Counting, counting, counting!

It probably seems like we are always counting! We count together to the date on the class calendar, we count the number of children wearing shorts/pants to decide what our frog should wear, they count to the date on their calendars, and many other counting jobs. Most children can count, some skip a number here and there, but they have the concept. The part that needs work is counting objects, not just rote counting, and counting the 'teens'.
First, counting objects versus rote counting: instead of having your child count out loud to 20, ask them to line up 20 Legos, cars, Cheerios, whatever. Then have them touch each one as they say a number. Watch that they don't go too fast and say 1,2,3 before getting to the third object.
Second, counting the teens: the majority of the preschoolers either skip a teen, or repeat one, or just confuse the sounds. This sounds like "firteen, fourteen, fifteen" or "thirteen, fourteen, sixteen." Have your child slow down, work on those sounds. You can also just isolate those three to four numbers: "show me 13 crayons" then have them count 13 crayons. then, "show me 14 crayons" and count the 14 crayons. Ask which group has more crayons. Thirteen and fourteen seem to be the hardest to differentiate, although some skip from thirteen straight to eighteen. We will be spending quite a bit of time during the winter working on teen numbers, but this home practice will get them ready!

Calling All Superheroes!!

This weekend is the Weiss Advocacy Center's Superhero Fun Run! This is a great event for little ones to get involved in helping others. Dress as your favorite superhero and come out for the fun run 1k at 9:45 on Saturday, September 20. My boys and I will be collecting pledges and running the 5k at 9:15 so we hope to see your there! There are super heroes in the Uof M Flint pavilion at the corner of Saginaw and Kearsley Sts., face painting, superhero mask making and my favorite: the superhero photo booth! We can all be superheroes in the lives of a child and have a fun morning doing it!

Weiss Advocacy Center steps in when a child has been a witness to or the victim of a crime. They counsel, offer medical help and take testimonies all on site at this wonderfully homey center. This gives the children privacy and the chance to only have to tell their story one time. It is a hugely important organization in our community.

Please visit the Weiss Advocacy Center's webpage for details and event registration!
www.weissadvocacycenter.org

Preschool tie-ins

This week we have worked on cutting. They can use all the practice you can give them! Let them cut up school papers you've read, magazines, junk mail, anything! Just watch their grip. They need to have their thumb in the small hole of the handle and at least their pointer and middle fingers in the other hole. Make sure their hand is turned so that their thumb is up. Then have them hold the paper with their other hand. If you have any questions please let me know! I'd be glad to help!

The other skill to practice at home is sharing or taking turns. You can start by playing games, like High Ho Cherry-O, Chutes and Ladders or even Tic Tac Toe. Don't always let them go first, their friends at school will not :) Make sure they wait their turn to go. They can also wait their turn for other activities from the simple: serve yourself a drink and then them, to harder "I'm going to read this book to myself for 5 minutes and then I'll read your book to you." These are just a few examples, but I'm sure you get the point. They are all learning how to be in a classroom where it is not 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 like at home. They are doing a great job, but anyone could use practice.
Sharing works much the same way. We read Llama Llama Time to Share today and talked about how Llama llama felt when a neighbor came and wanted to play with his special toy. We talked about what we can do when we have things that are too special to share, and how to share other things. Keep practicing at home, make a few very simple 'shares': " Will you share one of your carrots with me" to a harder one involving something they're playing with at that time.
The author of the llama llama books has a great website! It has info about her books, games, songs and a 'pledge to play nice'. Check it out here:
www.llamallamabook.com

Preschool Prayers

There are two prayers that all of the We3 and PreK students say daily. I am putting them here in case you would like to practice them at home or are just curious :)

Preschool Prayer: (said at prayer time on the rug)
Thank you God for this new day,
and for the time to work and play.
Please be with us all day long
in every story, game or song.
May all the happy things we do
make you, Jesus, happy too.

Blessing before snack:
Bless us,
O Lord,
and these thy gifts,
which we are about to receive
from thy bounty.
Through Christ our Lord
Amen

Pre K tie-ins for the first week

This week we read The Kissing Hand. It is a story about how a little raccoon leaves his mom to go to school so she gives him a kiss on the palm to let him know her love goes with him. It would be a great book to check out from the library and re-read with your preK kids before next week. Some other good back to school titles are: Owl Babies, Llama Llama Misses Mama, and Pete the Cat, Rockin' in my School Shoes.
Another great opportunity for practice is cutting with scissors. They will all be working on proper grip for scissors, how to hold the paper, and cutting a straight and curved line. There are many cutting workbooks, Kumon makes a great one, but they can also cut along a line you draw on scrap paper or just cut up scraps to practice grip.