10.04.07
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 2:36 pm by Administrator
We’ve really been working hard this week on the letter f. Ask your child to sing “You’re a Grand Ole Flag”. We’ve been singing it every day since Monday as the kids march around waving their flags. Some days I’ve finally had to put the iPod on “repeat song” because they ask me to “play it again” so many times. Cliff says it sounds like I’m brainwashing them. Well, you know, Terina, all the blond hair and all! 
Some of the fun things that we’ve enjoyed this week include learning the Zoophonics computer game that we got. This game will carry them through sounding out words (if we get that far), but it has several areas that are perfect for their beginning level. We’ve also started practicing putting the letters (a-f) in alphabetical order. They did really well with that! We just sang our song “Come Meet Us at the Zoo” while playing and we zipped right through. Earlier in the week we played Hide and Seek with the a-f cards. I would hide the cards throughout the room while they waited in the living room, then they would dash in and find as many letters as they could. Of course, then I gathered up all the cards and we sounded them and signaled them before playing another round. We’ve also read about Benjamin Franklin and the artist Faberge. I found a great pop-up book showcasing Faberge’s art that the kids love. It even has some of his flower sculptures that he created so today we made flowers after becoming inspired by looking at his. Tomorrow we’ll make “Fantastic Fudge” to take home. As you enjoy the fudge with your child, have him/her tell you what sound is at the beginning of “Fantastic Fudge”. Can they think of other words that begin with Francy Fish’s letter? Can they “teach” you Francy Fish’s signal?
Although we learn/reinforce the sounds of all the letters throughout each week, as you know, we focus on one letter a week to cement the sound into the children’s knowledge base. Also, sprinkled throughout the year are review weeks where we’ll review the last set of letters and numbers since the last review. Next week is one such week where we’ll revisit a-f as well as the numbers 0-6. I’ll use some of the activities that were planned originally that we never got around to doing and I’ll throw in a few other things. The biggest thing we’ll be doing is starting a picture dictionary to build upon throughout the year.
Enjoy!
“Miss Gina”
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10.02.07
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool, Podcasts at 10:30 pm by Administrator
Fish story - soon to be uploaded.
The PowerPoint Presentation for this story (without the narration) can be found at http://www.mommynature.com/Power%20Points/Fish.ppt
Okay, yay! I think I may be on my way to figuring out this whole “podcasting”/uploading audio stuff. I’ve tried to make a PowerPoint on each animal we’ve learned about and am in the process of uploading them to the site - another issue. The kids love these presentations, which are like books on a computer screen. They ask to see them over and over.
Well, Cliff - my wonderful husband - bought us a new iPod AND an iTalk so that I can record directly into the iPod, so much easier and less time-consuming than what I was doing! Of course, now I just have to get used to how they work. My plan is to also record the children singing songs, during Morning Meeting and maybe some of their infamous knock-knock jokes that have become a lunchtime favorite, that we can post online for your enjoyment.
And back to work I go…
Gina
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09.26.07
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 9:31 pm by Administrator
Okay, I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. My goal is to post weekly with highlights of the week - like an online newsletter. Well, at least I have goals! In spite of my inability to post updates, we’ve been having a great time at school! The children are really grasping most of the skills being covered and are having fun doing it. I’ve even used healthy competition to keep it exciting…The preschoolers were working on alphabet grids last week (where you match animal/alphabet cards to a grid containing each animal/alphabet) and I paired them off, girls versus boys. I was actually surprised to see that the girls finished their grid together first which inspired the boys to ask for another round and play again!
Earlier this week I heard Kiley and Emmalisse singing and when I turned to see, I saw that they were standing in front of one of the alphabet posters singing and signaling the animal moves. Although we don’t expect to achieve perfect letter/sound matching at the toddler age, the recognition of animal signals with some sounds lays a strong foundation for later acquisition of letter-sound matching. Plus, it was just cute!
