Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts

Somewhere in the Middle

9:49 PM

The pendulum swings in the education every twenty years or so they say. They, the POLICY MAKERS, tell us, the EDUCATORS, what is the best thing for our students and we comply. Yes, sometimes dragging our heels, spitting nails, or just complain to our colleagues about the changes.

I don't always love change, but I understand it is necessary. I am more than happy to listen and try something new IF I believe it will benefit my students. However, I won't throw out what I know works! Just like the old saying goes, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!" I believe you need to balance the two extremes for optimal results with your students.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK...

Teachers have debated teaching "letter of the week" for years! One side argues that it is ineffective to teach letters this way as children learn letters that are meaningful to them such as the letters in their names and they won't retain letters taught in a week by week basis. The other side of the pendulum believes in this systematic approach as they are sure to cover all the letters through thematic teaching incorporating the letter through the majority of activities during the week.
Truth be told, I am somewhere in the middle! I introduce a new letter each week based on the scope and sequence that my county puts out for our Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program. I introduce the letter and the sound through Interactive Alphabet Activities. We practice writing it and we even make an alphabet flip book that my pre-kinders read and then take home to practice. However, every book we read does not begin with that particular letter and I do not make a craft to go along with each letter. Does this make sense?

Teachers are so passionate about this topic. Process art gives children the freedom to create and express themselves through a variety or art mediums. The materials are available as children use their imaginations to design their art. Product art consists of teacher led projects where children follow a set of directions or patterns to make a similar product.
So I am here to ask, what is wrong with a little of both? I give children ample opportunities at the art center daily to create. Some days it is process driven projects where children need to cut and glue pieces to make a something in particular like a snowman and other days I put out a variety of materials and my pre-kinders are free to create what ever their little hearts desire! Just as children have different learning styles, some children love the process where they can express their creativity while others want direction and want it to look like a particular object when completed. Its a win-win as children are able to practice lots of fine motor activities such as cutting, tearing, drawing and gluing all while engaging in the art process.

I have been reading the book, Play: The Foundation that Supports the House of Higher Learning by Lisa Murphy and agree with a LOT of what Lisa has to say. I agree that children in preschool, pre-kindergarten and even kindergarten need ample time to play as they build social skills, language and have time to manipulate their environment. That being said, I am intentional about the skills and standards I need to teach. The blending of play and skills needs to be done with hands on, engaging manipulatives, games and activities to create optimal engagement with these little people! In my classroom, we accomplish this through small group activities as well as during center time.

There are many different ways to structure our programs, but we as the educators need to know what the current research says, meet the children where they are and then incorporate the social and academic skills that will prepare these children for life as well as school! So please, won't you meet me Somewhere in the Middle? post signature

Mrs. Wathen

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Alphabet Alphabet Mats art block center Christmas circle circle time December dramatic play Gingerbread literacy morning meeting morning message Poetry Poetry Notebook pre-k preschool

Peek into Pre-K {December}

9:45 AM

As with all kiddos right now, my pre-kinders are over the top with excitement! Christmas is right around the corner:) So we have tried to embrace the craziness and roll with it this month!!

Circle time is where we start our day and come back to through out our day for stories, songs, games and other fun activities. As one of our pre-k standards, we are working on counting words in a sentence. Drawing boxes around the words gives students a visual to understand that letters make words and words make sentences. My little helper of the day gets to lead our morning calendar time. I love watching their confidence grow during this time. Our poems and songs build rhythm and rhyme as we work on phonological awareness.

December Poetry Notebooks can be found HERE

They are a super collection of original poems and favorite nursery rhymes.

Small group is the time we introduce new concepts, provide practice for prior skills taught and work together in fun, meaningful ways. We have five rotations consisting of Listening/Library Center, Math, Literacy, Computer and the Independent Learning Table. The Math and Literacy tables are teacher and para led while the Independent Learning table is usually manipulative based and builds on out literacy and math concepts. Class books, glitter number rubbings, games and poetry notebooks are favorites again and again.

Alphabet Mats cane be found here Alphabet Mats are perfect for play dough,

small manipulatives for fine motor engagement and letter formation.

