Fun in 4K
Septmeber 18th
Our 4Kers are so amazing! They are quickly learning the classroom routines and being such kind friends. It is heart-warming to see how close our group has become and we've only been in school for three weeks! With the cold weather creeping up on us, please practice zipping and snapping coats with your child. Please also continue to encourage your child to put on and take off their mask independently. Enjoy the beautiful fall weekend!
-Mrs. Krahn & Mrs. Kaufman
Shapes
Our math focus the past few weeks has been on learning eight basic shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, rhombus, oval, heart and star. While learning the names of all these shapes we have also been discussing the features that define a shape. For example, every triangle has three sides and three corners, though the lengths of the sides may vary. And, a rectangle has two long sides and two short sides. This week the children cut shapes, stamped shapes and created their own shape person afternoon learning a new song about Mat Man. Mat Man teaches us how to draw a person using shapes. Listen to the song below :)
Mat Man Learn Body Awareness and preparation for writing
Name Recognition & Learning Letters
Over the past few weeks our literacy focus has been on recognizing our names in print and identifying the letters within our own names and the names of our classmates. We have been doing things like making our names with play dough, putting together our names with magnetic letters and painting the letters in our names. Just this week we began to print the letters and learn how to form them in the correct ways. All of these activities offer opportunities for learning letters in ways that are fun and meaningful.
How are you feeling today?
As part of our lessons around developing social and emotional skills the children have been learning about the feeling words: happy, sad, angry and scared and how to identify them in themselves and others. This week we read the book, On Monday When it Rained, by Cherryl Kachenmeister. The story explained how its normal for our feelings can change from day to day. Understanding emotions is a critical part of children’s overall development. It is up to adults to teach children to understand and deal with their emotions in appropriate ways. They are experiencing so many new and exciting things for the first time. It can be overwhelming! We need to be sure we always validate our children’s emotions and don’t punish them for expressing their feelings. Teach them about their emotions, help them come up with new ways to deal with emotions, give them lots of time to practice their new strategies, and always remember to give lots of positive encouragement when they use the new strategy instead of reacting in the “old” way!
Library
This week the "Book Bus" visited us for the second time. Every WEDNESDAY our school librarian will bring a selection of books to the classroom and your child will choose one book to bring home and read with your family. Please return the book in the bag by the following Tuesday. Thanks!