4K News
January 15, 2020
Winter Learning & Play
This week we have been learning all about the characteristics of winter. We have specifically focused on the weather, how we dress in the snow and cold, and all of the fun activities that we can do with our families. Our play centers have also been transformed into a winter wonderland of fun complete with ice skating rink, ice fishing pond, igloo reading corner, and Arctic animal habitat. And, of course, the hot cocoa stand :) All of the children are having a wonderful time pretending and creating play scenerios. All of this pretend play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, language and social-emotional skills. Play is so important for healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage with each other and interact in the world around them.
Literacy
The cold winter months are the perfect time to read the many wonderful stories by author, Jan Brett. During the readings of these wintertime stories, the children have been focused on listening for the different elements of a story. As part of our discussion after the story, the children have been asked questions like: Who are the characters? How were the characters feeling?, and Where does the story take place? These questions help the children to engage more in the story and help to build better comprehension. I recommend asking your child one or two of these questions at home when you are reading together.
The children also created their own mittens with the characters from The Mitten. When your child brings their mitten home ask them to tell you all about the story!
In small groups, the children are learning letter sounds. This week the children participated in sorting pictures by their beginning sound.
Math
In math small groups, we have been working on number identification and ordering numbers 1-10. This week the children put their numbers in order and then counted out the matching quantity of "snowballs". We used tweezers to add a little challenge :) Next week, we will begin our very first unit on measurement with non-standard objects.