Little Pumpkins

Happy Friday!

What a fun week we had learning all about pumpkins.  First we learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin.  The kids were amazed at how many steps there are and that the pumpkin is actually a flower before becoming a pumpkin.  They learned about pumpkins coming in all different shapes, sizes, textures and colors.  I brought in two large pumpkins and we learned the parts of a pumpkin and explored the inside of a pumpkin after carving them open.  The kids learned that once you carve your pumpkin with a face that its name changes from pumpkin to Jack-o-Lantern.  We read stories about pumpkins, played center activities that revolved around the pumpkin theme and our rhyme of the week is "Five Little Pumpkins" (which they really had fun learning).

On Wednesday we wore orange to stand up against bullying.  We talked about what it means to be a bully.  The short movie, Spookley the Square Pumpkin has actually been designated as the official anti-bullying film so rather than saving the movie for Halloween we watched it on Wednesday.  The kids made great connections and were able to identify the bullies in the movie and saw what it means to take the high road, just like Spookley did when it came time for the Bullies needing help from him.  We talked about bullies being people who say and do things to hurt us and make our hearts feel sad.  The kids learned that they can tell bullies to stop and they do not like it but that they also need to tell an adult so the bullies cannot continue to do things to upset or hurt them.  The kids learned that they should never do things to others to make their hearts sad.
**Spookley has been on Disney Junior a few times, if you have not caught it and get that station, I highly recommend making it part of a family movie night.  It is fun for Halloween and teaches a great lesson**

The kids learned what a graph is, what they tell us and how to read them.  We made a graph about what our favorite treat to get when trick or treating is.  On large paper there were three columns: chocolate, lollipops and chips.  I help up each students name card.  First, each child had to identify their name and then they placed their name under the column of their most favorite Halloween treat.  After we went through all of the names we talked about the results.  Which column had them most, least and ties.

We have been learning how to count out objects and practiced how to touch the objects as we count so we can keep track of our counting.  We exercised and counted each movement as we did them.

We also learned about counting objects all together/adding.  I had a picture of an octopus with 8 tentacles.  7 tentacles had green dots and the eighth had a red dot which was folded and hidden. I demonstrated counting the tentacles by touching each one and counting as I touched them.  We saw and counted 8 tentacles.  But then we had one tentacle that was hurt and I unfolded the eighth one.  I said I was "adding" one more tentacle.  We talked about adding means to give more.  Now I wanted to know how many all together, so that meant to count all of them.  A lot of our math discussion revolves around conversation to check for understanding and repetitive explanations.  It helps the kids learn and retain information.  I always explain that when we want to know how many of something there is we can count to find out.  We count by touching each object so we do not miss any.

We wrapped up our letter E for this week with some great show and tell!

Thank you to all who continue to support your child in their learning adventure.  They are already growing so much.  I am so happy to see all of the homework participation.  The things that seem small to us have a HUGE impact on your children.  As the saying goes, "it is the small things that mean the most".

Here are some videos the kids LOVED this week:

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Miller

F is for Friday

I Good Evening,

I have to apologize in advance but some Friday posts may be later in the evening or even Saturday's, time slips away when there is a lot or should I say more than usual going on.

This week flew right by and the kids had a blast all week in school.  I love the reaction I am getting to Clifford going home with the kids.  The kids really get excited and even talk about Clifford many days after being at their home.  I cannot say enough times what amazing classes I have this year, so I know Clifford is going to make it home with all of the kids!

We learned all about the letter D this week and had quite the turn out for show and tell!  The kids were also really excited about learning about the number 2 this week, particularly writing it.  We learned to make a number 2 that first you make a candy cane, then you give it a shoe and that's the way you make the number 2.  The kids took turns coming up to the dry erase board and writing it (which is to them a really BIG deal).

I find as a teacher and mom that it is a struggle to teach kids to print both numbers and letters.  First and foremost they need exposure.  Randomly pull out paper and crayons and just let them go to town.  Drawing and printing practice are not the only thing the kids are gaining.  Holding writing and drawing utensils help to strengthen their fine motor skills.  Especially in today's day with all of the technology I am seeing many, many kids with weak fine motor skills.  They do not know how to hold a writing utensil, they do not have the strength to open and shut scissors, etc...

Somethings you can do at home to help your child with their fine motor is to encourage and supply use of art and writing materials such as crayons, pencils and paint.  Play-doh is also a great way to strengthen their muscles and aide in their fine motor development.  If you are afraid of the mess remind them to keep the play-doh on a baking pan.  Provide scissors and to keep them focused on a particular task for cutting draw random lines and have them cut those out.  As the kids progress with the scissors then draw other squiggles and shapes for them to follow and cut.  Again, if you are afraid of the mess remind them of Mrs. Miller's rules, "We do not cut into teeny tiny pieces and try to follow the lines"  and "thumbs up" (to correct how they hold the scissors. You can also provide a large bowl or bin to tell them to put their garbage scraps in (like we do in class).  If your child is really struggling with cutting the Dollar Tree has scissors with a spring that will help them and teach them the open and close motion.

