Letter Practice

To practice writing letters this week in Pre-K we used shaving cream.  The kids loved it and the task of writing, which can sometimes be met with groans and sighs, was met with smiles and laughs.  All you do is get the cheapest shaving cream you can find and have the kids smear it on the table and then use their pointer finger to write their letters.  It is a big hit with nearly all 4-5 year olds.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

This week we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  We read two different versions and compared them during story time.  Then during small group time students retold the story using pieces, and sorted and compared items by size.  To wrap up the day we sang a song about the 3 bears, below are the lyrics and you sing it to the tune of 3 blind mice.

3 brown bears, 3 brown bears
See all the beds
See all the chairs
The momma cooked porridge in a big black pot
The papa's porridge was way too hot
The baby bear cried an awful lot
3 brown bears

To help students sing the song I used the following visual....

 

This is an excellent pre-reading skill.  Using symbols to recall the song is a connection to reading.

Insects and Bugs

Today we read Bugs, Bugs, Bugs.  We talked about all the bugs, the colors they are, shapes we saw.  At the end of the book is a chart that goes over if each bug flies or not, how many legs it has, where it lives, and if it stings.  The students made predictions and we made comparisons.  Finally I explained that insects have 3 body parts and 6 legs.  Next in small groups students made insects with 3 body parts and 6 legs.  Meanwhile the other group worked together to make a graph about how we felt about insects.  They wrote their name (or first letter of their name) on the post-it note and then put it under the emotion they felt about bugs.  We talked about why they had those feelings, counted how many people felt each way, and then compared each category to one another and decided which had more, and which had less.  Attached is a photo of a display of the students' work.

Pumpkin Patch Displays

We went on a lovely field trip to a local pumpkin patch.  The kids and grown ups had a great time.  We learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin, fed goats, picked a pumpkin, had an apple snack, went threw a hay maze, and took a hay ride.  It was a first for many of my students.  Once we returned I printed pictures I took from our trip and let each students select one to write about in their journal.  Then I used the extra to make displays for the hallway.

One of the other activities we did to reinforce the color orange, as well as the shape circle, is to paint a pumpkin.  Below are the pumpkins my students painted on display.  I was really impressed with their painting skills.

The Letter T

We have been learning about the letter Tt.  We have sung songs about the letter T, we have made the letter T out of various things, we have named things that begin with T, and we have added names to our word wall that begin with T.  Here is a picture of a display of one the letter T making activities we did.

Color Practice

To help my students practice colors I have made the following item.

Then I sing to the kids show me yellow, show me yellow, like the sun, like the sun, hold it up high, hold it up high, good job, good job (sung to "Where is Thumbkin").  And they hold up the bear that is the color I am singing about.  That is just one way to use it.  You can show them a color and ask them to find the same color and name it.  You can simply call out colors and have students hold up that color.  They are a versatile tool I use all the time in my pre-k classroom.

Cookie Jar Book

Sorry it took me so long to post this, but we finished our cookie jar book a while back and I took photos with my phone and then never posted them.  This is our cookie jar book.  Under each cookie jar is a picture of that child taking a bite out of a cookie.  I of course double checked all allergies and other issues before this activity and have a fake cookie for anyone who has issues with gluten or other food items in cookies.

I send it home with a letter explaining how we made the book after reading and singing the Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar book and song.  They get to keep it for a few days and then send it back for another child to have a turn.