The preschoolers have been learning and playing with lots of autumn-inspired activities. Come take a look!
Literacy
Have you seen the star hidden inside every apple? We have! The children have been learning Ellis Paul’s poem “The Star Inside the Apple”, and they’re getting very good at it! Written on large easel paper in the classroom with pictures representing some of the words as reminders, this poem has quickly become memorable to our class. As teachers point to the words, children say the poem. While they’re not quite reading in the way that adults define it, they are using their pre-reading skills to recognize that print carries meaning, that each group of letters surrounded by a space on either side is a word, and some are even starting to notice beginning letter sounds. Very impressive stuff, preschoolers! Meanwhile, the kids have been exploring this star on their own with apples in our classroom, dipping them in paint to make apple prints, sketching our bowl of apples and painting the sketches at the easel. Our Preschool Art Gallery is really filling up!
Beginning Number Concepts
Measuring spoons and cups have played a big role in our new fall sensory table! Preschoolers enjoy scooping and pouring the contents of one container into another to see if they’ll hold the same amount; at the same time, they’re exploring the different feelings of smooth corn kernels, rough hay, soft and velvety leaves, and squishy foam pumpkins. What’s coming next? We’ll start counting the seeds inside each apple’s star. Does every apple have the same amount of seeds? Ask the preschoolers next week, and they’ll be able to tell you!
Science and Nature
The children have been keeping a close eye on our class tree, ready to document any changes that may occur with their next tree art. They have sketched the tree with pencil, traced it with marker and painted it at the easel. Spending so much time with their art has gotten us really thinking about the different part of the tree and how they will change before our eyes over the course of the year. We can’t wait to see these changes really start to show!
Fun and Confidence through Music
We started a preschool percussion ensemble! Students took turns to be the conductor and use hand signals to instruct their friends when to play loudly, moderately, and softly as well as when to begin and stop playing. It was fun to use new instruments and great for everyone to practice being the leader and the listeners.
