Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: colors, body parts, look, watch, move, swing, sway, stomp reach, throw, blow, up/down, forward/backward, high/low, fast/slow, big/little, present progressive -ing,
past tense-ed, Pronouns I/He/She/We + is/am/are, What questions, Who questions. This week Miss Carrie brought her scarves. There were lots of different colors. If we didn't get the color we wanted, we could ask our friends to trade. Then we danced and moved with our scarves. Our teachers had to watch us and copy what we did. We ha so much fun showing what we could do. Scarves waved high and low. We threw scarves in the air and caught them. Then we threw them at our friends.We jumped, stepped, swayed, and swung our arms. We sat on the floor to see what other ways we could move with just our upper bodies. Miss Carrie played fast music and slow music.
DO THIS AT HOME: Pull out scarves or not. But do put on some music an dance! Follow your child's lead. "What are you doing? Oh, look, I see that you are stomping your feet. I wonder if I can do that? Stomp!Stomp!Stomp!" "You are shaking your arms fast! I can shake them fast, too!" Use your best sports broadcaster voice and give a play-by-play. Have your child tell you what they are doing and let them correct you if you do it wrong. Or, use single word narration to talk about what your child is doing to hep them label: "Stomp! Swing! Arms! Legs! Head! Shake! Fast!"
This week Miss Carrie brought out a lot of things! There were stairs to go over, hula hoops to step over or crawl under, exercise mats to follow (Jumping Jacks! Squats! Sit And Reach! Stretch! Touch Toes! Balance! March! Hop!), and there were tunnels and tents. Miss Carrie called it an obstacle course.
We went every where. We tried everything. If we weren't sure what to do, we could ask a teacher. We made sure to use walking feet. Miss Carrie took pictures of everyone. Then we all sat down and watched the big screen. Miss Carrie put our pictures on the big screen. She asked "Who is that?" "What is he/she doing?"
DO THIS AT HOME: what do you have around your house to make an obstacle course? Kids think it is great fun to watch a grown up crawl under things. If not at your house, pick a sunny day and head to the park. Talk about what you can do. Make your child the leader and get ready to follow.
This week, Miss Jeana's class played Out In The Jungle while Miss Jen's class explored Fall Leaves. See last week's post on both.
First, Miss Jeana's class:
We found so many animals!
We found Sea Slugs, Glow Worms. We held up our hands for pretend binoculars.
Sometimes we knew the animal and other times we needed help to identify it.
We told our friends "Come here and see!"
If we knew what the animal sounded like, we talked about that, too.
All the animals and bugs were right at child eye-level.
We talked about WHERE to find them: at home, at the zoo, on the farm, in the sky, under the ground.
There were so many to find.
DO THIS AT HOME: Go on a hunt at the zoo, in your local library, near a farm, or in your own back yard. What animals, birds, and bugs can you find? Check out books on animals, birds, and bugs from your local library.
In Miss Jen's class:
Lots and lots of leaves.
They landed on our heads. We piled them on Miss Jen!
The leaves landed on our laps, our legs, and feet, our hair, our shoulders.
We compared sizes and colors and if they were the same or different.
We asked friends if we could throw the leaves at them.
We talked about if we saw leaves like this at our house yet.
DO THIS AT HOME: Go on a fall walk or a leaf hunt in your own yard. Talk about the different colors, shapes, and sizes. What do you like to do with leaves?
Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: bounce, move, body parts, sway, spin, turn, jump, roll, wave, crawl, march, tiptoe, high/low, fast/slow, quiet/loud, What questions, pronouns.
This week we talked about things we bounced in previous Large Group activities: balloons, balls, body parts. This week we bounced and moved our whole body. But there is a catch - we had to show our teachers what we could do and see if they could do it, too. Miss Carrie played all kinds of music that was quiet/loud and fast/slow. We talked about different ways we could move. Then we showed our teachers and friends what we could do. Then our teachers took turns to see if they could do it, too. We had to be careful to not crash or accidentally bump into our friends.
Spinning, swaying our knees and elbows, swinging our arms, moving our hips from side to side.
Rolling or laying still, skipping, walking, marching, and jumping.
Moving arms like robots, marching with our knees up high, twisting, and jumping.
Jumping, swaying, walking on tiptoe quietly, and spinning.
