September 28 - Fossils

The kids had a great time fooling around with fossils today. Thanks to Lara for the real fossils that we put in our counting box. And this was my first time seeing the completed Circle Time board. Fabulous job, Andrea and Becca!

Oh, by the way, I bought a wooden counting box with a chalkboard top. After we counted the fossils, we wrote our number (today it was 9) on the top of the box. I hadn't planned on it, but the kids all ended up taking turns writing their own little 9's on the chalkboard as well. Very cute.

Our letter of the day once again was F (repetition is good, right?) so we started off fingerprinting some large cutouts of the letter F.

We then started to make hand imprints, but I quickly realized that the air-dry clay I was using was way too stiff for their little hands to even make a small dent in it, so I broke out the pack of dinosaurs I'd been saving for Thursday and we made dinosaur tracks through the clay. Some of the kids really got into it and started mashing in dino heads and bodies (their own little La Brea tar pits!). The clay "tar pits" are drying right now, but they'll get them on Thursday.

The finished product!

Since the hand imprints hadn't quite worked out as planned, we used playdoh to make imprints in (much more squishy!) and then poured Plaster of Paris in them to make little hand-shaped fossils. Those should also be dry in time to be taken home on Thursday.

And finally, the kids got to be archaeologists and do their own "fossil dig" using grapefruit spoons to chisel small plastic animals encased in "stone" (i.e. ice). Notice the mitten "work gloves."

Eve was really getting into it . . .

. . . while Maylie took a more novel approach . . .

All in all, lots of fun was had by everyone. However, I think the thing the kids enjoyed most was watching the Vienna Public Works crew stop by to do a special trash pick-up!

September 18 Magnets

Today's lesson was on magnets and the letter M.

We experimented with what magnets will stick to-- anything metal, and what they won't stick to-- plastic, wood, things that look like metal but aren't.

We talked about the letter M and ate m&m's.

We fished using a magnetic fishing pole.

We made magnets.

We ate lunch and played.

September 16 Flags

Today's subject for preschool was Flags! We learned a lot about our flag and some about other countries' flags.

We live in the United States of America.

We have a flag that represents (or tells about) our country.

Our flag is red, white, and blue. It has 13 stripes and 50 stars. The 13 stripes are the first colonies in our country. The 50 stars are the 50 states in our country. (This was as far as attention would allow us to go so I'm pretty sure they have no idea what a colony is and maybe not what a state is. . . surprise, surprise.)

The word flag starts with the letter F. We talked about other words that start with the same letter.

We made flags, colored flag pictures, played, ate lunch, and had a great time.

Thanks for sending them all over!

Welcome!

Welcome to our preschool blog. I started this last year with my older son's group for a couple of reasons. The first being that I wanted a way to share pictures and stories about the day at preschool without overwhelming everyone with emails. Secondly, I realized that it could be a great resource for myself and other participants to see what we'd done for specific lessons. I hope that you will also enjoy the blog--looking at it and contributing to it!

If you're concerned about safety issues that having children on the internet may cause, I will tell you that I make it a point to NEVER use last names of any sort. I have had a family blog for a couple of years now and have never had any issues. In fact I have a way to track how many people are looking at the blog and where they're located, and last year this preschool blog averaged only 6-10 hits after a new post was made (in other words only the people in the group were looking and a couple of Grandmas and Grandpas).

I will send you an invitation, so that you can post as well. It is pretty simple once you get started, but it can be a little confusing at first...so please don't hesitate to give me a call if you want help creating a post!

Enjoy!

All About Seasons

We had fun learning about seasons at Ellie's house. After reading a couple of fun books, we got dressed up for some different seasons!

Here are James and Eve all ready for the summer time in their swimsuits!


Bradford's ready to go for Fall with his brown sweater and handful of leaves.

Ellie put on like six layers of clothes to show what we dress like in the winter and didn't take them off until bed time! (Can you see the sweat glistening on her face?)


And Maylie was all ready for the Spring time with her umbrella and flowery dress!

And Gavin was all dressed for September, but didn't want me to take a picture. I assure you he looked as cute as the rest. :)

Then we made a little display that showed children in each of the different seasons. It was another fun day in preschool!

