Friday we finished our study of the letter “P”. Below are some of the highlights of our morning.
The children colored these cute pig and wolf stick puppets while I told them the story of The Three Little Pigs. The coloring page and story were found in The Complete Daily Curriculum for Early Childhood. The children really enjoyed retelling the story when we finished assembling their puppets.
Later I gave each child a piece of cardboard (an old cereal box) with their name on it. I let them use crayons to color it. Then I cut the cardboard into six pieces and let the children try to put it back together. Puzzles are great for critical thinking.
A “P” themed activity the children enjoyed yesterday was to play with play dough. I set out all sorts of cookie cutters and scissors for the children to use. They had so much fun making “cookies” for each other. Play dough is a great activity for little hands. Not only is it fun, but it also is a great brain building activity.
Another important activity we do each day is play. At Pocketful of Posies Preschool the princesses and princes love to pretend and play. (I just had to throw in all of those “P” words.) I give the children opportunities for free play and am always amazed at what they choose to play. Sometimes the children will play independently, but often they will play together.
This week they decided to have a picnic and put on a puppet show. So, while it may seem like we do a lot of teacher directed activities, the children do get ample opportunities to play. I truly believe that children can learn so much through their play, and in turn we can learn more about them.
I also sent the children’s folders home with them yesterday. They painted the outside of their folders on Wednesday with pipe cleaners and pink and purple paint. My son tried to paint several letter “P’s” on his folder.
Inside each folder was a copy of a letter “P” mini book and tracing page from First School, a penguin song, a pig song, their pig puppets in a pink pocket (From earlier in this post.), a penguin coloring page I have had for a long time and have no source for, and a number ten tracing paper from this site.
We had a great morning and will start our study of the letter “Q” on Monday. Have a great weekend!
