Finishing February

We wound up the month of February introducing letters G and H and numbers 7 and 8. We are only working with capitals at this point, but it's a great opportunity for your kids to see the letters and gain familiarity with the sounds they make. I enjoy seeing them learn and process what a letter is, what sound it makes, and what words start with that sound.

The classes are also doing really well identifying their names. Each day at snack and lunch they raise their hand to identify their placemat when they see their name. In March we will begin a class sign-in during our circle time to really acquaint each child with their first name and saying the different letters in it. This will help them next year when they move up into our 3-4 year old classes, and help make the eventual writing of their names a little bit easier.

We continue to use centers to stimulate fine motor and cognitive awareness. Reviewing shapes and colors last week was beneficial to the class and they enjoyed sorting various shapes into their own color categories. The concepts of "biggest" and "smallest" were introduced as each child had the opportunity to identify a shape as directed. "Find the biggest yellow square." They would then have to sort through the various colors, identify yellow, and finally name which one was biggest. It was a fun game that helped them learn at the same time!

Our patterning skills are growing as we learn that patterns can be based on shape and color. The ABAB pattern will be the only one used, but we will continue to work on it through the end of the year. Try doing some patterns at home: stack blocks into an ABAB pattern; line up silverware fork, spoon, fork, spoon; organize Little People boy, girl, boy, girl--the possibilities are endless! And it truly is the work you do at home that helps stimulate their growth and development and leads to success in school. Thanks!

Bible lessons have taught us all about how "God Made Me" and to "Show God's Love"; our final unit for the year introduces "God Made Everything." We will begin with take a look at the creation of the world, and discussing the significance of each thing God gave to us. This week will start with "God Created Light," and we'll talk about what light does.

I'm looking forward to another fun week!

-Mrs. Marisha

Valentine Crazy

With snow covering the ground we find alternative outdoor activities. This week was playdough!

It's always fun to enjoy dramatic play and costumes with our friends!

Drawing pictures during free play

A variety of tools emphasizes fine motor skills as they cut, poke, tear, roll, and create

Choosing the right tools is essential!

To accompany all the crazy winter weather, we're focusing on our individual actions and our love and care for others. There's a lot of pink, red, white, and purple collecting in our classroom as we learn to make ABAB patterns out of hearts, get our hands messy with finger paint, learn about mirroring, and begin to make Valentine cards for our families. Our official celebration will be next week, Feb. 15-17, so feel free to send in cards, treats, or whatever else you think our class might enjoy!

We learned about Mary and Martha and having good manners last week [care for self]. This week we focused on The Good Samaritan. The kids even got to act out the "mean robbers" taking everything from the traveler and pretend not to help the man. Finally the Good Samaritan came along and they learned that it is better to be kind, even to people we do not know. That's why we're ALL friends at UCCPA!