And away we go! What a pleasure it is to start forming relationships with your wonderful children. During the first days and weeks of pre-k we spend so much time getting to know one another, along with our classroom rules and routines. Exploration is a central theme as we slowly introduce more and more materials. Here are a few things we've learned about so far:
- Where to put backpacks and jackets, where the toilet is, and how to wash hands
- How to clean up from snack and lunch (sorting waste is an ongoing task!)
- Circle time routines
- How to paint on the easel, use watercolors and scissors
- How to be safe when using shovels and rakes (ask your child about the safety circle)
- How to be gentle when holding live animals - lots of practice with worms
- How to gather when called (we howl like a coyote and the children come running!)
- Boundaries for the woods and playground
- How to take care of blocks and plastic animals at our outdoor block area
As you can see, your kids have been hard at work! But don't worry, there's plenty of play mixed into everything. This group is very imaginative, and has a lot of fun playing family, hot lava, and worm hunt among other themes.
This blog will get updated most weeks, and hopefully can give you a glimpse into the world of pre-k. We're lucky to be able to invite volunteers into our classroom this year, and soon I'll create a sign up sheet to have you families come help us tend fires in the colder months. If you have any other skills or ideas to share with the class please let us know - we would love to invite you in for a visit.
Enjoy these pictures from the past week and a half, and remember that FULL DAYS begin on Monday!
A trip to the garden awakened our senses.
The shed doors make perfect easels.
We've done a lot of practice being gentle with animals!
Kristine helps kiddos get ready to paint.
Ask your child about the Golden Stick. Right now we play with sticks that are the same length (or shorter) as the golden stick.
Fun in the mud kitchen
This kiddo used scissors, glue sticks and construction paper to make a beautiful butterfly.
Buddy painting is one of our favorite ways to help develop friendships.
Animals and blocks in our building area
We always say "thumbs up!" when using scissors and try to make sure those thumbs are on top.
We learned how to set up a watercolor station, and clean up when we're done.
An imaginary game of capture
The sunflowers on the playground are gigantic!
These kiddos are excited to learn about tools.
A dedicated painter
This group LOVES reading. We've spent a lot of time in the cozy shed book nook.
A nice slide for some little animals
"family" play
More creativity in the block area
Lots of exploration with the balance scale!
Worm hunt
The bean house on the playground is a real jungle!
We have story time at the end of the morning just before lunch.
We brought out dress-up clothes on Friday, to great enthusiasm.
We started with a terrarium full of 5 monarch caterpillars. All but one of them escaped, but look at what some children found today!
Some great curiosity about butterflies
We spent some time practicing our rest time routine and playing inside the classroom today.
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