Two Playful, Educational Weeks In the Toddlers class

Dear parents, we hope this blog finds you well. It has been a wonderful two weeks in the toddlers class, full of academic endeavors, engaging activities and so much more. We hope you enjoy perusing the highlights.

Large Group

Our large group session was fantastic!

We began by discussing shapes, focusing specially on circles and triangle. Two make it more interactive, we used a picture that include both shapes afterward, we sang achefully " Good morning' song to get every one engaged and then took attendance.

Gymnastics - Bowling

Our gymnastics session was full of friendly competition, fun, and engagement! To begin this delightful activity, we moved the whole class outside to the grass area. We had mats set up that we sat on, as well as a small ball and bowling pins. We initially demonstrated the exercise and explained the steps, and then the children excitedly got started! In this activity, the children focused on throwing the ball with precision, which helped improve their focus, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.

Making Cookies in Science Class

In our recent science session, our class got to be both experimental and practical and made our very own cookies! The children were over the moon to do this activity. We started by discussing the ingredients in a large group session. Then, we went outside the classroom, sat on the mat, and washed our hands. We also made sure to put on our art smocks.

We set up two tables with all the materials: eggs, flour, milk, oil, baking soda, sugar, and a cookie cutter. Then, we talked about the names and colors of each ingredient. After that, each child had a turn to mix the eggs with flour, add the milk, sugar, and baking soda. The whole space was buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

Next, we shaped the dough into circles using the cookie cutter, and the teacher helped us by placing the cookies on a baking sheet. Then we put the tray in the oven. After a few minutes, our cookies were ready, and we all got to taste them. They were delicious!

One of our students, Emma, was so happy with the cookies that she said, “I’m going to show these to my mom and dad!” and took some home to share.

Literacy Activity- Improving Focus and Coordination

Our literacy activity helped us identify which children needed more support with focus, following directions, and improving their hand-eye coordination. For the activity, we used tape to create directions on the floor. Some were straight, and some were in a zig-zag pattern.

We went outside the classroom and sat on the mat. One of the teachers placed the tape on the floor, creating a path for the children to follow. Once we sat down, we discussed what the next steps would be. Then, we called the children by name to take part in the activity.

This activity showed us that many of the children had trouble staying focused, which helped us realize we need to plan more activities to support their attention and coordination skills. It was a good opportunity to assess their progress and give them more practice.

Art

Our art sessions were wonderful and focused on shapes related to the themes of the week: circles and triangles. We divided the activities into two days.

On the first day, we explored circles. We gave each child a piece of paper with a circle drawn on it. Then, we asked them to identify the shape and apply glue inside the circle. They were each given a some seeds to stick onto the glue, and they were so excited and focused on the task. Afterward, they proudly showed the teacher their creations!

The second day focused on triangles. We cut paper into triangle shapes and discussed the differences between circles and triangles. We then stacked the triangles to form a pizza shape and added glue to each paper. The children were given small circular pieces to glue inside the triangles, making it look like a pizza with toppings. They were amazed by the result and thoroughly enjoyed pretending to eat their pizzas.

Math

In our math activity, we also focused on the same shapes, circles and triangles. Over the course of two weeks, we displayed various pictures of objects with circle and triangle shapes on our whiteboard and engaged the children in daily large group discussions about them. To make the activity even more interactive, we placed paper circles and triangles on the floor and filled a box with different circle and triangle shapes. The children took turns matching the shapes, which kept them engaged and helped them learn in a hands-on way. Even though some children couldn’t yet name the shapes, they were able to successfully match them, demonstrating an understanding of their visual characteristics. The math activity was a great success in making math more accessible and enjoyable for the children.

Library

In the last two weeks, our library sessions have been a rousing success! We started by reading a favorite book together as a group, with the teacher leading the story. Afterward, each child selected a book to "read" on their own. Even if they weren’t reading words yet, they engaged by labeling the pictures and sharing their thoughts with friends about what they imagined the story might be. It was wonderful to see the children using their imagination and developing early literacy skills through picture-based storytelling and social interaction.