All Categories - Immanuel Lutheran Early Childhood

STOP Skill

10/26/2022

One of the first skills we learn at school for regulating our emotions is the STOP skill. This skill is essential because it helps lead us to use our other skills so we can get back to the Green Zone.

S - STOP
First, if you notice you are feeling upset, STOP. Just freeze.

T - TAKE A BREAK
Next, take a break. In our classroom, we go to the Cozy Corner to take a break. But you can also find a quiet spot at home or somewhere else to take a break if you need one.

O - OBSERVE (or LOOK/LISTEN)
Then, look and listen to what is happening around you. Pay attention to how your body feels. Put a name to how you are feeling right now.

P - PROCEED MINDFULLY (or MAKE A GOOD CHOICE)
Finally, make a good choice. If you are ready, you can go back and join the activity. Or, you can use one of our calm down strategies to feel better.

Zones of Emotional Regulation

9/27/2022

Hello EC Families!

During our Feelings/Emotions Unit, we learn about a lot of different feelings and the zones that they fall into--green, blue, yellow, or red. Being able to identify emotions is very beneficial for all of us. Simply being able to name what you are feeling actually helps to calm your amygdala! This is one reason why it is so important for children to learn to name their feelings. Here are the feelings and zones that we learn about in class:

Green Zone - happy, calm, okay, focused, ready to learn, can do my best, show expected behaviors

Blue Zone - sad, tired, sick, bored

Yellow Zone - silly, frustrated, excited, worried

Red Zone - mad/angry, mean, terrified, hitting/yelling

We also learn that even though it is okay to experience all of these feelings, there are strategies or tools that we can use to get back to the Green Zone. We will learn more specific strategies throughout the year, but here are a few:
1) Take a break (in our classroom, we use the Cozy Corner)
2) Go for a walk (with a grown-up)
3) Drink water
4) Talk to an adult
5) Use breathing strategies (these will be learned throughout the year)
6) Use a calm down strategy (these will be learned throughout the year)

You can help your child at this at home by:

Helping your child identify what he is feeling
Reminding your child of things she can do to feel better and offering to do them with her
Practicing breathing and calm down strategies when your child is in the Green Zone. This will help your child be more likely to use them when in the Blue, Yellow, or Red Zone.

Sight Word Practice

9/15/2022

Hello TK Families!
We will be working on sight words at school throughout most of the year in TK. We will be doing monthly sight words for the months of September, October, November, January, February, March, April, and May. You can help your child master these words by working on them together at home. Our goal is for children to be able to read the words when they see them. Here are some ideas for how you could practice these words together at home:

