September 24, 2021
Hello Families!
Classroom Playdates
While our first week of school did not go as we had originally planned, we had a successful week of parent/child playdates in our classroom! During these playdates children have been working hard to learn our morning routine, as well as practicing doing classroom jobs independently. Learning the daily routine is a first important step to having a successful preschool experience.
The Daily Routine
Familiar activities can provide comfort for both adults and children during challenging and uncertain times (going to a new school, being away from your family, etc.). Just like adults, children feel more confident and secure when their daily activities are predictable and familiar. A consistent daily schedule and step-by-step routines give children a predictable day. Schedules and routines in school and at home help children:
- Feel in control of their environment
- Feel safe, secure, and comfortable
- Know what is happening now and what comes next
- Know how to do an activity or task
- Engage in learning
So far the children have been introduced to 7 key parts of our daily routine; Arrival, breakfast, sign-in, morning messages, small group, large group, planning time, and work time. Wow, that was a lot of work for three days!
- Arrival Time- During arrival children are in-charge of hanging up their own items in their cubby. They establish independence and gain confidence by being responsible for their own belongings.
- Breakfast – During breakfast children learn about making healthy choices. There are 2 or 3 breakfast items available and from and each child decides if they are hungry enough to choose one or all of them. When finished, children clean their space by throwing away their own garbage, wiping up spills, etc.
- Sign-in- Children use various writing materials to practice writing their names. This week we introduced large name tags and whiteboard markers.
- Morning Messages- During morning messages children practice patience and turn taking while a teacher talks about important items of the day. They also learn that pictures and words are related and have meaning as teachers write and draw pictures of the messages on the board.
- Small Group- During small group children participate in a directed lesson with a teacher, usually (but not always) at their table. We explore math, writing, science, language, and reading during hands on lessons. This week children made their first writing journal entry and self portrait, used tweezers to sort pom poms into different categories, and used playdoh and pipe cleaners to make sculptures.
- Large Group- During large group the children and teachers all participate in a music and movement lesson together. This week we focused on learning the names of children in the class and practiced singing some familiar songs such as; twinkle twinkle, and the ABC song.
- Planning and Work Time- During work time children have an opportunity to make choices of what materials they would like to use and what areas of the classroom they would like to play in. This time of day is where children learn and practice important social skills such as; asking a friend for help, taking turns, using toys together, and using words to say what they are feeling.
Pictures from our first week!
Playdate Times
As of right now we will be following the same routine for next week. We will have two classroom “playdate” opportunities a day while as we wait for the official paperwork to be processed. Your patience in this matter has been greatly appreciated, and I understand how frustrating this situation is for everyone. The silver lining for me is having an opportunity to share our classroom with parents and grandparents who might otherwise not had an opportunity to come in otherwise!
Our two meeting times will be: 8:30-10:00am OR 10:15-11:40am.
During these playdates children MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A PARENT. Legally, we are not allowed to have children stay by themselves with a teacher until the licensing is complete.
Don’t forget:
Have a great weekend, and I am looking forward to seeing you on Monday!
~Mrs. Stortini