I hope all my preschool families had a wonderful and relaxing April vacation! Pretty soon it is going to be summer break, it's just around the corner! Preschoolers are going to be learning all about gardens, plants, and insects as we head into the gardening season of Spring. Ask your child about our classroom sensory bin which is filled with "dirt" (black beans), bug manipulatives, leftover Easter grass, and colorful insects and flowers with hidden letters! Students can work on sorting types of insects, arranging by color, pattern making, and letter ID in this fun and play-based activity. Students also were introduced to a new dramatic play center where they can run their own flower shop complete with rainbow bouquets and play money. Each of the fun centers in my classroom is actually a sneaky way to incorporate early learning concepts such as matching, sorting, classifying, and social skills like sharing and taking turns. Students may have a special surprise to share with you at home in a few weeks related to our gardening/planting unit, so stay tuned!
:) Ms. McKay I am also including a note from our school reading specialist, enjoy! Choosing Books at the Right Level for Your Child. Where Nature Meets Story: As spring arrives, we welcome the warm weather whole heartedly. Connecting children and nature by either reading books outdoors or going to the library and finding nature based literature helps reconnect students to the outdoor world we have missed during the winter months. Picking JUST RIGHT BOOKS for children can be challenging. One simple way to pick books is by using the five finger rule. According to Reading Eggs this is how to find JUST RIGHT BOOKS for your child. The five finger rule The five finger rule is a quick and easy way for your child to check if a book is suitable to read on their own. Before they start, ask them to turn to a random page in the book and read it. For every word that they don’t know, they should hold up a finger. Your child can use the following guidelines according to how many fingers they hold up: 0 or 1 – Most probably too easy for your child. 2 – A good choice that will give your child a reasonable challenge and allow them to learn new words. 3 – Your child might need some help, but still a good choice if they’re up for a challenge. 4 – May be too difficult for your child to read on their own. If you are on hand to give them help or read along with them it can be suitable, but if they are reading on their own, choose a different book. 5 – Most probably a bit too advanced, try a different book. Scholastic is a great place to look for book ideas for your child. Here is a website with book ideas by age. https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/books-and-reading-guides/recommended-childrens-books-by-age.html Sue Richardson Reading Specialist
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Hello preschool families! I hope all is well with you and that your family are enjoying some outside time despite the weird weather we have been having. Preschool has been spending lots of time on the playground on the days when it's not raining. We are still wearing snow gear while there is snow on the ground, but just be aware that once the snow is gone, the structure and ground will still be wet so students might want to have snow pants or an extra layers of sweatpants in case they get wet while playing on those melty days.
This past week and next, we are celebrating Easter and springtime in our classroom. We read the book, "Are You My Mother" by P. D. Eastman to think about springtime birds hatching and matching babies with their mamas for different animal types. We have played in a sensory bin filled with Easter grass, Easter eggs, and small toys that students can fill and hide. We have created Easter bunny shape pictures and baked in our class "bakery" in the dramatic play center. Students had a fun time opening Easter eggs in a letter scavenger hunt, working on their letter identification skills and matching skills. Kids love hunting for and opening Easter eggs, so what better way is there to incorporate those preschool academic skills like letters, numbers, shapes, and following directions! One other activity the students have really enjoyed this week is Easter themed yoga! Students have practiced new poses like "Easter basket", "egg hunt", and "Easter bunny". Next week students will decorate eggs using Q-tips and paint, learn about setting a table, matching baby animals to their mothers, and practicing ordering numbers 1-10, just to name a few of our fun activities! Have a wonderful weekend! :) Ms. McKay |