The Joyful Journey Of Pre-K

Dear parents,

We hope this blog finds you well! Here in the Pre K class, the students have been exploring, learning, and playing together and having a blast. Let’s take you through some of the highlights…

Large group

This week in Pre-K, we had an engaging large group discussion about how everyone spent their weekend and who they spent it with. The children eagerly shared their experiences, recalling fun moments with family and friends. They took turns listening and speaking, strengthening their conversation skills while building connections with one another.

In math, we introduced simple addition problems on the board. Everyone was excited to participate, eagerly writing the answers and celebrating their correct responses. The enthusiasm for numbers was evident as they worked together to find solutions. We also focused on the cone shape, exploring its features and identifying objects in our environment that have a cone-like structure.

For literacy, we practiced blending and reading different words, helping the children develop confidence in recognizing sounds and forming words. This week, we focused on the digraph PH, which makes the F sound. We explored various words that start with F and discussed how the PH digraph appears in words. The children enjoyed finding and sounding out words, strengthening their phonemic awareness.

Literacy

Our literacy sessions, as mentioned previously, are ongoing activities. We continue to work with different groups and engage them in various activities.

For the first group, we practiced how to write letters independently. After they wrote a letter, they copied it next to their original.

For the second group this week, the CVC vowel letter was "e." As always, in the first section, they practiced with the material, and then we provided them with a worksheet to trace, read, and match with pictures. This helped them practice more effectively.

For the third group, we focused on digraph words, specifically "ch" and "sh." They practiced these in the first section, and in the second, they completed a worksheet where they finished words beginning with "ch" and "sh." They showed a lot of progress.

In general, during literacy sessions, the students have become more interested in reading and everything related to it, which we are very proud to see!

Math

This week in our math session, the class learned about simple addition. Last week, after we gave them some tidbits about the addition concept in our large group, the students began to show interest in it. This week, we brought it up in our math class.

To introduce simple addition, we started by explaining the plus and equals signs and how to read them together. We used blocks for the addition, popsicle sticks for the plus sign, and number cards for the results. With this materials, the students practiced, and they were excited and engaged with simple addition.

Then, we had some students practice writing numbers, which will help them learn more numbers.

Gymnastics

This week in Pre-K, our gymnastics session was filled with excitement and challenges as the children practiced their balancing skills. We started with the balance beam, where they carefully walked across, focusing on steady steps. To make it even more challenging, they tried balancing with their eyes closed! They were thrilled by the new challenge, laughing and cheering each other on as they carefully made their way across.

Next, we worked on full-body balance by lying on our tummies on a chair, stretching both arms and legs out like flying superheroes. Everyone held the position for five seconds, testing their strength and coordination. It was fun to see them concentrate and challenge themselves while staying balanced.

To end the session on an energetic note, we practiced flip overs. Two students flipped at the same time, creating a fun and dynamic experience. The excitement was high as they took turns, cheering for each other and celebrating their progress. It was a fantastic session full of movement, laughter, and skill-building.

Social studies and Art

In this week’s combined Social Studies and Art session, our Pre-K class embarked on an exciting journey to learn about their country’s flags and the meaning behind the colors used in them. We began by introducing different national flags, discussing their colors. As the discussion progressed, the students came up with a wonderful idea—to create flags using fabric, just like real ones! Inspired by their enthusiasm, we gathered different fabric colors to begin our project.

Our first flag was the Vietnamese flag, where the students carefully selected red fabric as the base. They then practiced their measuring skills using a ruler to mark the correct size before cutting it out. This process not only reinforced their understanding of the flag’s design but also gave them hands-on experience in measurement and fine motor skills. After completing the red base, we moved on to other flags, including those of Morocco, Yemen, Kenya, and Namibia. With each new flag, the students demonstrated increased confidence in measuring, cutting, and arranging the fabric pieces. They thoughtfully selected the corresponding colors, ensuring accuracy while also refining their artistic and mathematical abilities. The childrens‘ engagement and teamwork were evident as they collaborated to bring their flag canvas to life. The project is still in progress, and we look forward to completing the final touches next week, creating a beautiful representation of our learning!

Ethiopian Center

The class had so much fun in the Ethiopian Center this week! They participated in a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, following the entire process with the help of their teachers.

First, we set up everything we needed for the coffee. We washed the coffee beans, and roasted them over a fire on top of a small traditional stove. Of course, a teacher was nearby to supervise. Then, the teachers blended the coffee beans using a machine. The ground coffee was added to a special Ethiopian clay pot called a "Jebena" (pronounced as Jabena) along with water and placed over the fire until the coffee was ready.

In our culture, boys cut the bread while girls serve everyone during the coffee ceremony, which we call "buna kures." Once the coffee was ready, the girls poured it into the “ceni”, traditional coffee cup and served it to the teachers, as the kids do not drink coffee. At this point, we invited our neighbors, the kindergarten students to join us for the ceremony, serving them "buna kures" bread and dabo kolo.

During the coffee ceremony, we sat together, shared our thoughts with friends, and discussed many topics. Overall, our students were very happy to be involved in every detail of the coffee ceremony and to engage with the culture.

Large group

Songs: Good morning songs

Circle time calendar

Small group

Monday: Science

Tuesday: Math

Thursday: Literacy

Our Special

Monday: Ethiopian center

Tuesday: Library

Wednesday: Art

Reminders and Notes:

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 Wednesday is our art day so please send your child with art-appropriate clothing.

Thank you for your time!