Happy Halloween! We started off our day by joining with our preschool friends in Miss Kelly's class for some music and dancing. We took a couple great group shots before heading back to our classroom to get ready to go outside for recess. After recess, we came back inside for our center time. Then, it was time for lunch. Then, finally, it was time for our Halloween party! Yay! We paraded through Epiphany so everyone could see our great costumes then we ate a yummy snack, played games and danced. It was a lot of fun! At the end of the day, we were joined by our 8th grade buddies in the gym. Every Halloween, at the end of the day, the 8th graders help us to color skulls for Day of the Dead. It's a lot of fun to color with our 8th grade buddies!
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It is very important for preschoolers to have the ability to extend patterns and to make their own. We practice this skill throughout the year. Practicing patterns can be done easily at home. Your child can help you while you set the table for dinner. Make a pattern using silverware. Fork. Spoon. Fork. Spoon. What comes next? Patterns can be very simple and can be more complicated. You can try making patterns while watching a tv show. During a commercial, mute the volume on your tv. Then make a clapping or stomping pattern. Ask your preschooler to imitate it and then extend the pattern. Or, you can ask them to come up with their own pattern. Another advantage to practicing patterns is that you can practice counting at the same time. After completing a pattern using socks, you can count all of the white socks or the black socks. You can make a pattern using pieces of construction paper and then count how many you have of each color.
Today, our preschoolers did something very exciting! We made a pizza! The students have been very interested in making pizza since we have spent so much time reading and rereading the book The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza. The preschoolers love this book! And today we learned that they also love making pizza! The pizza dough felt soft, cold, and squishy. Each student took a turn adding a spoonful of pizza sauce to the dough. The preschoolers sampled mozzarella cheese. Yummy! Then, we all had to be patient while the pizza baked in the oven. But our patience was well worth it because it was delicious!
On Friday, the preschoolers made their own maracas. Thank you to all parents that sent in empty water bottles for us to use! There were many different materials for the students to choose from including beads, tissue paper, straws, pieces of foam and buttons. The preschoolers explored the different materials to see which materials would make a loud sound and which would make a soft or quiet sound. Most students tried to make their maraca with as many loud sounds as they could fit into the water bottle. The finished maracas look great! Each one looks a little different and they all sound different as well. After each student finished their maraca, we explored making loud and quiet sounds with our maracas. The preschoolers had a lot of fun with that!
In one of the books that we read this week, The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza), the main character gathers the necessary tools and ingredients to make a pizza. The preschoolers were very interested in the flour that is used. Today, we explored flour. Students noticed that the flour was cool to the touch, had a soft texture, and was similar to sand because you could scoop it and put it in piles.
It was messy but it was also a lot of fun! We practice recognizing and extending patterns throughout the school year. Understanding patterns is an important math skill for preschoolers. Last week, in small group, the students made a pattern bracelet using black and orange beads. It was a lot of fun! Making bracelets is not the only time that you will see our preschoolers practicing making patterns. Many students use materials in the classroom to make patterns on their own. You might see patterns made with blocks or paper or Play-doh.
Today, we had a special visitor! Ms. Katie from Toman Library came to visit us. She read books and sang songs. She brought scarves that we used while dancing. It was so much fun! |
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Mrs. Marx is a preschool teacher at Epiphany Catholic Elementary School in Chicago, IL. Archives
April 2019
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