Today our teacher read Artist Study: Book: “In the Garden with Van Gogh.” This activity provides children the opportunity to describe the details of the artwork in the story. Children practice spatial awareness while sitting with their friends during the reading activity. When actively listening to the story, children can answer simple questions about artwork, draw conclusions based on listening, and recall information from the story.
What is an active lifestyle?
Children love to play and be active. To benefit their health, children over 5 years of age should be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day. It doesn't need to be a structured sport, anything that gets them up and moving will help.
Fewer than 1 out of 4 children aged 5 to 14 years get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Encouraging your child to be physically active every day will help them stay active and healthy through adolescence and adulthood.
Try to encourage your child to sit less and move more.
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/benefits-of-physical-activity-for-children
STEAM Focus
Why is Literacy Development Important?
https://www.lwtears.com/blog/literacy-development-stages
Why is Literacy Development Important?
As the pillars of language and reading skills, literacy development is a crucial time in a child’s life. Educators need to understand why literacy development is so important in order to effectively help children within each stage of their early literacy development.
Here are just a few reasons early literacy development is important:
Children with confident reading abilities typically struggle less with their studies and have a confident approach to their education.
Strong literacy skills translate well into independent learning and encourage consistent growth in and out of the classroom.
Literacy development affects the way students communicate and problem solve. Those with strong literacy skills usually have improved cognitive ability.
Language and Literacy
Did you know that books can be made from songs? After listening to Three Little Birds this morning, our teacher read the story Every Little Thing later in the day. The book was adapted by Bob Marley’s sister, Cedella Marley, into a story book for children to enjoy. Learning this teaches us that we can write stories about things we already know, even songs, this is a great emergent literacy skill.
Why is early learning important?
Early learning paves the way for learning at school and throughout life. What children learn in their first few years of life—and how they learn it—can have long-lasting effects on their success and health as children, teens, and adults.
Studies show that supporting children’s early learning can lead to:1,2,3
Higher test scores from preschool to age 21
Better grades in reading and math
A better chance of staying in school and going to college
Fewer teen pregnancies
Improved mental health
A longer lifespan
Citations
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. The Carolina Abecedarian Project: Groundbreaking follow-up studies. Retrieved September 16, 2015, from http://abc.fpg.unc.edu/groundbreaking-follow-studies
Kaplan, R.M. (2014). Behavior change and reducing health disparities. Preventive Medicine, 68, 5–10.
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., White, B. A., Ou, S. R., & Robertson, D. L. (2011). Age 26 cost-benefit analysis of the child-parent center early education program. Child Development, 82(1), 379–404.
Toddlers, two's and early preschool class highlights
Weekly Learning Highlights Week 5
Day 1 We learned that there are different ways and rhythms to sing the same song when we learned and sang the A B C Hip Hop Song. This helps us learn sound and beat recognition and appreciate different genres of music. Singing provides the opportunity to attend to sounds in music and lyrics, as well as helps us understand what comes next following cues and patters in a song. This song also allows us to learn by repeating, the letters of the alphabet and their order. In centers we played a Matching Parts of the Body game. It was a good introduction to physiology, and helped continue developing the cognitive skills needed to match and sort. We used language skills to name and describe parts of the body, using and increasing our descriptive and expressive language. When we learn and become aware of our body parts and physiology it helps us develop an appreciation for our own bodies and make us feel more confident in ourselves. Our teacher read Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes to us. It is a story that demonstrate that no matter where we are from, or our differences, we still have many common traits. Listening to this story allowed us to explore language through books and also helped us recognize patterns in a story as we developed our comprehension of verbal communication through written text. It was also a fun way for us to practice the parts of the body. We sang and danced to Head and Shoulders. Dancing and singing to Head and Shoulders helps us develop our listening skills while attending to communication and language from others while we learn the words to a song. We also had to focus so we can follow the words to do the motions. It also develops our muscles and motor skills as we move to the rhythm of the music.
Week 5 Preschool and Prek are starting a new author study.
Today we participated in an Author Study: Laura Numeroff, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.” This activity will provide children the opportunity to observe that books have titles, authors, and illustrators. Children are given the opportunity to show respect, kindness, and patience toward others. Children listen to the story and verbally respond when asked to talk about illustrations and make predictions.
Through their cognitive development they will extend their Author Study: Puffy Paint Cookie. This activity will provide children the opportunity to connect to a story heard earlier in the day while engaging in science and creative art. Children listen and follow multi-step directions to make the puff paint collaboratively with their teacher. Children engage in art and science as they participate in following the steps to making puff paint and painting their own cookie.