The children are even getting better at Show ‘n Tell and “public speaking” during their presentations. For the most part, they enjoy seeing what the other children brought, “reading” the repetitive sentences off the board (ex.: Mason brought an elephant. Katie brought Elmo.) The exception to this was today when Jenna Belle was showing her elephant that actually “trumpets”. Karsen took one look at that and took off for the back of the room! Once the elephant was put away, she agreed to return to our Morning Meeting which she usually enjoys.
We’re going to start a new routine of daily name writing practice. Each preschooler will receive a sheet with 5 lines of his/her name. Each day he/she will trace (or write, when ready) one line of the sheet to be completed and sent home on Friday. There will be other things that we will write and draw as opportunity arises but this is certainly a priority to get the students familiar with and able to write their names. If you wish to offer more practice, I have several fonts suggested here: http://www.mommynature.com/learning-fonts.html There are also several available tracing fonts that use a lined-paper look that I’ll add to that page, in case anyone is interested.
Lastly, I wanted to say that we had a successful cookout Saturday! Thanks to all who contributed and attended. The kids were adorable singing and acting out the animal signals to the “Come Meet Us At the Zoo” Zoo-phonics theme song. They also had a great time sharing some of the games and activities we’ve done recently with moms and dads. Of course, the food and outdoor activities were a hit as well!
Till next blog,
“Miss Gina”
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Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 3:15 pm by Administrator
Wow! We’ve had a fun second week! We started our /a/ week with Allie Alligator, as you know, and the kids really seem to be catching on. They are enjoying the songs and activities that we are doing as we get to know Allie better. Ask your child what Allie Alligator says. /a/ should be the answer, of course, along with outstretched clapping hands that simulate an alligator’s snapping jaws.
I created a simple Power Point to give some basic information on alligators. It is here, http://www.mommynature.com/Alligator-power-point-presentation.html if you want to watch it at home with your child. They LOVE the part where the alligator growls! Poor Karsen kept looking up towards the speaker as if a real alligator was going to come out any minute!
The kids had a good time creating a group representation of an alligator. We made rubbings using sheets of white paper on those textured foam squares and then tore the paper into small “scales”. Then they glued the pieces to a cardboard cutout of an alligator. This, as many of our art projects, took a few days to complete, but the children worked on many fine motor skills (when they are TRYING to tear paper, they have some trouble - if it’s a favorite storybook or a library book, they tear it, no problem! 
and learned alot about alligators in the process.
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08.22.07
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 4:19 pm by Administrator
We’re having a great first week (with all of our classmates)! Although we’ve delayed a few activities, we’ve managed to keep busy! Some of the activities that the children have really enjoyed so far are…
Each day, I scramble someone’s name using magnetic letters and we have to figure out whose name it is while referring back to the names written on post-its. I was impressed at how well the children did! Then, of course, we sing a song using that child’s name while he/she dances along. Very cute!
The kids also really enjoy the Morning Meeting Journals so I hope to expand on them in September when I create their new calendars and weather charts. Next, I’ll add in some pattern pages, along with alphabet activities.
They also appreciate having weekly jobs. The little ones are a little slow going when passing out items but I think once they get the hang of it, they will actually feel somewhat productive and purposeful in their jobs.
Funny, they didn’t really appreciate the sloppiness of paper mache making! I thought they would really get into it, so I planned it as an outside activity. The activity turned into me making the paper mache pinata. That’s okay, though. I think I’ll have some help when it dries enough to paint and decorate.
Tracy, Joshua and Katie’s mom, came to read to the kids at lunchtime today. They really enjoyed it. It’s wonderful for them to experience other readers and you are all encouraged to participate! If you’d rather come and share a different activity or hobby with the children, that would be great, too. They all enjoy seeing their parents become involved with their class and learning from other parents. (The same holds true for grandparents, as well!)
