Solar System Exploration, Tally Practice and Creative Art In Pre-K!

Dear Parents,

We hope this blog finds you well! In the Pre-K class, our week was filled with fun and engaging activities. In math, we continued working with tally marks, while in literacy, we focused on beginning and ending sounds. Additionally, we enjoyed journaling, gymnastics, library visits, and of course, our science sessions and art activities. The class has become more engaged and participatory, working together as a group and individually. Read on for more details!

Large Group

This week, our large group sessions were so much fun! We all sat together and learned many things in an enjoyable way. Our shapes for the week were the cylinder and the pyramid. To help the students grasp these concepts easily, we brought shape toys to the class, which proved very helpful. Additionally, our rhyme word for the week was "tag," and our students created their own rhyming words with it. This activity was very engaging, allowing them to learn many new words. It was extremely beneficial for the class, and we will continue this practice.

Another focus this week was the digraph "ph". As you know, we started learning this digraph a couple of weeks ago, and the students are really getting into it. We provided them with pictures to make the lesson more engaging. As always, we conducted our calendar and caterpillar activities, and for our morning message, we related it to the daily activities to give them clues and prepare them for the day. In general, our students have really understood their class job responsibilities and have been doing amazing work, showing significant progress in every aspect of learning.

Besides all that, we also enjoyed music and book time. Our large group has become more enjoyable and engaging, allowing everyone to learn from one another by sharing ideas, building confidence, and showing respect for each other.

Literacy 

In our first literacy group this week, the children worked on a phonological awareness worksheet that focused on identifying ending sounds. Each picture on the worksheet encouraged students to say the word aloud, listen carefully, and figure out the final sound they heard. Alongside building their listening skills, the students also practiced their fine motor skills by writing the ending sounds neatly on the lines. They showed great focus and growing confidence as they worked through each word.

During our second literacy session in the morning, the whole class continued practicing ending sounds together. We began by inviting each student to share the ending sound in their own name, which made the activity fun and meaningful. After that, we used flashcards with different pictures. The children looked at each card, said the word aloud, and then listened closely to identify the last sound they could hear. This activity helped strengthen both their listening and speaking skills, and the students were enthusiastic and engaged throughout the session.

In our second group first session this week, we focused on Zoophonics identification. The students were excited to explore the different Zoophonics characters, listen to their sounds, and practice the matching motions. They were very enthusiastic and enjoyed recognizing the letters through movement and sound.

In the second session, the children worked on a beginning-sound worksheet. Each picture required them to look closely, say the word aloud, and identify the correct beginning sound by coloring it. This activity provided a great opportunity for the students to strengthen their letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and fine motor skills. They were focused, engaged, and proud of their work.

Math

This week, in our first math group, we focused on developing the students’ tally counting skills. In our first session, the children worked on a tally counting worksheet where they counted groups of items, represented the amount using tally marks, and then wrote the matching number. The students stayed highly engaged and showed great interest as they practiced this new way of counting.

During our second session, we continued exploring tally counting together as a whole group. We worked on the board, where students took turns choosing a number to represent with tally marks. They were excited to come up, make their tallies, and share their work with their classmates. It was a fun and interactive way to build confidence and reinforce their understanding of tally counting.

This week, for the second group, we focused on number identification, specifically numbers 11 to 15. We emphasized numbers above ten but also included numbers below 1 to 10. The students practiced counting with materials alongside number cards. In the second session, this group traced numbers 11 to 15. This practice helps them recognize the numbers as they trace them repeatedly, which also aids in developing their fine motor skills. For this group, we will continue the number identification at a slow pace, ensuring they become familiar without rushing them.

Science 

This week in Science, we started our first session exploring the planets by watching a short video about the eight planets in our solar system. The students listened carefully and learned new information. After the video, we gathered for a group discussion where some students came up to share what they already knew about space. Each child chose a planet to talk about, and others shared interesting facts they heard from the video. It was wonderful to see how engaged they were and how confident they felt speaking in front of the class.

In our second session, we continued our planet learning through a fun memory-building activity. We began by playing our planet song, which helped the students recall the names and order of the planets. Then we introduced a memory game using eight planet flashcards. We explained what it means to “remember” and what “memory” is, and the students practiced looking carefully at where each planet card was placed. After flipping all the cards over, each child took a turn trying to find the planet that the teacher called using only their memory. The children were very focused and excited, and they had a wonderful time discovering and matching the planets. It was a joyful and engaging way to strengthen both their memory skills and their understanding of our solar system.

Art

This week in the Pre-K art class, our students had so much fun! They have been learning about planets in our science sessions for the past few weeks. This week, we concluded our topic on the solar system by creating planets on our classroom mirror during art sessions. Our students painted all the planets on the mirror using different types of paint and art supplies. They worked in pairs, arranging the planets from the nearest to the farthest from the sun.

While some students painted, we had the others play quietly as they waited for their turn. The final result was amazing, and the students were very proud of their work. We will keep the paint on the mirror in our class, allowing the students to see their artwork each day. This will help them remember what they learned and encourage discussions with their friends.

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!