Experiments and Adventures in Pre-K

Dear parents,

We hope this blog finds you well! Here in the Pre-K class, our week was filled with fun activities, including counting, learning letters, and exploring science and art. Every child had a blast learning through play. Read on for some more details…

Large group

This week marked our most engaging large group sessions thus far! We had a class full of students going through all our daily routines with confidence, which made us glad to see. We also started working on learning a group of letters! For this week, the focus was on S, N, A, P, I and T. We continuously engaged the students with content related to these letters throughout the week, doing activities such as snapping our fingers to sound them out with different letter songs.

In terms of math, the class learned about counting numbers and different shapes. After reviewing simple shapes, we focused on two specific shapes: the oval and the semicircle. The class also continued to take on classroom job responsibilities.

Additionally, we kept counting our school days using our handy class caterpillar. At this point, the students have a better understanding of color patterns and what comes next.

Overall, our large group sessions were so much fun! It was a place where we learned from each other, built the students' confidence, and explored new songs.

Literacy

This week in literacy, the sessions took on a personal twist- with students learning the first letter of their names. We sounded out and named the letters. Following a discussion, we went to the art room to decorate their first name's letter. To do this, we used salt and food coloring. First, students applied glue inside their printed letter, then sprinkled salt onto the glue. Once the salt stuck well, they chose colors to spray onto the salt. The result was dazzling, and most importantly the students were proud of their work and continuously practiced sounding out their names even after class!

Math

This week in math, the Pre-K class focused on number counting. Since school has started, we have been doing fun activities in math to help the children re-acclimate to the academic environment. This week, we continued with number counting. First, we counted from one all the way to thirty and sang a number song. After that, we brought out different blocks, Legos, and numbers onto our mat. Then, we placed different numbers next to the toys, and the children counted and matched the toys to the corresponding numbers. This helps them recognize the numbers and practice counting.

Science

This week in our science class, we conducted an experiment on the five senses. In our first session, we discussed what the five senses are and why we use them. After naming each sense, we talked about them individually and sang a song about the five senses to reinforce our understanding.

In the next session, we went outside to explore each of the five senses. For taste, we tasted sugar and salt to see what flavors we could point out. For smell, we used coffee powder and herbs. For sound, we played an outdoor board game that featured different sounds. For touch, we felt various walls to determine if they were rough or smooth. Finally, we looked around our school to observe and discuss what we could see.

At this point, everyone was excited as they experimented with the five senses, which helped them gain a better understanding.

Art

In this week's art session, this week we did a five sense matching activity. This was a topic we already started delving into during our science session, and everyone was so excited to continue. We provided the students

a printed matching worksheet, then proceeded to explain the directions to them. Afterwards, they got busy matching the five senses to the pictures. It was both engaging and educational, and we look forward to more similar activities in the future.

Next Week’s Schedule:

Small group

Monday:  Science, Literacy

Tuesday: Library, Math

Wednesday: Science, Literacy

Thursday:  Math, Journal

Friday: Music

Our Specials

Monday: Ethiopian center

Tuesday: Library

Friday: Art

Reminders and Notes:

• Every Tuesday is our library day, so we will be sending a book that your child picked from our library, which will be returned after a week on library day.

• Every Friday is our art day so please send your child with art-appropriate clothing.

Thank you for your time!