Super Shoppers!

The OLES Grocery Store is open for business!  Each day, the preschoolers are able to go shopping for groceries as well as learn the different types of jobs that are completed in a supermarket.  The grocery store has food items such as fruits & vegetables, fish meat & even sushi to purchase!  YUM! 

While playing in this center, the preschoolers are able to practice important conversational & social skills while learning many new vocabulary words along the way.  Additionally, they are learning to use some practical math skills like weighing & comparing food items, identifying different types of money (coins/dollars) as well as exchanging money for food items.  Don't forget about the pre-literacy skills that we are working on in this center!  The preschoolers are now looking at food labels & writing their own grocery lists so that they know what to buy at the store!

After they are finished shopping, the preschoolers have the opportunity to take their food items back to the kitchen center.  This activity has been helped them learn to classify the food items into categories as well as match each 3D food item to a 2D picture of the food on the shelves.  It has been a blast to see them engage in the shopping process and even imitate the shopping process that is familiar to most of them.  While their participation may not be as fast paced as the old television show, "Supermarket Sweep," the preschoolers certainly are the winners in this center for gaining more life experiences. 

Coming next...Nature, the Garden & Camping!

Even though Ms. Julie is going to be out for surgery, the preschoolers are going to have lots of fun with Ms. Kristi, Ms. Meredith & Ms. Rebecca as they explore many different aspects of nature!  The preschoolers will learn about the animals & insects that you can find in a pond or in a garden.  They will have the opportunity to use their senses to explore with dirt, plants, seeds & maybe even mud! They will sort & plant seeds, flowers and other items to see what will happen.  They will learn to care for plants & hopefully even watch some REAL plants grow!  Lastly, they will end the nature unit by having a camping adventure like no other.  They might even cook some S'mores and pitch a tent!  We'll keep you posted on all of the fun things that they'll be doing.  

 

 

Fire Fighters to the Rescue!

The Ocean Lakes Elementary Fire Station was a busy place!  Thankfully, the preschoolers did an  excellent job of staffing the all of the important jobs.  The preschoolers became experts at answering the phone and sounding the alarm for the many (pretend) fires that were in the area.  Sometimes, the fires were in a house or a parking garage, but we even put out some vehicle fires, as well.

The fire fighters knew how to get dressed in protective gear so that they could be as safe as possible from the smoke & flames.  Then, they would hop on the big, red firetruck to go and fight the fires.  The preschoolers had hoses, fire extinguishers, ladders and other tools to help them fight the fires.  Sometimes, they even brought their dalmatians along to help them sniff out danger.  We worked on a lot of positioning words as well as on the language for what to do if there was a real fire.

While this center was a lot of fun for the preschoolers, they learned a lot of important safety facts about smoke & fire.  They also know that a firefighter is a person who helps others to safety, especially in times of fire.