Tangled Thoughts

Preschool Learning: N is for Numbers

Christina

October 26, 2020

Full disclosure? I am pretty sure I confused the heck out of my preschoolers by saying N is for numbers, especially considering they are still trying to grasp the difference between a number and a letter and then I throw out there that N is actually a letter that the word numbers starts with! I got some bewildered looks. But I digress! Today we talked about the letter N being for Numbers.

It was all inspired by the book Chika-chika 1-2-3. The kids LOVE Chika-chika A-B-C, so I figured they would enjoy the 1-2-3 version just as much and I was right! We also read a couple other books related to numbers: On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets, and Counting Animals on the Farm.

Our project looked like this:

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I used blue card stock, number stickers and shiny green cupcake tin liners. I drew a tree trunk up real quick and threw in a few pompoms as well. I set the book out for inspiration and watched their creativity take over. I just love a good sit back and watch the ~~chaos~~ creativity unfold. Their projects usually turn out better than I could have imagined. My preschoolers never disappoint when it comes to imagination!

I just love how they all turned out so different and very much reflective of their personalities.

Preschool Learning: N is for Nature

Christina

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October 23, 2020

I put this on my schedule, knowing full well that November could mess with my plans! I had to move it around a few days but today the weather was willing to cooperate with me.

First we talked a lot about the word nature and what it meant. They had some very interesting concepts of what nature was. Then we read a few books. A few favorites were: We’re Going on a Nature Hike, The Hike and We Walk Through the Forest

Then we scrambled things up a bit and took a nature walk! They were thrilled. I gave them each a brown paper bag and told them we were going to collect “bits of nature” -pine cones, twigs, leaves and the like. A few rocks and giant sticks tried to make their way back inside as well, but the whole point of the paper bag was that it had to FIT inside the paper bag in order to come inside.

Once we were inside, they emptied their bags of treasure, I poured some of my trusty washable paint and they dipped their nature finds and made “prints” of their treasures. Some were a bit apprehensive as they wanted to bring the items home with them, not paint with them, but they all got the concept and made some pretty cool designs.

Preschool Learning: J is for Jellyfish

Christina

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October 23, 2020

To round out our preschool learning of the letter J, we learned all about the jellyfish! Ok, maybe not ALL about it, but we focused our learning efforts on the jellyfish. Originally I had planned to do a cut out their projects and make actually jellyfish but it seemed like a very daunting task to help all my preschoolers navigate the use of scissors safely, so I ditched that plan in the name of safety and sanity and we just painted them instead. Sometimes you have to know where your limits are. This was definitely one of those times!

First up! We read jellyfish related books. Here were some fan favorites: The Jellyfish Who Lost Its Glow, June The Jellyfish, One Fish, Two Fish. Ok so that last one wasn’t technically about jellyfish, but I coudn’t resist a good Dr. Seuss book!

And that’s a wrap on our Letter J!

Preschool Learning: N is for Nest

Christina

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October 22, 2020

This probably wasn’t the BEST concept for the letter N since most of our learning had to do with birds, but we did our best when it came to the nest.

First up we read our books related to nests. Or bird

For the craft, I supplied the pieces and let them assemble however they wanted. There is always a real risk that the project will not turn out how I anticipated, but I’ve learned to appreciate their interpretation over perfection. I know some teachers can’t do these kind of crafts because they can’t stand the final product not turning out how it should. If this is you, then a more ‘step by step’ approach could work better.

First we painted the background with some different colored blue paints. Then we glued down our ‘nest’ which was just 1/2 a paper plate. I gave them each four ‘birds’ with the beaks and eyes. I buy googly eyes in the bulk! Of course, I explained what each piece was and handed them out in stages, but some of them chose to do something a little different. Once the birds were safely in their nests, I pulled out the feathers and there was a mad rush of grabbing.

Their final product wasn’t perfect by any means, but I love how their personalities shine through their artwork and how they truly make it their own.

I feel like this is an accurate representation of me most of the time:

And that as a wrap for the week of the letter N for our preschoolers!

Preschool Learning: J is for Jelly Bean

Christina

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October 21, 2020

For today’s learning about the letter J in my preschool class, we talked about jelly beans, because of course we did! Talk about a sweet learning experience.

I combined two of my favorite things: Sensory and jelly beans. The kids were OVER the moon.

First we read some books: Jack and the Jelly Bean Stalk, How Many Jelly Beans?, and Peacock Loves Jelly Beans were a few of our favorites.

Then we moved onto our project. I generally try to have at least one sensory project planned out for each week. I save it for the day the kids are coming unglued and we all need some help getting grounded again. Some weeks we do sensory on Monday and other weeks we make it to Friday. I always find that a good sensory project can bring them all back to earth again!

Today was a simple project, but a favorite. Just spray some shaving cream on a tray and let them play with it. Sometimes I add washable paint or other small objects. Today I added jelly beans, because of course I did! I also added a squirt of paint.

Some people use food coloring but since we are in preschool, I don’t take the chance and always stick with the tried and true washable paint! This Colorations washable paint is indeed washable. It is also nontoxic, which is important to me with preschoolers! I once had a little boy spray himself with blue paint that CLAIMED to be washable. He was blue for a few days. Since then I don’t mess around with my paint! We purchase ours in the gallon sizes.

The kids had a blast trying to find their jelly beans, and we talked about the colors they found and how many each of them found as well. If they were older I probably would have made them graph out how many of each color they had found, but since they are still learning to count we kept it simple.

These messy trays are an absolute life safer, one of my favorite purchases and get used daily in my class!