Our week of Wonder

5 days ago

4 min read

Large Group

Our Large Group was amazing! We started by greeting each student and practicing saying “Good morning” to our friends. We talked about the weather by looking outside the window and discussing whether it was rainy, sunny, cold, or hot. We also talked about what we had for breakfast and sang our Good Morning song.

Next, we took attendance. Each student picked their picture and placed the picture on the happy face . If a friend was absent, we placed their picture on the sad face. This helped the children recognize their friends and practice their names.

We then read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” The book helped the children explore animals, colors, and new vocabulary. They were very focused and showed good listening skills throughout the story. We finished by singing another song and reviewing some classroom rules, such as using materials gently and not grabbing materials from others.

Small Group Experiences

Monday -Gymnastics

We continued our gymnastics activities from last week, focusing on balancing and walking. We started with a warm-up activity before practicing on the balance beam. This week, we added hula hoops after the balance beam to make the activity more challenging. After walking across the balance beam, the children practiced walking through the hula hoops.

We observed that the children need more opportunities for physical activities, so we are planning to add more challenging movements. Compared to last week, the children showed improvement and became more comfortable with the activities. They also had two or three turns to practice, which helped them gain confidence and improve their gross motor skills. We will continue planning more gymnastics activities to support their physical development.

Tuesday -Literacy

We explored literacy through a variety of puzzle activities. The children were very focused and engaged as they worked on puzzles featuring animals, cars, and other familiar objects. They carefully examined the pieces, tried different ways to fit them together, and showed persistence when a piece did not fit right away.

As the children worked, we encouraged them to use language by asking questions such as, “What are you fixing?” and “Where is this piece?” We also talked about the pictures and introduced new vocabulary related to the puzzles, including the names of animals, vehicles, colors, shapes, and different parts of the pictures. These conversations supported the children’s communication skills and helped them connect words with familiar objects.

The puzzle activity also supported the children’s fine motor development. They practiced picking up, turning, and placing the pieces carefully, which helped strengthen their hand muscles and improve their hand-eye coordination. The children worked well together and often helped one another by sharing ideas, pointing out where a piece might belong, or encouraging a friend to keep trying. They showed positive social skills as they took turns and cooperated with each other.

After the children completed a puzzle, we exchanged it for a different one so they could continue exploring new pictures and challenges. The children were excited to try the different puzzles and remained engaged throughout the activity. Overall, they did very well, demonstrated good concentration, and enjoyed learning through play while developing their vocabulary, problem-solving skills, cooperation, and fine motor skills.

Wednesday -Music and Movement

During our Music and Movement session, the children enjoyed listening to music and dancing along to the songs. They moved their bodies, clapped their hands, and followed the rhythm of the music. The children were excited and happy to express themselves through movement.

Thursday - Science – Feeling Textures

During our Science session, we explored different textures using our sense of touch. The children had the opportunity to touch and feel a variety of materials and describe how they felt. We introduced words such as soft, hard, smooth and rough . The children were curious and excited to explore each material, and they shared their observations with their teachers. This activity helped the children develop their sensory awareness, observation skills, and vocabulary while encouraging them to explore and learn through their hands.

Friday – Math -Counting

Our math session was counting numbers with macaroni. We used playdough to hold the strow, then the students macaroni onto the straw with counting each one . The strow was a bit challenged we use a pipe cleaner .

This is our first step math explorations. In this activity we observed our students counting skill, number understanding, focus and fine motor skill. The students were enjoyed counting and explore the material.

Special Work Times

Tuesday – Art

During art, the children sat together in a circle in the art room and put on their art smocks. We introduced the materials for the activity, including paper, glue, and brushes, and explained that they would be creating a collage by tearing pieces of paper and sticking them onto another sheet of paper.

We demonstrated how to tear the paper into smaller pieces and showed the children how to use the brush to apply glue. The children were excited to begin and eagerly explored the materials. Each child was given a sheet of paper with their name written on it, and they began brushing on the glue and placing the torn paper pieces onto the page.

The children were busy, focused, and engaged throughout the activity. They practiced using their fine motor skills as they tore the paper, held the brush, applied the glue, and carefully placed the pieces. We supported the children as needed and encouraged them to try the steps independently. They enjoyed making their own collages and exploring the different textures, colors, and shapes of the paper.

Thursday - Library

During our Library session, the children enjoyed listening to a story and exploring different books. After reading, each child had the opportunity to choose a book they wanted to take home. They were excited to make their own choices and take a book home to enjoy with their families. This activity encouraged their love of reading, listening skills, and independence.