Little Learners, Big starts!

Dear parents,

We hope this blog finds you well. Here in the Pre K class, the last two weeks have been filled with a variety of engaging activities. These two weeks have brought so much excitement for our students. They enjoyed returning to school, involving themselves in the school environment, and meeting their friends.

Large group

In our Pre-K class, the large group session is a favorite because it's where everyone can talk freely and express themselves. During large group time, we do different activities, such as fixing the day's calendar, which helps us learn letters and numbers, singing songs, discussing the morning message, writing, and counting the school days. Through these activities, we also learn about colors and patterns. In the past days, students have had a blast catching up with and getting to know their classmates, as well as re-acclimating to the school environment.

Another activity we do is assign class responsibilities to the students. Some of these include calendar helper, line leader, watering the plants, table captain, lunch helper, and more. This helps teach our students foster their sense of independence and to respect each role in the classroom. So far, it has gone really well, and they are very excited about these responsibilities!

Science

This week, in our first science activities we focused on an exciting substance- "slime"! First, we discussed it as a class- what slime is, how the students think it can be made, and so on. After our lively discussion, we headed outside to have a practical activity- making slime. We provided the students with cornstarch, and invited the students to make a hole in the pile of cornstarch. Then, they added water, mixed it, and explored the texture, smell and other sensory aspects of this mixture. It held its shape like a solid, allowing them to explore and feel the difference themselves. Making slime in Pre-K is a hands-on activity that supports sensory development, fine motor skills, and science exploration!

Literacy

In our recent literacy sessions, we have done a variety of activities! First, we explained the purpose of our literacy sessions, and we sang a song about letters, sounding them out, and recapping what we had learned previously. Then we did an activity called 'All About Me.' In this activity, we talked about ourselves during our large group circle time discussion- our likes, dislikes, hobbies and such. We then provided them with printed paper and various sections to fill out about themselves for the 'All About Me' activity. At this point, they were enthralled as they wrote and colored! This helped them learn about themselves, and practice literacy skills at the same time.

Library

The Pre K class had a wonderful time getting back in the library! We visited and toured our library room, and then proceeded to read a variety of books, both individually and together. After that, we read them a book called “Clifford's First School Day”, which was a very engaging and lovely story. All the students were excited about the story, and they loved it so much. After we finished reading, the children chose a book and took it with their folder to return by the next week. Selecting and taking their own book home was an exciting moment for the students, and this process helps them become responsible for their own books and develop a positive relationship to reading.

Art

This week in our art session, we did a fun, messy activity- handprint painting. The children got this idea from the storybook “Clifford's First School Day”. In that story, Clifford prints his hand with paint on his first day of school. The children asked if they could do the same as Clifford, and we thought it was a brilliant idea. The class went together to the art room, and once they chose their favorite colors, we provided them with paper and paint so they could print their hands on the paper. This was a delight for all!

Small group

Monday: - Science, Literacy

Tuesday:- Library, Math

Wednesday:- Science, Literacy

Thursday: - Math, Journal

Friday:- Music

Thursday: - Literacy

Our Special

Monday: - Ethiopian center

Tuesday:- Library

Friday:- Art

Reminder

• 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!