Children as Readers and Observers
Recently, we have been exploring seasonal changes by observing the trees around us. To support our learning at home, you can sing this song with your child. The text at the bottom of the screen supports children as they learn to track print, develop sight word vocabulary, and work on fluency. Songs are a wonderful and successful reading experience for young children.
Look at the photos below with your child. Talk about the following questions together:
- How are the pictures the same? How are they different?
- What kind of tree do you think the different leaves came from? How do you know?
- Name the different colors that you see? What do the colors tell you about the leaf? What do the colors tell you about the season?
As emergent readers, we enjoy lots of poems to develop concepts of print. Here are two poems to enjoy at home. This poem is great for practicing echo reading. The grown up reads the first line, and the child repeats the line. Pointing to the words as you echo read is important. After echo reading a few times, children are often able to read the poem independently. Try this several times throughout the week. Note how your child's confidence as a reader changes!
This poem is a great way to talk about the seasons and changes we experience using our five senses. Talk about what each season smells like, feels like, tastes like, sounds like, and looks like. Ask me about the 5 senses writing project that I completed this past week. As we explore the world together, take note of what we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
Children as Mathematicians and Scientists
Nature is full of patterns! Look closely at the leaves and make observations. Can you create patterns or shapes using your leaf collection? Email us a photo and we will share it on the smart board!
As leaves have been changing, we are also noticing other signs of Fall around us. We have been talking about the lifecycle of a pumpkin. Take a look at the video below together.
Do you have a pumpkin at home? If so, talk about the parts of a pumpkin. We will continue with lots of fun pumpkin activities this week.
Children as Writers and Creators
We will be making interactive pumpkin books in Book Creator this week. If you have a photo of your child with a pumpkin at home, please email it to me and we will add it to his or her book!
Children as Joyful Learners
The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences. -Loris Malaguzzi
I love this "to do" list for the fall!
Heart & Soul,
Mrs. Twomeyđź’•