Point them out in books you are reading together. Pick one or two words at a time to see if your child can find them in the book while you are reading.
Write them in shaving cream! Have your child say the letters while writing them and then say the word.
Build them with pipe cleaners! Your child can spell and read them while building each word.
Make them out of playdough
Write them outside with chalk
Write them in sand, salt, or sugar
Stamp them
Write the sight words on pieces of paper and tape them around the room/house. Call out a word and have your child run & touch that word.
Write the sight words on pieces of paper and hide them around the room/house. Have your child search for the words and read them when he finds them.
Go on a scavenger hunt for sight words! See if your child can find each word somewhere in the house or in a book.
Rainbow writing - write the sight words in different colors. First, write it in red. Then, write on top of that word in orange. See how many colors you can use!
Paper Plate Toss - Write the words on paper plates. Use them like frisbees to throw after reading the word. You could also add in a target to throw them at.
Flashlight Words - Tape the words to the wall or ceiling and turn off the lights. Have your child use a flashlight to find the words and read them.
Go Fish - Make 2 sets of sight word cards and pay Go Fish
Write them using stencils
Stepping Stones - Place the words on the floor to form a path. Have your child step on them to cross the stream. Your child should read each one as he steps on it.
Build them with Wiki Sticks
Tic-Tac-Toe - Write the words on a tic-tac-toe board. Take turns reading them. If read correctly, place an X or O in the box until someone wins.
Make them with Scrabble tiles
Word-O - Played just like BINGO. Fill in the spaces with the sight words. Call out the words and mark the spaces.
Spell them with magnetic letters
Search for the words in a newspaper or magazine and highlight them
Word Jump - Write the sight words in chalk outside. Call out a word. Have your child jump to the word.
Write them with finger paint
SNAP - Write sight words on flash cards or popsicle sticks. Put the words into a jar. Also, you write the word SNAP on a few flash cards and put them in to the jar. The kids can play in partners or in a groups of 3 or 4 with siblings. They take turns pulling a card out of the jar. If they can say the word on the card automatically with no struggle, they get to keep the card. If they struggle, they have to put it back. If they pull out one of the cards that says SNAP, they have to put all of the card they’ve drawn back. The first person to 5 cards (or 10) wins!
Write them with sticks in the sand or dirt
Stair Chase - Place two sight word cards on each stair. Let them pick one sight word on the way up, saying the word an
Build them with popsicle sticks
Coin Toss - Put words on the floor. Children take turns tossing a coin onto a word and saying the word. If they read the word correctly, they keep the coin. The first person to collect a designated amount of money is the winner.
Beat the Clock - See how many times your child can write a word in one minute. Or see how many flash cards your child can read in one minute.
Memory - Create two sets of word cards. Place the word cards face down. Have your child turn over two cards, trying to make a match. Continue until all of the words are matched.
Who Has More? Flash word cards to your child. If they read the word within 10 seconds, they get to keep the card. If not, you keep the card. If the child has more cards than you at the end, they win. (You can modify the time based on your child's ability. Try to shorten it as your child becomes more familiar with the words.)
Who Am I? - Lay out the word cards. Then give the child clues to what the selected word is. For example, if the word was “red,” you could say – I rhyme with bed. I have three letters. I end with the letter D. Have the child locate the word.
Word of the Day - Tape one or two words written on an index card next to the front door, as EVERYONE in the family leaves or enters the house…..ask them to touch the word and yell it out.
Eat the Words - Write this month's sight words in whipped cream or frosting, eat one word treat a day (after reading it of course).
Spell them with alphabet shaped pasta
Bath Time - Write words in the bath tub with bath crayons
Note of the Day - Each day write your child a short note (1-3 sentences). Include the words they are practicing. Ask them to circle those words in crayon
Use alphabet cookie cutters and playdough to spell out words
Put letters onto a set of legos and build the words
Catch - Use a sharpie to write each word from your child's current set on different parts of a beach ball. Toss the ball back and forth, yelling out the words that face up each time.
Roll the Die - Create a set of die (large size) with a word on each face. Roll and read.

Have fun! :)

Hole PUnches FAQ

9/1/2022

1. How often do children receive prizes from the prize box?
On average, children receive prizes about once a week. This can vary a little give or take based on factors such as how often your child is in class and what behaviors your child exhibits while at school.

2. How many hole punches does my child need to receive a prize?
This depends on which class your child is in! For the Preschool class, children need 9 hole punches to get a prize. For the Pre-K class, children need 12 hole punches. For the TK class, children need 15 hole punches.

3. What can my child get a hole punch for?
Lots of things! Typically, I start off the day by giving hole punches for coming in nicely, writing names, and getting quiet for the harmonica. But these certainly are not the only ways your child can receive a hole punch! Other ways include (but are not limited to): cleaning up quickly at the end of center time, lining up at the end of recess when the teacher blows the whistle, walking nicely in the hallway, being quiet for emergency drills, helping a friend or teacher without being asked, and more! Last year, I changed the hole punches for the afternoon class part way through the year to promote responsibility. The hole punches at the start of class changed to coming in nicely, bringing backpacks to school, and bringing in folders and water bottles to the classroom. This helped encourage children to remember to grab these items before coming into the classroom each day!

Birthday Treat Ideas

8/29/2022

As stated in the EC Handbook and at the Parent Orientation, we will be limiting sugar served to children while at school. Therefore, birthday treats high in sugar will not be served. You can choose to bring in non-food items to send home, or you can choose a healthy birthday snack! I am including some fun ideas here! :)

Some additional snack ideas include:

Popcorn
Cheese sticks
Fruit
Veggies & dip (ex: ranch, hummus)
Cheese & crackers
Yogurt
Apple Slice "Cookies"
Fruit kabobs
Dried fruit
Veggie chips
Applesauce

Some non-food treat ideas include:

Bubbles
Play-doh
Sidewalk chalk
Sunglasses
Pop-its
Bracelets/Necklaces/Rings/Keychains/Etc.
Pencils
Erasers
Slinkies
Super Hero Masks
Bouncy Balls
Stickers
Curly Straws
Slime
Shaped Crayons
Glow Sticks
Temporary Tattoos

I hope some of these ideas are helpful to you! :)

Other Ways You Can Help

1/25/2022

Hello Preschool Families!!!

