Zoo II

Again, just a couple pics as this week is CRAZY with things to be done!  :-) 

Our ABC display to correspond with the Zoo Theme.

These are paper "library" pockets from the dollar store. Definitely are not as durable as the "real" library pockets but they work.  Maybe someday I'll make my own out of cardstock. Right now, the paper ones are time savers.  http://www.quality-kids-crafts.com/puppets-alphabetanimal.html is where I got the animals from.  I haven't had a chance to really check out this website but it looks interesting!  Let me know if you find something helpful from this site.

This might also interest a few of you.  It's something I do off and on throughout the school year.  I make it theme related simply by adding clipart. 

It tells me where they are at with their name as I do not help them on this sheet (which also means they don't get a name card to copy from either.)  And it shows me their development with drawing a person.  This particular child is three years old.  Can I expect all 3 year old children to draw a picture of themselves like this?  No, typically I see a large circle with 2 scribble eyes and a mouth and sticks coming out for arms and legs.  I love listening to children as they draw, and I strongly suggest you do the same.  For example on this one...that line down the center of the large oval (back) could have been thought of as a scribble/mistake, etc but this 3 year old specifically told me that this was his spine.  :-)  He's very aware of his physical self.  Spine is a word I hear from him often.  We talk about the parts of the book frequently, including the spine.  :-)  He also told me he was drawing a thumb, finger and pinkie and that he has 2 eyes and he needs another arm over here because he has two arms.  Note that he also has a "back" and a smaller circle head! 

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Another thought, today I made a point to pull out some board games.  We get so busy with our other work that often boardgames get pushed to the side, mainly because with preschool you have to be right there facilitating.  So I planned to get some in today and we ended up with CandyLand.  Nothing zoo related.  LOL  But that's okay.  Please don't forget your boardgames with the preschoolers.  Flipping cards, rolling dice, moving small manipulatives are great for fine motor.  Learning how to follow directions-visual/verbal and taking turns are important skills as a well.  And a lot of board games reinforce basic concepts also! 

Have a lovely afternoon!