Week 33 (May 13, 14, 15)

This week, the favorite toy was Color Clix, by far. Wendy's has Smart Links (another version of Color Clix) as their kids' meal toy, so we got a few new ones to add to our preschool collection. The kids were THRILLED. They made really fun creations and had fun trying out some of the new shapes and colors.

I put out this number chart to let the kids explore with and we had a fun impromptu math lesson talking about the ones, tens, and hundreds place. It was more play than work, and with this concept, that's all it should be. They will be reintroduced to this idea MUCH later on in school.

Our backyard was a swamp for the first two days, so indoor recess came with a SPIDERWEB. They had to use their problem solving skills to figure out the best path through each day.

We did get to play outside a little bit on Friday, but it was still pretty soggy.  The preschoolers found a frog, but everyone was afraid to touch or hold it, except Lullaby.

We played a fun alphabet game on the chalk letters I drew. These kids have so much fun, and I do too. :)

We worked on a few more things that will benefit them in kindergarten, like we did last week. We talked about TEAMWORK, HONESTY, and PROBLEM-SOLVING. For our first lesson and activity, I gave each preschooler two letter stamps that, when put together, would make the word "teamwork". The rules were that they couldn't give one of their stamps to another friend, but that they all had to make the whole word on their papers… Hmm, what to do? Well, they figured it out after lots of talking and each preschooler stamped their own AND their friends papers until everyone had the complete word. Good job boys! In kindergarten, you will need these great teamwork skills!

Our next word we talked about was HONESTY. We read a few books and talked about how important it is to always be honest. We specifically talked about President Lincoln, who was known as "Honest Abe", and read a few stories about him. The kids decorated these tiny circles that read "be honest".

We cut out the circles (not everyone wanted to help with the cutting, the circles were very small and tricky!) and glued them onto the back of a penny. That way, they could see the face of Abraham Lincoln and remember the stories about being honest. 

We also talked about being a problem-solver. Kindergarten might pose a problem or two and these boys are getting themselves ready to think critically, and be able to solve problems in a good way. They know to try and use their words, talk to an adult, work together and think hard about how to solve problems.

Working on a few pages in their workbooks, doing more mazes and problem solving. 

Quiet reading time, over the year, has turned from looking at pictures only, and sounding out a few words here and there, to full on READING. I am SO proud of all the hard work these boys have put into something that typically isn't something that kids their age can do very well.  I am ever impressed with them.  They are all reading on various levels, but they are ALL READING!

Pictures don't always tell the whole story, and listening to these LITTLE guys read is awesome. Keep in mind that these are PRESCHOOLERS. Wow! They are so smart!  Jeff wanted to read his sight words, Logan picked a "Bob Book", Hawken picked an early reader, and Ryan picked an "Elephant and Piggie Book". I did cut the video on Ryan's short because it was a 56 page book. He did finish it though, and about 12 others that day.

We are getting excited about our GRADUATION PARTY on Friday! The kids decorated a banner that we will hang for the party, and they helped with their invitations.  Please remember to let me know how many people are coming from your family. I will provide lunch, and the kids will have a chance to play and say good-bye to preschool. :( I'm a little sad that it's ending, we have had such a lovely year.

Week 32 (May 6, 7, 8)

We have been talking about Mother's Day coming up and decided together to make pictures for the moms.  We talked about what moms like most, and the consensus was that moms like their KIDS the most. So the preschoolers drew pictures of themselves with their mom. They worked REALLY hard on these pictures.

Then they worked together to stamp this paper to use for later.  It took lots of work, but they stamped the paper until no white spots were showing.

Then we flipped the paper over, cut it into 4 pieces, drew hearts on the back and cut some out for the pictures.  Cutting hearts isn't easy. This project took a long time.

Then they glued on their hearts and we put them in frames. I'm going to have to wait to post these pictures on Sunday, so the surprises won't be ruined. I think the masterpieces turned out great.

The kids also made a quick video all about their moms. It was sweet to hear what they think. They sure do love their mommas! Happy Mother's Day!

We played lots of games this week again. Animal dominoes, rhyme card match, and scramble were just a few.

Imaginext, and dress-up were the favorite playtime activities. Not too many pictures of the dress-up because it got pretty wild pretty fast and it needed a bit more of my participation than usual.

It was also teacher appreciation week this week and I felt very appreciated. Thank you for the lovely flowers and cookies and notes. I seriously LOVE teaching these kids. It's my pleasure and I'm happy to be their teacher.

With only a few more days of preschool until "graduation", we have been talking about important things that we need to know and do for kindergarten. The three things we talked about this week were, 1. Hard Word, 2. Be Kind, and 3. Listen. We read and worked out the story of The 3 Little Pigs on the magnet board. We talked about what it meant to work hard and why it's important.  In kindergarten, there isn't as much playing, and there will be lots of work. If we work hard, then we will feel good and happy.  Here are their "hard work" tokens.

Then we made our "be kind" tokens. We read stories about bullies, and friends, and they all decided they would rather be friends than be bullies. They are such nice friends to each other, and when little upsets happened this week, we talked specifically about being kind. What can we do when a friend feels left out? What can we do when a friend gets hurt? What can we do if we see someone getting bullied? They came up with WONDERFUL solutions. Kindergarten will be a better place with these kids on the loose.

Our "listen" tokens are good for these boys, who can get pretty wild when they are excited. We talked about the difference of play time and listening time. We talked about who it's important to listen to, and why. Our circle times are amazingly better and longer than they were in the beginning of the school year, partly because they know the routine now, and they are older, but partly because they are becoming better listeners. Good job!

We had some time at the end of our day to color outside and make body outlines. Getting them to stop and take a picture was harder than anything though. :)