Preschool: Shapes

We had a fun week filled with lots of shapes. Tuesday we started our day off by playing with finger puppets.

Then I created a Shape Book for her for art. She had to trace the letters for the name of the shape and then trace the shape and then draw her own shape. I think I did a few too many so towards the end I traced the name of the shape for her.

I think it is funny how her own drawing of shapes all look very similar. Her star is unique and kind of looks like a flower. I love that is how in her mind was how to draw the star. Then her cute little self portrait at the end is way too adorable! I love the squared off hair on top.

For music time we sang some songs and one of her favorites is to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" but doing things with her kitty.

For learning time I had different shapes all cut out. We first talked about each one to see if she knew all of them. Then I would tape a shape on her back and describe it to her and she would have to guess what shape was on her back. She loves doing this kind of activity and got all of them right. Afterwards we laid them out and she told me what color and what shape each one was.

For outdoor time the girls walked their "pets" around the yard.

Wednesday we started off coloring with stencils.

Then for art she created a shape mosaic. I cut out all the shapes before we started and she got to glue them on however she wanted.

For music she did some ribbon wand dancing.

For learning time I put different objects in a bag that were the shapes we had been talking about. She would close her eyes and have to feel the object then guess what shape it was. Her favorite one was a little triangle at the end- a chocolate kiss!

To end our learning time we used shape cookie cutters to cut out some jigglers.

For learning time, Baylor got some extra schooling from teacher Paige in the play house.

Thursday's first activity was playing Spot it- one of Baylor's favorite games to play. She is so quick at finding the match.

Then we used stamp markers to decorate some shapes for art.

We used the star from art for music to sing "Twinkle Little Star."

For learning time I put some large shapes on the ground. I would sing to the tune of "Mulberry Bush," "do you have the triangle, the triangle, the triangle? Can you see the triangle? Please got and get it." I did this song for each shape. She thought this was so fun. She would listen intently and then a big smile on her face when she was getting the shape. Then we each took turns hiding the shapes and finding them.

For our outdoor time we took advantage of the nice weather for the moment to go on a walk. Later in the day we got some really heavy rain and hail. For story time each day we have some shape books that I read but today I decided to let it be Baylor's choice and told her to choose 3 books for me to read instead she brought a whole pile. :)

Only four more weeks of school for Paige which means four more weeks of preschool until we take a break for summer. Bring on summer!

Preschool: Crawly Friends

This last week our theme was crawly friends and it was right up Baylor's ally since she is all about bugs these days. Almost every day she goes in the backyard in search of bugs mostly roly poly bugs and worms. She often asks if we can keep them though my answer is always no and that they are much happier outside.

We started our week off by playing with playdough. I created bugs with my playdough and she created a long wiggly worm that she cut into pieces, she sliced the spider I created, she also made a snowman and a roly poly bug. Sometimes our first activity lasts maybe 5 minutes, this one was one that was almost a half an hour. She was content creating different things.

For art she created a caterpillar. We used half an egg carton and at first she was painting a pattern and then she got bored so it turned into mixing the two colors and trying to paint it as fast as she could.

We sang a couple of songs and then for learning time/outdoor time we went outside and looked for bugs. We found some worms, roly poly bugs, ear wigs, spider, some bees, and a butterfly. The spring flowers in our yard are in full bloom and it was a beautiful day to spend outside exploring our yard.

Wednesday we started off with some cutting practice.

Then for art we did a butterfly symmetry art creation. I first drew a symmetrical butterfly on a paper. I cover one half with a sheet of paper and then she painted the other half with some Q-tips. Some of the paint had dried but when she was done we folded the paper in half to create the other side of her butterfly. I love how it turned our and I love her cute name at the bottom.

For music I let her play our little toy piano while we sang.

Then for learning time we counted and created butterflies out of triangles and clothespins. I had the number on one triangle and a number of bugs on the other triangle. She had to count the bug and match it to the right number with a clothespin to create the butterflies. She is getting really good at counting and recognizing numbers 1-10. She still needs more practice with 6 and 9 and often confuses the two.

For reading time and our active time (it was a rainy day and I didn't want to go out in it) we set up a fort with some blankets to read in and then she played in it for a little bit.

Our last preschool day of the week she first started with stringing beads onto a pipe cleaner.

She painted the bee stripes with a cotton ball for art.

For singing time one of the songs we sang was "Old McDonald" and I got some of her stuffed animals and for each verse she picked an animal that we would sing that verse about. She loved it since she loves her stuffed animals.

