Building Skills Through Play, Art, and Exploration in Early Preschool

4 hours ago
5 min read

Happy Birthday Lutanda

Dear parents,

This week, our Early Preschool classroom was filled with learning, creativity, and joyful exploration. Our students participated actively in art, literacy, math, and science activities with excitement and confidence. They were engaged, happy, and eager to share their experiences with us.

Large Group

This week during our large group time, we began with warm and friendly greetings. We said “good morning” to each other, and then invited each child one by one to say “good morning” while the group responded back. This helped build confidence and encouraged respectful communication.

After our greetings, we had a meaningful conversation about their weekend and morning routine. Our teacher asked simple questions such as: how was your weekend? What did you eat this morning? Did you take a shower? Did you brush your teeth? The children were very engaged and happy to share. It is wonderful to see how much their communication skills have improved. They are now understanding the questions clearly and responding with full answers like, “yes, I brushed my teeth,” and “I took a shower.” They were excited to talk and share their experiences.

Next, we discussed the weather. Since this week was cloudy, it was a great opportunity to help them understand what “cloudy” means. I placed pictures of sunny, rainy, and cloudy weather on the floor. Then we invited students at random to come forward, choose the correct picture, and stick the cloudy one on the board. We also talked about how cloudy weather can sometimes feel cold. This activity supported their observational capacities and decision-making skills.

After that, we moved on to our animal discussion. The board was filled with different animal pictures, and the children were very excited. One by one, they named the animals and made the animal sounds together. This was a delightful, interactive moment that supported vocabulary development and confidence.

We then asked who was missing from the classroom. The children called out the names of their friends before we took attendance. After attendance, we sang an animal-related song together, which everyone loved.

For our math focus this week, we practiced counting from eleven to fifteen, and then reviewed counting from one to fifteen. The children demonstrated great effort and enthusiasm while counting together.

To end our session, we read a book called “Say Hello to Animals”, which connected beautifully with our theme of the week. After the story, the children had a short water break. Finally, we announced that our large group time was finished, and the children happily gave each other high fives before transitioning to the next activity.

Art Session – Creating Our Background

This week, our art session focused on preparing the background for our canvas project. We chose small canvases, and our plan for the final artwork is to use the straw blowing technique. For this week, we concentrated on covering the canvases with a black background.

First, we provided the children with black paint and brushes. They began by making their own art marks on the canvas. They were very excited and had so much fun exploring the paint. It was beautiful to see teamwork during the activity. When they noticed white spaces on the canvas, they pointed and said, “black, black,” and worked together to brush over the white areas until the background was fully covered. They showed cooperation, awareness, and great engagement throughout the session.

This activity is important because it helps develop fine motor skills, creativity, and cooperation. It also encourages children to observe details and take responsibility for completing their work carefully. Preparing the background teaches patience and planning, as they understand that art can be done step by step.

Next week, we will continue the project by using straws to blow the paint and create our pigeon design on the canvas. We are very excited to see the final result. To prepare them, we explained that next time we will be blowing the pigeon shape, and we practiced the blowing technique again on paper, as we had done before. The children are looking forward to continuing their artwork and seeing how it all comes together.

Literacy

This week’s literacy activity was simple, fun, and meaningful. In this experience, the children took small animal toys out of the water using a spoon and placed them carefully onto a plate. First, the teacher demonstrated how to hold the spoon properly and how to scoop the animals slowly and carefully. After the demonstration, the children tried by themselves. They were very fully focused and full of enthusiasm while doing the activity. They demonstrated effort and persistence when balancing the animals on the spoon and carefully moving them without dropping them.

This activity is important because it helps children develop fine motor skills and hand–eye coordination. It strengthens their hand muscles, which are important for writing in the future. It also improves concentration, patience, and problem-solving skills. Through water play, children explore sensory experiences and build confidence when they complete the task successfully.

Library

During our library session, we read a story together! We were glad to see that the whole class was engaged and attentive throughout reading time. They listened carefully, observed the pictures with great interest, and participated by answering simple questions about the story. It was a calm and meaningful moment that encouraged listening skills and a love for books.

After the story, the children had the opportunity to choose a book to take home by themselves. They were very excited and took their time selecting their favorite book. They showed great enthusiasm about reading at home and sharing the story with their families. This experience helps build independence, confidence, and a positive connection with reading.

Science:

During our delightful sensory science activity, our students had a wonderful time exploring, cleaning and washing animal toys. We presented the animal toys covered with pretend dirt so the children could help make them clean again. Before starting, the children put on their smocks to keep their clothes dry.

Using water, soap, sponges, and their hands, the children carefully washed the animals by rubbing and scrubbing them. They enjoyed feeling the bubbles and watching the animals become clean. This activity encouraged sensory exploration while also helping develop fine motor skills and hand coordination. The whole class was thoroughly engaged and excited as they worked together to wash the animals and make them shine again. It was a fun and meaningful experience that supported both learning and play!

Math Activity: Counting with Play-Doh and Hairbands

During our math activity, our class explored counting while also developing their fine motor skills. We provided laminated paper, Play-Dough, straws, and small hairbands for the activity.

First, the children placed the Play-Dough on the laminated paper and gently pushed the straw into the Play-Dough so it could stand up. Then they began placing the hairbands onto the straw one by one while counting each piece. The children practiced counting from one up to ten, carefully adding each hairband as they counted.

Most of the children did an amazing job and were very engaged in the activity. Millie was especially excited and counted even further, reaching up to 12 and 14, while Noah confidently counted up to 10. The children were enthusiastic and motivated as they continued counting and adding more hairbands.

This activity was very meaningful because it supported early math skills, such as number recognition and counting. It also helped strengthen the children’s fine motor skills, as they used their fingers to stretch and place the hairbands onto the straw. This required focus, hand control, and coordination. Overall, the children were excited, engaged, and proud of their counting. It was a fun and hands-on way for them to practice math while also developing important motor skills.