Insect Week!

This past week we learned all about INSECTS!!

 It was so fun to have Suzy Safari visit again to teach us more about animals!

Our “Insect World” was a big hit this week!  The children were so excited to dig in and get their hands dirty, literally, in an insect’s natural habitat complete with rocks, branches, dirt, pine cones, and wood chips!  They were so creative with how they built the insects’ homes as they rearranged the items in the dirt.

We were all thrilled when our real, live caterpillars arrived this week!!!  It has been so fascinating to watch them wriggle around and eat their food.  The kids have all been so amazed by how much they grow from one class to the next.  Next week we are focusing on butterflies–how magical it will be to witness the amazing change of a caterpillar to a butterfly in our own preschool!

We worked on colors and reading simple, repetitive lines with our “Color Bugs” books.  The Pre-K kids learned the sight words “the” and “is” which they practiced reading in these little books.  As you read to them, encourage them find and read these sight words! 

We also used pattern blocks this week to make a variety of different insects including insects the children created on their own!  This was a great way to incorporate shapes and colors and strengthen their pattern recognition and matching skills.

As we wait for everyone to finish up snack, we always have a few minutes to look at books.  This week, we looked at insect books and found some very interesting creatures!

Now that we’ve spent a week with each letter, we are working on sight words.  As we played sight word BINGO, the Pre-K kids traced each letter in the word to review the letters, familiarize themselves with a few sight words, and to practice writing.

Getting up and moving around and dancing to music is always one of the children’s favorite music and movement activities!  It is so important for children to be able to express themselves in a variety of different healthy ways.  I love seeing how much they enjoy this time!

 I just want to welcome Miss Emily (not to be confused with Miss Emily who just left for her mission!) as our newest assistant teacher!  She’s a current BYU student studying Elementary Education.  She is sharp as a wit, amazing with kids, and a wonderful addition to our preschool!