From Miss Cheryl’s and Miss Ginger’s SNP Class
LAST WEEK IN OUR CLASS
Our hibernation unit is completed. The children enjoyed our movie on Friday and once more they were able to use their math skills (counting and money skills) by buying their movie tickets and popcorn. They were very interested in where the animal hibernated and used their new knowledge to construct some of those different places. As with some science experiments our shortening and ice experiment was not as successful as I wanted but the children were exposed to a great sensory experience- slippery and cold. And the shortening sure felt good on your hands!!!! We did watch ice change to water (solid to liquid) which many of the children were fascinated by.
OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK
Our winter unit continues this week. We are going to read the story “All You Need for a Snowman” by Alice Schertle. In this rhyming story children create a snowman starting with the first snowflake that flutters down to the last garment that goes on the snowman. We will concentrate snowmen this week We will use snowmen to learn about and practice prepositions, size concepts and sequencing. In art we will be making snowflakes and snowmen. Our songs and fingerplays will be about snowmen. Imagine even our food activity will involve us making snowmen. We are even going to have a snowball fight using tissues because we have no snow. But we will not be building snowmen or making snow in science this week. We are going to create frost instead.
Our vocabulary words include
snowman snowflake flutter/fall small medium large short tall round top middle bottom/below
HOMEWORK:
- Work on prepositional words found in our vocabulary words. Use a snowman or a snowflake and a box to begin to demonstrate these concepts. Have your child repeat or demonstrate where the object is. Repeated exposure to these concepts will help them begin to understand. Beside the concepts of top, middle and bottom or below try the following ones- on, in, under, in front, behind, next to, beside.
- Songs and Poems
Ten Little Snowmen
10 little snowmen riding on my sled,
One rolled off, and bumped his head.
I called Frosty, and Frosty said,
"No more snowmen riding on that sled!"
Countdown until you get to one snowman riding on my sled.
1 little snowman riding on my sled,
One rolled off, and bumped his head.
I called Frosty, and Frosty said,
"No more snowmen riding on that sled!"
Then
Zero little snowmen riding on my sled.
I jumped off and rubbed their heads.
One--Two--Three--Four--Five--Six--Seven--Eight--Nine--Ten!
10 Little Snowmen in a Row (Tune: 10 Little Indians)
1 little, 2 little, 3 little snowmen
4 little, 5 little, 6 little snowmen
7 little, 8 little, 9 little snowmen
10 little snowmen in a row.
I’m a Little Snowman (sung to I’m a Little Teapot)
I’m a little snowman
Short and fat
Here is my scarf
And here is my hat.
When the sun comes out
I melt away
But when it’s cold
I’m here to stay.
Related Literature--- Ten on A Sled-Kim Norman; Snowmen At Night-Caralyn Buehner; Snow- Christine Ford; Snow- Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman; There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow- Lucille Colandro
Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students
LETTER TIME-- Letter Review Pp-
Remember to continue to review the previous letters as we begin to progress. Don’t forget to use the chants I sent home as you practice writing. The children enjoy saying the chants or hearing you repeat the chants as they write in sand, rice or flour using their pointer finger and on an upright chalkboard with chalk or on an attached paper with a crayon on an upright board.
This week is a review of the letter Pp. I will emphasize the beginning sound found in words that begin with the “Pp” sound. Vocabulary words will be sent home for you to practice with your child to reinforce the letter sound. Try to follow the activities and strategies listed below. Please keep in mind that each child has varying abilities. I will expose your child to the standards that are age appropriate but will adjust each lesson to their individual levels and needs.
Thursday- Music( full day students)- On Thursdays we will be going to Music with a kindergarten class
Friday Media Center (full day students) —On Fridays we will visit the Media Center and check out one book. Please read this book with your child daily. The book needs to be returned by following Friday or your child will not be able to check out another book. Please help your child learn to respect the books he/she has brought home. Show them the proper way to handle the books and how to put them away. We practice this at school in our classroom library and they need to know the same respect and treatment of books applies at home also.
More activities for increasing letter awareness, letter sound awareness and handwriting-
1. Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
- Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
- ALWAYS practice writing their first names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters). At this age children only need to learn to write the upper case letters (except in the first names). They should learn to recognize both upper and lower case letters
- Practice writing the letters.
- Look in books, magazines, etc. to find both the upper and lower case letter of the week. Always go from left to right as you do when you read. They can even use a highlighter to mark the letters they find. This is also a great review exercise for the previous letters we have learned. For those students who can recognize the letters this is a great way to start exposing them to words. Have them find and highlight the word that has the letter in it.
- READ to your child. Read a variety of books to them. Ask questions about what you are reading- use “what” and “who” questions at first. Then move on to questions that require higher thinking- where, when, how and why. Talk about the pictures. Point to the words as you are reading. All of these things increase awareness which will help them learn to read
Handwriting Strategies to use-
a. Using a shortened normal sized crayon or pencil will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. The shortened length requires your child to have to hold the writing instrument using a more appropriate grasp. A crayon helps the writer increase pressure when writing. Pencils tend to slip easily and may not be the best instrument to use for beginning writers. Markers should not be used until they are established writers. Once your child is an established writer use regular length crayons and begin writing with pencils.
b. Writing on a slanted surface such a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed.
c. Writing with chalk on an upright easel encourages correct arm and hand position PLUS it increases the need to add pressure.
d. While they are writing say the chants I sent home with your child will help remember the correct way to form the letters. (These will be sent home when we begin letter formation.)
e. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach. This is another way to reinforce the correct position for the arm and hand when writing.
f. Roll playdoh or other modeling clay into balls first and then snakes. Use the snakes to form the letters. Use a rectangle shape such as a picture frame with no glass as a guide to form the letters. ALWAYS form the letters starting from the top to bottom inside the rectangle shape using the edges as a guide.
g. Practice writing the letter shapes with their fingers on sandpaper; in rice, sand or flour; or hair setting gel in a sealed plastic bag.
Speech and Language- Miss Allison
Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.
Georgia Preschool/ Pre-K Content Standards Link
Here is a useful link to the Ga. Preschool/ Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these standards and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years. The standards are set up according to your child’s chronological age. IF you child is older than 4 they will still be concentrating on the 4 year old standards. To access the standards click on the top address for the preschool standards or click on the bottom address for the Pre-K standards.
http://decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/GELSSection6.pdf
http://decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/Content_Standards_Full.pdf