I understand that not everyone is able to devote time to helping in our classroom due to work schedules and other commitments. I wanted to make sure to provide you with alternative ways you can help our class learn this school year! All of these opportunities are completely optional. Please do not feel obligated to donate. I simply wanted to communicate ideas for those who are interested. :)

One area you can help with is our Art Center. Preschoolers are very busy in the Art Center all year long, creating masterpieces. You can help by keeping our center fully stocked with fun supplies the students can add to their creations! Please don't feel the need to buy any of these. You might have some of these items laying around the house! Some ideas for what you could donate:

Another area you can help with is our class prize box! Students receive hole punches for good behavior. When their hole punch cards are full, they get to pick a prize from our prize box to take home. Again, you don't need to purchase any of these items. It is possible that you have these laying around the house (or simply items your kids don't use any more that you'd love to get rid of!). You might also have leftover items from a birthday party. These make great additions to our class prize box! Some ideas for what you could donate:

Trinkets
Small, "cheap" toys
Stickers
Tattoos
Party favors

Finally, you can help with our writing center! I am trying to make the writing center more engaging for students this year. If you have any of these items laying around the house or any extra, we would love to add them to our center to help encourage emergent writing skills! Some ideas for what you could donate:

Envelopes
Cards (birthday, thank you, Christmas, blank, etc.)
Fun pens, markers, pencils, etc.
Post-it notes
Index cards
Fun shaped or colored paper/paper pads
Mini notebooks
Stickers that look like stamps
Stationery

Please do not feel obligated to purchase any of these items. If you have extras or would like to help out, we would really appreciate it! These items can be brought in at any time during the school year. Please place a note in your child's folder if you bring them in so I know to check for it in his/her backpack. Thanks again!!! I'm looking forward to a great school year!

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

Ways to Practice Letters with Your Child

1/25/2022

Hello Preschool Families!

Letter recognition is a big preschool skill, especially if your child will be going onto Kindergarten next school year. I wanted to provide some ideas of different ways that you can practice letter identification together at home. That way, you're not always doing the same thing each time. Hopefully this will help to make it more fun and engaging for both you and your child.