Moving like superheroes or robots, crouching down low, twirling.
Flying like airplanes, marching, moving our legs high in the air, twisting and swaying.
There are SO MANY WAYS TO MOVE! There were so many ways to describe our actions. Some of the songs we recognized (Moana, Trolls, Preschool Rock) and some we didn't (Paul Cardall, Yo-Yo Ma, Preschool of Rock Robot Song, Special Order from Ratatouille, Tibetan Bowl music). Friends tried new moves, copied each other, and made sure teachers were following along. We labeled body parts that we chose to move. We used pronouns while describing what our friends were doing (EX: She is spinning. He is waving.) There was a lot of language throughout Large Group Time.
DO THIS AT HOME: turn on some music and follow what your child does. Use your announcer voice and describe the actions. Describe the music. Find some music that is new to you. Have a dance party where everyone follows your child.
In September we will start with a letter sound and specific instruction. This week we learned all about Large Group.
In both classrooms, we started by singing Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy by Rachel Arntson. It is a very simple song, easy to join in if you don't get there when we start singing. The children pick which body part to bounce (arms, legs, feet, elbows, shoulders, head, nose, eyebrows, knees) and we bounce. In between we wait (great for anticipation and looking to teachers and peers for direction) and then prep with "ready, set, GO!" to start bouncing again.
In Miss Jeana's classrooms we learned about germs aka "Please don't get Miss Carrie sick!" Germs are little bugs that we can't see. They get on our hands if we sneeze or cough in them. We learned that if we touch anything else after sneezing or coughing into our hands, that the germs will get all over everything! Miss Carrie used red glitter, pretending that the glitter was germs to show that touching her hands can get everyone''s hands messy.
Oh, no! Miss Carrie's hands are so messy!
We learned to cough and sneeze into our elbows so we wouldn't get germs on our hands. We learned we could use tissue to wipe our noses. If our fingers get into our noses or mouths, Miss Carrie and Miss Jeana will ask us to wash our hands because Miss Carrie and Miss Jeana DO NOT want to get sick!
We also learned a song to help us remember how to wash our hands:
First, get soap on your hands. Don't put them under the water yet! Now we sing as we wash our hands: (to the tune of Frere Jacques)
Tops and Bottoms (wash tops and bottoms of hands)
Tops and Bottoms
In between
In between (wash between fingers)
Wash your thumbs
Wash your thumbs
(NOW put your hands under the water)
Now they're clean!
Now they're clean!
Everyone lined up to wash their hands. We also wash hands before Snack Time.
In Miss Jen's class, we talked about moving our bodies. We played Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill (one of Miss Carrie's favorite preschool song singers and followed the directions in the song. WE jumped, danced fast/slow, and (everyone's favorite) froze with a silly face.
(Here is the song performed by Jim Gill to try at home)
Then we danced to Rock and Roll Preschool by The Wiggles and everyone showed Miss Carrie what they could do and she tried to copy them. We ended with music from the album Calm Piano by Paul Cardall and tried moving slow and blowing air out of our bodies as we prepared to move to Small Group.
DO THIS AT HOME: You can talk about washing your hands, when to wash your hands, and practice it together. Ask your child to show you how if they remember. Also, have a dance party and let your child lead. Do what they do. This is a fantastic activity for the entire family.
Transition Song: One Finger, One Thumb Keep Moving
Materials: Let's Get Moving Activity Mats (Thanks, Donors Choose project donors!), Laminated Letter C
Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: jump, march, jog, hop, tiptoe, arm circles, crab walk, frog jump, jumping jack, sit, reach, skip, stretch, balance, squat, touch toes, exercise, help
This week we played I Can Do That. Miss Carrie brought a bunch of colorful squares that she put all over the classroom floor. Each square had a picture of an action. We could go anywhere in the room, look at the picture, then try to do the action. We could tell our friends and teachers "I can do that!", or we could ask for help. We labeled all the actions. We hopped, jumped, balanced, stretched. We skipped, marched, squatted, and circled our arms. If we needed help balancing, we could ask for help and hold hands.
DO THIS AT HOME: It's easy to play I Can Do That! It's even more fun when your child gets to lead and show you what he/she can do and you try to do it, too. You can make cards or just come up with fun actions. Be sure to label your actions to increase that vocabulary.
