were built and needed to be secured with clothespins or knots

 -outdoor play was unlimited

                        -Today, play is less hands-on and more sedentary

                        -Passive, technology based play such as IPads and increased TV time give     children less opportunities to develop hand skills  

The following ideas were things we thought could be implemented easily into what we are already doing for furthering fine motor development in the classroom: 

-Vary opportunities for ways to write vertically- standing, kneeling, sitting

-Tummy writing with clipboards or small white boards

-Use Ziploc slider bags- they encourage the same O shaped pattern needed for pencil grasp

-Keep in mind short tools provide more control for children than long tools (Pip Squeak Markers, short colored pencils, golf pencils, etc). If children are fisting a writing tool, try a shorter option. Fisting indicates they aren’t yet ready for that length of tool.

 

The following are some photos taken this week that show the different ways that we sneak fine motor development into the classroom in fun ways. We'd guess that your children don't even know how many skills they're working on, and how many muscles they're building through their play. Enjoy! 

drawing UNDER the table? ok!

painting with watercolors

mixing paint

using tools with playdough

scooping and pouring water to and from different cups

drawing with smaller markers vertically at the easel

drawing vertically on the white board

using scissors to cut tape

using our hands to pull, stretch, and stick tape

 

this week we had the children unzip these baggies to pick out an item to use during check in. then, they had to zip the bag back up before handing it to the next person. SO many fine motor skills disguised as fun!

September 28 - October 2, Three Year Olds

The three year olds also had a busy week! On Tuesday, Miss Jenny came to talk with us about the different musical instruments we have on the playground and in the courtyard. The children used their hands to play the slap drums, and they took turns using the marimbas. On the courtyard, we followed a musical treasure map to find the different instruments. The children also learned one of Jenny's favorite songs "I'm so happy that I want to sing" - ask your child if he or she remembers how the song goes!

On Thursday, we had a visit from a firetruck! The firefighters did not come into our classroom this time, as it can sometimes be frightening for the children, but we spent time with two firefighters and their truck outside. We learned about all of the items that are on the firetruck, including lots of different sized hoses, and even a big ax. It was a fun visit for the children and later in the classroom, there was a lot of turn taking with the big firetruck toy! Later, on the playground, the children took turns using pool noodles as fire hoses, and they "put out" the fires (really, they were just red and orange sheets of material!)

September 28 - October 2, Four Year Olds

What a fun week we had! On Monday, Miss Jenny came to show us all of the different musical instruments we have both on our playground and in the courtyard. We learned about the slap drums (we only use our hands to play these!) and the marimba on the playground, and then we followed a "musical treasure map" to the courtyard where we learned all about the different instruments out there: another marimba, a xylophone, and drums.

On Friday, we had a visit from a firetruck and three firefighters! The firefighters came into our classroom to talk with the children first, telling us all about fire safety. We learned about dialing 911, about making a plan for fire safety at home, and to "stop, drop, and roll" if fire ever gets on us. Then, we watched one of the firefighters put his uniform on. It was nice for the children to see this happen in front of them, as it helped them see that the firefighters in full uniform are not scary! After this, we got to see the firetruck, and even climb aboard for a bit! During worktime, we heard the children incorporate so much of what they'd heard in to their play. A few of them used the dress up clothing to become firefighters or police officers, and even used the phones to pretend to call in their emergencies! It was so interesting to see how much they took away from the conversation with the firefighters. Later, on the playground, we brought out red, yellow, and orange material as well as pool noodles that the children used as fire hoses. Such fun play was extended outside!

September 21-25 Three Year Olds

We've also been busy in the 3 year old class! This week, we read a Pete the Cat book - Rockin' in my School Shoes! The children loved the book and the song and dance that went along with it. We have been working hard with the 3 year olds on being intentional with planning their worktime. This week, the children told our Pete the Cat doll what their plan was, and that was a lot of fun!

This group of 3s is also very interested in sensory activities. This week, we used shaving cream during one of our small group times. We learned how to put on our smocks (with the yellow square in front!) and the children were given shaving cream as well as red and blue liquid watercolors. We used our hands to feel the shaving cream, and then we used our hands to mix the red and blue paints. Be sure to ask your child what color we made when we combined those!

Finally, on Thursday, we found a praying mantis on the playground. We decided to put her in a jar and take her inside the classroom. We found out it was a female because they typically have a larger thorax. We looked closely at her, and the at the end of the day, we let her go. The children were very interested in looking at the mantis up close!