Holiday Concert

Here are the preschoolers performing at the Fairfield holiday concert.

The really rock, don't they?

Family Getaway Deal

I just saw this deal on Travel Zoo and thought of you preschool families. This is a sweet way to enjoy an indoor water park on the cheap in January. Here is the the link:

The Great Escape Deal

Hopefully, this is useful. It is a fun family getaway in the winter.

Election--Preschool Style

In order to practice voting, we chose the design for our two preschool Jack-o-lanterns. At meeting, the kids each got two "voters," a small animal to mark their vote. 

I showed them six pumpkin designs. They were: The Skeleton, Sharp Teeth, Cyclops, Kitty Cat, Goofy Gus and Happy Hal.

The kids got two votes each (one for each pumpkin). I called them up one or two at a time and they placed their "Voters" on the two favorite designs. When everyone finished voting, we counted up the number of voters on each design. Everyone helped with the counting and the figuring out of which design had the most (we have been working a lot on the concepts of more and less).

The Kitty Cat design came in first, with 9 total votes, and Happy Hal was the runner-up, with 7 votes. They became our two designs.

As in a real election, some kids were very happy with the result, and others were disappointed. My number one choice, Cyclops, tied with Goofy Gus for third.

The kids helped me carve the pumpkins into the two Jack-O-Lanterns. 
 

We think they ended up looking pretty awesome. Laurie toasted up the pumpkin seeds and we all got to try tasting them at the end of the day.

Barn Raising

Back in mid-October, we put together a new toy barn. The barn was made by one of the kid's grandfathers. He made it so that we could actually build it together in preschool. 

The kids got to help me figure out how to fit it together. Then, everyone who wanted to try, used the power drill to screw all the wooden pieces together. 







  

The result--with all of the helpers. I still hope to paint it the same colors as The Big Red Barn, from the book we read.

Playing Games

We play a lot of different commercial games in preschool that support a variety of learning goals. The general pattern for playing games goes something like this:

1. I put a game out, open and with all the parts and pieces on a table. Then I let the kids explore and play any way they want, without teaching them the "traditional" rules of the game.

2. Use the opportunity of small group time to teach traditional rules of games, and how to "break" and "change" the rules is they prefer. 

3. Put the games out for free choice time and watch how the kids decide to play.

The games we choose for preschool support different skills including matching, counting, taking turns, following rules, making patterns, learning number and letter symbols, and starting to recognize words. 

Here are the games the kids have learned this fall and what skills they practice when playing.

Zingo: This is a bingo game which has tiles come out of a chute two at a time. If you have the picture on your board, which is a 3 x 3 grid, you say the name of the picture first and get to put it on your board. It teaches motor coordination to slide the chute back and forth to get the tiles. The kids need to have quick naming of pictures, so they need to pay attention. They learn "all" (by filling all the boxes in their grid), and they work on matching pictures.

Pop Up Pirate: In this game, a pirate in plunged down into a barrel that has a bunch of holes for swords. the swords are red, green, yellow and blue. The kids take turns impaling the barrel with one sword at a time until the pirate POPS out. Sometimes it takes 1 sword and sometimes it takes 10 and sometimes it takes all of them. This game teaches turn taking, counting, sorting colors (the swords) and predicting (how many do you think it will take this time?).

Memory: This game is a classic. We play it with commercial memory cards, as well as cards I will hand make to go along with our learning focus. The cards are all face down and each child takes a turn and flipping two cards over at a time. If they match, the child keeps them. If they don't, they get turned back over again. Sometimes we play that we are all working together to find all of the matches. Sometimes, each child keeps his own matches and we count them at the end to find out who "won." This game helps kids use their memory, problem solving, matching, and counting skills.

Connect Four: This is a game they have not been taught how to play by traditional rules, yet. At this time, kids are filling the Connect Four grid with the red and black checkers to make designs, fill up stacks and make patterns. We will teach how to see the Four in a Row patterns a little later. This game helps them learn visual discrimination and strategy, much the same way the Tic Tac Toe does. 

Lucky Ducks: This game is a lot like Memory. The ducks swim in a pond that moves. They all have a color on the bottom. The kids each have a board with one of the colors. They have to find all of their ducks by picking up a duck each turn and checking the bottom to see if it matches their board. This game teaches matching, counting, knowing "all" and memory skills.

