This Week In Early Pre-K

Dear Parents,

We are thrilled to share that this week has been filled with joy and discovery for your children! They have been actively engaged in a variety of activities that not only promote learning but also foster social skills and creativity. We’re very excited to share the highlights from another wonderful week. As a reminder, next week on Thursday (October 17) and Friday (October 18) school will be closed for fall break/teacher’s training.

Large group

In our large group sessions this week, the children have been actively engaged in learning about the days of the week and months of the year. We also focused on Tally counting where the children tally counted numbers (1-10), talked about the different countries that we come from and found different orange items in the classroom.

Alongside this, we introduced the letter ‘F’, the number six, the color orange, and the star shape. We kept counting down everyday how many days left for family day, and learnt a new song titled ‘This is the way we wash our face’.

Math

On Monday we continued with the tally counting concept. For the activity each child picked the set of items they wanted to count which made them eagerly anticipate the activity! After that, they got to work counting the items one by one and with popsicle sticks, they made the tally marks. After completing their tallies, the children were given flashcards with numbers (1-10) to match the tally mark with the corresponding number.

This activity not only helped develop their counting and matching skills but also allowed them to practice decision-making!

Cooperative game

This week, we introduced a cooperative game that focused on developing teamwork and gross motor skills. The children worked in pairs, learning how to collaborate with each other while engaging in fun physical activities.

For the first round, each pair had to move a balloon from one spot to another using only their foreheads, without letting it fall. In the second round, they worked together to move a hula hoop using only their tummies.

Science:

In this week’s science session, the children learned about the importance of keeping clean by washing their clothes and taking showers. Through a fun and engaging conversation, we explored why staying clean is important for our health and how we can do it. The children shared their own experiences about washing their bodies and clothes. It was great to hear their thoughts and ideas as they were also sharing the different materials they use when taking a shower or washing clothes

To practically follow up with the washing clothes ideas we had an afternoon session where the children had an exciting hands-on experience! They got to practice the process of washing clothes, which was not only fun but also a great way to reinforce what they’ve been learning about cleanliness and hygiene.

The children did the whole process from mixing the soap and the water till hanging the clothes on the rope using clothespins, leaving them to dry!

Library

We had a wonderful time in our library session today, where the children enjoyed reading a book about ‘Clifford’s Family’. The children were excited to learn more about Clifford’s family members and were eager to share stories about their own families, too! We love hearing the class share their creative insights.

Literacy

In this week’s literacy session, the children explored the idea of how we all come from different countries, each with its own unique flag. It was an exciting learning opportunity where the class got to see flags from different countries.

Then we played a game where students stood up when they heard the name of their country and found their flags. This interactive activity not only helped the children recognize flags from around the world but also reinforced the idea that even though we all come from different places, we are connected by friendship and kindness in our classroom.

This lesson ties into our upcoming International Family Day, where we will continue celebrating diversity and togetherness.

Art

In our art session we got to reinforce the concept of the star in a creative activity. We used yellow paint and star-shaped stamps to create beautiful night sky scenes on black paper. By stamping stars, the children practiced their fine motor skills while exploring how colors and shapes can come together in artwork! We are so proud of our class of artists.

Ethiopian center

Exploring the Ethiopian culture in the Ethiopian center is one of the favorite activities of our class. They engaged in a variety of activities such as participating in a traditional coffee ceremony, where the children took turns pretending to prepare and share coffee with one another. They also played with the traditional musical instruments exploring the sounds and rhythms. Moreover they dressed up in traditional Ethiopian clothing!

Gymnastics

In our gymnastics session we did two activities as a warm up and the targeted activity for the session, which was balance walking and moving blocks from one hula hoop to the other while doing sit ups. Then we ended the session by singing a song called walking walking! The children loved it.