Reading -- this is such a simple way to practice! Many families read stories together before bed. During this time, you can point out the letter of the week and see if your child can find it on the page! You can also talk about what sound it makes. See if your child can produce the sound on the next page with the letter.
Playdough -- make the letters out of playdough! Hands-on activities are a great way for preschoolers to learn. This will feel like play and your child might not even notice that he is learning. You can do this to practice the letter of the week, letters we have already learned in class, or to practice with the letters in your child's name.
Shaving Cream -- write the letters in shaving cream! This is another fun hands-on activity for your child to practice the letter of the week or letters in her name. One advantage to shaving cream is that it is basically soap. So, when your child is done writing, you can have her use the remaining shaving cream to clean off the table!
Pipe Cleaners -- make the letters out of pipe cleaners! You will likely have to help your child bend and manipulate the pipe cleaners in order to form the letters. If you want, you can even string some beads onto the pipe cleaners before bending them. This would add another fine motor element to the activity. This is another one that can also be used to practice your child's name.
Rainbow Writing -- grab some markers, crayons, paint, or colored pencils and have your child write the letter in each color of the rainbow! This will give your child practice writing the letter multiple times and he will be able to use many pretty colors in the process. Again, try this with your child's name as another way to practice name writing/identifying letters in his name.
Alphabet Stamps -- if you have some alphabet stamps at home (or are able to purchase some), use these to practice letter identification. Your child could stamp the letter of the week, letters in her name, or simply stamp the letters in ABC order on a page. This activity also doubles as fine motor practice.
Letter Collage -- use magazines or newspapers. Have your child find and cut out the letter of the week. Then, paste these letters on a paper to create a collage. Not only will this help your child with recognizing letters, but it is also great emergent reading practice!
ABC Cookies -- use alphabet cookie cutters to when baking cookies! Practice saying the letter names as you cut out cookies together. If you decorate the cookies after, you can see what letters your child is able to name again. You could also do this while eating them.
Become the Letters -- try to make the letter of the week using your bodies. You can work together with your child to build the letter. Maybe you can even get the whole family involved! If your child is active, this might be a great way to practice.
Letter Hunt -- see if your child can find the letter of the week while out and about. Maybe this could be in the car, while walking through the neighborhood, at the store, or out at a restaurant. See how many letters your child can find! Get the whole family involved. See who can find the most of that letter. If your child knows more letters, maybe see if she can find all of the letters of the alphabet in order. Turn it into a game to see which member of the family can find them first!
Alphabet Puzzles -- doing an alphabet puzzle together can be a time to review letters with your child. Talk about the letters as you find them. Ask your child to bring you a certain letter. Use the letters to spell your child's name. Talk about names in your family that start with each letter. Talk about the sounds the letters maker. See if your child can tell you some of the sounds.
Letter Magnets -- use magnets to practice letter recognition! See if your child can find his letter (the first letter in his name) or other meaningful letters to him. Practice spelling your child's name with the magnets. Review the letter sounds together. Make silly "words." Try to read the "word" your child spells (which will likely be random letters strung together).
Legos -- write upper and lowercase letters on legos using a permanent marker. Have your child match the letters, sticking them together to form a match. For instance, your child should put the "A" block with the "a" block and the "B" block with the "b" block. This is another way you can sneak fine motor practice into your letter recognition practice, all while playing! If your child isn't ready for matching lowercase letters yet, modify the activity. Write uppercase letters on the legos. So, there should be two blocks with "A", two with "B", two with "C", and so on. Have your child match the same letters together.
Printable Block Letters -- you can print off these block letters at home to practice each letter as we learn it (found here: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/printable-block-letters-150-ways-fill) and have your child fill them with various objects. The website lists many ideas, but some include: stickers, buttons, coins, candy, feathers, kidney beans, pasta, etc. You can even fill it with something that starts with that letter! You can turn it into a craft and have your child glue the objects down. Or, you can keep reusing the paper with different objects over and over again. If you don't have a way to print these letters, you could also draw your own on a piece of paper.
Do-A-Dot Letters -- if you have Do-a-dot or bingo markers, you can print off these free Do-A-Dot letter patterns (http://totschool.shannons.org/do-a-dot-upper-case-letter-worksheets/). Your child can practice stamping the Do-A-Dot markers on each dot to form the letter. See if your child can name the letter when finished and/or produce the letter sound.
ABC Mat -- if you have an ABC mat (giant foam puzzle pieces), you can use this in a variety of ways to practice letter identification. Build it to a form a road and have your child name the letters as he drives cars on it. You can put it an ABC order or in a random order, depending on what level your child is at. To make it more challenging, you can use lowercase magnetic letters (or write lowercase letters on pieces of paper) and place them in a toy dump truck. Have your child drive around the ABC mat road and match the lowercase letters in the truck to the uppercase letters on the mat. (Side note: This mat usually has numbers with it as well, so you could also use a similar activity to practice number identification, or matching quantities to the number).
Alphabet Maze -- create an alphabet maze for your child. Write letters on post-it notes or pieces of paper and place around the house to create a maze. Have your child sing the ABC's to find which way to go to get through the maze correctly (meaning your child will move from A to B to C and so on).
Squirt the Letter -- if it warm outside, use water bottles or water guns to squirt the letter on the pavement. After making some letters, you can even let your child squirt you (or allow your children to squirt each other) to cool off.
Sticker & Paper Towel Tube Letter Match -- if you have an empty paper towel roll, write letters on it using a marker. Then, give your child letter stickers (or, you can use circle label stickers and write the letters on them). Have your child match the stickers to the letters on the tube.
ABC Cup Hunt Game -- write letters on paper cups. Hide a small toy or object under one of the cups when your child is not looking. Have your child guess what cup the item is under. Your child must say the name of the letter in order to guess. Take turns hiding and guessing.
Musical Alphabet -- kind of like musical chairs, but with letters. Set out letters and have your child walk around them. When the music stops, your child should stop on a letter. See if she can identify the letter she stops on. If she can, take it a step further and see if she can produce the letter sound.
Chalk -- use chalk on the pavement outside to practice writing different letters. These can be done with the letter of the week, letters we have already learned, or letters in your child's name.
Teachers Pay Teachers -- you can also find other activities on Teachers Pay Teachers that you can print and do together at home. Simply search "letters" or "letter recognition" and click "Preschool" or "Kindergarten." You can also check the box for "Free" so that you don't have to pay for activities. You will need to create an account, but it will save all of your downloads on your account for future use. Link: www.teacherspayteachers.com