Fudge For Funds

     Everyone should have the Fudge for Funds order forms. The whole idea of this fundraiser is to get more technology for the preschool and to help fund future field trips. The more we sell, the more we can do. Last year we raised over $900 and we were able to get a digital microscope and Bee-Bot robots as technology additions to the classroom. This year we are thinking about investing in an iPad or acquiring an LCD projector. 

     We would also love to get ideas for who to donate 33% of what we raise to. I am looking to parents for ideas for a deserving charity. Last year, we donated to the Franklin/Grand Isle Bookmobile.

Here are the criteria:

1. It needs to benefit children

2. It needs to be a non-profit

3. It needs to be local (at least Vermont local).

     Bring your ideas into preschool over the next few weeks. If you are able to gather a little information on the cause of your choice, that would be great. We will be letting the kids know about the different places and how they help kids. On Election Day, (November 3), the kids will vote for the organization to which we will donate.

     Fudge order forms are due on Thursday, October 14. The fudge will be ready for distribution on October 26. For anyone interested, here is more information on Snowflake Chocolates Fudge for Funds program.

Skype

Today we got a surprise. Carolyn, a grandparent who lives in New Jersey, called up using Skype. This is a free program for people to see each other face to face (with a webcam) and talk to each other. Carolyn, or Bodgie, as she is known in her family, was able to see all of the kids and we could see her. 

They asked some questions about New Jersey. Some one asked if New Jersey was great. She said it was, but that she also thought Vermont was pretty great. Many of the kids told her, "I live in Vermont!" This kind of exchange gives the kids both a sense of place as well as awareness of other places in the world. Hopefully, we can think of all kinds of creative ways to use this.

Bodgie did promise she would call us back. When she does, she is going to read us one of her favorite books. I will have to get a hold of good LCD projector and speakers so we can all see and hear her really well.

If any other families have relatives living somewhere else who are interested in Skyping into the classroom, please let me know. It will be fun to have more places to find out about and more people to meet this way.

Gak

On Thursday in science, we made a time-honored favorite substance in preschool: Gak (also known as Flubber in some circles).

Here is the recipe:

Make sure to use non-metal bowls and utensils

In one bowl combine: 1/2 c. warm water, 1 c. of Elmer's Glue. Mix until well blended.

In another bowl combine: 1 c. warm water and 4 tsp. Borax. Mix until Borax dissolves. 

Add your preferred food coloring color to each bowl.

Pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture and watch it turn into a stringy goop before your eyes. A grownup will need to knead the mixture until all of the water is worked in and you are left with a consistent, rubbery substance.

Now for the fun part. Gak is slimy, smooth, cool, icky, slippery, and a lot of fun to work in your hands. With some patience, you can let it ooze down you fingers as it stretches slowly. The kids made it into balls, snakes, shapes and pancakes. They also worked on sharing and fairness. They worked on making sure everyone had about the same amount to play with, even when new kids joined the fun.

Playing with Gak promotoes fine motor coordniation development by having the kids use the muscles in their fingers to explore it. In the scientific realm, they also learned that glue and borax have a chemical reaction that makes the rubbery Gak. Alone, they were wet and liquid. They use all sorts of scientific descriptions to talk about how the gak moves, feels, and changes as they play with it. They even did some color mixing. We made a blue batch and a red batch. When they worked the two colors together, they got a light purple color.

Cutting with Scissors

It has been such a pleasure watching the kids in the class form new friendships. I think by now most kids know everyone's name. I keep hearing phrases like, "He's my friend," and "We can be friends."  It makes a preschool teacher proud. 

We did a project together last week that both helps us recognize the seasons, and share a bit of ourselves. At small groups, the kids traced their hands on two different fall-colored sheets of paper. Then, they cut out their hand shape and we tacked them up on our class tree. Right now, they are all on the tree, but as fall moves on, some of our classroom leaves will also "fall" to the ground. As the seasons change, so will the hand print leaves on the tree. 

This activity really focused on the fine motor skills of tracing and cutting. Many kids were able to cut their hands with just a little help from a teacher. Some kids chose child-sized Fiskar scissors, and others chose "squissors," scissors that bounce back open after you close them. Cutting around fingers is not easy, considering all of the paper turning that is required. We showed kids how to cut with their thumb up and how to hold the paper with one hand and turn as they opened and closed the scissors with the other. 

We will have many more opportunities to use and practice with scissors. This will help develop the kids' hand-eye coordination and fine motor muscles in their hands.

Preschool Musical

This clip may just get me ready to plan "Opera Day!" It is a lot of fun.

