April Week #1: Fat Cat

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: happy, sad, mad, scared, worried relieved, on/off, problem solving, chair, cow, chicken, pig, dog, cat, mouse, environmental sounds (moo, baa, oink, grrr, squeak), yes/no, not, help, "I want" phrases, What-questions.

Transition Song: The Circle Song by the Kiboomers

(Be sure to have your child show you the actions)

This week, Miss Carrie read a book to us titled What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas. 

In this book, Fat Cat has a problem.  What will he sit on?  Will he sit on the cow?  Does the cow want Fat Cat to sit on him?  Look at his face.  He looks scared or worried.  No, Fat Cat will not sit on the cow.  What will Fat Cat sit on?  Wow, it looks like they have a problem to solve.  It's the same way we solve problems in our classroom.  Everyone can offer solutions.  Everyone has to agree on the solution.  Will the animals be able to solve the problem?

We had so much fun labeling the animals, telling what sounds they make, looking at their faces and determining how they are feeling.  

Then, Miss Carrie brought out puppets.  She has a puppet named Lambie.  Lambie likes to sit on her lap.  Sometimes, Lambie likes to sit on her head!  

Lambie first has to ask if it is okay that she sits on your head. You can say yes or no. Lambie asked some of the kids if she could sit on their head.

Then Miss Carrie pulled out puppets for everyone.  We had to remember to have our puppet ASK first if they could sit on your head and WAIT for the answer.  If a child said no, then we moved on.  Teachers would ask WHAT your puppet was going to sit on.  If we wanted to trade with another child, we could ask them.  They could say yes or no. There was a lot of laughing going on during preschool.

DO THIS AT HOME:  Use puppets, stuffed animals, dolls, or other soft toys.  What can they sit on?  Remember to ask if it is okay.  Be silly and fun.  Follow your child's lead for what they want to do. Bonus points for animal sounds and labeling.

 

March Week 5: What Can I Make?

Transition Song: Wake Up: Daily Routines

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: on top/under,  in front/behind, next to, small/smaller/smallest, tall/taller/tallest, high/low, same/different, full/empty, yes/no, make, break,  colors, May I have...

This week, Miss Carrie brought out boxes to build with.  Some were big, some were small.  Some boxes looked like small Christmas boxes and had  smaller boxes inside.  Those boxes had the smallest boxes inside them.  Some of the big boxes were covered in colorful duct tape.  We could open some of the boxes, but Miss Carrie asked us to not unwrap the boxes covered in duct tape.

We talked about the small/smaller/smallest boxes.  We talked about the tall/taller/tallest towers.  We asked peers for specific boxes.  We collaborated on building towers.

DO THIS AT HOME:  What can you build with?  Have fun building together.  Narrate your actions with your child. Take pictures and talk about it together with other family members.

March Week 3: Pick A Number

 Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: He/She/We, high/low, fast/slow, go/stop, arm/s, leg/s, squat, push up, plank, stretch, jump, sit up, arm circles, What questions, Who questions, how many, 1, 5, 10, counting.

Transition Song: Wake Up Daily Routines by Dream English

Remember two weeks ago when Miss Carrie forgot to exercise?  We made a plan of what to do First, Next, and Last.  Then, last week, we planned different poses for yoga.  We followed picture directions and verbal directions.  Then we planned our own poses.  This week,  Miss Carrie suggested that we plan how many or how long to do an exercise.  We could choose 1, 5, or 10.  Everyone had suggestions of what do do.  Push ups? 10! (Oy.)  Sit ups? 5! Jumping jacks? 10.  We could hold our foot up and balance for 10.  We tried planking with one arm up and the opposite leg up for 10.  Everyone counted together 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10!  We had to remember to NOT climb on Miss Carrie or crawl underneath her while she was planking.

DO THIS AT HOME:  It's a family group exercise class and your child is in charge!  What are they going to chose to do?  How many? 1, 5, or 10?  If your child has difficulty with choosing, or needs picture supports, draw some ideas on cards and have them choose.  Or draw them out together.  Ask questions so you know which body part to move and for how long.

February Week 3: Children, Children What Did You Hear?

Transition Song: H-E-A-R-T by the Kiboomers

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: What-questions, various animals, various weather, various household items, various vehicles.

App: Soundtouch I and II

This week we played a game.  Miss Carrie has apps on her iPad that make different sounds.  She played the sound and we used our listening ears to guess what the sound was.  We listened and looked at farm animals, zoo animals, insects, birds, vehicle sounds like trains and fire engines, weather like lightning/thunder or rain.  We listened to a parent kissing their baby, a person snoring, and a person sneezing.  Everyone had fun guessing.  It was very difficult to guess frogs, zebras, peacocks, and bats.

DO THIS AT HOME:  You don't need the app.  Go for a walk and use your "listening ears: (as we call them in preschool) and guess what you hear.  Do it around the house. Guess with family where everyone takes a turn providing a sound or guessing.  While driving in the car, if you hear a siren or familiar sounds, narrate what you hear to your child. "I hear a siren!  I wonder if it a police car or a fire truck?  Look around and tell me if you see it."  You might hear the train coming, horns honking, music playing.  AT home, listen to see if someone is sleeping.  What does a blender sound like?  What does water running sound like?  Opening the bag of chips?  There are a lot of sounds to try.

 

February Week 1: Hiding Phil

 Transition Song: H-E-A-R-T by the Kiboomers

Note: we only sing the first verse, but we sing it 3 times.  The children have been practicing how to make a heart with their hands.  We talk a lot about knuckles and thumbs. 

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts:  Who questions, Where questions, under/on top, next to, behind, hide, elephant, dog, blanket, dog house, leaves, sneeze.

Miss Carrie read us one of her favorite books.  Hiding Phil by Eric Barclay.

Phil is an elephant who comes to play.  Everything is going great until the children realize that Mom and Dad might not want an elephant to come home with them.  UH-OH!  Where is Phil going to hide?  Under a lot of things.

Then we decided to hide and Miss Carrie could find us.  When she found us, she took our picture and said "I found you!"  We went back to the rug and Miss Carrie showed the pictures she took on the big screen.  She asked "Who is that?" and "Where are they hiding?"  We had so much fun doing this activity, that we asked do hide again.

DO THIS AT HOME:  grab your camera and go play hide and seek with the whole family.  Keep it limited to one or two rooms so it isn't too hard to find everyone.  Take their picture.  Look at them together and talk about WHO is in the picture and WHERE are they hiding.  Under?  Next to? Behind? In front? On top?

Where did the kids hide?