There are countless ways that you can practice letter and sound recognition with your child! I hope that you will find some of these ideas helpful and enjoyable. Have fun learning!

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

Rhyming

1/25/2022

Hello Preschool Families!

I wanted to write a post about rhyming. This is an important pre-reading skill for preschoolers to master. Being able to rhyme, will help your child become a stronger reader because he will be able to more easily notice the sounds in words.

While doing assessments the past couple of weeks, I noticed that many of the preschoolers this year struggle with rhyming. Therefore, I wanted to provide you with some ideas/resources to help you practice rhyming words together at home.

Here are some websites you can visit the provide both ideas and resources for teaching rhyming to your child. They include suggested books to read together and downloadable resources that you can use to practice this skill with your child.

Also, you can check out Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) and find even more printable resources that you can use with your child. Some are free, some cost a little money. I will provide some of my favorites (free and non-free) that you can choose to download and use at home.
FREE:

Ice Cream Cone Rhyming: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Double-Dip-Rhymes-397754
Rhyming Concentration Game: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Concentration-Cards-282368
Christmas Tree Puzzle Rhyming: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Around-the-Christmas-Tree-Puzzles-2904231
A Tisket, A Tasket Rhyming Game: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Game-FREE-1727607
Rhyming Bingo: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Bingo-230140
Easter Egg Rhyme Puzzles: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easter-Eggcellent-Rhymes-FREEBIE-628864
Rhyming Word Puzzles: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Word-Puzzle-Freebie-2713460
Rhyming Word Mats: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Mats-780130
Whack-a-Rhyme Game: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Whack-A-Rhyme-251061

NON-FREE:

Easter Egg Rhyme Puzzles: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyme-Easter-Egg-Matching-616030
Candy Corn Rhyme Puzzles: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyme-Candy-Corn-Rhyme-Matching-348786
Rhyming Picture Cards: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Picture-Cards-90-Cards-1593751
Does it Rhyme?: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Sort-A-rhyming-activity-for-beginning-rhymers-1998649
Clip the Rhyming Frogs: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyme-Clip-the-Frog-Rhyming-Game-225781
Rhyming Lotto: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Activity-Matching-Game-Rhyming-Game-for-Preschool-and-Kindergarten-2134672
I Have, Who Has Game: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/I-Have-Who-Has-Rhyming-Words-with-Pictures-1336717
Rhyming Games: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Games-1444375
Apple Rhymes: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Apple-Rhymes-1391207
Mitten Rhymes: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyme-Mitten-Match-420947
What Doesn't Belong? Rhyming: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Doesnt-Belong-Rhyming-1353148
Rhyming Clip Cards: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Activity-for-Kids-Interactive-CVC-Rhyming-Words-Clip-Cards-1044108

I hope you will find some of these ideas helpful for you and your child! Thank you so much for all you do at home to help your child continue to learn and grow at school and in life.

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

Sensory Exploration

1/25/2022

Hello Preschool Families!

Since we are exploring our 5 senses this month at school, I wanted to provide you with some ideas for how you could continue this exploration together with your child at home. I hope you'll find at least some of these helpful and enjoyable.

