The topic of this term has been “All about me”. This included us getting to know each other in Chestnuts and Willow classes through different games and activities. We also practiced getting used to common routines and rules to follow in the class. We discussed our own family, what foods we like and dislike, our favourite colours, our body and our feelings.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
This is my first work!
Children were choosing their favourite colours while presenting their painting and cutting skills!
Getting to know each other
Children were getting to know each other by matching pictures of each others faces. Along with learning about the part of the face and presenting themselves, they were working with their very own “My face” puzzle! This was a little bit difficult! Shuffling up the other children´s part of the face was quite funny, too!
Feelings and faces
Children learnt about feelings such as happy, sad, angry and sleepy. We discussed this in class by recognizing whenever and in which situations we have felt those same feelings. Children have been making little faces by choosing suitable expressions; mouths and eyes, to create faces with different feelings.
My family portrait
The children were practicing their fine motor skills by decorating their family photo frames (sticking, gluing) while learning about family vocabulary and presenting the one of their own. The family photos stayed in the class to reassure the children and to remind the children that family is always close. The children were often going to look at their family photos especially at the beginning of the start of preschool!
Canvas art: Experimenting with colours
As we have been learning about favourite colours and reading the book “I feel teel”, we took the opportunity to make a piece of art together mainly using roll brushes. Children were choosing how and what to mix out of the three different primary colours: red, yellow and blue. The goal was to observe what happened on the canvas and the new colours and shades that appeared as they got mixed. We ended up making a beautiful quilt of colours together! The children also got to make their own colour mix on a piece of paper and bring it home.
MUSIC AND SONG BASED ACTIVITIES
We have had music on Wednesdays with our music teacher and together with Maple class. We have been learning french songs and learnt how to move and improvise to music with changing pace and rhythm! Songs that we were practicing this term were amongst others “Il était une bergère” and “alouette”.
We have also been practicing several theme based action songs this term with our class! We have been shaking our maracases to the beats to the songs in the forest and in the orchard. Songs that we have been learning this term have been: One little finger, How many fingers, Head, shoulder, knees and toes, If you´re happy, Ladybug song (Frank Leto), I am a pizza, Big green monster, Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
Musical based activities help the children to learn new vocabulary, connect brain and body by making actions while singing. We have been combining songs with both actions and art, so the children have been strengthening their coordination, their grammar, story sequencing and fine motor skills while making an artwork around the song, too!
I am a pizza- musical activity
The children were learning to express their food preferences, so we too the opportunity to learn to funny song “I am a pizza”. We learnt the new vocabulary by memorizing what toppings there were. The children were to to sequence the making of a pizza: dough, tomato sauce and the toppings. The children were were practicing their fine motor skills while colouring the tomato sauce and sticking the toppings on with glue. The children loved making the actions to the ong and the process of making a pizza and getting it delivered at home, by music and movement.
Big green monster- song based activity
Children were learning about the vocabulary of the body and the parts of the face as well as putting them in the right place. They were also learning about colours and describing features in the environment. Through this song the children were preparing their way to describe things using proper grammar (big, green face/sharp, white teeth) in a funny way. This activity also prepared us to get into the spirit of Halloween!
Ladybug song
Children were learning about body parts by practicing the ladybug song by Frank Leto. We painted loads of little ladybugs out of forest materials such as pine cones, rocks and nuts in order to learn body parts by listening and landing the ladybugs all around our body.
Brown bear- song
The children began to learn about their senses in their bodies such as smell, touch, sight and hearing. They were learning the song “Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?” to better acquire concepts of how to express what they can see and observe the world around them. They were able to show off their knowledge of colours and animals, but they also learnt a whole lot about grammar learning this song!
This activity allowed us to further practise our cutting and pasting skills. We have also been reviewing animal sounds and doing animal bingo, so this song also supported these great listening and attention skills 😊
OTHER PROJECTS/SCIENCE
Making playdough
On a rainy day we came together with Maple class to make playdough. Everyone took turns doing something such as measuring, pouring and stirring. All children got a small amount of playdough for personal play!
Sensory exploration
The children began to touch the subject of five senses in order to prepare them to describe their environment. They went on a discovery in the forest to find and compare different textures, but were also to listen to different forest sounds and smell forest smells! They would also get to touch different textures such as rough, smooth, soft and squishy and make their own sensory boards. They got to feel balloons with different textures, eg. sand, beans and water, and try to guess what was inside!
Halloween activities
This year we prepared for Halloween by doing a Halloween object hunt in the forest together with Maple class. This was good in order to help children memorize names of the different characters, practice their matching skills but most of all, make them run from tree to tree ticking off their findings. The children were very excited! We were also practicing our role playing skills by making charades with the characters in the forest. Others had to guess what character you were based on your acting. Kids were really good at it, too! Last but not least, we read a story about Winnie the Witch and made a witches broom out of sticks….
We painted a large pumpkin together that we later carved and emptied together. Children made little pumpkin trick-or-treat bags and painted little Halloween pictures. They made ghosts by cutting, gluing, tearing and scrunching! This awesome Halloween-week ended with role play dress up, where children were allowed to dress up as whatever they wanted. Such a great way to end the first term!
FOREST ACTIVITIES/EXPLORATION
Painting in the forest
The children have been learning about feelings. Reading the story “I feel teal”, we have been discussing about how different colours make us feel and what happens when you mix them. What colours make green, purple or orange when mixed together? How about how to create colours such as “teel”, “magenta”? Is grey a “sad” or a “happy” colour? How about yellow, or red? Children were painting in the forest, experimenting with colours. They did this while running from pot, moving around, sharing the same colours.
Climbing and balancing
This term the children were practicing climbing and balancing on and in trees in order to improve their strenght and coordination. They were also doing jumping obstacle course with logs that they helped carry. Trees are great resources for children to develop their gross motor skills!
Colour race
They were also doing different games and activities in the forest such as colour race, shapes hunt and parachute games. Children were learning about colours by movement games. They loved sorting the balls in the right boxes by team work in only… seconds!
Parachute fun!
The children have been learning about taking turns expressing themselves and their favourite colours. They have also been learning to get to know each other. Parachute games teach children a lot about teamwork, eg. shaking and bringing the parachute on the same level and intensity. Copying others movements and waiting for our turn to run under the parachute one by one has also been important to learn!
Forest stick men
We were learning about emotions and parts of our face and body this term. These were practiced through musical and art activities. We were also practising making forest faces and bodies in the forest!
Forest objects patterning and memory games
Children were beginning to learn vocabulary around the forest including different trees, leaves and nuts, which was a good way to also practice patterning with forest objects! Ground, stick, leaf, ground, stick, leaf, ground, stick, leaf… As this is still tricky for us little ones, luckily Maple class children were here to help us out and show us how to get started! Children were also looking for small forest objects in two´s and we then made a little memory game with them, that was fun!
Swimming
Swimming has been exciting and new for many children! During this time we have been focusing on feeling comfortable in the water. Jumping in, floating like a star and blow bubbles under water has also been part of our water exposure. So much fun!
Carousel activities
Last but not least, children have been doing lots of free play, improving their vocabulary, playskills and hand-eye coordination exploring different activities and games in the class. Giving a go making new activities that we did not particularly like in order to practice new skills to choosing activities that we prefer, have both been in focus.
