We had a special visitor during our recess time on earlier this week. Father Dan stopped by and, of course, Mambo came with. The preschoolers were very excited to see Mambo. Mambo liked all of the attention and stayed to take a nap in the warm sun.

We voted on names for our fish friends today. Say hello to Nemo, Dory, Hank, Destiny and Bailey!

This week, we opened a new center: writing. In the writing center, preschoolers can use words on our name wall and our word wall to write their own stories. I am looking forward to reading the amazing stories that our preschoolers will write!

This morning, Father Dan came by to bless our classroom. What a great way to start the day!

We have done many different name activities throughout the past week. You can find them on display in our classroom and in the hallway. Please check out some of our work below.

This week, we are working on name recognition. We did two activities that helped the preschoolers to recognize the first initial in their name. The preschoolers added glue to their initial and then glitter was added. They also attached stickers to their first initial. In addition to being good practice for recognizing their first initials, these activities are also good fine motor activities.

Last Friday, we introduced our Dramatic Play center. While in Dramatic Play, preschoolers are able to use many materials to play house, store, office, airport and anywhere else that their imaginations might take them. It's a great spot for preschoolers to engage in conversations with their peers and to pretend. Throughout the school year, we will change out the items in the center to encourage different types of play scenarios. At this time, the center is designed to be similar to a kitchen.

Throughout the next few weeks, we will be doing many different name recognition activities. Recognizing what one's name looks like is an important skills for preschoolers to master. That is one of the reasons that their names are in many different places. They turn their cupcake name in the morning when they come in. They hang up their school bag and jacket on their hook that has their name. They sit in the chair that has their name. As of this morning, the preschoolers have an additional task to do in the morning: taking out their folders and putting them in the cubby that has their name.
Last week, one of the name recognition activities that we did was name fishing. This is always a popular activity with the preschoolers. The preschoolers find their name "fish" and try to catch it.