Hands-on Learning in Early Pre K!

Dear Parents,

We hope your week has been just as wonderful as ours! Our Early Pre-K class was filled with energy and enthusiasm as your little adventurers embarked on a week full of exploration, creativity, and learning. Through engaging, hands-on activities, they immersed themselves in the exciting worlds of math, science, art, and clay. These experiences not only sparked their curiosity but also helped build essential skills like cognitive thinking, patterning, and problem-solving. Keep reading to uncover the memorable and enriching moments that made your child’s week truly extraordinary! As a reminder, tomorrow (Saturday March 22) is family day and the official opening of the second compound. We hope to see you all there!

Happy Birthday Naod and Kian!

Large group

This week, our Early Pre-K large group sessions were bursting with excitement and discovery! We dove into the letter ”f” and its sound, expanding our vocabulary with fun ”f” words. During morning message time, the children loved sharing their weekend adventures, adding a personal touch to our daily routine.

In math, we introduced the 2D shape, the hexagon, and the class had a blast counting its sides and creating colorful ABAB patterns. Through these activities, the children showcased their critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity, all while expressing themselves through the language of patterns. It was a week full of growth, curiosity, and joy!

Math

This week in math, the students had a wonderful experience exploring patterns. Our little mathematicians engaged in an interactive activity using colorful blocks and teddy bears to create AB patterns based on two colors: blue and yellow. The activity began with each child receiving a set of blocks and teddy bears in the designated colors. The children were encouraged to observe the colors of the objects and identify which ones were blue and which ones were yellow. This simple exercise helped strengthen their color recognition skills and laid the foundation for understanding patterns.

Once the children were familiar with the colors, they were guided to create AB patterns using the blocks and teddy bears. An AB pattern consists of alternating two different elements, in this case, blue and yellow. The children enthusiastically arranged the objects in a sequence, following the AB pattern rule.

As the children worked on their patterns, they not only practiced their understanding of colors and patterns but also honed their fine motor skills. Manipulating the blocks and teddy bears required precision and coordination, which added a hands-on element to the learning process. By the end of the activity, the children had created a delightful array of AB patterns, showcasing their creativity and understanding of math concepts. The activity served as a fun and engaging way for them to apply what they have learned in class and further solidify their knowledge of patterns and colors.

Science

This week we had an interactive science session with the children where we explored the differences between summer and winter seasons. The children had a blast learning about the cold temperatures in winter and how trees transform during that time!

As a follow-up activity, we decided to engage the children in a hands-on sorting activity using clothes flashcards to distinguish between summer and winter wardrobes. The children eagerly participated in the activity, carefully examining each flashcard and discussing whether the clothing item belonged in the summer or winter category.

Through this activity, the children not only learned about the practical differences in clothing choices for various seasons but also gained a deeper appreciation for the changing nature of our environment. As they engaged in discussions about winter temperatures and observed trees shed their leaves during that time, they began to understand the cyclical patterns of nature. We believe that hands-on activities like these not only make learning fun and interactive but also leave a lasting impact on the children’s understanding of the world around them.

Art

In art this week, the children were actively engaged working on a collaborative canvas that combines literacy and art! This vibrant artwork celebrates the joy of learning and self-expression through the creative process of stamping the beginning sounds of the children’s names on a canvas. Inspired by their Literacy lessons on Zoo Phonics, this activity helped reinforce their understanding of letter sounds and their connection to the alphabet in a fun and engaging way. Each child chose their favorite colors and their beginning sound to represent their unique personalities, making the canvas a colorful tapestry of individuality and teamwork.

Using wooden letters, the children carefully brushed their beginning sound letter with their favorite color and then pressed onto the canvas, creating a visual representation of their learning. As they worked, they excitedly identified their letters and connected them to the Zoo Phonics characters they had learned. Seeing their beginning sounds displayed in a variety of ways on the canvas filled them with pride and excitement, making the abstract concept of letters more tangible and memorable.

Clay

This week In our clay session, the students made an imaginative artwork that combines science, creativity, and hands-on exploration. The project began with a science session where the children learned about various sea animals, their habitats, and their unique characteristics. Inspired by this newfound knowledge, the children engaged in a lively discussion about how they could bring their imaginative underwater world to life using clay, sand, leaves, water, and other natural materials.

The children enthusiastically shared their ideas, envisioning a magical sea filled with their favorite sea creatures. With excitement and curiosity, they began crafting their underwater world. Using colorful clay, they molded their favorite sea animals, such as fish, turtles, starfish, and so on…with the help of plastic molds. This process not only allowed them to express their creativity but also reinforced the science concepts they had learned, as they carefully shaped each animal to reflect its real-life features.

Next, the children created the sea environment itself. They used sand to form the ocean floor, arranged leaves to mimic seaweed and coral, and added water to bring the scene to life. Small baths were used as containers to hold the miniature sea, allowing the children to arrange their clay sea animals within the watery landscape. The combination of textures—smooth clay, grainy sand, and flowing water—added depth and realism to their creation. We’re so proud of their focus and dedication throughout this process!