Lovely Lobsters

Happy Friday!

As promised here is the precious lobster we have been working on. As a mom, I've watched my own boys grown so quickly and realize the importance of capturing their small image in a variety of ways, hand prints and footprints are two of my favorite ways of creating a moment in time that lasts. I came across this project on http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/2010/05/handprint-footprint-lobster-for-june.html. There were so many exceptional projects on this site that I can't wait to try!

As we wrap up July, it's a great time to reflect on all of the wonderful skills we have learned and been introduced to.

Letters: We have learned Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz. The children enjoyed the last four letters of the alphabet and are looking forward to starting with Aa, when we return in August. For letter recognition and sound association we will begin using a program called Jolly Phonics. More details to follow soon.

Language: For Language we have really been focusing on developing our vocabulary, especially when we communicate our wants and needs with friends and adults. Manner words and a polite tone were a big focus this past month and will continue to be in the future as well.

Math: We continued our quest with color identification. The children made great progress with this skill during July. They were also introduced to the idea of "more and less." This tends to be one of the more difficult concepts to understand. We will continue to work on this in August and the months following. We also worked on counting and our numbers 1-5. The children love the rhymes we use to remember how form each number. One is fun!

Social Studies: Teamwork was the theme in July and the children did a great job with this! We made floor puzzles, created a pretend restaurant, built forts, and created towers all by working together, taking turns, and sharing. Of course our manner words were used a lot when doing these team based activities. Great progress in this area as well!

Science: We had an outstanding time exploring our ocean life unit. The children loved the variety of fish activities, literature selections, and the songs. This is a very musical group and all of the children enjoy singing and dancing. I hope to implement some musical instruments in the near future.

Gross Motor / P.E.: We completed our until on kickball this month. The children love any activity that has to do with a ball and this was no exception. I saw growth with the children's motor planning skills and their abilities to kick a moving ball. Teamwork was also utilized here and effectively and politely talking to others as well.

Fine Motor: Cutting, tracing, and strengthening the small muscles in the children's hands was the focus here. We are seeing definite improvement with cutting and tracing.

Character Trait: The character trait for July was to be respectful. All of the children did an exceptional job with this. The teamwork unit and language and vocabulary development were also utilized while we were learning what it means to be respectful.

To get a seek peek of what's to come in August, please visit the Curriculum Center.

We will be adding one new component to the curriculum in the future, starting in August. This will be a community service project each month. In August we will being this adventure by starting a recycling program and using the money we earn to sponsor an animal from the Gentle Barn. Specifc details will be sent home soon.

Have great weekend and an excellent first week in August! As always, please email me with any questions or concerns. achievepreschool@hotmail.com Thank you!