Five Senses: Sense of Touch

Man, I really should have typed this up last week when it was still fresh on my mind.  Now we've had more than 3-feet of snow and an entire week of snow days to interfere with my memory.  Sadly, I didn't even take as many pictures as usual either to help me jog my memory.

Near as I can remember, we started off by discussing the five senses.  I would tell them the part of their body they used and they would guess what the sense was.  Of course, they were all pretty good at it, although it was pretty humorous to hear that they all thought that talking was the sense their mouth was used for.  :)

Then we read a couple of random books and noticed people using their five senses in the stories.  The kids really liked this activity and I think that pointing out how you use your senses in every day life is a great way to reinforce these concepts.  

After we talked a little about their senses, we started focusing in on their sense of touch.  

First we laughed at the counting box that looked really silly with seven socks hanging out of it.  After we counted the socks, each person picked a sock and reached their hand inside without looking to try to guess what was inside.   We went around the circle and had each person use descriptive terms to describe their items (ex. smooth, soft, round, etc) and then guess what they thought it was.    Most of  them had a pretty good idea.    

Next we went on a touching scavenger hunt (no pictures).  I made a list of some descriptive terms like bumpy, smooth, hard, soft, scratchy, hot, cold, rough, sticky, etc. and then we went around the house together searching for things that fit the description.  When we found something the kids would take turns crossing it off my list.  

Then we did an art project that focused on textures and touch.  I provided the kids with a variety of materials like sand paper, cotton balls, bumpy paper, and tissue paper and let the kids use their imaginations to create their own pictures.  

The kids really enjoyed the unstructured time with scissors and glue and went to town creating a tactile masterpiece.  

The kids were pretty meticulous with their work and spent a good half an hour on this project.  

Later on we worked on our pages for the Five Senses Book which you will get to see in a few weeks(no pictures either).  

It was a fun way to kick off learning about the five senses and I think the kids will really enjoy delving into the rest of the senses in more detail over the next few weeks.  I, for one, am really looking forward to our Krispy Kreme trip!  :)  

Gratitude/Thanksgiving at Preschool

Today at preschool we learned all about gratitude and Thanksgiving.   We reviewed the story of the Pilgrims and how the first Thanksgiving came to be.  They seemed to remember it perfectly!

Then we read the very cute book,  Celebrating Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks, that tied the gratitude of the Pilgrims and the Indians of the first Thanksgiving to the gratitude for our blessings today.  It is an excellent book for this age of kids and I highly recommend it for preschool lessons on gratitude and Thanksgiving. 

We also read this cute book:  What Is Thanksgiving?

 Then we went outside and gathered our own bountiful harvest---these carrots from our garden.  At first, they were a little hesitant about sticking their hands in the dirt, but once they caught on to what the prize was, they were loving every second of it.  I think this activity really helped them to capture what a harvest was really all about. 

oops! 

Then we came inside where they became completely enraptured by these cute Thanksgiving sticker scenes from OTC and spent a good 20-25 minutes laboring over them.  I actually ended up having to pry them away so we could get on to our next activity.  

Then we made this harvest blessing mix where each child contributed their own part and helped to stir.  Not suprisingly the kids loved having a  yummy snack and loved doing their own part. 

Then we made these little gratitude trees (from OTC).  In advance, I had written some of the basic things they were grateful for on the leaves (family, toys, friends, etc).  Then I gave each child a little "kit" with the tree and a set of the pre-labeled leaves.  We went through each leaf one by one as a group and talked about how to show gratitude (saying thank you, praying, not complaining, etc).  It turned out to be a good recognition exercise for the kids as they searched for the right leaf and a good discussion time as we talked the entire time.  I would give them hints like it's this color, it starts with this sound, then I would go around the room and staple that leaf onto the tree wherever they picked.   The kids were so cute and loved talking about what gratitude was and what they were grateful for.  I sent everyone home with extra leaves so you can continue the activity at home. 

We missed you Matthew! 

Thanksgiving Preschool: Learning about Pilgrims

Today at preschool we learned all about Pilgrims.  See here for another Thanksgiving lesson.

We got the lesson started with the counting box activity when our little turkey lost all his feathers. 
The kids had to count the feathers, then reattach them in order.  I was surprised at how good they already were at their number recognition skills.  

 Then we read a couple of cute books. One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims is a great simple story about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.  10 Fat Turkeys is just fun and good for counting down from ten, which a couple of the kids really caught onto and a couple did not.   We also learned to sing "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims"  to the tune of Ten Little Indians.

 

Then I told  them a little flannel board story about the Pilgrims which completely captured their attention.  They were so interested that I spent 5-10 minutes telling them far more detail than I had ever intended and was totally surprised when later on during preschool they could easily retell the story back to me.  

We went for a ride on the "Mayflower" and went searching for a land where we could worship God they way we wanted. 

We painted little turkeys starting with their own footprints

 

 

and later made little turkeys out of apples. 

Then we made these cute little wooden Pilgrim puppets out of wooden spatulas.  I attached the felt hats and pipe cleaner arms with hot glue and had the kids make their own faces.  It was pretty simple, but they really like the end product. 

After that we did these little Thanksgiving books together (from Enchanted Learning).  I wrote the main word in the blank and the kids either copied or traced it.  Afterward they colored whatever they could.  They seem to really enjoy the fun writing practice. 

It was one of those days that reminds me why I love doing co-op preschool so much!

Studying Oceans

We started out the day by identifying animals that might live in the ocean (dolphin - yes!, gorilla - no!). I had used quite a few little plastic animals as examples and by the end they were all hoarding their favorites and trading the ones they didn't like so much. We discussed what an ocean is and where they are found on a map. Then we read "Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea" by Jan Peck. The kids were really surprised at the end when they found out the kid was just pretending to be in the ocean and he was really in his bathtub. Then we took a break and made these yummy treats.

These oceans were made out of blue jello jigglers, cut like waves, graham cracker "sand" and swedish fish. Talk about loading up on sugar! The kids loved them, though, and cleaned their plates.

Gavin and Maylie decided to put Swedish Fish on their heads and make funny faces. Too much sugar? After all that fun we sang "Five Little Fishes" about fish teasing a shark and getting snapped up. We followed that by practicing writing our number 3. The kids seem to be improving with their writing.

Because I keep forgetting to take pictures, I don't have any of them making their paper plate aquariums. But, we had a great time sticking and glueing and sprinkling glitter. Some of the kids even complained about "glitter germs" from Alex's lesson!

Dan trying to blast the fish into the shark.

We ended up the day by playing Feed the Shark. We took fish and other marine life, stood behind a line and tried to get the fish in the mouth (or knock the shark's teeth out, depending on the child).

The prim and proper way to feed a shark.

Gavin decided to save all the women and children before the shark got too hungry.

When you run out of fish...

Ellie and her babies were getting a little too close to those teeth...

The kids also had a great time studying a book on all of the creatures you can find in an ocean. I was really surprised at how long they were interested and they kept gasping and ooohing over the scary and weird looking animals. The kids seemed to have a great time.