Preschool Schedule for October 2008

October
Field Trip Ideas: Fire Station

Lara:

Tues. 7^th : Safety: Basic safety rules (fire safety, stranger danger, 911, streets, etc.)—be careful to keep it positive, so the kids don’t end up scared

Jana:

Thurs. 9^th : Community Helpers (heroes): fire men, doctors, teachers, etc., role play

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 14^th: Christopher Columbus: What did he do? Take a boat ride (in a box or blanket across the floor)…look for land with telescopes, sing songs (Columbus sailed the ocean blue, ocean blue, ocean blue, Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14-92—to Mary had a little lamb tune), world flat? etc

Thurs. 16^th: Basic World Geography: introduce globe, continents, oceans

Fri: 17th: FIELD TRIP: Fire Station (Becca T.)

Andrea:

Tues. 21^st : Oceans: basic geography (show on globe), salty vs. fresh water, how big they are, float/sink experiments, ocean life

Thurs. 23^rd : Dolphins: have fun learning all about these intelligent creatures

Jana:

Tues. 28^th : Autumn: seasonal changes, trees, pumpkins, etc.

Thurs. 30^th : Halloween: fun traditions, games, wear costumes??

Preschool Schedule for September 2008

September

Lara:

Tues. 9^th: Welcome to preschool, explanation of rules, expectations, routine, how to treat our friends, teachers, getting to know you, make new preschool bags

Thurs. 11^th: Seasons overview: each year there are 4 seasons, changes in the earth/trees

Becca:

Tues. 16^th: Flags: different countries’ flags, showing respect for flag, Betsy Ross (Lara has flag stickers from around the world)

Thurs. 18^th: Fun with Magnets: experiment with magnets

Andrea:

Tues. 23rd: Trains: historical importance, play with toy train, identify different cars, human train

Thurs. 25^th: Apples: Johnny Appleseed, apple treat, craft

Fri. 26th: FIELD TRIP: Cox Farms (Jana)

Alex:

Tues. 30^th: Fossils: dig for fossils, make your own fossils, see some real ones (Lara has some)

Thurs Oct. 2^nd: Dinosaurs: identify different types, meat eaters vs. plant eaters, have fun!

Preschool Schedule for November 2008

November
Field Trip Ideas: National Zoo

Alex:

Tues. 4^th : NO SCHOOL (Election Day): ZOO FIELD TRIP (Alex)

Thurs. 6^th : Animals: fur vs. no fur, differences and similarities between different kinds, animal charades?

Jana: ***(this is a change from the original schedule)***

Tues. 11^th: Rhythm and drums: try different activities using rhythm, make your own drums? , marching

Lara:***(two separate houses in the same week)***
Thurs. 13^th: Native Americans: traditions, try some food (like popcorn), make teepee, etc.

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 18^th: My Family Tree: who is on it? Showing respect for ancestors, have students bring pictures, importance of families

Thurs. 20^th: Thanksgiving/Gratitude: why we celebrate, pilgrims/Indians (tie in what they learned from Native American day), etc.

Tues., Thurs. 25^th, 27^nd: NO SCHOOL: THANKSGIVING

Preschool Schedule for December 2008

December
Field Trip Ideas: Christmas Program at Madison HS (Andrea)

Becca T.:

Tues. 2^nd : Animal Habitats: exploring where animals live, why they live in certain places, etc

Thurs. 4^th : People’s homes around the world: explore the different kinds of houses people live in throughout the world, show on a globe, emphasize gratitude for our homes (Lara has a cool book)

Jana:

Tues. 9^th : Sharing, unselfishness, serving others (Stone Soup)

Thurs. 11^th: Winter: changes of winter, snow

Alex:

Tues. 16^th: Penguins: have fun learning about these cute little cold weather creatures

Thurs. 18^th: Christmas around the World: why we celebrate, fun traditions, look on globe to find out where they are…maybe focus in on one country, mentioning some different ideas around the world, make special gift for parents

23^rd, 25^th, 30^th, Jan. 1^st : NO SCHOOL: Christmas

Preschool Schedule for January 2009

January
Field Trip Ideas: Cub Run Pool

Andrea:

Tues. 6^th : Rhyming: have fun rhyming words, listening to poems, etc.