Opening Week

We had a great first week of preschool. The kids have been learning each others names and the names of the teachers. Everyone is getting to know the classroom rules and routines. We are getting a chance to explore with all the classroom materials and areas.
We missed Grandma Freda this week. She wasn't feeling well. We hope she will be back this week and we have to thank Rita Winegar for coming in to help. 
Here area few photos to give you some idea of how the kids have been getting used to their new preschool.

A bunch of kids discovered new sand and toys in the sandbox on the playground. They were taking turns, sharing and having a lot of fun.

The kids are taking responsibility for helping dry off the slides and bars so we can use all of the outside equipment to work on our gross motor skills of balance, running, jumping, and swinging.

The doll house is a small pretend play area in the room in which kids can work on social skills. They can plan the design of the house, make up scenarios for the dolls, and practice taking on different roles. 

These kids are putting together puzzles of different children from around the world. This helps them get to see kids of all kinds and recognize things that are the same about all kids and things that are different.


 

In the block area, kids are working on visual spatial skills when they are planning and putting together structures. They also work on persistence, matching, and math skills such as recognizing shapes and counting.

Playing in the sand allows kids to work on their scooping, pouring, and dumping coordination. They get to work with many different materials in the sensory table. As the year goes on, the materials in the sensory tables will change to provide more challenges.








The paint easel is an area in which the kids can show their creative expression. As the year goes on, their paintings will change and grow in detail, representation and use of color and more materials.

Starting Again

Another school year is getting underway. I have had a great time driving around Fairfield and meeting this year's preschoolers and their families at their homes. My new GPS sure has been getting a workout. As I start my 4th year in Fairfield, I am still surprised when I learn new roads and nooks and crannies in this town. It is a pleasure to drive around, see the farms and look at the scenery.

The purpose of the initial home visit is to let kids who will be in the class get to know their new teacher (me) in their most familiar environment. Most preschools believe this is the best way to get to know a new adult, but few actually have the time to accomplish this goal. I appreciate all of the parents' cooperation in making the home visit part of the preschool introduction work--though I know scheduling it in your busy lives can sometimes be difficult. The other advantage of this visit is that I get a sense of each child as an individual. I already know a few things that are main interests, and I have learned many of the kids' talents even before they have been in the classroom. This means I will be able to have meaningful conversations with them from the get-go. It helps with building a good relationship with all of the kids.  

We are getting the classroom all ready for the open house on Thursday morning.  That will be a nice opportunity for all of the parents to meet each other. The kids will have a chance to explore the classroom and meet new friends with familiar adults. We will have a couple of activities for the kids to do and maybe sing a few songs with the guitar. There will be a list to collect parents' emails and some more paperwork for families to complete. I am looking forward to teaching all of the kids this year.

Night under the stars

Hey everyone, I thought I would let you know about a special event that Vermont Public Radio is airing tonight. This is one of those nights you should let your kids stay up LATE!


At 9:00 pm, bring a battery powered radio outside and tune into 107.9. Mark Breen, from the Eye in the Sky forecast and Night Sky, will be guiding you as you look up at the stars. Tonight, tomorrow and Friday are the three peak nights of the Perseid Meteor Showers. People who choose to watch the skies will be treated to a lot of shooting stars (which are not really stars, but meteors). Your kids may not make it to the best viewing hours, which are after midnight, but there will still be plenty to see.

Here is a link to the video "Shooting Star" by They Might Be Giants that is a great way to share what a meteor is with your kids.


Have fun tonight.

Spring Concert

Here is a link to the kids singing in the spring concert last week. I was very proud of them. They have been working on "Goodnight Irene" since March, and "Sandwiches" since April. 
For "Sandwiches," the kids wanted to try each of the sandwiches named in the song. We had a taste test of egg, cheese, peanut butter, jam, ham and cucumber.  Here are the results:

We made this graph using Create-A-Graph online.

Summer ideas

I know I gave you all some summer ideas on the last day of school, but here is another of which I was just made aware.

The Vermont State Parks is sponsoring a summer program for you and your family to participate in outdoor activities. You document your activities with photos and then you get points for each of them. When you accumulate 250 points, you receive a free "Golden Pass" to the state parks, which includes the rest of this summer and next. 

Here is the website with all of the information:

http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/venturevt.htm

Have fun getting out there this summer!

Chester Arthur Field Trip

Here are some photos from our joint field trip with Kindergarten to the Chester Arthur Birthplace in Fairfield.

