A Week Packed with Fun and Learning in Early Preschool and Preschool!

Hello, families!

We hope you had a great week! We had a delightful time learning and growing together in early preschool and preschool this week. We finished our fourth canvas, as well as our clay airplane project. It was a week filled with creativity, exploration, and new experiences!

As a reminder, next week on Thursday (March 13) and Friday (March 14) the school will be closed for spring break/teachers training.

Large group

Our large group sessions are always filled with excitement and learning! We begin each day by greeting our students with a warm "Good Morning" and sing our cheerful Good Morning song to set a positive tone for the day. After the song, we dive into discussing the weather, helping everyone understand the daily changes around us. We also take a moment to review the days of the week, ensuring our students are familiar with the passage of time. Attendance is always an important part of our routine, where we update our message board for the week. This week, our focus was on shapes! We had fun exploring and identifying different shapes, including the rectangle, circle, square, triangle, heart, and star. It's always amazing to see our students' creativity and understanding grow as they engage in these activities.

Small group

Art

In our art session, we had a spirited, creative experience making our fourth canvas art project: the Hand Tree. We began by discussing trees and their trunks, exploring how they grow and their different features. This helped inspire our students as they prepared to create their own trees on canvas. Next, we asked the students to choose a color for the background, and they all agreed on a bright, vibrant orange. We began by painting the ground with sponges, creating a textured effect.

Once the paint dried, we drew a large hand on each canvas, symbolizing the trunk of the tree. The students painted the hand brown to represent the trunk of the tree. For the tree’s leaves, the students dipped their index fingers into their favorite paint colors and gently tapped them onto the canvas, creating colorful and unique patterns. The result was a beautiful forest of big, bright, and colorful trees, each one reflecting the creativity of the student who made it. It was a fun way to explore both nature and art while developing fine motor skills and creativity!

Math

In this week’s math session, we focused on learning about different shapes and their sides. We introduced the triangle, rectangle, circle, and square, discussing their unique features and how many sides each shape has. The students were excited to explore these shapes in detail. After our discussion, we gave the students a worksheet to trace the shapes. It was incredible to see how focused and dedicated they were as they carefully traced each shape one by one. Their attention to detail and enthusiasm made the activity both enjoyable and educational. It was a great session that helped reinforce their understanding of basic geometric shapes!

Literacy

In our literacy session, we focused on combining creativity with planning and reflection. We started by asking each student to think about what they wanted to draw. One by one, they shared their plans with the group, describing their ideas and how they envisioned their drawings. Once the plans were shared, we handed out their journal books and their favorite crayons, giving them the freedom to bring their ideas to life. The students eagerly began to draw, focused on their creations.

After everyone finished, we gathered together to reflect on the process. We asked the students to share what they had drawn again, and discussed whether their final artwork matched the plans they had shared earlier. This exercise helped them not only express their creativity but also reflect on their thinking and planning process. It was a fun and engaging way to foster both artistic expression and literacy skills!

Science

In our recent science session, we had a fantastic time completing the body of our airplane model. The students worked together step by step, first creating the engine, then the wings, and finally adding the windows. It was wonderful to see their excitement as they built each part of the airplane, and everyone was eager to see their hard work come together!

During the session, we also had an engaging discussion about who drives the airplane. The students quickly responded that it's the pilot, sparking a great conversation about the role of pilots and how airplanes work. Overall, it was an educational and fun experience, allowing our students to apply their learning while enjoying the process of building and exploring. The teamwork and curiosity displayed throughout the session made it truly memorable!