Routine!

Establishing routine is the key to setting up any classroom.  This is especially true when teaching preschoolers.  Our little learners rely on routine to help them feel secure and confident as they transition from home to school.  

Our routine begins when the children enter the building.  

They unpack their bags and file their notebooks.

They wash their hands and sign their names. 

 We have already seen amazing growth in their name writing in 4 short days!

The helper feeds the fish, then it is off to table choices while the rest of our friends arrive. 

Table choices give us a change to acclimate to the classroom and practice skills we have been working on. 

Circle time begins with a morning meeting, planning session for the day, the pledge, a devotion and prayer. 

Next up, literacy block!

After whole group instruction we break up into small groups for literacy centers.  

Finally, free choice center time!

After all of this work, we are hungry! Snack time!

Math begins with a book and whole group lesson.

I ends with small group and individual practice. 

We end our day on the playground.

We are learning to put on our own helmets! LOL

We end our day with a closing meeting.  We review our day, discuss highs and lows and plan for tomorrow, when we do it all over again.  I love the rhythm of our days and look forward to the routine myself!

Ring the Bell!

Our 4s got off to a great start this school year during their staggered enrollment days.

This time together in small groups allows our students to learn their new routines in detail.  

We learn  how to unpack and sign-in.  We even have to teach the grown-ups what to do!

Once we sign in and wash our hands its time for table choices!

This week we worked with play-doh and the Creature Builders.

Next we got to know our circle time routine!

We say the pledge, read our Bible story, and pray.  

  

Today we spent some time getting to know each other.  We rolled the "My Favorite Thing" dice to see what each person's favorite thing was: color, food, book, game, and animal were all possible choices.  As we took turns rolling the dice the children began to make connections with one another, "I like pink too", "The elephant is MY favorite animal!". 

Next is was time for centers.  We worked in small groups to complete collage self-portraits.  

 

This was a great time for an informal assessment on each child's scissor skills and ability to hold a writing instrument.  

We took some time to learn how to use the learning resources in each center. 

Then we tried them out.

All this learning made us hungry!  We paused for a quick snack and got right back to work.

I think all good math lessons begin with a book!  Today we read From Anne to Zach!

  We discovered that we all have special names with special letters.  

We counted the letters in our names.

Nex we built towers to represent the number of characters in our names. 

Once our towers were built, we personalized them for use in the classroom.

 Finally, we put our names in order from the smallest to the tallest. 

This math lesson incorporated one-to-one correspondence, building number sense, and comparing and ordering numbers.  

The last order of business was RECESS!  

We finally got outside to stretch our legs and explore God's World! 

What an absolutely perfect week at preschool!