The preschoolers learned about Allie Alligator today. They saw her shaped as the letter "a" and then read Allie's page in the first reading book. While reading Allie's page the children looked at all the items in the picture and pointed out which ones begin with "a". They're also working on some pre-writing skills.
Yesterday the children finished creating Allie the Zoo Phonics alligator. The children painted the alligators on the first day and then added texture with torn construction paper of various greens. Today they added teeth. The alligators will be hung in the toddler and preschool rooms. Other Zoo Phonics animals will join Allie throughout the year.
Each letter in the Zoo Phonics system is associated with a zoo animal. The children then learn a body movement or signal related to that animal. At the same time the children learn the letter's sound. For example, the children snap their hands together to act out Allie snapping her mouth closed. The use of oral, visual, and kinesthetic means helps the children to learn the letters in a fun way and makes the letters more memorable.
Yesterday the preschoolers joined the toddlers to begin the school year with a Zoo Phonics lesson. Amber introduced Allie Alligator to the children and taught them the Zoo Phonics song including the body motions for each animal. The preschoolers had already been working on the song so were able to help everyone learn it. The kids painted two large 5.5 feet alligators today; one for each classroom. The alligators are difficult to see in the pictures since they're lying on top of white butcher paper. Tomorrow the children will finish the alligators by glueing teeth in their mouths and adding bumps to the bodies. The alligators will be displayed on the walls where other animals will join them throughout the school year.
This a great project parents can do at home with their kids. Color one cup of table salt with one tablespoon of liquid watercolor. Let it dry on a tray overnight and then transfer it to a bowl. We used tropical colors for our project at school. Spread a thin layer of white glue mixed with a little water onto the tray. Let the kids stamp on construction paper and then sprinkle the colored salt over the glue. We used ocean animal stamps to go with our tropical colors. The kids loved this project, and it's great for reinforcing the Chinese vocabulary they're learning.
On Tuesday the kids played a life sized version of Candyland! Our gym was made into a giant gameboard with construction paper spaces. Stuffed animals were used for markers. Each space had an animal or color printed on it corresponding to the Chinese vocabulary the children are learning. The children used a huge foam die for moving along the gameboard. After rolling the die and moving the required number of spaces the children were then asked to name the animal or color they had landed on in Chinese. A correct answer was rewarded with a second turn. While the normal sized version of the game is fun, the life sized version has some additional benefits. The children were involved in physical activity and able to move around freely while playing the game. There was also more cooperative work happening. The children liked the huge die and all wanted to help count the dots on it and make sure everyone moved their stuffed animal the correct number of spaces.
Yesterday the toddlers joined the preschoolers to paint with fly swatters! We put up a piece of butcher paper along the fence and gave the children trays of bright paint. The kids had a great time dipping the fly swatters in the paint and making prints on the paper. Some kids were very precise with their prints and others just slapped the paint on!
The weather has been very hot during the last two days and we've finally been able to begin our summer activities. This week the children painted murals on the white board. It's great fun to see the bright colors and then mix them to make more. Before hosing the white board off children can take a piece of white construction paper to make a print of their painting.
