Happy Halloween

During center time today small groups of children followed a rebus recipe to make "Witches Brew."  During snack time we shared this concoction with our friends.  The children loved eating ghost eyes, mouse tails, and cat whiskers.  Thank you to everyone who donated ingredients for the snack.  Any extra food items we will use for snack.  We also played spider BINGO as a way to review the concepts being taught in class.

A Batty Day

Today we journaled about what we are going to dress up as for Halloween.  The children are starting to get better at drawing pictures of themselves.  When my daughter was little I had her draw a picture of our family each year.  I was amazing to see how much her picture changed from one year to the next.  With all of the advanced in technology we find that children have a harder time holding crayons, pencils, and markers.  Please continue to encourage your child to color and draw as a way to strengthen the muscles in their fingers.

At a second center your child made a bat position book.  We worked on the position words between, under, in the middle of, next to, on top of, and inside of.  We will reread our book tomorrow.

S is for Spider

Yesterday our activities revolved around monsters.  We read the story Go Away Big Green Monster Caldecott Award-winning author-artist Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to chase away their nighttime fears. Kids can turn the pages of this die-cut book and watch the Big Green Monster grow. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear! This story allowed us to talk about some books being real and others being make believe.
During one center the children read the story Shape Monster, Shape Monster.  Each page started out with the sentences, "Shape Monster, Shape Monster, Munch, Munch, Munch.  How about a ______ for your lunch?"  To fill in the blank a shape and its color was written.  For example, "How about a yellow square for your lunch?"  The children listened to the shape clue then glued the corresponding shape on the page.  When your child brings the book home tomorrow encourage them to try to read it to you.  Have them point under the words with their fingers moving left to right.  Also have them use the picture clue to tell about the shape.  If your child does not know the shapes, keep the book out and reread it the next couple of nights.  

Today the children learned all about the letter S,s.  At one second center the children weaved a spider web.  In the morning the children also searched for spiders in the room.  Each spider had a number or shape on it.  The children identified the object and used a marker to record it on their recording sheet.

Fall

Today during snack the children taste tested apples.  They tried red ones, yellow ones, and green ones.  They used the following adjectives to describe the apples; crunchy, juicy, sweet, sour, crisp, and even yummy.  Once the taste test was finished the children graphed which color apple they thought tasted the best.  In both the morning and afternoon the children had the most votes for red apples.

During class today the children continued to learn about fall/autumn.  Today they followed multiple step directions to make a shape scarecrow.  When working with your children on following directions make sure to have them look you in the eye when you are speaking to them, as well as not interrupt what you are trying to tell them.

Apples

On Tuesday our read aloud was Ten Apples Up On Top.  This silly story offered us many opportunities to find rhyming words, like drop and top, tall, and fall, town and down.  At center time the children at my center drew a picture of themselves.  We took our time and made sure we had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two ears, hair, and even eyebrows.  We also talked about the color of our hair and eyes.  Next the children were each given a number.  They traced over their number and then counted out the corresponding number of apples.  Lastly, they glued their apples to the top of their faces.  I am going to assemble each child's page into a class book.

The children made an apple tree.  They cut out a trunk and leaves, glued them onto a piece of paper, and then made apples with paint and the eraser end of a pencil. 

Today the children made the "L" page for the ABC book that they are making.  They also worked on one-to-one correspondence to finger paint apples.  In the writing center I showed them how to make books.  At the iPads they visited the Starfall app.

Assessment

Today and tomorrow their will be a substitute teacher in our classroom.  I will be assessing the children using our state PALS assessment.  I have included a link that provides a detailed description of PALS.  http://www.palswisconsin.info/parents.shtml

Leaves

At one center today the children played a counting game.  Each child was given a game board.  On their turn they rolled a die and counted out the corresponding number of fall colored M&M's.  They then placed their M&M's on the tree as leaves.  They children played the game until their tree was full of fall leaves.  You can play this game again at home by using Fruit Loops, Cheerios, or any small round object.

At the second center the children fished for leaves.  On their turn they used a fishing pole to fish a leaf out of a leaf pile.  They identified the letter that was on their leaf.  Next, they used a do

tter to record their catch on a recording sheet.

L is for Leaves

This is another exciting week in 4K.  This week we will continue working on learning the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that they make.  Our first letters are F, P, & L.  This week we will learn that L is for leaves. 

At one center today the children used droppers to drop colored liquid on a coffee filter to make fall leaves.  This activity also incorporates scientific inquiry, because the children observed what happened when the colors mixed.

Using eye droppers increase the children's fine motor skills.  Here are a few other ways you can help your child strengthen their fingers:

*Do finger-plays.  Find them on-line or in a book at the library.

*Cut pictures out.  Parents can boldly outline them with marker to make it easier.

*Play with small beads, Legos, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, etc.

*Knead play dough or clay.  Build objects with them.

*Dig through play dough for hidden objects.

*Put pegs in a board or styrofoam.

*Pick up small objects with tweezers and put them in a container.

*Move little game pieces.

*Squirt water out of bottles.

*Squeeze air out of a turkey baster to move cotton balls on a table.

*Finger paint with Jell-O or cocoa on a paper plate.

*String cereal, buttons, or beads to make necklaces.

*Punch holes on a paper plate.

*Clip clothespins to a container.

*Lace cards.

Field Trip

We had lots of fun on our field trip today.  In the afternoon we did get a little wet, but we were still able to find the perfect pumpkin.  Our next trip will be to the Sheboygan Children's Museum in January.

More Pumpkin Fun

Today the children made a pumpkin project to go along with the rhyme "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate." Here is a link to share with your child that shows the Pete the Cat version of the rhyme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYDNtslzKPI

The children also mixed colors today.  They learned that red and yellow makes orange.  They used their orange paint to finger paint a pumpkin.

Today I assessed the children on their ability to write their name.  We are seeing a great improvement!  When practicing this skill at home please have your child write with their pinchers.  They also need to start their letters at the top.