Kristen and Candy introduced us to the day. They started with a puppet show about birds and their habitats. We learned that some birds live way up high in the canopy (the roof of the forest), some live in the lower branches and in bushes, and some live on the ground. We also found out some of the things they like to eat--bugs, worms, and hawks will even eat small animals.

Kristen's taught us about how birdwatchers use field markers to identify birds. Half of the kids were the whole bird and half were the watchers. The watchers' job was to use their field markers (a color or pattern on a parts of the bird) to find their bird in the field.

Steve and Miles helped the kids put together their very own birdhouses to take home. They went together like puzzles. When they figured out the puzzle and finished the house, they decorated them with markers.

John and Candy led the kids on two different hikes through the woods. John had the kids look for different elements in the forest that he had on a scavenger hunt sheet. We found a dead log, mushrooms, a brook, an earthworm and more. Candy led us through looking for birds in the trees, bushes and on the ground.

Math - Numeracy

There are a bunch of ways we have worked on the math concept of Numeracy in preschool this year. Here are some examples and ideas that you could continue doing this summer with your children. Numeracy includes counting, counting objects, recognizing numbers, matching number symbols to number of objects, and putting number symbols in order.

When we play games with a lot of pieces, the kids are encouraged to count them for many reasons. In Penguin Pile up (seen here), We asked, "How many penguins did you get on?" or "Oh no! How many penguins fell off that time?" or "How many penguins do we have left to fit on the iceberg?" All of these encourage the kids to practice counting in the context of a game chose to play.

We use magnetic numbers, number cards, and writing numbers on our own to work on putting numbers in order. The kids get the numbers out of order and practice starting at one, then finding the 2 and 3 and so on. If kids are not yet ordering numbers, they can still work on this skill by matching numbers already printed in order with their numbers. In the bone activity, the bones were hidden in the sensory table and they each had the numbers 1-20 printed on them with a Sharpie. As they found the bones, they could match them to the piece of paper that had the bones and numbers.

Other chances to play with numbers in the classroom come through using the cash register and putting prices on items in the grocery store. At the cash register (you can also use a calculator) the kids were encouraged to label the numbers they pressed as they played. When we use calculators, we talk about both the numbers 0-9 on the calculator face, as well as the numbers that show up in the readout screen as kids explore with the buttons. When we stocked the grocery store with items, we asked "How much does this cost?" We wrote down the numbers and put prices on every item. We also invited the kids to practice writing prices themselves. 

We also work on numeracy when we do Counting Jar. We place a number of common objects in the big jar (people, plastic bugs, dinosaurs etc.) and the kids take turns counting what is in the jar. When they finish counting, they write the number on a piece of paper (we provide a number line model for those who need it). Then, they choose from items around the classroom and count their own set of the same number and put them in a plastic Ziploc bag with their name on it. We have many ways to check their work. We have done it at meeting as a whole group, counting each kids' bag. We have done pair shares, in which two kids count each others work. Kids who do not have an exact match will "fix it" at the time we check our work. We figure out if they have more than the number or less than the number. If they have more, they take the extras and go put them away in the classroom. If they don't have enough, they go get the number more that they need. 

These are just a few examples of how we have incorporated numeracy into the classroom this year.

Running for Cody's Crew

If I have learned nothing else from our preschool class this year, it is that these kids and their families are generous and really step up for a good cause. As members of Cody's Crew, we raised more than $1200 to help fight neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that Cody called "the beast."

We completed our run for Cody's Crew today in preschool. Since Kerry will be running as many miles as she can for 32 hours (in the rain, it looks like) this weekend, we decided the kids would run as many laps as they could around the ball field in 30 minutes (yes, we really should have done 32 minutes).

We donned our running shoes, had water waiting at the dugouts when the runners needed breaks, and ran (or walked when we were tired--or our knees began to ache just a little), and ran and ran. 

We tried to make sure each classmate had a chance to run a lap with the one of the Cody's Crew flags. They did a great job sharing this responsibility. We counted the laps completed by each of the kids. It looks like we have some serious future running competitors in this group.

The kids at Main Street Preschool in St. Albans also joined our cause. They each donated $2 (which raised $75 for us) and they ran in the park today. I want to thank their teacher, Gail, for hopping on board. We loved the support.

iPad possibilities

I am lobbying to get an iPad or two for the preschool next year. Look at this link to You Tube that shares the possibilities of this technology with preschool aged children.