Thurs. 8^th : Setting goals, Heber J Grant (how he set goals), have them set a goal, make a goal chart (learning to write names?, learning address or phone number?)

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 13^th : Africa: find on globe/map, make mudcloth, traditions, languages (keep working on goal)

Thurs. 15^th: Martin Luther King, (MLK day is 1/19) who is he?, his dream, treating people with respect (brown/white egg activity) (keep working on goal)

Fri. 16th: FIELD TRIP: Cub Run Pool (Rebecca R.)

Becca T. :

Tues. 20^th: NO SCHOOL (Inauguration Day)

Thurs. 22^nd : I am a Child of God: Everyone is unique/special, explore our talents and what makes us each so special

Becca T:

Tues. 27^th : NO SCHOOL (Teacher Work Day)

Thurs. 29^th : Groundhog’s Day--have fun learning all about groundhogs and the traditions with Groundhog’s Day, shadows

Preschool Schedule for February 2009

February
Field Trip Ideas: Dentist office
Mount Vernon (free on President’s Day)

Lara:

Tues. 3^rd : Exploring our 5 senses: try all kinds of fun activities and experiments using each of our senses

Thurs. 5^th : Helen Keller (tie in the 5 senses), make their names in Braille, have them feel a Braille page, try sign language, amazing things she overcame, etc.

Becca T.:

Tues. 10^th : Bodies: What makes our bodies special?, Taking good care of our bodies

Thurs. 12^th: Friendship/love: have fun with Valentine’s day!

Jana:

Tues. 17^th: George Washington (president’s day is 2/16), life in the colonial days, make corn cakes, play old-fashioned game, etc.

Thurs. 19^th : Teeth: taking care of them, different types (in humans and animals)

Fri. 20th: FIELD TRIP: Dentist Office (Jana)

Andrea:

Tues. 24^th : Inventions: talk about important inventions, what life was like before its invention, make their own invention (with Legos or blocks or something similar)

Thurs. 26^th : Musical Instruments: Try different instruments, make a preschool band/parade

Preschool Schedule for March 2009

March
Field Trip Idea: Petland Pet Store

Lara:

Tues. 3^rd : Peter and the Wolf: recognizing different instrumental sounds, listening to the story and the different tones, tempos, and moods of the music—maybe a cd for them to take home

Thurs. 5^th : Asia: look on map, learn a couple of words, Japanese Calligraphy?, eat with chopsticks

Alex:

Tues. 10^th : Wind: talk about the wind, make kites

Thurs. 12^th: Ducks: Make Way for Ducklings

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 17^th : Collage: read Eric Carle books, look at different types of collages, make their own collage (paper scraps or photos)

Thurs. 19^th : Opposites: have fun learning all about opposites

Fri. 20th: FIELD TRIP: Petland Pet Store (Rebecca R.)

Jana:

Tues. 24^th : Spring: the seasonal changes of spring, review the different seasons

Thurs. 26^th : Flowers: notice the differences and similarities of different kinds, examine the parts of a flower (a real one if possible), what they need to grow

Alex:

Tues. 31^st : Bunny Rabbits: (meet a real bunny?), what they eat, make ears and tails for everyone

Thurs. Apr. 2^nd: Easter (April 12^th is Easter) why we celebrate, symbols, fun

Preschool Schedule for 2008-2009

September

Lara:

Tues. 9^th: Welcome to preschool, explanation of rules, expectations, routine, how to treat our friends, teachers, getting to know you, make new preschool bags

Thurs. 11^th: Seasons overview: each year there are 4 seasons, changes in the earth/trees

Becca:

Tues. 16^th: Flags: different countries’ flags, showing respect for flag, Betsy Ross (Lara has flag stickers from around the world)

Thurs. 18^th: Fun with Magnets: experiment with magnets

Andrea:

Tues. 23rd: Trains: historical importance, play with toy train, identify different cars, human train

Thurs. 25^th: Apples: Johnny Appleseed, apple treat, craft

Fri. 26th: FIELD TRIP: Cox Farms (Jana)

Alex:

Tues. 30^th: Fossils: dig for fossils, make your own fossils, see some real ones (Lara has some)

Thurs Oct. 2^nd: Dinosaurs: identify different types, meat eaters vs. plant eaters, have fun!

