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Mommy Nature's Preschool
Blog |
Attendance
Spot Who's Here Today (from Mailbox Magazine) - I made a
ladybug out of poster board, attached 8 pieces of the loop side of
Velcro and 8 pieces of the hook side of Velcro to the back of 8
counters. I printed the pictures of the children's faces onto
sticker paper and attached them to the counters to make a "spot".
Each day when they come in, they find their "spot" and attach it to
the ladybug. This leads to all kinds of questions using math,
"How many girls/boys?", "How many children here all
together?", "How many more/fewer girls than boys (and vice versa)?",
"How many children are absent?", etc.
Classroom Behavior
Management
Beehive Paper Mache Piñata - Our class is making a
beehive out of paper mache for our discipline reward system.
Each time a child is caught doing a good deed, I write his/her name
on a bee, choose a sticker and let them drop a piece of candy into
the paper mache piñata. At our end of the year party, we will
all reap the rewards of our hard work by enjoying the piñata and the
bees will be sent home!
Estimation Jar:
Place various number of theme-related objects in
a jar. Children visit jar throughout the week and enter their
estimation. On Friday, objects in jar are counted and
estimations read to see who came the closest.
Lunch / Snack Routine -
As a way to transition them from activity time to
settling down at the table, we have a lunch chant.
Sittin' on my bottom
With my napkin on my lap
Hands on my knees,
Slap, slap, slap.
I'm so hungry
And I'm thirsty too.
Tell us, Miss Gina,
"What's on the menu?"
I mounted it to the back of a plastic tray. On the front, I
attach pictures and labels of the food on our lunch (or snack) menu
so after the chant, we read what we are having for lunch (or snack).
Morning Meeting (Circle
Time) - Each day our class comes together for Morning
Meeting where we learn about the:
Pledge - we say the pledge and sing a patriotic song
Calendar - *a helper passes out the journals and the children
follow along with me.
~count dates (numerals) in English and Spanish *students
affix a sticker or trace (depending on student ability and time of
year) the numeral date on their journal calendar
~sing days of the week in English and Spanish; cheer "Hooray for (today)!"
~talk about "Yesterday was ___",
"Today is ___", "Tomorrow will be ___"
~find patterns on calendar
~discuss special days (holidays, birthdays)
Seasons and
Weather Chart - talk about the days weather,
color it into the monthly graph *students do the same in their
journals
100s Chart / Pattern Counting Wall- We are doing a jungle
theme this year and I created a picture at
nga.gov.
I cut it into a square and created a table the same size with 100
squares. I
super-imposed the table over the picture, labeled the squares on
the back 1-100, then cut the jungle picture apart into a 100s chart
puzzle. Each day we place the appropriate puzzle piece (100s
square) on the
same-size blank table to create a picture. As the picture
is created we try and guess what animal we see and what might be
coming up next. The students have the same blank 100s chart in
their journal where they place a sticker each day on the appropriate
number.
Pattern Counting Wall - I'm using animal shaped mini notepads
to count the days of school using patterns. For example, in
August, I'm using alligator/polar bear, alligator/polar bear to
create an ab pattern. Also, each 5s denomination (5, 10, 15,
etc.) is mounted on a yellow card and each 10s denomination (10, 20,
30, etc.) is mounted on a red card for easy counting.
Mystery Box
- A decorated shoebox is used to house a new item each week. Questions
are asked at
morning meeting to guide the children in figuring out the item
in the
Mystery Box. The child that guesses gets to open the box
to show the other children.
Show 'n Tell - Each Wednesday the
children bring in a theme-related item to tell about at Show 'n
Tell. Usually the night before they complete a sentence about
it (with parents' help) and illustrate a picture.
Read this poem at the beginning of Show 'n Tell time:
Oh, what did you bring for show 'n tell?
What, oh what, did you bring?
Your friends are here and waiting to see.
Show yours, please, to me!
Varied Daily Activities at Morning Meeting:
Story - a different story, from which our daily activities
spring from, is read each day
Song, Finger play
At least one Story-related Activity
Some Favorites include:
~
Scrambled Names - Use magnetic letters to scramble one student's
name at a time on the whiteboard. Referring to the student's
names written on post-its, unscramble the name. Then, we sing
a song like,
Name-O.
~
Preschool Learning Songs found here.
~ What is it? - This idea came from
ChildCareLand.com.
~ Syllable Clap - Pick any word, like the children's names,
clap it out into syllables.
Question of the Week
Each week a new question will be posted for the
children to answer during free choice time. The answers will
be graphed and discussed during Morning Meeting.
Sight Word Necklace
Using a name card lanyard, I write either the
letter of the week, number of the week, or a
sight word on the name card and wear the necklace. When a
child needs help with something (i.e.: tying a shoe) or is ready to
go outside, etc., he/she must read the card to me first (with help,
if needed, of course). |
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