Here are some good conversation starters to use with kids.....
-Tell me about the best and worst part of your day
-What was your favorite game to play?
-If you could be any animal what would you be?
-What’s your favorite cereal?
-If you could keep one toy, what would it be?
Why is reading important?
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭!
𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭: 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬!
https://alittlelibrary.com/the-best-musical-books-for.../
https://www.archwaycommunities.org/5-benefits-of-reading.../
Family Partnerships
Why are family partnerships so important? We believe the parent is the first educator a child will have. Building that bridge between home and school is important for children to see. When we work as a team, we help children succeed later on in their educational careers.
Music and Movement
Today we moved our bodies during Cat Song! Dancing and moving to the song provide children the opportunity to participate in a song about animals. Children use observation and imitation to transfer knowledge to new experiences whil moving like cats to the song. As children move to music of various tempos, genres, and styles they learn movement in response to music. While participating in a group singing activities children learn to match rhythm, volume, and pitch.
Traveling
Next week we are starting our unit, Traveling. We will talk about our town, rules of the road, how roads are created and so much more! Our goal is to help children gain the ability to observe and discuss common differences in objects.
We will be working on life skills by having children pretend to have a picnic. During this activity they will begin to develop the skills necessary for participating in a variety of settings. This unit provides many opportunities for children to increase their ability to work together and interact together in different settings. "Almost all creativity involves purposeful play." Abraham Maslow
Splish and Splash
Starting June 6, 2021, we are going to start our unit "Splish and Splash." What's important about Splish and Splash? Water, water everywhere with a new discovery at every turn! This topic will expand on children's familiarity with water, taking the fun beyond the bathtub and the puddles outside. We will explore how people use water not just for drinking and washing but also for sailing boats and growing food. There's another world to explore with all the different sea creatures that rely on water just as much as people do. Through some wet and wild fun, children will grow in respect and understanding of water as they are exposed to this precious resource in Splish and Splash.
Let's Talk About Grass
There are many different types of grass found in many places. We will be talking about the things that live there, and some of the fun things there are to do in the grass. We will begin to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials and observe processes in our science center. During creative expression they will develop growing abilities to plan, work independently and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects. We hope this unit will plant a seed in your child’s creativity!
We will continue to help children learn how to solve problems with friends. Some things you can help children with at home to continue problem solving are:
We can ask a grown up for help.
We can take turns using it.
We can use it together.
When someone else wants the same thing I do, I feel frustrated.
We can talk out our problem.
Digging in the Dirt
What’s important about digging in the dirt?
Children have an innate ability to make dirt fun, but there is much more to it than just playing. This topic introduces how important dirt is to many animals and also to people. Hands-on activities will have us fine-tuning motor skills as we dig, dump and fill. We’ll also learn how animals use dirt for hiding, making tunnels and nests, and protecting themselves. Best of all, we’ll find all sorts of treasures as we explore, from the roots of our flowers to dinosaur fossils and gemstones. It’s sure to be a fun time when we’re digging in the dirt!
Eggs, Jellybeans and Peeps!
This unit lets children explore their creativity through jellybean art, making rubber eggs and sorting colored peeps. Your child will be able to increase their ability to observe and discuss common properties. They will gain the ability to use different art media and materials. They will participate in games outdoor and strengthen their stamina by running, jumping and marching. We hope this unit will help them show their progress in associating the names of letters with their shapes and sounds, and begin to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation and in play.
Wings and Things That Fly
Dear Families,
The idea of flying is of special interest to young children and is best shown through its most prominent feature, wings! From large plans to soaring birds to tiny insects, children experiences wings in many ways. This topic will take us up high into the sky and right outside into our backyard as we learn how wings help us in our travel and play. We’ll find some things with wings that don’t’ fly and other things that do fly without wings. The sky is the limit in our Wings and Things That Fly Adventure!
Traveling
From walking to driving, and more, children love to travel. This unit we will be discussing the ways we travel, what things help us travel, places we can travel in our community and so much more!
Your child will learn all about the importance of moving on their own two feet. We will count steps, trace our feet, and more. We will discuss the different places our feet can take us, such as the playground.
We will also talk about vehicle types. What they do, where they go, how vehicles get us to community areas such as the library, police station, and so much more! We will explore maps and photos of local and far away places and talk about where we like to travel. The hope is after this unit; your child will develop some community awareness, ability to differentiate between things (such as cars versus trucks), and early geography skills.