Math topics integrated into our Fairy Tale theme included sorting objects by size, measuring with nonstandard items (giant feet), an introduction to area, counting, grow patterns and shape identification. Students also continued to practice sequencing and story retell through craft projects and readers theater. Students practiced identifying syllables and writing uppercase letters. Fairy tales also lend themselves to several STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) activities which encourage observation, inquiry and problem-solving skills.
Our Social Thinking concepts continue to be woven into our day. Students are encouraged to "think with their eyes," "follow the group plan" and "keep their body in the group".
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Students acted out the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the dramatic play center.
The children practiced cutting out circles, following step-by-step instructions and gluing to create a bear.
Our first STEM activity was to create a new chair for Baby Bear. After reading the book A Chair for Baby Bear by Kaye Umansky, the children were asked to design and build a chair that would hold our Baby Bear puppet. Students were given toilet paper rolls, paper, tape, popsicle sticks and cardboard.
The children talked about their ideas with friends and learned from one another. Once everyone had a stable chair, each student explained to the class what type of chair they made and why it was strong. The preschoolers were quite creative making beach chairs, stools, couches and even a lounge chair! Finally, we tested each chair to see if it would seat our Baby Bear puppet.
The Three Bill Goats Gruff
Below you will find pictures of the students acting out this story. It is a great way to practice story retell, oral language skills and reading comprehension.
Again I introduced a STEM challenge based on the fairy tale. Students were asked to create a bridge that would hold as many animals as possible. First we talked about two types of bridges, arch and beam. We looked at pictures of famous bridges and then I built a sample of each to show the children. I tested a few animals and then asked for suggestions on how to improve my bridge. This modeled what the children were then asked to do independently or with a partner. Students were allowed to use six blocks of their choosing and two oak tag strips of paper. Everyone built a beam bridge, but we were able to test out whether it was better to have high beams or low, whether the beams should be close together or far apart, and whether the beams needed to be in a straight line or zigzag. We have some future engineers in the class!
The Three Little Pigs
Using simple props like cardboard boxes can set the stage for some great story retell. Below students acted out the story of the Three Little Pigs.
The children created an art project to demonstrate the sequence in which the wolf visited the pigs. Students practiced cutting out triangles and gluing.
Well, of course we had to build some houses! Our next STEM project was to build a house out of bricks (Legos), sticks (toothpicks and marshmallows or straw (straws!). Again the children blew me away with their designs. They were each given a paper plate and used this as a limitation for the size of their house. Students were also told that their house had to be standing (not lying down). The children got straight to work. I witnessed a lot of trial and error, which was wonderful. Once the houses were built, we tested them against the Big Bad Wolf (a fan). Not one house blew over. I told you they were engineers.!
Jack and the Beanstalk
The next story that we read was Jack and the Beanstalk. Once again the children took turns acting out the story with some props.
Each of the students measured their length in Giant feet and/or hands.
Students practiced turn taking skills and counting while playing a beanstalk path game.
Little Red Riding Hood
This fairy tale had a great lesson about not talking to strangers. It was a rule that many of you had discussed with your children.
Dramatic Play
Our dramatic play area became a theater where students could perform reader's theater for an audience of their peers. Costumes and props were available to assist the students with their story retell. In addition to being an actor or audience member, students could also work at the ticket booth or concession stand. The children practiced oral language skills, sharing, counting, and understanding the use of money to make purchases.
Math Skills
Throughout the school year we have been working on counting, subitizing, and number recognition. Over the past few weeks, we have been looking more closely at how quantities can be represented in many different ways. For example, two can be shown by two fingers on one hand or one finger on each of our hands. Most recently, we have been looking at different arrangements of dots and seeing smaller quantities within larger quantities. We have been using five frames and ten frames to help make these arrangements easier to see. Below are pictures from an activity we did during our circle time in which students were given cards with a certain number of dots arranged in different ways. Students were asked to count their dots, look for smaller quantities that helped them to recognize or count their number more easily and then we ordered the numbers.
Another skill we have been working on is creating growing patterns. In a growing pattern something is added to each step of the sequence. We talked about how Jack's beanstalk grew in the story Jack and the Beanstalk and how plants grow little by little with new things (leaves, buds, flowers) being added each day. Students were then challenged to create their own beanstalk growing pattern.
Literacy
We had been doing a great deal of oral storytelling and breaking apart stories to identify their story elements, so a natural next step was for students to create their own stories. We talked about how stories have a beginning, middle and end. I modeled a personal narrative for the students, demonstrating how I could draw a picture to show what happened at the beginning, in the middle and finally at the end. I could then dictate my story to someone else. The children couldn't wait to tell their own stories and got straight to work. Some children created personal narratives, others retold some of the fairy tales and some students created fictional stories!
Art
The students enjoyed getting their hands dirty as they created artwork using finger paints.
Sensory
Sand at the sensory table is always a hit!
Block Center
We borrowed the trains again and the children did such a great job collaborating to build a track along the floor. The then moved their trains and made up stories to go along.
Outside
We are so fortunate to have the support of so many Medfield parents. Early in the fall the preschool teachers received a grant from the PTO funding some much needed equipment for our playground. New shovels, rakes and hoes were purchased along with new cars, gas pumps and a basketball hoop. The town also brought in a new truckload of sand for our sandbox. The children had a blast playing with the new equipment.