You will find in their Rhyme folder this week, 'Hey Diddle, Diddle'.

I also put conference times available for anyone who was not able to attend or sign-up during Open House.

I will be sending home information regarding the Fall Fest/Halloween classroom Party on Monday.

These are just a couple of the kids favorite snack time and gross motor dance videos from this week:

I hope you all enjoy the weekend!
~Mrs. Miller

C is for Columbus

Happy Friday!

This week my new teacher aide started. The kids may have mentioned Ms. Marissa. Ms. Marissa will be our new classroom aide. You may have seen her around Franklin as her daughter is a student in the elementary school. Not only does Ms. Marissa have experience as a mom but she also knows about Franklin as a school and has worked in childcare in the past. I welcome her into our classroom!

This week the kids did many things! Some of the things they learned about include:

Sight, sound and word recognition for the letter C

Number 1

Sorting by attributes. Things that are the same but different and counting objects.

Farm animals

City vs. country-compare/contrast

Little Boy Blue nursery rhyme 

Christopher Columbus 

-sailed with 3 ships a long time ago to look for land

-found land/America-where we live

-explored a globe and what it is

-discover means to find something 

-earth is the planet we live on, Columbus sailed the world (earth)

Other skills:

-cutting/pasting

-matching

-counting & representation of what they counted 

-free creative art

-tripod grasp 

**many of my students are holding thier writing materials incorrectly. Please give opportunity at home to color/draw/write and correct how they are holding their writing instrument. With correction and exposure they will acquire the skill**

And much more!

Christopher Columbus art

Dry/erase wooden letter for letter formation printing practice 

Muddy Pig-roll the dice, count and make play-doh "mud" spots to show how many dots you counted on the dice

Roll & Write

Roll the cube to see what shape you land on, draw the shape in the grid each time you roll!

Building barns for our farm animals

Farm foam craft

Matching letters to spell farm words 

Today we completed our project that required your child to find something that started with the first letter in their name...

The kids really got a kick out of combing their monster craft with thier first letter in their name word project. I heard many giggles when we put it all together. 

Thanks for your continuous support in your child's learning adventure! 

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Miller

Embrace messy learning!

Happy Friday, Happy October!

I can't believe your child has already been in school for a month already!  I am so proud of how well they continue to do.  Honestly I have seen so much growth in many of them already and I hope you have too.

This week we learned many things about being safe in the case of a fire.  As you could see from their homework they learned about calling 911 when there is not a grown up to help.  Getting out of a fire fast and safe and what to do if their clothes catch on fire.

Today was their very first fire drill at school!  We have been talking a lot about what to expect and I am happy to report they ALL did fantastic and not one tear from one child (as we talked about it being loud and crowded).

We learned all about the letter B and the sound that it makes as well as words that start with B.  Here are some B videos they watched during snack time:

We also learned about the number 0 and that zero means nothing.

Other math skills we learned about include:
~counting off...the kids learn to listen and count around a circle saying the correct number as it  reaches them.
~The meaning of 'exactly' and how to identify and sort groups of objects.  We learned they exactly means more than one object is the same in all ways.  We also learned that things can be "the same but different" and explored objects and discussed how they were the same and different and how they could be sorted.

The kids continued to practice their name and this week they used play-doh to mold their name and shaving cream with popcicle sticks and their fingers to practice writing strokes.  Don't be afraid of messes!  Messes can be cleaned up...trust me, I do it for 33 kids daily plus two at home.  Your kids can learn great things while making a mess...and it really is AWESOME!  If you are one to want to dive into such experiences at home then one of my personal favorite contained messes is I put my kids in the bath tub with some watercolor paints and let them have at the tub and walls!  There are so many ways the kids can learn to write and draw without a pencil and paper.

Why messes mater:
(taken from Measured Mom blog)

1. Kids are designed to explore the world through their senses.  Setting up a multi-sensory way to play gives our kids rich opportunities to learn.

2. Sensory play promotes language development.  Kids find new ways to talk about their world.

3. Engaging in sensory play with peers or siblings builds social skills.  At our house that may sound like, “He’s in the spaghetti and I want to scoop it out!” That’s when we get to talk about what to do when someone we’re playing with isn’t doing what we’d like.  My tolddler, who doesn’t say much on his own yet, observed how his older siblings handled the materials and tried out their ideas.

4. Sensory play is great for building motor skills.   Scooping, cutting, and pouring the noodles = fine motor.  Running around and throwing it in the air = large motor.

5. Exploring sensory materials helps kids’ emotional development.  It can be very calming for kids – relieving energy or stress – and bring a great amount of joy as they explore materials in an exciting way.

6. Since how kids use sensory materials is much more important than what they make with it, sensory play promotes creativity.  By solving problems or engaging in make-believe, their creativity is enhanced.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
Mrs. Miller