Hello TThF Families,
We had a wonderful first week of school and I can already tell what a wonderful class we are going to have. The children are enthusiastic and did so well during out first two days. They especially enjoyed singing BINGO with our felt story on Thursday & Friday and requested it for this week as well.
If you happen to be working with our class while we are singing this song, watch the amount of learning that is taking place. It’s pretty amazing! By using the props on our felt board the children are engaging in letter and sound recognition, visual tracking as we move from letter to letter in Bingo’s name, adding and subtracting as we take away letters and add in claps, hearing rhythm and beat, and practicing taking turns (and being patient!) as they wait for their turn to flip over a letter. And this is just one of the many songs we sing throughout the week!
During their time at school the children will enjoy participating in many different activities; some individually and some as part of a group. Each opportunity is designed with a plan and a purpose in mind. I’ll do my best to explain the “why” behind much of what we do in class, but if you ever have questions, please feel free to ask!
Last week during small groups we cut out and decorated paper fish which will be used as our beginning of the year cutting sample, played a “Guess What is Missing” game in the library with the art materials, read, Llama, Llama Misses Mama, which is about Llama’s first day of school, did an exciting science experiment with baking soda and primary colored vinegar (yay for carbon dioxide and the super fun bubbles it makes!), and learned the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock with rhythm sticks.
We will be learning a new nursery rhyme or chant every week, often using clapping, tapping or various items such a rhythm sticks, shakers or drums to help us separate each part (syllable) of a word. Nursery Rhymes are a great way to help develop phonemic awareness (the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words) which is necessary as children prepare to read when they are older.
I’m looking forward to another fun week together!
Miss Sarah