On to curriculum, I’ve introduced the theme and animals that will be supporting our curriculum this year and the kids are really latching on. Next week, we’ll focus on the /a/ sound (”Allie Alligator”) while still talking about the other letter sounds. I’ll try and remember to send the reminder note home, but next week’s Show ‘n Tell will be to bring anything that starts with the /a/ sound (short a).
I’ll be sending an activity home each week as “homeplay” (vs. homework :). These activities will be designed to help you see what your child is learning and offer enrichment activities for your child. You may choose whether or not to return the activity to school for “my review” (and a sticker).
Oh! If anyone is web savvy enough to understand how to use a web cam, would you like to volunteer some time to help me? My mom gave us a web cam, primarily so she could see the girls more often, which we’ve used with some success, but I’d like to incorporate it more into our lives - like periodically broadcasting (for our group’s parents/grandparents) our Morning Meeting for you to enjoy. Or, if you have extra time at work where we could “play” - with me broadcasting and you trying to view - that’s fine too. It could be a fun addition to our activities here.
All of the kids have adjusted quite well to the new school year and are eager to see their friends and learn each day. They interact well together and are caring towards one another. I’m so blessed to have such a precious group of children to have as students for myself and playmates for my children.
“Miss Gina”
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08.16.07
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 11:10 am by Administrator
Wow! I can’t believe that we’re already starting a new year! For curriculum purposes, our year will begin next Monday. That way, our other three friends will be able to participate in the introductory activities as well. Until then, we will be getting reuinited with our friends - including our new friend, Karsen - reviewing class rules/behavior guidelines (I never have much of a problem with this since I have such a great group of kids!), and learning new classroom routines.Some of our new routines include:
Morning Meeting Journal - Depending on the ability level/age of your child, his/her journal will include coloring pages, free write/draw pages, calendar, patterning, counting activities, etc. Many of these activities will directly correlate to our Morning Meeting activities (calendar, letter of the week, etc.).
Spot Who’s Here Today - Each day when your child arrives, he/she will move his/her “name spot” onto the ladybug on the entry door. This will offer us numerous opportunities for counting and graphing discussions.
Job Jungle - Each child will have a weekly job which will change each Monday. Whether it is counting out plates at lunchtime, helping with the calendar or feeding the guinea pig, your child will be gaining valuable skills as well as creating a stronger sense of belonging in our classroom family.
Check-out Literacy Bags - I first heard about this from Tracy, then began hearing about them in a few online teacher groups that I’m a member of. These are themed bags that the children will be able to check out for “homeplay”. They will include a book and a variety of activities to go along with the story (like activity sheets, games, music CDs, toys, etc.). I’ve got several now that are nearly ready and plan to have a good variety by the end of September. Each bag will include a folder with a parent journal to share with me favorite activities from the bag, tips from you for extras to include, and questions you have. This should be a fun activity to extend our learning.
Vilonia Safari Passport - I’ve adapted an activity that Tina uses and adjusted it to the pre-K level. Each child will be issued a passport and will be responsible for obtaining “visas” from various businesses in Vilonia. This will provide real-life opportunities to discuss community workers/helpers with your child as his/her understanding of our community moves from the abstract to a more tangible level of comprehension. This is an activity that is meant to last all year, to be completed at your leisure and be a learning activity for the whole family.
Parent Check-out - I have set aside an area on top of my bookshelf to store books and CDs that I have found useful and hope to share with you. The collection includes curriculum music CDs, parenting books, and fun activity books to do with your children. You are welcome to borrow any of these things.
I would love to start a Toy Trade, if anyone would be interested. For this, each person brings a toy to trade, say once a month, for another toy. The following month you trade back and the owner can decide whether to put it back in the toy trade for the current month or to take that toy home and trade a different toy. Obviously, we would not trade favorite toys, as that would simply upset the children! But most children enjoy their toys even more when they are not played with for a while and then brought back out. We could make this a fun evening - potluck, etc. Anyone want to “play”?
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