We Love our Families!

This month our theme is "I Belong."  This past week we talked about belonging in our families.  It was so special for the kids to bring their own family picture to share with their classmates.  I love how much these little children love their families- no matter how big or small!

As we learned about families, we made family puppets!  The older kids practiced cutting with scissors and colored their puppets.  These puppets were so fun!  The children were really excited to take them home so they could play with them.

Since all of our preschoolers are so big now, we talked about many ways they can help in their homes and families.  They loved taking turns doing each little job as we sang a song about helping our families.  They helped take care of babies, swept, mopped, dusted, picked up toys, stirred and helped cook to name a few of the ways they helped!

The Pre-Kindergartners put their drawing skills to the test as they drew pictures of themselves, their family, their home, and a way they can help their family.  I like giving the children a drawing project  at the beginning of the year to see where they are at.  We have artists of all different abilities which is wonderful.  I feel it's important to give children opportunities to grow and discover new things they can do as well!

The children loved playing our musical instruments this week.  We learned each instrument's name and how to play them.  The children did a great job taking turns and trying out each instrument.

What a wonderful treat this week...Mother Goose came to visit!  She comes each month with her puppet "Goosey" and sings songs and tells rhymes and reads stories to the children.  They all love Mother Goose!

I love capturing these sweet moments when little friends are learning and playing together!







Each day we work on learning the number and letters.  One of the classroom jobs is to help with the "ABC" song.  I love how eager each of child is to help in our classroom!  What precious children!

This week we learned the letter "X".  These kids can make "X" with their fingers and arms!

Another wonderful week!  Next, we'll be learning about belonging with friends!

School!

This week we introduced the children to different things we will be using throughout the school year like glue, scissors, and watercolors.  I love letting the children discover and paint with watercolors!  They love seeing the colors "wake up" as they get their pallet wet.  We will paint more specific pictures later in the year, but this time they just got to paint a plain white paper however they wanted to.  Painting is a calming activity that fosters creativity and strengthens their dexterity.

We introduced Elmer's glue to the children, which we call "Magic Glue" since it magically rubs off if they get it on their fingers as they're working.  They all love the idea of "Magic Glue!"  This project helped them learn the first letter of their name.  It also was a great way to work on those little fine motor skills as they practiced picking one sequin up at a time.  They were very pleased with their colorful, sparkly letter and they all did a great job!

These children really enjoyed playing with our magnetic numbers and letters.  What a fun way to practice letters and colors!

Playing during centers each day of preschool helps the children work on social skills like sharing and taking turns.  It is also a time when we work on learning through play.  That is the best way for children to learn!

This beautiful fall weather has been so enjoyable for recess!  Although we go outside during all the seasons, fall is a perfect time to play outside!

These cute kids were enjoying a story together.  I love reading to them!  Stories and books come alive when you're a preschooler!  And it's fun to see how much they enjoy the stories.  

We've learned the letters "I" and "S" so far and the numbers "1" and "2."  Be sure to point these out as you read with your child or as you see these letters around the house.  Reinforcing what we learn in preschool is the most effective way for your children to learn!

First Week of Preschool!

What a wonderful start to our year!  The beginning of the school year is so fun to get to know all our new students!  What sweet little ones we have in our preschool this year!

We have expanded our preschool and are using our new classroom this year for some of our classes!



 Dressing up is an exciting part of being a kid!  Pretending and imaging is important for little minds as they try new things!



Ms. Rebecca is our newest head teacher for one of our Pre-Kindergarten classes.  She studied at BYU and has a lot of great experience with children.  She is creative, loving, intuitive, and a wonderful teacher!
This week Franklin the turtle came to visit our classes and let them know that he felt nervous when he started school too.  The kids love when puppets come to life! : )

 I love these pictures!  I love when children are free to express themselves and I love when kids just enjoy looking through books!

At the beginning of each class, the children start their preschool day learning through play.  We work a lot on social skills during this time as the children play together and practice using words to let their classmates know they would like a turn.  This is also a time to practice independence since the children get to choose what they play with and if they want to play independently.

Going outside every day is important to continue our learning in a different setting.  Lots of sharing, taking turns, running, being loud, experiencing nature, and having fun!

We also practice manners and enjoy friendship as we sit down and have a snack together each day too!

This week we talked about how as we work together as a team in our classes, we can do lots of great things together.  We practiced this teamwork by helping each other put puzzles together.  As the children worked on fitting the pieces together, they helped each other and enjoyed seeing when all their pieces fit together.  We hope you will promote more puzzle time at home too! 

We are off to a great start this year!