The iPad for Younger Children

Ahoy Matey!

We are about to start Pirate Week in order to celebrate our spring service project, raising money for Cody's Crew. All month we have been collecting to support one of our classroom parents, Kerry Lambert, who is running for the cause next weekend. In 32 hours, she will attempt to run 100 miles.

Since Cody loved pirates more than anything, we will be honoring him this week by immersing ourselves in Pirate talk ("Argh" and "Shiver me timbers"), activities, and books. We'll be making a pirate ship to play in and work on balancing as we "walk the plank." Here's a few pirate terms your kids may learn this week:

Pirate- To make an attempt, or to complete an attack on a ship. A thief of the seas.

Privateer- An armed vessel sailing under the commission of a sovereign power against the enemy.
Buccaneer- A piratical adventurer of the sea. A person who plunders at the sea, or land from the sea.
Mariner- One whose responsibility it is to help in navigating a vessel.
Merchant Ship- A cargo ship.
Galleon- A large square masted vessel of the 1500's used for war, or commerce.
Booty- Goods obtained illegally. Spoils obtained as a result of war or battle.
Bounty- Reward or payment, usually from a government, for the capture of a criminal.
Loot- Gold, money, or other goods obtained illegally
Plunder- The act of pillaging or robbery.
Cutlass- A short, heavy, single edged sword, once used predominantly by sailors.
Mutiny- To rise against authority, particularly a naval or military power.
Maroon-to isolate. Sailors would leave mutinous shipmates on deserted islands, without any means of survival.
Jolly Roger- Typically a black flag bearing drawn white bones; indicates a pirate ship.

On Thursday, Kerry will be bringing in one of the official Cody's Crew Flags. We will be having our own race around the ball field. The kids will see how many laps they can run or walk in 30 minutes. We'll also be awarding prizes to the top two fundraisers in the class. We're doing all of this to help find a cure for neuroblastoma, or "the Beast," as Cody called it.

The Sugar House Field Trip

The sugar house had steam coming out of the top. That is the water being boiled out of the sap. Sap is a whole bunch of water and a little bit of sugar.

We road the horse drawn hay wagon up to the sugar bush.

We needed tools to tap a tree.

First, we measured to make sure the tree was big enough to tap. You need a tree at least 36 inches around. This means if a child hugs the tree, his hands should not be able to touch.

 

We used a hand drill to make our hole--that's the old-fashioned way.

After tapping in the spout with a hammer, we hung the bucket.

Next, we put the "hat" on to keep out rain water because sap already has a lot of water. We heard the sap drops going into the bucket right away.

We went to the buckets in the bush and collected sap into white collection buckets.

Back at the sugar house, we got to look at the big tank that collects the sap from trees with tubes.

Matt made sure to show us the fire under the evaporator. 
They go through a lot of wood.

A Little Irish Luck

We had a St. Patrick's Day celebration today in preschool. My heritage is Irish and this was a holiday growing up that was full of magic and surprises. The kids learned a bit about the lore of Ireland. We read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, an Irish folktale by Tomie dePaola.

Before they got to school, the Leprechaun visited the classroom. He's tricky, clever, and whimsical. He left a trail of shamrocks throughout the room, so it was easy to tell where he went. There were some places that had a whole mess of shamrock footprints. We're pretty sure that's where he stopped to do a jig.

He used his magic to turn all sorts of things his favorite color--GREEN. It took awhile for the kids to notice them all. The water in the toilet and the water table were green. The glue for our art collages turned green. The collage materials were all green (yesterday they were many colors). The only markers in the classroom were green. The chocolate chop muffins, grapes, and milk at snack all had a green hue. He even turned the teacher's water green.

He also left a bunch of sparkles in the rice table and he hid treasures in there--lucky green coins. He left us a note telling us about all of his antics. Here it is.

We still followed our regular schedule, but all day long we kept finding more treats and treasures. As we collected the treats, candies in green wrappers, we kept counting and re-counting to find out if we had them all. We practiced counting up past 60 many times today. We figured out at the end of play time we still needed to find 5 more pieces. During clean up, we found four of the five.

At music, one of the kids noticed the last piece of candy was hidden on Beth's ear!! How did that leprechaun manage to hide one there? We learned to do a jig. Beth knew the steps from when she was a little kid. There is a lot of jumping and kicking in place and you have to keep your hands by your sides as you move.

At dismissal, everyone got to choose three treats and a treasure to take home as a gift from the leprechaun.