Adventures In WES Preschool!

Learning through play... Our preschoolers learn so much through play.  Social skills such as sharing, taking turns, kindness, empathy and negotiating are just a few of the most important skills that they learn and are constantly refining in preschool. One of the favorite areas in the classroom for working on these social skills is our drama area. The interact, communicating and playing out familiar scenes in their lives (in their own unique ways). They make the most unique sandwiches such as the peanut butter, lettuce and green pepper sandwiches that I was fed this morning and the broccoli and asparagus cake that I "ate last week. And it's a good thing that the ice cream isn't real because I'm fed roughly 15 to 20 ice cones a day (usually with more than one scoop). Along with cooking, taking care of the babies is another favorite activity for the kids in the drama area.  Changing clothes, carrying them around in a backpack, feeding them and administering lots of ...

Several parents were curious during the conferences to learn how we teach math in preschool.  AS I explained, we immerse the children in math concepts throughout the day.  We talk about shapes, weight, size, numbers, counting and so much more all day long.  We count to 10 or 20 while playing hide and seek.  We count kids at the lunch table and end up sorting animal crackers during snack.  We read books about numbers, adding... and we do art projects with shapes.  In fact, we talk about math concepts so frequently that the children have no idea that they are learning math. Here are some pictures of some math activities that we've done during circle and choice time. Shapes and color Bingo: More Shapes and colors (plus magnets!)... Sorting by colors    Patterning Measuring... The box is ? blocks long. How many slices of apple are there?

The bikes are out and the kids are learning to peddle hard.  Peddling a tricycle around a bumpy path with cracks and a gravel path is no easy task.  Many of the kids can hardly turn the peddles at this point in the school year (don't even ask about the steering), but this will soon change.  By the end of the year most of the kids will be peddling around our path without help from a teacher and some will even make it up the small hill near the playground. Those who can't even reach the peddles yet are still getting the idea of the tricycles by pushing with their feet.  And most importantly, there are smiles all around! And now that the snow is here our tricycles have been moved into the gym where the kids can continue to figure out how to peddle and steer.

One of the best parts of preschool is making friends.  We have been having a great time getting to know each other this fall and making friends.  The social skills that the kids are learning now will last them a life time.  The word "Preschool" could easily be substituted in the title of the well know book: "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."   These kids are learning to share, take turns, wait (something most of the adults I know, including me, still have a hard time with), be kind, feel and show empathy, and so much more.  IT's been so fun to watch these kids play together and become friends.