October
Field Trip Ideas: Fire Station

Jana:

Tues. 7^th : Community Helpers (heroes): fire men, doctors, teachers, etc., role play

Thurs. 9^th : Safety: Basic safety rules (fire safety, stranger danger, 911, streets, etc.)—be careful to keep it positive, so the kids don’t end up scared

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 14^th: Christopher Columbus: What did he do? Take a boat ride (in a box or blanket across the floor)…look for land with telescopes, sing songs (Columbus sailed the ocean blue, ocean blue, ocean blue, Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14-92—to Mary had a little lamb tune), world flat? etc

Thurs. 16^th: Basic World Geography: introduce globe, continents, oceans

Fri: 17th: FIELD TRIP: Fire Station (Becca T.)

Andrea:

Tues. 21^st : Oceans: basic geography (show on globe), salty vs. fresh water, how big they are, float/sink experiments, ocean life

Thurs. 23^rd : Dolphins: have fun learning all about these intelligent creatures

Jana:

Tues. 28^th : Autumn: seasonal changes, trees, pumpkins, etc.

Thurs. 30^th : Halloween: fun traditions, games, wear costumes??

November
Field Trip Ideas: National Zoo

Alex:

Tues. 4^th : NO SCHOOL (Election Day): ZOO FIELD TRIP (Alex)

Thurs. 6^th : Animals: fur vs. no fur, differences and similarities between different kinds, animal charades?

Lara:

Tues. 11^th: Rhythm and drums: try different activities using rhythm, make your own drums? , marching

Thurs. 13^th: Native Americans: traditions, try some food (like popcorn), make teepee, etc.

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 18^th: My Family Tree: who is on it? Showing respect for ancestors, have students bring pictures, importance of families

Thurs. 20^th: Thanksgiving/Gratitude: why we celebrate, pilgrims/Indians (tie in what they learned from Native American day), etc.

Tues., Thurs. 25^th, 27^nd: NO SCHOOL: THANKSGIVING

December
Field Trip Ideas: Christmas Program at Madison HS (Andrea)

Becca T.:

Tues. 2^nd : Animal Habitats: exploring where animals live, why they live in certain places, etc

Thurs. 4^th : People’s homes around the world: explore the different kinds of houses people live in throughout the world, show on a globe, emphasize gratitude for our homes (Lara has a cool book)

Jana:

Tues. 9^th : Sharing, unselfishness, serving others (Stone Soup)

Thurs. 11^th: Winter: changes of winter, snow

Alex:

Tues. 16^th: Penguins: have fun learning about these cute little cold weather creatures

Thurs. 18^th: Christmas around the World: why we celebrate, fun traditions, look on globe to find out where they are…maybe focus in on one country, mentioning some different ideas around the world, make special gift for parents

23^rd, 25^th, 30^th, Jan. 1^st : NO SCHOOL: Christmas

January
Field Trip Ideas: Cub Run Pool

Andrea:

Tues. 6^th : Rhyming: have fun rhyming words, listening to poems, etc.

Thurs. 8^th : Setting goals, Heber J Grant (how he set goals), have them set a goal, make a goal chart (learning to write names?, learning address or phone number?)

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 13^th : Africa: find on globe/map, make mudcloth, traditions, languages (keep working on goal)

Thurs. 15^th: Martin Luther King, (MLK day is 1/19) who is he?, his dream, treating people with respect (brown/white egg activity) (keep working on goal)

Fri. 16th: FIELD TRIP: Cub Run Pool (Rebecca R.)

Becca T. :

Tues. 20^th: NO SCHOOL (Inauguration Day)

Thurs. 22^nd : I am a Child of God: Everyone is unique/special, explore our talents and what makes us each so special

Becca T:

Tues. 27^th : NO SCHOOL (Teacher Work Day)

Thurs. 29^th : Groundhog’s Day--have fun learning all about groundhogs and the traditions with Groundhog’s Day, shadows

February
Field Trip Ideas: Dentist office
Mount Vernon (free on President’s Day)

Lara:

Tues. 3^rd : Exploring our 5 senses: try all kinds of fun activities and experiments using each of our senses

Thurs. 5^th : Helen Keller (tie in the 5 senses), make their names in Braille, have them feel a Braille page, try sign language, amazing things she overcame, etc.

