FAMILY BUZZ
Fun & Learning at Home! Letters
STORY TIME - with Ms. Ann
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
Learning pre-reading and pre-writing skills is a process. It happens one step at a time as children are ready for that step. Here are some of the steps that we walk through with children at WWP...
Singing "ABC's", so children learn the names of letters.
As children are read to, they come to understand that letters convey meaning. Each letter has it's own sound and when put together, they make words. Point to the words as you read to your child.
Usually the first letter that children learn to recognize and to write is the first letter of their first name, followed by the other letters in their name.
Long before a child learns to write letters s/he is working on strengthening finger muscles (fine motor skills) through play, such as building with Duplos, doing puzzles, using play dough and other sensory materials.
As a child scribbles with crayons, and other writing materials s/he is learning how to control the writing utensil and gaining strength to eventually make the straight and curvy lines needed to make letters.
Children learn through their play! At WWP we incorporate learning to recognize letters, their sounds and how to write them into children's play. Here are some fun ways to PLAY with letters!
Notice the small container for paint? That encourages the child to just use one finger to paint with. Q-tips are another great painting tool to make dots and it strengthens those finger muscles!
Write letters on pieces of masking tape and have your child match them to ones on a paper. For younger children use the letters in their name first until they have mastered those letters before going on to other letters. Older children could match upper and lower case letters.
Shaving cream is great sensory, small muscle FUN for all ages. As your preschooler gets older, encourage writing letters in the shaving cream. Have some letters nearby for inspiration and to copy.
Use food boxes with a dry erase (or regular marker would work too) to search for letters. Find the first letter of your first name, like Ms. Ann!
Fun & Learning at Home! Let's Move!
STORY TIME - with Ms. Tarah
Can you move like a...?
FROG BEAR CRAB RABBIT SNAKE BIRD ELEPHANT
What else?
Create a game out of it. Perhaps you can draw pictures of different animals on small pieces of paper, fold them up and pick them out one at a time and take turns pretending to be that animal. Older preschoolers can practice writing the names of the animals.
LET'S MOVE - INDOORS & OUT
Hopscotch - use chalk on the sidewalk or masking tape on your floor.
Tape crepe paper or yarn with removable masking tape to the walls for kids to crawl under or step over.
FREE FOOD FOR CHILDREN
The Minneapolis Public Schools are offering free food for all children under the age of 18. They are passing out a box with 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches for each child. One of the pick up locations is Whittier Park on Tuesdays, 10:00 - 2:00. Additional supplemental groceries for families are available through Sheridan story. See the link for more locations near you.
Fun & Learning at Home! Shapes
STORY TIME - with MS. ANN
EXPLORING & CREATING WITH SHAPES
Go on a "Shape Hunt" in your home, in your neighborhood. Make a list of shapes and put an X on the shape as you find it.
Before you go on your "Shape Hunt" create a bear mask and you can be Bear hunting for shapes!
Take a picture to show us!
BEAR SNACK
Create a bear sweet treat with graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate chips.
SHAPES CREATION
Decorate a piece of paper with paint, crayons, markers, chalk or whatever you have on hand.
Older children can trace and cut out the shapes.
Tape or glue them onto pieces of string or yarn.
Take a picture of yourself with your creation and we'll share it with your WWP friends!
Fun & Learning at Home! Emotional Well-Being
STORY & SPANISH TIME - with MS. ANALIA
HOW ARE YOU FEELING? from Ms. Ann
In just the last 24 hours, I've been feeling -
JOYFUL WORRIED BORED LONELY AIMLESS HOPEFUL
SAD FRUSTRATED LOVED UNCERTAIN PEACEFUL GRATEFUL
Day by day, moment by moment feelings come and feelings go.
Name your FEELINGS
SHARE your feelings - in word, in song, in art, in action
BREATHE deep
Focus on the LOVE
Be GRATEFUL
At WWP, some of our emotional goals with the preschoolers include:
Naming emotions
Being able to express "I feel..."
Recognizing others' emotions
Learning what to do with those emotions. How to comfort oneself. For example: taking deep breaths, painting or coloring an angry/sad/happy picture, run or do jumping jacks, a big hug, talk with someone about it.
MINI YOGA COURSE - CALM BREATHING
from our friend, Jessie at Learning Tree Yoga
WWP families may remember Jessie from our Family Fun Night in October. She sent me this link on our last day of preschool, when I was feeling quite anxious about the unknown weeks to come. I did the breathing techniques along with the video and immediately was feeling calmer. It's amazing what a few deep breaths can do for little people and big people alike!
Fun & Learning at Home! Science with Ms. Tarah
MUSIC TIME - WITH MS. KERAH
Here's another fun song from Ms. Kerah, Josiah, Stefen, and Sage!
SCIENCE ACTIVITIES - FROM MS. TARAH
Make oobleck and then do the dinosaur activity after you are done playing with it!!
Oobleck recipe
Then use oobleck to make a dino dig or add small plastic animals or evern rocks.
Growing plants (instead of the miracle-gro microgrowables, use simple seeds)
Ramps and Friction - love this one!
Build a Lego Volcano!
Rain Cloud in a Jar
Oil & Water Experiments
Sorting Animals in a Venn Diagram (or sorting any number of things):
Ask questions as you explore science...
Make a hypothesis...
What do you think will happen? Why?
Make observations - What's happening? What do you see? hear? smell? feel? taste (if appropriate)? Use your five senses to observe.
To extend the learning, have your older preschooler "document" what s/he is observing. Draw a picture, write.