Then for learning time we watched a YouTube video about bugs and then we went out and found some roly poly bugs. We then put them in a bowl with some carrot and apple pieces and watched them as they crawled around and ate. It was fun to watch them explore and to listen to Baylor talk to them.

Preschool: Community Helpers

This week I kept it pretty simple since I'm still in the organization mode of moving. It was really fun to do and was a little break from what needs to get done and to spend some fun one on one time with this sweet little girl who is growing up so fast.

Tuesday we started our day playing with Tupper toy animals.

Then we first talked about our theme for the week and what community helpers/workers that Baylor knows. Then for art she created a fire truck and she practiced writing her name and I think I will do this more and more on her artwork because I love how she writes her name and how well she is doing at remembering the order of the letters.

Then for singing time we sang a song to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell" and it talked about different community helpers and the things that they do. Such as firefighters are brave, bakers bake our bread, doctors keep us well, and barbers cut our hair. The song had a lot of repetition so it was a little easier for Baylor to sing with me.

Then for learning time I had cut out different community workers and we talked about each one and the things that they do for us and our community. We then put them in a bowl and took turns describing it to each other and letting the other person guess what we were describing. Some of them Baylor just told me what she got. Some cute things that I want to remember is that when she got the city worker her description was "Daddy" and then I was describing a dentist to her and I said, "This person helps keep our teeth clean and healthy." Her guess was the tooth fairy. :) We finished off our day by watching a preschool YouTube video about community helpers.

Wednesday we started off with some puzzles.

Then our theme for today was focusing on one community helper and that is the mail carrier. So for art she created some cards to give to others. She made one for me, dad, Paige, Nona, and Pops. She draws the cutest people.

For singing time we sang that same song as yesterday but chose different community helpers to sing about- teachers teach us to read, librarians check out books, and the mail carrier gives us mail.

Then for learning time she first wrote everyone's names on their envelopes (I wrote the names on note cards for her to copy). Then she put stickers on for the stamp. 

She then put them all in a post box that we have and then she became the mail carrier. She got a bag and put all the mail in it and we delivered it. Nate was at home working so she delivered his to him in person. She put mine on our bed, Paige's by her bed, and then we walked to Nona and Pop's house to deliver theirs. We read some books when we got home to end our preschool day.

Thursday we had a field trip to learn all about community helpers. After school for Paige and we ate some lunch we went to Black Diamond. We explored the train and the museum was open so we went inside and learned all about community workers from the past. The people running the museum were super kind and helpful and they gave the girls a little search and find paper. We had to search the museum for four items and the girls got to pick out some candy once we found them all.

Then to the bakery for another community helper. We usually get donuts but since it was the afternoon our favorites were gone so we got something new. We all split and thoroughly enjoyed a chocolate mousse.

Then ended our fun field trip with some time at the playground.

Preschool: Growing Things

Last week's theme was fun with learning about how things grow and what plants need to grow. Tuesday I had a busy morning and so we didn't get around to doing preschool until after Paige was home from school so Baylor had two teachers for the day. :)

We started off by doing an art tutorial. I showed her a step of drawing a flower and then she would do it.

Then for art we went outside and picked some flowers and leaves to paint with.

Flower creations at its finest!

For learning time we first colored some water and put celery stalks in the cups. Throughout the rest of the day we would check to see if you could see the colors in the leaves. We talked about how the plants "drink" the water.

Then I had a few plant worksheets to help talk about what plants need to grow but Paige had fun and did a few more things with her. Paige is very creative and Baylor got more information than was originally planned but it was the sweetest thing watching Paige teach Paige what she has learned.

Then to end our day we read "The Giving Tree."

Wednesday we started off by doing perlor beads on a flower. We worked together one the one.

Then for art she made a seed/bean mosaic.

For music we played with the musical instruments and sang some songs.

Then for learning time we transplanted some flowers and plants that we had started in the window seal. The girls had planted some flower seeds a few weeks ago and Baylor had planted a pea that needed to be in a bigger pot, and Paige had started some sweet peas. So we got some dirt and she helped dig and mix the dirt and then she helped transplant and water the plants.

For our outdoor time we went and played at the park.

Thursday we started off with puzzles.

Then for art she painted with some veggies and we talked about how fruits and vegetables grow like plants and flowers.

We sang a few songs before moving onto learning time. It was a fun learning time and I had gotten some fake flowers from the dollar store and we did floral arrangements and then had a flower shop and took turns buying the flowers and being the shop owner.

It was a beautiful day and so we waited for Paige to be home for our outdoor fun and the girls ran through the sprinklers.