Sight:

Go on a nature walk. Talk about everything you see. If you want, you can even bring along a notebook and something to write with so your child can draw what he sees on your walk. Or, you could bring along a camera and let your child take pictures of what he sees. Later, you can print these photos and put them on a page or into a book.
Find a collection of something (rock, sea shells, etc.) and look at them closely. If you have a magnifying class, use that. Have your child compare them. Let your child sort them into groups that look alike. There are many different ways to sort. If your child sorts in one way (perhaps by size), see if your child can resort them in a different way (maybe by color or shape).
Look through a family photo album. Talk about the pictures and what your child sees in them. Maybe take it a step further--see if your child can recreate one of the pictures using art materials.
Explore colors. Mix primary colors together (you could use paint or food coloring) to create secondary colors. See if your child can predict what color it will make.
Explore light. If you have access to a prism, show your child what happens when light shines through the prism (the light is broken apart into different colors, creating a rainbow). You could also turn off the lights and use a flashlight to create shadows with your hands. See what shapes you can make. Maybe you can work together to tell a story!

Hearing:

Explore musical instruments! Look around your house. What things do you have that you could use to make music? Maybe you could make shakers (use plastic eggs or an empty bottle and fill with small objects such as beads, beans, pasta, etc.). See how they sound different depending on what you fill them with and how much. You can also fill glasses with water (different amounts of water). Gently tap each glass with a spoon and see what sound it makes. Check out the resources tab for a link to this experiment!
Go on a sound walk. See what sounds you can hear on your walk. Write them down (or let your child try to draw them). Alternatively, you could also use this sound scavenger hunt checklist: what_do_you_hear_.pdf
Play a game--Guess that Sound! Provide different objects to choose from that make different noises. Take turns with your child. One person will close his eyes and make noise with one of the objects and the other has to guess what made that sound. Then, switch. You can even involve the whole family in this game!

Smell:

Spice painting--go here to see how you can make spice paint to use at home and explore the different smells of each spice: www.lifewithmoorebabies.com/2012/08/spice-painting-with-edible-glue.html
Write in Jello (just the mix, no need to turn it into actual Jello). Just make sure your child's hands/fingers stay dry or else they will end up stained. See if your child can guess what kind of Jello it is based on the smell. You can even try different kinds.
Make scented play-dough! Find a play-dough recipe online or use store bought play-dough. Then, add a scent using a cooking extract (such as vanilla, peppermint, orange, etc.). There are lots of choices you can find at the store! Let your child help pick one out or choose a couple and see if your child can guess the smells.
Smell Guessing Game--you can also use the extracts (or oils) for this game. Add a few drops to a cotton ball. Place the cotton balls in a small cup. Have your child smell each one and try to guess what the smell is. This is another game the whole family can play!

Touch:

Explore different textures! You can use sandpaper, cotton balls, aluminum foil, pipecleaners, tissue paper, rubber bands, bubble wrap, anything you can think of! You can do a few different things with these. 1) Have your child sort the objects by how they FEEL. 2) See if your child can DESCRIBE how each object feels. 3) Make a collage using these objects.
Sandpaper rubbings. Cut out sandpaper into different shapes, letters, or numbers. Place one under a piece of paper and have your child rub over it with a crayon.
Go Barefoot! Feel with your feet. This can be as simple as comparing the textures of different floors and inside/outside. Or, if you're okay with getting messy, let your child step in different materials (preferably outside for easier clean up). You could try shaving cream, shampoo/conditioner, water, ice water, pebbles, etc.). Just make sure to wipe off/spray down your child's feet between materials!
Finger paint or paint with your feet! Let your child feel the texture of the paint with her skin. If you're going to let your child use her feet, you might want to wait for a warm day and do this outside so your child doesn't track paint all over the house.
Check out the sensory exploration ideas under the Resources tab (in the websites section)!

Taste:

Try a new food! Have your child taste something she has never eaten before. If you really want to go exotic, check out Jungle Jim's and try a rare fruit!
Compare different flavored chips or ice-cream. Choose 2-3 flavors. Label them by numbers and place them in a bowl (without the bag/container it came from). Have your child taste each and talk about how it tastes and what he likes/doesn't like about it. Then, have your child choose which taste he likes the best. If you want, turn it into a writing activity. Have your child draw the flavor he likes best and try to "write" about it. Remember, writing at this age varies--it can be scribbles, letter-like forms, letter strings, or it might even include some of the sounds in the words. Accept whatever your child is able to do at this time and enjoy the process! It is great practice for your preschooler.
Explore different tastes. Salty--chips, Sweet--fruit juice, Sour--lemon or pickle, Bland--water, Bitter--unsweetened chocolate (baker's chocolate).
Jelly Bean Flavors! Give your child a handful of jelly beans. Instruct your child to eat one at a time. See if he can guess the flavor. If you want, you can also help your child make a graph to see how many of each flavor he has. You might want to print off a graph paper to make it easier so all that your child needs to do is color in a box. Here is one you can use: jumpingjellybeansgraphing.pdf (instead of colors, write in the flavors for your child).

