PreK Updates

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

We began our morning meeting brainstorming about how we should and should not act when Swayze arrived for his visit. The kids understood that too many kids trying to pet him at once would scare Swayze. They remembered that we should pet him on his back or scratch his chin, but that if we pat his head it might make him nervous. We thought about all the things Swayze might be able to do for us. Like going 'over' a jump or 'through' a tunnel. He can 'sit' on the table and he can spin and roll over. I then showed them all the equipment that I had brought for Swayze. Each child had a chance to pretend they were Swayze and show me how they can jump. They even learned how to jump in a 'figure 8'. :)

I introduced the concept of their first and last name and their mailing address. There is much more to be discussed about this. Please go over their address and even your first name with them. It is a safety issue. Also there are some Kindergartens that will ask the children if they know their phone number during testing. We will also get to phone numbers later in the year.

Swayze's visit went really well. The kids did great! I was very proud of them. They were kind and patient with Swayze and all seemed to really enjoy meeting him. Everyone had a chance to ask Swayze to “perform”. He jumped, rolled over, and went through the tunnel many times. He loved all the attention and treats.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A note from Chrissie about Wednesday:

We had alot of fun - did the cooking thing with Cara first. Everyone took turns measuring cereal and chocolate chips. We got to see it melt and watch Ms. Cara stir the cereal after she poured the melted chocolate and peanut butter onto the chex. Then she scooped it into two big ziploc bags and sprinkled powered sugar into it and our friends took turns shaking the bags to the count of 5 and passing the bag around until the Puppy Chow turned from brown to white!

After morning meeting we colored our book covers like real illustrators do after first reviewing a few book covers for examples - especially the Three Little Kittens book - had chapel where our class showed exemplary behavior and earned their 10th bone and got to go to the treasure box at the end of the day.

We read the Three Little Kittens and looked for things that we different from real life/fiction, and what was really old fashioned in the story since I explained I had a copy of this exact book at my grandmothers house when I was a preschool aged kid. The looks on their faces imagining that was pretty funny!

Eating Puppy Chow at snack time was pretty exciting. We could hardly wait until it was time for snacks and then some of our friends decided right off they didn't like it (even though I didn't put any pumpkin in it!) and chowed down! We read Eric Carle's book Have You Seen My Cat? and enjoyed looking at the illustrations of various animals, especially cats, so much like the collage cats we did earlier this month.

Thursday, 28, 2010

Thursday we wrapped up our pet unit. We began by journaling about our favorite part about Swayze's visit with us on Tuesday. The children had no problem answering the question. :) During morning meeting as a class we read through our How many dogs? number book. The kids worked all month counting and writing down the numeric number and the written version of the word. It was nice to have a completed book to read. We then read Just like Floss. A very sweet book about a border collie puppy and his natural instincts to herd sheep.

During our morning centers the children made dog collars with their names. They were responsible for finding the letters that form their name. Once the collars were made they then used their name/address resource card to find the dog tag that matched their card. Once found we went over reading their address and identifying the numbers that made up their street address, zip code and phone number. After decorating and attaching the tag to their collars they posed for pictures with their dog collars. It was a fun project. :) 3D noodle dogs were made by those who chose.

Gym was lots of fun with Ms. Jane. She created an agility course. They weaved around poles, climbed up and over obstacles, went through tunnels and ran really fast. :)

At snack time we read Dear Mrs. La Rue: Letters From Obedience School. It was a fun pretend/fiction story about a dramatic dog that was sent off to Obedience school and sent letters home to his owner.

Next week we will begin our journey with Winter and animals that thrive in winter habitats.