LITERACY/LANGUAGE: Pre-Reading Skills, Daily Schedule

On a rotating basis the children in the Cardinal classroom take turns reviewing our Daily Schedule with the entire group at Morning Meeting. This reading readiness activity provides wonderful opportunities for children to practice decoding skills and sight vocabulary skills as well as recall and memory skills. Learning concepts such yesterday/today/tomorrow are reinforced daily and the children are developing a sense of time and sequence as they map out the events of their day.

Here we see Noel as he named the activities of the day, pointing to each word and touching the word with his pointer finger. Through this literacy activity, Noel’s print awareness is heightening. A pre-reading skill, print awareness is an important part of knowing how to read and write. Noel’s interest to participate in this activity reflects his growing knowledge about the relation between words he sees in print and the words he speaks and hears.

LITERACY/LANGUAGE: Writing

In the Cardinals’ classroom, endless opportunities are provided to write for many purposes. As the children continue to be exposed to language and print and develop an understanding of how words work, they start to understand how to group letters into words.

Each child progresses at their own developmental writing level. The goal is not to tell the children how to write, but to help them sound out words by stretching the sounds. Allowing the child to write the words the way they sound will eventually help them as they learn to read.

Here we see an example of Noel exploring with writing as he forms letters on his paper that describes what he is thankful for. As Noel was provided with help to sound out the word, he wrote:

“EM”

(me)

Eventually, with practice and formal teachings, Noel will acquire comprehension on the conventions of print, e.g., writing from left to right, the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters, how to put spaces between words, and how to use correct spelling and punctuation.

Exploring Sewing...

December 2013
Fine Motor Skills 

Amanda introduced the concept of sewing in Art class and demonstrated the skills involved using a large plastic sewing needle, yarn and burlap.  The initial introduction of this activity was done in large group and provided an opportunity for all of the children to practice listening skills and following directions.

Developing strong listening skills is an important component of our curriculum and our children have many varied opportunities to both practice and develop these skills in our Early Childhood program. The children have matured in their abilities to listen and focus as a group  and they continue to learn and grow so much from each other.

Noel thoroughly enjoys visiting the art studio and loves to participate in our Art classes with Amanda.  Working in small groups at the art tables, Noel applied the information he heard and enthusiastically began to sew!  Noel is eager to try new experiences and challenges and does not frustrate easily.  Sewing involves many steps as well as fine motor coordination and Noel approached this task with determination! His fine motor skills are continuing to mature as we continue to provide various opportunities to develop these skills.

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL: Self-Portraits, Self-Awareness

Throughout the year the children will be asked to draw a picture of themselves. Often the use of a small mirror will help the children become more aware of facial details. Through this activity the children develop self awareness as well as awareness of others.

As the year progresses it is exciting to see how Noel’s fine motor skills develop and his perspective changes.  In his personal folder you will find Noel’s self-portraits for each month of the 2013-14 school year.  

 

LITERACY/LANGUAGE: Journaling, Career choice

What would you like to be when you grow up? What kind of job would you like to do and why?

“I want to be a Bakery because I very like bakering, because I like cake and cupcakes.”

11/19/2013

LITERACY/LANGUAGE: Bird Study Homework, The Students as Teachers

The Cardinals took great joy at sharing their Research Study. The children had chosen a particular species of bird that they wanted to learn more about and returned to class with their findings. Along with their results, several of the children created a nest for their bird of study. Quite a few Cardinals and their families worked together to create the most outstanding habitat for their bird of choice, an amazing collaborative experience.

Each Cardinal was eager to share their found facts as well as the story of all the work that went into the creation of the nests they crafted. Without any hesitation, each took a turn and stood in front of their classmates and teachers and communicated their discoveries. Once done, they invited their audience to ask questions.  This active involvement of the speaker and the listeners fostered a great deal of developments within each child, from learning how to ask a question or stating a comment to providing a leadership role where their choice and voice was honored.

Here’s what Noel taught us...

The Parrot

by Noel Springer

1) Parrots make good pets

2) They make their nests in trees.

3) They can mimic voices

4) It lives "in jungles"

5) It eats "fruit, bugs"

Noel chose this bird to research “Because when they first hatch from the eggs, they're so cute!”

The experience of presenting his homework provided Noel many great developmental benefits, Literacy, Cognitive, and Social/Emotional. It offered Noel the opportunity to understand the difference between a statement and a question as well as use descriptive language, concept thinking, storytelling, and so much more. Overall, it helped Noel develop effective communication skills. Also, this opportunity allowed for Noel to share his interest which fostered his emotional self.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT: Bodily-Kinesthetic

During our Shape Walk around campus, the Cardinals were challenged to create a shape. Arranged into small groups of four, each group was given a basic geometrical shape and their task was to make that shape using their bodies.  

Not only is this a way to asses basic geometric shape recognition and formation, but this activity also helped Noel learn about body awareness and the use of his limbs. This seemingly simple and creative activity required the use of Noel’s creative-thinking, language skills, spatial awareness, and interpersonal intelligence as he used his body to create a square.