2nd week of preschool

Arrival - When students first arrive, they will stow their belongings and have an opportunity to play in a few areas of the classroom.  Activities this week include large legos, coloring and puzzles

Story Time
Rockin in My School Shoes and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Kissing Hand

Small Groups - 
Journal page - what we like to play at school.

Making our names using letters written on ducks

Math  - How many ducks in a pond?  Some students will complete this activity will complete this using ducks and a paper pond, other students will complete this activity with paper ducks

Handwriting - As we begin our year, we often start by building hand strength before starting our instruction with handwriting.  This week we will use playdough for this purpose as students will push, squeeze, and roll the playdough as well as ripping paper and decorating letters of our name with bingo markers.

Choice Time
This is a child centered time where students can choose an area to play and explore.
Sensory - sand table - sorting letters and not letters
Rug -  large legos
Kitchen - Birthday part
Art - Painting a raccoon mask from the Kissing Hand
Library - Books about school
Writing Center - Coloring and exploring materials in our writing center
Table - Doll House
Blocks - cardboard blocks

First Day

We are very excited about our first day of preschool.

As we start the year, we will spend time learning about our classmates, our daily routine, and expectations. Some of our activities will remain at school to decorate the classroom or to keep in your child's portfolio.

Arrival - When students first arrive, they will stow their belongings and have an opportunity to play in a few areas of the classroom.  Activities this week include, trains/cars and coloring

Story Time
The Kissing Hand, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Preschool Day Hooray!

Meeting - The class will gather together to talk about our feelings about the first day of school, our favorite colors, and our ages.  These conversations will lead us to our small groups as we are beginning a mini-all about me unit.

Small Groups - 
Journal page about our first day - Students will draw a picture of themselves and describe how they feel about school, using visuals as needed.  These drawings will remain at school but will be available to view at our open house.

Painting a duck - Students will use water colors to paint a large duck

Decorating the first letter of our name - Coordinating with the story Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, students will decorate the first letter of their name with bingo markers and stickers as they choose.

Handwriting - As we begin our year, we often start by building hand strength before starting our instruction with handwriting.  This week we will use playdough for this purpose as students will push, squeeze, and roll the playdough.

Choice Time
This is a child centered time where students can choose an area to play and explore.
Sensory - sand table
Rug -  cars and trains
Kitchen with play food
Art - Painting
Library - Books about school
Writing Center - Coloring and exploring materials in our writing center

Welcome Lucky Ducks!

We are very excited to start our new year with our new friends and families.  Our open house is Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 11:00.  Your child will have an opportunity to meet his or her teachers, color a duck for our daily attendance as well as explore many fun centers in the classroom.  

Thank you

Lucky Duck Families,
As our school year comes to a close, I wanted to Thank all of you for a wonderful  year.  It has been so much fun getting to know your children and watching them learn and grow.  I am grateful to have been a part of their development.  I wish you and your family a wonderful summer.
~Katie

Summer Fun Activities

Read, Read, Read.  

Read with a flashlight, or on a picnic blanket, or at the library.

Play Ispy - 

I spy with my little eye something (give a color)

 I spy something that rhymes with 

 I spy something that starts with - (and give the sound)

Play board games -

Candyland, memory, etc.

Journal

-Keep a summer journal.  Children can draw a picture and tell you about their picture

Ideas shared from our Therapist Blog

SUMMER FUN OT ACTIVITIES

It’s time to enjoy the beautiful weather and get outside!  There are many activities you can do outside that will be not only fun but also helpful to your child’s development.  Below is a list of some outdoor activity suggestions and their many benefits!

• Break out the Sidewalk chalk

• Practice drawing pictures, lines, shapes or letters.  Use a spray bottle filled with water to spritz-away and start over

Developmental benefits: fine motor, prewriting skills, synsori motor development, midline crossing

Go on a Nature Walk!

– collect leaves, branches, small rocks to make a collage

Developmental benefits: fine motor, sensory processing, bilateral coordination and visual perceptual motor skill development

Wash the Car!

– break out the soap, sponges and hoses

Developmental benefits: upper body/wrist/hand strengthening, midline crossing, bilateral coordination, sensory processing skill development

Go to the Beach & Play in the Sand!

– draw lines & shapes in the sand with fingers; build sand castles

Developmental benefits: visual motor integration, visual perception, hand strengthening, bilateral coordination, midline crossing and sensory processing

Paint with Water!

 -use large brushes, or small sponge pieces to paint with and use the side of the house, a fence or sidewalk as your “canvas”

 Developmental benefits: hand and wrist strengthening, grasp development, proximal stability, visual motor integration and midline crossing  

Dig For Treasures!

– using small kitchen tongs or strawberry hullers, pick up small toys or “treasures” hiding in the sandbox

Developmental benefits:  grasp development, hand strengthening, bilateral coordination, eye hand coordination, visual motor control

Start discussing new vocabulary such as flowers, bugs, rain/raindrops, grass, bunnies, birds and concepts such as growing and weather

Go Outside and.....

• Play tug-a –war ( use a rope or use a popsicle stick for finger-tug-a-war)
• Draw on driveway using sidewalk chalk then spray clean using squirt bottle
• Have a squirt gun battle
• Roll down a hill
• Have wheelbarrow or crab walk races
• Blow bubbles and try to pop or pinch them with your finger tips!
• Go to the park and try out all the fun swings and climbing equipment
• Make paper air planes
• Fly a kite
• Go to the beach and dig for shells in the sand
• Build a sand castle
• String a necklace using dried pasta or Cheerios
• Go swimming!!
• ‘Draw’ shapes and lines in wet sand
• Wash the car using soapy water and sponges
• Play hopscotch
• Play a game of catch with water balloons!
• Water the plants (try using  squirt bottle or garden hose)
• Pull a heavy wagon and take a walk to the park

On Rainy Days.......

• Bake!!  Stirring cookie batter or rolling dough is a great way to work on hand strengthening
• Paint a picture on an easel and then hang your picture to dry using clothespins
• Make a mosaic – snip paper strips into small squares and glue on a picture outline

• Make fruit loop or Cheerio towers!

* Start with a ball of playdough on the table. Position a wooden skewer in the playdough, then start threading the cereal onto the skewer to build your tower

• Build fine motor skills with some great Indoor board games:

* Scaterpillar Scramble

* Sneaky, Squeeky Squirril Game

* Thin Ice

* Bed Bugs

* Topple

* Finger Twister

* Connect Four (Key chain or mini version)

* Perfection or Scramble

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STUFFED ANIMAL GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES (Kim Russell - pt)

As a mother, I know my children's many stuffed animals (most of which sit on the bottom of the bed) are never being used.  Well, here are some ways to utilize those furry little animals to get your child moving while having fun!  

• Animal Walking- gather a variety of different animals i.e. frog, bear, bunny, etc. and have your child walk like each one.  As this becomes easy for your child increase the challenge by placing obstacles in their path to move over, under, around, etc.

• Animal Toss- use stuffed animals of various sizes and shapes to toss into a container such as an empty laundry basket.  Increase the challenge by increasing the distance, having the child balance on a cushion or pillow while tossing, stand on one foot and throw, etc.

• Animal Musical Chairs- have the children hold stuffed animals while playing musical chairs.  When the music stops instead of having the children sit have them place their animal on the chair.  Vary the movement i.e. running, skipping, jumping, bear walking, etc.

• Parachute Play- use a bed sheet as a parachute.  Place a stuffed animal(s) in the center of the sheet and lift the sheet up and down, giving the animal(s) a ride.  Also try Ring Around the Rosy.  The children can walk, run, skip, jump, etc.

• Flying Animals- have your child lay on their back and squeeze a stuffed animal between their ankles.  Have the child lift their legs while keeping the animal between their ankles and make their animal “fly”.  This is a great core strengthening activity. 

Encourage your child to have fun playing with their stuffed animals while you are sneaking in some physical activity!  

Bubble Wrap Party

Today we had a fun experience of exploring bubble wrap with our feet.  We discussed how some of the bubbles are loud when they pop while others are quieter.  The kids loved it!  Please check out some of photos in the picture blog too.

Things that Grow

OWL unit 6

May 18th is our family party at 10:30

May 23rd is our conference day.  It is a regular school day for students.

During the months of May and June, we will begin our final unit for the school year “Things That Grow”. In this unit, children explore how living things grow, using observations, experiments and books. In this unit’s stories, children will hear about ducks who find a special home, a new baby on a farm, a boy who grows from a baby to a school-age boy and a girl who discovers the joys of growing vegetables.

Theme concepts for this unit:

• Living things grow and have life cycles
• Living things reproduce, and the offspring are the same kind of plant or animal as the parents
• Living things need food, water and proper living conditions to survive
• Immature living things need special care
• Living things interact, and among animals, there are predators and prey

Books for the Unit:

The Ugly Vegetables by: Grace Lin

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by: Eric Carle

Make Way for Ducklings by:Robert McCloskey

Bigger by:Daniel Kirk

I Heard Said the Bird by: Polly Berrrien Berends

Farfallina and Marcel by: Holly Keller

Small Groups for this unit may include:

• following directions
• observing caterpillars and butterflies (They are starting to change already!)
• size sequencing flowers
• seed patterns
• bird feeder bracelets
• 10 frame counting
• color the flowers book
• butterfly crafts
• Where is the butterfly? positional book
• Size sorting
• planting seeds