Becca T.:

Tues. 10^th : Bodies: What makes our bodies special?, Taking good care of our bodies

Thurs. 12^th: Friendship/love: have fun with Valentine’s day!

Jana:

Tues. 17^th: George Washington (president’s day is 2/16), life in the colonial days, make corn cakes, play old-fashioned game, etc.

Thurs. 19^th : Teeth: taking care of them, different types (in humans and animals)

Fri. 20th: FIELD TRIP: Dentist Office (Jana)

Andrea:

Tues. 24^th : Inventions: talk about important inventions, what life was like before its invention, make their own invention (with Legos or blocks or something similar)

Thurs. 26^th : Musical Instruments: Try different instruments, make a preschool band/parade

March
Field Trip Idea: Petland Pet Store

Lara:

Tues. 3^rd : Peter and the Wolf: recognizing different instrumental sounds, listening to the story and the different tones, tempos, and moods of the music—maybe a cd for them to take home

Thurs. 5^th : Asia: look on map, learn a couple of words, Japanese Calligraphy?, eat with chopsticks

Alex:

Tues. 10^th : Wind: talk about the wind, make kites

Thurs. 12^th: Ducks: Make Way for Ducklings

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 17^th : Collage: read Eric Carle books, look at different types of collages, make their own collage (paper scraps or photos)

Thurs. 19^th : Opposites: have fun learning all about opposites

Fri. 20th: FIELD TRIP: Petland Pet Store (Rebecca R.)

Jana:

Tues. 24^th : Spring: the seasonal changes of spring, review the different seasons

Thurs. 26^th : Flowers: notice the differences and similarities of different kinds, examine the parts of a flower (a real one if possible), what they need to grow

Alex:

Tues. 31^st : Bunny Rabbits: (meet a real bunny?), what they eat, make ears and tails for everyone

Thurs. Apr. 2^nd: Easter (April 12^th is Easter) why we celebrate, symbols, fun

April
Field Trip Ideas: Frying Pan Park
Eakin Park (pond)

April 7^th and 9^th: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break)

Rebecca R.:

Tues. 14^th : Tadpoles/Frogs: learn about their process of change

Thurs. 16^th: All about Color: Using paint, play dough, colored water, etc. experiment with color mixing

Fri. 17th: FIELD TRIP: Frying Pan Park (Lara)

Lara:

Tues. 21^st : Rainbows: Make rainbows with prisms, mirrors, etc.

Thurs. 23^rd : Leaves: take nature walk, look at the differences and similarities in the leaves, make leaf book, leaf rubbings, collection

Andrea:

Tues. 28^th : All about Farms & farmers, Food: where does our food come from? Working hard. Little Red Hen—use hand wheat grinder and grind wheat and bake some bread (Lara has hand grinder)

Thurs. 30^th : Volcanoes: all about volcanoes, make your own volcano to explode

May

Field Trip Idea: GreenSpring Gardens
Hidden Oaks Nature Center

Becca T.:

Tues. 5^th : George Frederic Handel: conducting & composing music

Thurs. 7^th : Honoring your parents (Mother’s Day is May 10^th)—make special present for Mom

Andrea:

Tues. 12^th : Outer space & astronauts: planets, solar system

Rebecca R.:

Thurs. 14^th: Jungles: where in the world are they? Jungle animals

Fri. 15th: FIELD TRIP: Greenspring Gardens (Alex)

Alex:

Tues. 19^th : Manners: the basics of manners and being respectful

Lara:

Thurs. 21^st : Life cycle of butterfly

Becca T.:

Tues. 26^th : Bugs: the basic parts, have magnifying glasses for everyone, different kinds

Jana:

Thurs. 28^th : Sports/Exercise/Olympics: Have fun learning about why exercising is so good for our bodies, play games, run races, obstacle course, etc.

Tuesday June 2^nd: Graduation Day (evening or during preschool time)

Lara: Booklets and certificates

Jana: Food assignments and planning

Rebecca R.: host

Alex: Activities