Owls
seem to be the latest trend. You can find owls on dishes, clothes, backpacks,
you name it and you can probably find it with an owl on it. So why not bring
owls in the classroom? Owls are a very interesting bird and young children are
fascinated by them, so it makes a wonderful topic to study. There are lots of
great owl books and ideas out there (Pinterest anyone?). One of our favorite
books is Owl Babies by Martin Waddell.
We
have had great fun this week doing art
work and recording their voices on Chatterpix, Owl literacy and math centers, and Owl math prompts.Sojoin the latest trend and have a hootin’ good time!
Hopefully most of you, if not all of
you have had the opportunity to peruse Pinterest. You can find a suggestion or
an idea for anything; from hair styles to Bunko! But the best part of Pinterest
is the awesome classroom ideas that people post. We use Pinterest all the time
to update our centers and classroom ideas or to just try something new. With
this in mind, we decided to give you a peek into Pinterest every once in a
while to see some of the wonderful ideas we are using. This week we are
focusing on cooking creative snacks in the
classroom.
Make sure to check out Pinterest if
you haven’t already!
Check out this week's "apple snacks".
The cookies were made by one of our moms! Am I lucky to have her in my class? You bet! :)
Constitution Day is commemorated on September 17th.
But how do you explain the Constitution of the United States in language young
children can understand? Well, the Constitution is a set of rules to keep
EVERYBODY safe! Introducing the concept of the Constitution in VERY simple
terms usually gets the general idea across that four, five, and six year olds can relate to.
One of the ways we do this is by creating our own classroom
Constitution. The children work together to come up with a set of class rules
that ensures everybody in the class will have a chance to learn and be safe
(and have fun!) while they are at school.When the rules are agreed upon, everybody takes turns signing the
classroom Constitution. We even have costumes to dress up like some of the
original signers of the Constitution! Check out the pictures!
Why are fine motor skills so important? Developing fine motor skills
is necessary for children in order to promote self-help skills, manipulate
toys, small objects and use writing tools. Activities that encourage strength
and dexterity help young children set the foundation for stability, sensation
and bilateral coordination.
We have used play dough, lots of games and activities that require
manipulation with the hands, and we have practiced and practiced holding
writing tools, tracing stencils/patterns and using scissors. Yes, they all have
improved greatly, but we have had a difficult time coming up with new and
exciting activities that help build those fine motor muscles. Luckily we have
an occupational therapist who works with our school and she has shared some ideas
with our parents and teachers. We incorporated some of those ideas in
the classroom too!
We have always had a cut box, but adding different textures and
thicknesses has brought interest back. We also did straw cutting. Just watch
out for flying straw pieces!
At the play dough center, we started switching to different types of
play dough recipes or use clay on a tray. We have added objects to the play
dough that children have to dig out. On the clay tray they used toothpicks to
make designs. Using different types of textures helps with sensory.
Using tongs and tweezers gives a fun twist to different activities.
Scrunching up one piece of newspaper in one hand, what a super easy
activity to set up!
Bubble wrap is another great activity. We still love popping bubbles
too.
Check out some of these handwriting apps! Handwriting Without Tears
ABC Crayon
Letter School
Shoe Tying Videos:
Play dough recipes (click on the image):
We have enjoyed incorporating these new ideas and the children are
having fun with them too. If you have any different and fun ideas to develop
fine motor skills, let us know! Fine Motor Pinterest Board:
