My "Academic" Preschooler

Those that know me well know that I really push that sensory-open ended art during the toddler/preschool years. T. is 3 years old and has had what I describe as "sensory issues".  :-)  He never liked to get his hands dirty...actually, still doesn't for the most part.  Forget any type of messy art...or sensory.  And really, the sensory tubs/pool does not keep his interest for long...even with "clean" materials. Do you know what he really likes?  Academics.  Huh?!  Yes, that's what he likes and thrives on.  So that is throwing me for a little loop this year as most "academic" type tasks usually requires some assistance when you are talking about a 3 year old.  But, we'll get it figured out!  Here are some of the activities we did this past week...

 

Matching numbers to pumpkin seeds.  Ha!  This was on a whim.  I didn't think he really could count sets past 3 so I put only 5 pumpkins down because then the shape would help him "self-correct" but no, I put down the 5 and he tells me, "all of them".  So I went ahead and so that meant there were 2 or 3 of the same shapes.  Oh my goodness!  I was impressed!  He did them all.  He couldn't really count the 9 and 10 correctly but the shapes then helped him but the rest he did on his own.  So, now I'm curious, was it just guessing or not...so now we'll explore that this next week.  :-)  And by the way, this was right up his alley of "fun". Ha!

 

He's really into pumpkins since we went to the neighbors and picked pumpkins.  We have such kind neighbors!  Matching has always come easy for him but again, this is right up his alley as "fun".

 

Measuring scarecrows.  :-)  The time he somewhat shocked me here was that he was getting to the 4th scarecrow and noticed the pattern 1 crow tall, 2 crows tall, 3 crows tall and he looked at me and pointed to the 4th scarecrow and said, "This 4 birds."! 

 

1:1 correspondence.  We'll do this again with different types of tweezers and the pumpkin erasers in a bowl vs. a bag.  I just hadn't planned for him to do this right at the moment but he saw it and wanted too and I didn't have the few moments it took to really prepare it how I would have liked to.  But he was happy!

 

Another favorite of his.  I do not put this under "sensory".  This is fine motor and he loves all sorts of tasks like this.  Very orderly...definitely appeals to his personality. 

 

Matching numbers..again "fun" for him.  He actually recognized them all but the 4 (which I don't use that font for 4 typically and 6, 9...understandably. 

 

Shapes are one area that he really hasn't grasped the names of.  He knows circle but more often than not calls is an "O".  Everything else usually ends up as a "triangle" as his first guess.  So we'll do more of that as time goes on.

 

Definitely another "academic" type activity.  Matching letters to spell words, these were fall theme words.

 

Oh boy, I think I have my work cut out for me.  The nice thing is that our schooling at home routine is starting to settle into a very nice routine...not as overwhelming.  We are figuring out when we need to do what...so usually I have the time to at least slide over to him and review what he did so we can get some growth out of the activities.  :-)  Have I mentioned that he loves "school" and when I don't set trays out for him...we all go a bit crazy...I learned my lesson! 

B is for...

B is for Butterfly!

(amongst other things)

www.abctwiggles.com

Each Thurday we do an ABC Twiggles letter craft for the focus letter.  Thus, I usually use the paper craft as our theme for that day.  Never have I done butterflies this late in the year but you know what...it was a perfect cheery thing to do on this very dreary, rainy day!  :-) 

Some of the other planned activities that we did today....

Butterfly Numeral Formation

 Numeral recognition, counting and numeral formation.

Butterfly Mat w/ Playdough

One of the children in attendance today was sick when we did the playdough with the golf tees so I pulled those back out for him.   The pattern was a reproducible from The Mailbox.  I love this picture of T.!  So much learning takes place through observation and he's definitely watching the older child here.  :-)  Often, when I see this type of observation take place, it won't be long before T.'s back at whatever the other child was doing and trying it out, even if he had been there already.  Love it!  One benefit of a mixed age group.

Sensory: Bird Seed

I gave them a choice of /b/ sound sensory materials today and this is what they chose.  It's a nice material to work with and will go through funnels too (though they chose to use the paper towel tubes instead).

Melissa & Doug 

I chose the /b/ sound words to use today.  Only 4, just about perfect for timing and interest.  Loved hearing about the letters recognized and the realization that the words all started with b!

Roller Painting Butterflies

The process...

cut                                                        paint

                     fold and pat                     open and exclaim!  :-)

Repeat as often as desired!           

A little different process for toddlers.  We'll cut it into a butterfly shape after it's dry, if he wants too.

Oh, and this last one is just seasonal...I was going through the closet and seen that I had completely forgotten about having this wooden jack-o-lantern matching set, purchased from Oriental Trading.    This is a very large set so I only choose 10 pairs to work with.  Easy enough for the older child.  Really need just 3-5 for toddlers.  Before I put something like this on the shelf for free play, I like to "introduce" it first.

P is for...

P is for Pumpkin!

A few more pumpkin activities.

Check out http://www.teachpreschool.org/ for great pumpkin ideas!

Cleaning out the pumpkin!  Ew!  Slimy! 

I'm experimenting with coloring the pumpkin seeds.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Penny Pumpkin Rubbings

Pumpkin Hands-On Math Chart

One can usually find erasers in 'large' quantities on clearance after holidays.  They can be used for various activities!  These erasers were from Target, after Halloween, 75 ct for less than a dollar.  Laminating the "bulletin board" decorations allow them to be used over and over in activities as you can use dry erase marker on them.  I like to use those little pumpkins to put up on a wall (in numerical order, 1 at the bottom at floor level-I'm pretty sure there is a picture in one of the past postings) so they can explore with nonstandard measurement of themselves and objects.

Pumpkin Patch Alphabet Match

http://www.childcareland.com/

K.'s quite capable of matching quite a few of the letters, however, this was a very busy "mat", since typically I break the upper-lower case letter matching activities into several sessions so "we" don't get tired of the activity.  But after she got some encouragement...she did well!

Playdough out again.  :-)  Have to take advantage of that lovely textured playdough!

1 C. flour

1/2 C. salt

1 tsp. oil

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 C. water

Kool-Aid packet in chosen color/scent

Mix together and cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until dough begins to form a ball and comes off the sides of the pan.  Knead a bit as it cools.  Store in air tight container or wrap in plastic wrap.

P is for...

P is for Pumpkin!

 

Pumpkin Life Cycle

Since I have had some children for multiple years in a row I try not to repeat "projects".  Each year I do try to do a pumpkin life cycle and this year I was trying to find something a little different.  Then I came across this activity at http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/. 

Visual Discrimination File Folder Activity.

I find that these are awesome activities for toddlers and younger preschoolers.  I don't use them quite so much with my older students unless there are a mixed age group. 

Monthly name writing and self-portrait sheet.  These are great to keep together until the end of the year to see the development from Sept. to May!

Ha!  First pic, obviously the child before hid them really good!  I see only the one in her hand! 1:1 and counting to 10 or 20 and, of course, free exploration with sensory material.  Peek preview to a new bean mixture (15 different types).  I wanted to see how they reacted to it and then I'll put it away until our B week.  Those little plastic pumpkins are so versatile!  :-)

Numerical order and counting with meaning.  I did include a number line since numerical order is not mastered by any of the preschool children yet.  We went up to 3 for the toddler,  5 for the younger preschooler and 10 for the older preschooler.  As you can see in the second picture, I simple cut pieces of masking tape and wrote the numeral and the numeral word.

Fresh playdough that actually turned out to be a perfect texture (been awhile!) made for some lovely P's, pumpkin patches, and birthday cakes!

I've done this in the past but hadn't had a whole lot of success after cutting out whatever shape we had planned on...so after TeachPreschool mentioned it a couple times I decided to try it again.  :-)  It's a "fingerpaint" mixture made up of glue and paint.  We made a letter D last week and this week we are making pumpkins.  The more "symmetrical" pumpkin is T.'s-2 years old.  Obviously, I helped him.  But....this was the first time he let me "help" him in anything that caused a "mess" on his hands.  He does NOT like it.  Today, I "helped" with one hand to go around and around after he used the glue spreader a bit and then he looked at his painted hand and then at his other hand and plopped his clean hand into the glue/paint mixture!  Progress! 

And, of course, we must do some writing on a pumpkin during our pumpkin theme!