We had so much fun with our Halloween parties this week! My apologies that I didn't get pictures of all the cute costumes. I still had to do therapy so I couldn't wait around with my camera for shots.
Look at what the teachers dressed up to be:
Miss Carrie was a witch.
Miss Suzanne was a witch, too.
Miss Jeana was a witch. We have a theme going here.
Miss Pam was a soccer referee.
Miss Shirley was a Disney witch!
Miss Debbie was a football player...or energetic football fan.
Miss Jen was the house from the movie UP.
Our Principal came into the room looking for a frog to kiss.
In Miss Jeana's room, we played Halloween games and sang Spooky Walk. In Miss Jen's room, we decorated sugar cookies with frosting (or just ate the frosting), made treat bags and watched Scholastic movies. Each class had a Halloween parade to the other classroom. We paraded around the room twice, waving to friends and calling each other by our costumes. "Hello, Link!" "Hi, Mario!" "Hi, Rapunzel!" "Hey, Auna/Elsa/Cinderella/Ariel!" "Hi, Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman!" "S'up, Darth Vader?"
As much as we talk about upcoming holidays, the best time to talk about them is AFTER the child has experienced the holiday. Then all the new vocabulary and language concepts come into play and the child has increased comprehension. So, keep reading Halloween books and talking about what your family did on Halloween as well as what your child experienced in the classroom. You can also start talking about Thanksgiving. We'll be talking about experiencing new foods, singing a Thanksgiving song (What Does The Turkey Say? Gobble-Gobble-Gobble!") and talking about families and who your children will see during Thanksgiving.
Pre-literacy: Last chance to trace the letter G. "Draw half a circle, not a frown. Go across the middle and then down." Look around the room. Do you see anything that has the /g/ sound? Green, bag, bug.
Miss Carrie brought a box. A box full of scarves! We named the colors: Red, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange, and four kinds of pink! Everyone picked a color. We put scarves on our heads to see if the world changed color. What else can you do with scarves? Miss Carrie played Wave Your Hands Up High by Preschool Action Songs.
We waved our scarves high and low. We shook our scarves fast and slow. We jumped front and back. We hopped left and right. We jumped and twisted and swam with our scarves. Miss Carrie asked if the scarves were heavy or light. We watched our scarves float to the ground when we threw them. Miss Carrie and the teachers would try to copy what we did with the scarves. Sometimes we had to show them how to do it. Miss Carrie needed a lot of help so we showed her over and over. "Show me how you _________". "Help me do that."
When we were all done, Miss Carrie called out a color. If we had that color of scarf, we put it back in her box for next time.
Do this at home: play with scarves, glow sticks, leaves, pillows, toys. Wave them around, shake them, jump with them, dance with them. Narrate how you are moving with your object. Try to copy your child in their movements. Help them narrate with simple 3+ word utterances. Ask them to show you how to do what they are doing. Start copying their movements. They will love it! Make it a dance party and get the whole family involved.
Transition Song: Five Little Ghosts from the Kiboomers
Materials: Laminated letter G, Preschool of Rock album
Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: see, look, animal sounds, gorilla, snake, lion, mosquito, stomping, choose, He/She, binoculars, safari, waiting, jungle.
Pre-Literacy: Draw the letter G. Discuss what words have that /g/ sound.
Activity: We're having some fun with animal sounds. This activity has a lot of looking around, pretending to find animals. The first time we do it I use the music from Preschool Of Rock.
These African drum sounds are fun! We're looking around and listening for the animal sounds, guessing what they are, and then pretending to make those sounds. We're moving like gorillas, lions, snakes, and mosquitos.
Later when we approach this game again, I don't use the music. We do it ourselves and the children pick the animals. I've had to ask what a unicorn sounds like. Depending on the season, some kids find bats or reindeer on their safari. We ask the kids to give us just the animal sound and everyone guesses what animal makes that sound.
Do This At Home: play the game at home, or perhaps go to the zoo and learn some new animal sounds. Go to the library and check out books with a jungle or safari theme to read together and learn about new animal sounds.
Transition Song: Five Little Ghosts by the Kiboomers
Materials: laminated letter G, Jim Gill's Silly Dance Contest, street signs for Stop, Go, Slow
Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: Stop/Go, Fast/Slow, High/Low, silly, stand up/sit down
Pre-Literacy: Let's draw the letter G. "Draw half a circle, not a frown. Go across the middle and then down." What other words can we think of that have the /g/ sound? The children came up with gumdrop, goose, goat, mug, big, bag, wag, bigger.
This is a favorite. It's the Silly Dance Contest!
We listened to the song and followed directions. Miss Carrie had a Stop sign, a Go sign, and a Slow sign. The children kept anticipating and yelling GO! right before the music said GO! We danced fast and slow, we jumped high. When the music STOPPED we had to freeze. Sometimes we had silly poses or silly faces. Then Miss Carrie and all the kids would call out GO! and start again. Then we raised our hands HIGH and then sunk LOW and the music went lower until we were all laying on the ground and laughing.
In case you don't know it, I adore Jim Gill. His songs are fun and encourage parents and kids to sing and dance together. If you ever have a chance to attend one of his concerts, it will be well worth your time. In the meantime, you can find his music online or at your local library.
Miss Jen's class has a new classroom pet. His name is Steve. He is a tomato worm. Miss Jen found Steven in her garden at home. (Miss Jeana has class pets in the spring when she orders Painted Lady caterpillars so the class can watch them turn into butterflies).
Miss Jen's class is utterly fascinated with Steve. They have been asking a lot of questions.
In Miss Jeana's classroom, sometimes play takes place under the table.
And playdough, ponies, and puppets are perfectly popular. (HA! I love alliteration!)
Please remember to dress your child in clothes appropriate for the weather. We're still going outside. We're also talking about how we can YELL and RUN AROUND when we are outside.
Random superheros reminding me to be quiet while they save the day.
And lastly, one of the reasons I love my job. One of the children made my mother a card. I asked him to read it to me:
"Dear Miss Carrie's Mommy,
We have lots of kids.
This picture I draw of you.
Thank you."
And here is the artist's rendition of my mother.
Oh, be still my heart!
What a fantastic week in preschool!
Thank you for keeping your sick children at home. Jeana, Jen, and I are very grateful. We do not want to get sick. We appreciate your help in keeping us healthy.
Okay, I'm not sure if your children have commented on this particular subject this week:
It's my birthday week which gave me an excuse to wear my tiara. When I wear my Harry Potter or Captain America/Hulk lego earrings, I get a lot of language from my kids in both classrooms. When I changed my hair from blond to red, I received A LOT of comments from the kids. So I thought I'd see what I would get when I wore my QUEEN tiara to class every single day.
Apparently, the wearing of tiaras is so common with the preschool set that I received looks but very few comments from the kids. I received a lot of comments from my colleagues at school. A lot of comments from parents. Even random people (delivery, bus drivers, people in the neighborhood). Hmmm. So, just in case your child said something about Miss Carrie's crown at home.................now you know.
