From Pinatas to St. Lucia Day Hats

These last two days have felt like the most hectic days so far. I’m sure that’s just because I’m tired though. (Christmas break is only a week away!)

We talked more about Las Posadas yesterday. I’m hoping we can make a piñata one of the days this week. The kids love hearing about the different traditions in Mexico.

In the sand and water area, I put out some boxes and all the supplies the kiddos needed to wrap some presents. They were very excited about this! It’s fun to watch their different approaches to wrapping the present. I had some kids cut the wrapping paper into tiny pieces and then tape each piece onto the box until it was completely wrapped. I had some kids who set a tiny box in the center of a giant piece of wrapping paper and they just squished and taped until it was all covered and stuck. Then, of course, there were a few who must have had some experience watching their moms and dads wrap presents, because their packages were near perfect! Anyway they chose to wrap was an excellent exercise for those small muscles in their hands and fingers. 

Today was St. Lucia Day! We started the day by watching a video of a Swedish choir dressed in traditional clothing and singing the St. Lucia Day carol and by learning a bit about how they celebrate.

Afterwards, the kids made their own St. Lucia hats. The hats they made are traditionally worn by the boys in the procession. I had a few crowns (minus the candles, of course) for the kids to experiment with as well. 

 The afternoon class has been working hard to get ready to sing on Thursday for WELCA. (The morning class has been learning the same songs, so they’re definitely not being left out!) We’ve been working on a few Christmas carols to sing, and we’re even using instruments this time. The kiddos are super excited, and I can’t wait for everyone to see! We’ll be singing at 2:45 if you are interested in seeing it for yourself.

For the next couple of days, we’ll be finishing up our Las Posadas celebration and diving into Kwanzaa! It’s been a really fun study so far!

Writing and Dancing and Letter Sounds...Oh My!

Wow! This week flew by faster than any other so far! Here’s what we accomplished on Wednesday and Thursday:

We started journaling this week. Each child has a journal in which they write at the beginning of each class. In just one week, it is amazing to see how intentional their drawings and writing have become. At the beginning of the week, I saw a lot of this:

 The kids would draw a picture, and I would add the words.

By the end of the week the kids were beginning to experiment with writing their own words, so I saw a lot of this:

 It may not look like much, but those symbols at the bottom of the page are my friend's words! He will read them to you if you ask him to!

It is just the neatest thing to watch these early literacy skills growing in my young friends!

Ever since the Read-A-Thon, music has become a huge part of our classroom. The new CDs I’ve downloaded onto the iPads come in handy in so many ways. There are songs to help us line up by the letters our names start with, songs teaching us about rhyming, and songs just for fun. I’ve started taking the iPads into our music and movement area, and they are always in use. 

 Dancing to The Penguin Dance!

We experimented with making music using water on Friday. The kids used baby food jars and a metal spoon to make music. They noticed how the pitch of each jar was different and how it could be changed by adding or taking away water. 

Outside, we played a game called Around and Around. The game was an exercise in alliteration (when two words start with the same beginning sound). The kids would walk around a pile of play food saying this rhyme:

Around and around and around we go.

Where we stop, nobody knows!

When I called, “Stop,” they would quickly grab a food item. I then pulled a picture card from my pile. The child who had a food that started with the same sound as my picture card won that round. This is a challenging skill for most of the preschoolers, but they are beginning to catch on. Take some time to talk about the beginning sounds of words with your child if you have some free time this weekend and let me know how it goes!

Next week, we’re going to start a study of Lake Mills. As I have been changing the dramatic play center to include different types of jobs, the kids have taken a strong interest in running a business and the different jobs people have. I’m hoping to take some field trips throughout this study to various businesses in Lake Mills. If you would like to assist with these field trips or have an idea for a field trip, please let me know!

On Monday, we are having a costume party. I sent home notes on each child’s shirt on Thursday, so hopefully you all found them. Please send your child’s costume with him/her on Monday. We’ll be parading our costumes throughout the church and at the big school. (The afternoon class will be participating in the costume parade with the big kids at the elementary school this year! I’m way too excited about this!) Then we’ll come back to the classroom for special snacks and games.

It should be a great week! I can’t wait!

Music and Movement

Music and Movement

Many important physical, social, cognitive, and language skills are learned and practiced in the music and movement area. Music brings out many emotions in children; when they are allowed to express those emotions through singing and dancing, they become more capable of handling them. The movement activities and dancing that occur in this area strengthen the children's gross motor skills, and playing the instruments in the area helps strengthen small motor skills. Children build cognitive skills by practicing various number skills while playing instruments or singing along to music and by thinking symbolically as they dance. The vocabulary used in many children's songs will help children build their own vocabularies, and the rhymes and alliteration found in the songs helps them build basic pre-reading skills.

Ideas for Home:

There are many ways you can incorporate music and movement into your life at home. Simply having a variety of children's music on CD/mp3 and playing it during car trips or during free time at home allows your children to experience music. Letting your children play along to the music with instruments is a great way to engage their attention. If you don't have any musical instruments at home, you can easily make some. For example, you could take two plastic containers, fill one with dried beans, and tape them together for a simple maraca.

Singing and doing fingerplays (e.g. Itsy Bitsy Spider or The Wheels on the Bus) with your children is a great way to introduce them to rhyming words. Don't worry if you don't have the most beautiful singing voice! Your children won't mind at all, and they will love spending the quality time with you. 

Getting your children up and moving is the ultimate goal of this area. Playing simple games like Duck, Duck, Goose or Hide 'n Seek are great ways to make this happen. 

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.