I hope you are able to try some of these activities with your child! Enjoy!

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

Fine Motor Practice Ideas

1/25/2022

Hello Preschool Families,

Fine motor skills are an essential part of preschool. Many children enter school with low fine motor skills. We use a variety of activities at school to develop these skills, but you can also help your child develop these skills even further at home during play and daily activities. Here are some ideas that you could try:

Lace beads on a string or pipe cleaner. You can even combine this with patterns practice by alternating colors! Or, if you purchase letter beads, you can practice spelling words or your child's name using the beads.
Playdough-- children strengthen many muscles when using playdough. You can also add various materials for your child to use with the playdough to further fine motor development. Ideas for materials you could use include: pasta, candles, googly eyes, rocks/pebbles, beads, buttons, shells, colored rice, bottle caps, wooden or plastic letters/numbers, and stamps.
Stamps--let your child use stamps (letters, numbers, or anything) to spell words or create artwork. Your child will learn how much pressure is needed to get enough ink on the stamps and push it down onto the paper, which will help to develop fine motor muscles.
Make pasta necklaces! Use regular or colored pasta and string it onto pipecleaners or yarn to create a necklace. You could also make bracelets in the same way!
Lacing cards-- purchase (or make) a set of lacing cards for your child to practice weaving a string in and out of the holes.
Pipecleaners and colanders--give your child a colander and some pipe cleaners and instruct him to push the pipe cleaners through the holes in the colander. Alternatively, you could purchase artificial flowers and have your child arrange them in the holes of an upside-down colander.
Beads on spaghetti--place some pieces of uncooked spaghetti into a ball or clump of playdough. Provide your child with beads to place on the spaghetti. Your child can also practice making patterns with the beads during this activity.
Sensory writing tray--place salt, sugar, jello powder, sand, or anything of similar consistency into a small try. Let your child use her finger (or an object such as a wand) to write letters or numbers in the tray. This provides practice with writing, letter/number recognition, and fine motor skills.
Pom pom drop game -- use empty water bottles and place a number on each bottle. Provide your child with a container of pom poms. Have your child place the correct number of pom poms into each bottle. Alternatively, you could also see how many pom poms your child can fit in each bottle (for this one, you might want to have bottles of different sizes and/or different sizes of pom poms to compare how many fit).
Painting with Q-tips--if you don't mind getting a little messy, you can get out some paint, paper, and Q-tips. Have your child paint with the Q-tips instead of a paintbrush.
Use jumbo tweezers or tongs to pick up small objects and place them onto a mat or into another container (such as pom poms, buttons, bottle caps, small toys, beads, beans, pasta, etc.). One idea is to use jumbo tweezers to place pom poms into an ice cube tray. Your child should place one pom pom in each section of the tray.
Paint with water outside on the pavement. When the weather is a little nicer, give your a child a cup of water and a paintbrush. Let her use this to paint pictures outside on the driveway or sidewalk.
Spider Web Game--tie white string in a basket to create a web. Place toy spiders in the bottom of the basket. Instruct your child to use a clothespin to get the spiders out of the web.
Hole Punch Game--combine math and fine motor skills! Roll the dice to see what number you get and then punch out that number of dots. The first one to the finish line wins.
Pipettes and Water play--fill cups with water and food coloring. Place a pipette in each cup and let your child play with the water. Alternatively, you could also use eyedroppers.
Tracing Lines with Gems--draw lines on construction paper and then have your child place colored gems/stones on the lines to "trace" them. Alternatively, you could also use buttons, beads, or pasta.
Cutting Mazes--draw a "maze" for your child to cut on a piece of paper. Your child should try to follow the lines with scissors as closely as possible.

These are just a few ideas! Hopefully you find some of these helpful for your child at home.

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

Author

I'm Mrs. Soldner, the early childhood teacher and director at Immanuel Lutheran School. I have been teaching preschool since 2016 and have been teaching here at Immanuel since 2018.

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