Small Steps, Big Achievements in Pre-K!

 Dear Parents,  

We hope this blog finds you well! This week in Pre-K was fun, engaging, and full of activities. In math, we focused on the numbers between two numerals and continued practicing simple addition. In literacy, we kept working on reading digraph words, while the other group practiced reading CVC words.  

We also enjoyed journaling, gymnastics, library visits, and science, our students’ favorite subject, where we learned about the continents.  Overall, the class was fun and participated wholeheartedly. Our students worked together and individually without competition, which always makes us proud to see. Read on for more details…

Large group

Our large group sessions this week were so much fun, as usual. Our students love to sit together and sing, read books, have conversations about different issues, complete classroom job responsibilities, and learn from each other. This session is a great way to boost their confidence because they are all sitting together and participating.  In these sessions, we continued learning about different shapes so our class will be able to retain all the exciting information we’ve learned about them so far.

This week, instead of digraphs, we started something new: sight words, like “do, as, am, and to.” We began with the easiest words, and they caught on so fast and really enjoyed it. These sight words help them learn more words for reading simple books. From now on, each week during large group, we will practice new sight words.  

As always, we completed our calendar activities and caterpillar work, along with classroom jobs. For the morning message, we connected it to the day’s activities to give clues and help prepare the children. Our students continue to do amazingly well, and we are very proud of all they have achieved so far.

Literacy

This week in literacy, our first group focused on continuing to develop students’ reading skills. We worked with four digraphs: ck, sh, th, and oo, which students had already learned, and prepared a variety of vocabulary words for them to practice reading. For each digraph, students worked on reading six to seven words. They worked in pairs, supporting and helping one another throughout the activity.

In the second session, students continued practicing their reading skills and also wrote the words in their small notebooks, reinforcing their understanding of the digraphs.

The second group in literacy worked on CVC words. As we know, since last week this group has been practicing how to read CVC words. In the first session, they kept reading the same words from last week by sounding out the letters. In the second session, they traced and rewrote the CVC words, and then they read the words they wrote.

During these sessions, they made a lot of progress in reading, and they did well with their writing as well. Next week, they will practice more reading and some writing too. We are very proud of the progress they have made from identifying letters to practicing at a reading level.

Math

This week in math, our first group continued working on addition. This time, students were challenged to create their own “go beyond” addition problems on the board, write them, and solve them without using objects for counting.

In the second session, students strengthened their addition skills by completing an addition worksheet, allowing them to practice and reinforce their understanding independently.

This week, for math in the second group, we worked on the number that comes between two numbers. For the past couple of weeks, they have been working on the numbers that come after and before. This week, they worked on the number between. In the first session, they worked with a board and a number card. In the second session, they completed the worksheet, and they’re doing a fantastic job!

Library 

This week, for our Library session, our students worked on something truly exciting… 

As always, in library sessions, first they read a book both individually and together with their friends choosing the books they wanted. Then, we read them a book called “Best Friends Forever”. From the beginning of the story, they listened very excitedly. After we read the book, they wanted to write a letter to their friends based on the story. First, they chose which friend they wanted to write to. Then, we had them write their letters together with their friend (pair by pair). After that, they chose a paper color and drew pictures using different colors as they wrote their letters.  

When they finished, they exchanged their letters with their friends. Then, as they missed their friends, they could read the letter they received.  This showed us that even if their friends go somewhere else for a while, they can still stay connected in different ways like using letters. It was very emotional to watch our students write letters to their friends, especially because some of our friends are leaving soon.  We could really see how much they love each other, and we are very proud of them.

Social studies 

This week in Social Studies, we focused on the seven continents. We learned about their sizes, comparing which continents are bigger or smaller, and explored where they are located on the world map. In our first session, we had a group discussion about the continents, and in the second session, we enjoyed singing a song about all seven continents. We then divided into two groups: one group worked collaboratively to assemble a world map, while the other explored a globe and used continent flashcards to deepen their understanding. The groups later switched activities, ensuring that all students had the opportunity to engage with both learning experiences.

Art

This week in our art sessions, we continued our project from last week. As we wrote about previously, our class started making their spring tree last week. This week, they painted the trunk brown, and for the flowers, we used small macaroni that we dyed purple, pink, and red. Then, for the leaves, the class decided to use green fabric, and we helped them cut it. After that, they stuck the fabric onto the canvas. Finally, they made flowers using dyed macaroni. This activity was so much fun, and they did an amazing job!

Next week's schedule

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!