That's a Wrap...

It's hard to believe that the 2016-2017 school year is over!  I am so proud of the preschoolers.  They have shown tremendous growth over the course of the year, in all areas of development.  I am especially proud of them for learning how to communicate with each other more effectively!

Now, it's time for you to enjoy spending more time with your child over the summer months.  Don't forget that you can always raise the bar for talking, even while you are having fun.  Enjoy your summer!  I'll see you next year.  :)

 

 

 

 

May we have your attention? We need a clean up in Aisle 2!

To end our year in preschool, we set up a Grocery Store themed center.  If I'm not mistaken, I think that this ended up being the preschoolers' favorite theme of the year!  Our grocery store had different sections in it to help the preschoolers learn category words such as fruit, vegetables, meat, etc.  When playing in the center, the preschoolers also had many opportunities to act out the roles of various store employees.  They used dramatic play to act out being a cashier, stocking the shelves, being a bagger and even cleaning up spills through out the store.  The preschoolers also had the opportunity to practice some math skills by counting the number of food items purchased, weighing various fruits and vegetables, counting money, exchanging/purchasing goods for money, writing checks, using credit cards responsibly and interacting with each other for a specific purpose during the entire time.  We also discussed needs and wants at the grocery store and talked about how all moms and dads have to make important choices for their families when they go to the grocery store.

Of course, the preschoolers loved pushing the shopping carts around and loading up their baskets with all sorts of food items.  This allowed us to talk about the words for the many different food items that were available for purchase.  Lastly, the preschoolers were able to add a literacy component to their dramatic play by writing a grocery list, reading the labels on the packages and reading the open/closed door sign.  In the end, a lot of fun was had by all of the preschoolers.  However, they learned some very valuable communication skills and enhanced their vocabulary in a very, purposeful way!

 

 

Camping Fun!

The preschoolers had a blast with our Camping Theme center.  They learned to use camping specific vocabulary as well as what to pack for a camping adventure.  We practiced using different camping tools and also some safety tips for camp fires.  Lastly, we talked about the fact that most camping took place outside in the woods or at the beach.  However, we also read some books that showed us how you could camp in your own backyard or inside of the house if you had inclement weather.  :)

The preschoolers particularly enjoyed their dramatic play sessions and practiced "sleeping" in a tent, going on nature hikes, fishing in a lake/pond and even grilling hot dogs and roasting marshmallows on the camp fire.  To finish the unit off right, we made real S'mores (in the toaster oven) to eat in class.  They were gooey, but delicious!

 

Exploring and Caring for the Garden

The preschoolers absolutely loved our Garden Themed Center.  Each week we focused on the language of different garden related topics.  During the first week, we discussed what kinds of things we would find in gardens, including the fact that there were different types of gardens.  (e.g. vegetable gardens, flower gardens, rock gardens, etc.)  Then we learned how to plant a new garden & care for it once it was alive and growing.  Thirdly, we talked about what kinds of animals and/or bugs a person could find in a garden.  The preschoolers even got to touch real worms & caterpillars in the sensory table, plant some real seeds and watch them grow (over a foot tall) and even plant some real flowers to take home.  Lastly, the preschoolers learned how to choose items from a garden so that they could pick them and enjoy them inside.

During this unit, we also cared for some caterpillars/silk worms.  We watched them eat, grow around 10 times their original size and then spin themselves into some amazing, yellow cocoons.  The preschoolers loved caring for these "class pets" and couldn't wait to see them each morning.  (We would like to say a special thank you to Ms. Kristi for sharing these special creatures with us.)  Ms. Kristi also came into our classroom afterwards and showed us how to spin the silk from their cocoons into real thread for making clothes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinosaur Digging Site

The preschoolers had a blast digging for dinosaur bones in the sensory table.  In doing so, they also learned about the job of a Paleontologist and about the many different kinds of dinosaurs that lived long ago.  We talked about the fact that Paleontologists were scientists who find and explore things from the past.  We also talked about fossils & found out that there are actually many different kinds of fossils, including those of plants.  After exploring with fossils, we made some of our own dinosaur prints with paint, and attempted to make our own, dinosaur footprint fossils in cookie dough.

Then, when the preschoolers played in the dinosaur theme center, we talked about the physical characteristics of dinosaurs that lived long ago.  We talked about their scales, their spikes and even their bony plates.  We also looked at pictures of their skeletons & put some full body models of dinosaur bones together.  Lastly, the preschoolers' favorite part of playing with the dinosaurs was making them roar as they ran away from the hot lava that was exploding out of our volcano.  In science, we even conducted an experiment where we were able to make a pretend volcano explode!  In the end, the preschoolers learned about cause and effect as well as a lot of information about the past.  We hope that some of them might choose to be a Paleontologist, too!