Week of 9/18-9/22
While we had a short week in Room 8, we were very busy exploring our new classroom environment and reconnecting with all of our friends from last year. The children are fascinated by the new games, manipulatives, books, weekly enrichment courses, and conversations that are taking place every day in Pre-K. We didn’t get a chance to visit all of our enrichment courses this week, but the children had a great music class with Maestro. From warming up our voices and bodies to singing “I Love to Hear the Shofar Blast” at the top of our lungs, the children truly enjoyed their time in the music lab. Last week’s Zingo game was such a hit that we introduced a new board game this week called Pop and Win- Letter Sounds Bingo. When the children saw the new game out on Monday morning, they had immediately had questions and were eager to learn how to play. We are focusing on mastering the green playing card, which includes learning the sounds of letters A-I. This game does not only expose the children to letter and sound recognition, but it also promotes important life skills. The board game enhances their ability to pay attention, follow directions, and take turns. They are able to practice the skill of focusing and listening because they have to know exactly what pictures have been called. If they do not keep track, they will never get Bingo! This game also allows the children to strengthen their fine motor skills in that they have to press down on the popper for the next letter to appear. If they do not press down hard enough, it will not pop, and if they press down too hard, the popper will go flying. Most importantly, the children are thrilled to be learning these new games and love playing any chance they get. With Rosh Hashanah falling this week, we continued our conversation on the symbols and themes of the holiday. We introduced a new symbol to the children, the pomegranate. The crown of the pomegranate represents the crown of the Torah, and the 613 seeds of the pomegranate represent the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. Next week, we will explore the meaning of mitzvot so that the children can fully grasp this concept. Similar to last week’s comparison of the various types of apples, this week we investigated the similarities and differences of a pomegranate and an apple. We encouraged the students to think about the details of the two fruits including the outside, inside, taste, and texture. This activity is the first step in teaching children how to think critically. By discussing the importance of details, the children are able to expand their vocabulary and understand that it is essential to use describing words in everyday language. For instance, instead of simply saying the pomegranate tastes “good”, we explained that it is important to use adjectives to get a full understanding of one’s point of view. The children came up with great detailed words for a pomegranate and apple including “juicy”, “dry”, “mushy”, and “crunchy”. Elliot observed that the apple and pomegranate were the same color. Paisley quickly noticed that the pomegranate and the apple do not have the same seeds (a difference). We will continue to use the idea of similarities and differences throughout many class activities, as well as introduce more critical thinking skills. We are excited to watch our friends’ vocabularies grow throughout the year. We talked more about the importance of celebrating the New Year, and we encourage you to ask your child what you wish for someone on Rosh Hashanah. I guarantee you it will be just like honey…We want to wish all of our Room 8 families a sweet and happy New Year! Have a wonderful and relaxing holiday, and we will see you on Monday! Reminders:
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Pre-K Room 8Mari Greifer Archives
March 2020
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