Center time provides students the opportunity to choose what they want to do and where they want to go. It includes the dramatic play area, blocks, the alphabet center, the math center, the science center, the sensory table, the puppet theater, computers and the art center. Children start this time by verbalizing where they want to start playing. For example, "I want to go to blocks today." This helps develop language with my students and helps them develop a plan for where to start.

Here is the pin where this adorable project can be found.

Thanks for stopping by for a Peek Into Pre-k {December}.

Feel free to follow me on Facebook for daily updates and peeks into our day.

You can pin this image for easy reference and follow me on Pinterest.

Happy December Friends!

Mrs. Wathen

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Alphabet art fine motor activities games math centers pre-k preschool TpT

Incorporating Fine Motor Activities

2:09 PM

So many preschoolers and kindergarten friends come to school with little fine motor practice. The first thought when fine motor comes up is pencil, paper activities, but the reality is there are so many ways to build fine motor BEFORE children are ready for pencil, paper activities.

Clothes pins and larger tweezers offer children practice with the pincer grasp. We practice using pop poms and small objects as they are grabbed and moved from one place to another. Alphabet Mats and sensory tables provide a place for integration with these skills.

Art activities provide fine motor experiences such as paper tearing,

painting and gluing. While painting, we remind our friends

to use their "pinching" fingers as they hold the brush.

Twirling the paint brush is a circular motion

also takes practice at the beginning of the year.

Paper tearing also provides additional experiences

and the scraps are saved for the art center.

Fine motor experience can also be incorporated while teaching math concepts.

We use pony beads for counting and patterning.

Play dough is always a go to with counting and tens frames.

Rolling the dough in itself takes a LOT of practice!

One to one correspondence can be modeled and practiced

using pom poms and recycled marker caps.

The end of the school year is the perfect time to collect

old marker caps from students and teachers alike!

There so so many commercial games and materials for sale

that lend themselves to fine motor practice

like Gumball Grab and Magic Boards.

Scissor practice is another fine motor skill that takes a great deal of practice.

We cut paper and play dough as they offer different resistances.

Last week I added straws and scissors to our sensory table

for additional fine motor practice.

We were then going to add string for threading once the straws were all cut.

BUT..

This was found under the table at the end of day one.

No one claimed it, no parent complained.

LESSON LEARNED!

Scissors will be at the art table with supervision!

Affiliate links are included for your convenience.

Feel free to pin the image below onto your Pinterest boards for easy reference.

For more fine motor inspiration, follow my Fine Motor Pinterest Board.

Mrs. Wathen

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Back to School kindergarten organization picture name tags pre-k preschool

Back to School Organization with Picture Name Tags

9:19 PM

The first week of pre-k and kinder is all about establishing routine. So many of my little friends come in and have no connection to their written name. I have started using picture symbols with student names to help all students identify their names, places and spaces in the classroom. This works with all children including non-English speakers and our ESE students as pictures are universal!

The most obvious use of symbols and pictures is with student name tags. I actually put our name tags in a pocket chart so my pre-kinders are able to use this card during small groups and center time- no matter where they are sitting in the classroom.

Cubby tags are another great place to use symbols and names together... unless you don't have cubbies! You guessed it, I don't have cubbies in my classroom, so we put our backpacks over out chairs sideways so they don't fall off. I used the cubby tags on the back of their chairs so everyone has a home base in the classroom and a place to park their bags!

I then printed the cubby tags with several on a sheet to reduce their size

and make them more versatile in the classroom.

These are the perfect size for folder labels, lanyard necklaces, graphing cards, and even cafeteria cards with bar codes to scan on the back!

And last but certainly not least, I use the symbol cards on colored bins for easy water bottle storage! These would also be great for storing individual supplies at tables!

The picture name tags help my kiddos connect to their names in a meaningful way while helping me organize our room and develop routines especially during the first few weeks of school. The possibilities are endless with Picture Name Tags! You can find them HERE in TpT.

Be sure to pin this post for easy, back to school organization!

Mrs. Wathen

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