Stop, Drop, and Roll into February
New Morning Routine
We started a new morning routine this week! From now on, we will begin our day on the playground with our friends from Room 3 and Room 4. The teachers will be taking the kids inside in small groups, so that each child has the time he/she needs to practice important self-help skills (e.g., putting away lunchbox, backpack, and coat, TOILETING, etc.) and further develop their independence.
This Week
We wrapped up our community helpers theme this week! We talked about farmers, chefs, sanitation workers, etc. At the art table, we wrote letters and stuffed them into envelopes, created pictures with stamps, and made necklaces with pipe cleaners and colored pasta. We practiced our fine motor and prewriting skills by copying circles, tracing our names, putting coins into tennis balls, and ripping up tissue paper. We also sequenced number puzzles, talked about opposites, and counted objects with 1:1 correspondence. At circle time, we sang hello to friends and worked on answering "wh-" questions with visuals. The toy area was set up as a hair salon / birthday party, and we took turns putting candles on the cake and singing happy birthday!
We checked out almost every playground on campus this week! We went through a fun obstacle course in the classroom, which included climbing over buckets and throwing bean bags with pictures of various foods onto different food groups. During speech, we labeled and categorized objects. With our friends from Room 4, we matched community helpers, played shape and color bingo, and practiced staying together and walking in a line.
February
We will be starting a transportation unit next week! The dramatic play area will be set up as a train station, and we'll be discussing all different forms of transportation.
Valentine's Day is quickly approaching! Just a heads up that we will be having a celebration on Thursday, February 11, for the kids to exchange valentines if they wish! I'll be sending out a class list at some point next week for those of you who want to get a head start :)
Have a great weekend!