4K Recycle Fun



It's that time of the year where classrooms are filling up with items found in little pockets from the playground (acorns and bugs) and left over pieces of scrap from fall art projects. Instead of throwing them away, let's put all of them to good use.

    Below you will find a number of websites that share ways of extending a child's learning with material they may have already used or brought into the classroom! It's a fun way to help children understand the value of recycling and appreciate their little sneaky pant pocket guest!



Paper Weaving Craft

http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/2010/11/indian-or-harvest-corn-paper-weaving.html

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Scrubbing and Tweezing Indian Corn- you can get corn at your local market or grocery store for almost nothing!!

http://livingmontessorinow.com/2010/11/01/activity-of-the-week-scrubbing-and-tweezing-indian-corn/

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Preserving Fall Leaves

http://littlewondersdays.blogspot.com/2010/10/preserving-fall-leaves.html

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Sensory Tub Ideas. A great way to use left over materials in the classroom. Remember sensory activities should not be limited to the science and discovery areas. Bring it into housekeeping, art or even block areas! Think outside your box!

http://ourworldwideclassroom.blogspot.com/2010/07/more-sensory-tub-ideas.html

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Finally......although your classrooms have been up and running for right at 3 months now, it may be time to refresh some of your classroom guidelines for children to follow. Sometimes our rules need a "brushing up" to help extend children's thinking and set new reminders. Always let the children be a part of the classroom rule process. A sense of ownership in their classroom is created when letting children help establish rules and guidelines.
A few classroom management tips are noted on this website to help through one of our busiest times of the year!

http://tips4childcare.blogspot.com/2010/11/classroom-management-tips.html

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4K Fall Festival Events

Mother Nature tricked us last week into thinking the cool weather was here to stay, but we know by looking at the calendar the Fall season is here!

We have several upcoming holidays that our classrooms, children and families enjoy in many different ways. It's important we are respectful what we bring into our children's lives in the classroom when it comes to holiday themes and activities.
Whether a family celebrates Thanksgiving as a Fall day of giving or chooses not to take part in Halloween events, our activities should always reflect a neutral theme.

Disney's Family Fun website provides unique and environmentally friendly fall season craft ideas for the classroom and for families to enjoy at home. A great parent partnership in your program could be by inviting parents in to participate in one of the listed activities. You can also print out one of the craft ideas and encourage parents to join in on the fun with their child at home!

The website has everything from pumpkin carving ideas to fall festival games!

http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/

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Family Corner website brings projects to the classroom for children of all ages. One neat piece about their website is not only do they provide developmentally appropriate theme based craft ideas, but also offers sections on effective parenting and a section just for children!
There "Fun Stuff for Kids" section is loaded with classroom activities to help blend in fall season events. The rice krispy turkey's look like so much fun!

http://www.familycorner.com/#


Happy Fall!

Pre-K National Literacy Month

Continuing our focus on National Literacy Month, building a child's vocabulary and interest in books need to be integrated into the classroom environment everyday. The key is offering opportunities that are motivating and enjoyable for your students while purposeful for the teacher.


The literacy toolbox website below provides a few unique ways of creating and enhancing your book or reading corner in the classroom.

http://literacytoolbox.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/creating-bookworms-making-a-comfortable-reading-nook/


The Debra Stewart website shares ideas on how to introduce and integrate new vocabulary words in a child's literacy world! Open up your imagination and dictionary by providing words that are not only funny sounding, but useful at the same time. Have fun with words!

http://deborahjstewart.com/2009/10/building-a-childs-vocabulary-in-preschool/

Until next week....happy interchanging your thoughts!