First Week Fun!

The littles are off to a great start exploring in their new environment. It is going to be a wonderful journey of discovery, learning and so MANY new FRIENDS!

Life in prekindergarten is very PLAYFUL and rich learning abounds. Keep in mind that PLAY is a child's work and it is HOW children learn best. So, if it looks like we are PLAYING... we are:)

PLAY equips us with the tools we need to be successful in life!

Exploring with art materials helps children develop small motor skills, sharing and cooperation, independence, responsibility, problem solving, and of course creativity. Some day these kids may grow up to be artists, illustrators, or even designers. 

Painting with hands is so silly!

Playing in the dramatic play center helps develop social interaction skills, emotional development, oral skills, the use of imagination and fosters independence. These skills will be needed later in life for a multitude of jobs like being a mommy or daddy, or perhaps even the next president:)

Dressing up in the dramatic play center is fun!

There are many choices in the construction zone!

We will develop motor skills and math concepts. Oral language skills will grow, as well as social skills, self-control, eye-hand coordination and, of course, imaginations! We may grow up to be architects and builders someday. The blocks will be coming out soon:)

Nothing beats playing with playdoh... and it's so good for fine motor development too! It helps get little muscles ready for handwriting; rolling, poking slicing, pinching, etc... Needless to say it offers a multitude of opportunities for social interactions as well.

The sensory table helps children learn many math and science concepts. Pouring, dumping, scooping, volume, mass, balance, eye-hand coordination, AND... social interaction skills!

Mid-morning our tummies get a little bit grumbly, so we LOVE snack time! We learn about praying, using best manners, healthy foods, AND practice using social skills while speaking and listening.

Some of our learning centers prepare us for becoming readers and writers. At the word work center we will explore letters. Why? Because we will learn that letters are necessary to build words. Right now we are building our names and just exploring.

We have another dramatic play center in our literacy lab because a 4K program can never have too many dramatic play centers. This month it is set up as a Pet Shop.

What kinds of skills do YOU observe being used here?

Math, social skills, turn-taking, negotiating, sharing, patience, speaking, listening, reading, writing... only to name a few!

There is always time to just chill-out too!

If you ever want to know more about learning and play... just ask us!!

Last, but not least... exploring in the outdoors elicits LOTS of giggles and we get good exercise too! We are developing balance and coordination skills. We learn to take risks, negotiate, problem solve, cooperate and interact socially the whole time we are playing.

Already the BEST of friends:)

Now hang on to your hats, cause here we GOOOOOOO!!

Welcome to 4K!

Get ready! Get set! Here we GO!!

Welcome to our 4K blog! You will find this blog useful to keep current on what is happening in our classroom each week. The information in the sidebar to the right will let you know the current theme and concepts being taught and the individual posts will give you an inside peek into the magical world of prekindergarten. We will also post articles we think you might find useful regarding how young children learn best and information on early brain research, etc. You might be interested to check the articles that have been posted last school year.

We strongly encourage you to sign-up for automatic email alerts so you know when a new post is added.  You will find this gadget on the top right of the blog page.  All you need to do is enter your email address!  This will ensure that you don't miss out on any of the fun and is also a great source for having a conversation with your child about things that he or she has experienced at school.

Now get ready for an awesome journey into our magical little world of 4K:)