This week at Brooklyn Schoolhouse, we got to know each other even better! Some children stayed for lunch and rest, and all the children continued to learn their school routines and each others’ names. Each day in the classroom, we noticed who was not at school, looking at a picture of each child’s face and saying their name aloud. This supported children in familiarizing themselves with each others’ names and strengthened our sense of classroom community. We played together outdoors and indoors!
In small groups this week, we worked on a literacy project that highlighted our names. Each child had a piece of paper with their face and their name, written in lowercase on one side and uppercase on the other side. In a “letter scavenger hunt,” children found the letters in their name, then worked on gluing the letters down to decorate their paper. All children explored the letters and practiced matching letter shapes to their corresponding sounds, and children found one, some, or all of the letters in their name. This project supported children’s early literacy, executive function and fine motor skills as they worked to identify letters and sounds, follow instructions and use two hands to glue down letters to paper. The project also helped children become familiar with both lowercase letters (which support their early reading skills) and uppercase letters (which support their early writing skills).
Another exciting development is that we have new bouncy balls this week! Children were excited about the new materials and practiced throwing and kicking the balls in the yard. We talked about how to throw and kick the balls safely by checking the area around us before we throw or kick and asking ourselves if there is anyone near by or if the coast is clear.
The children who stayed for lunch and rest this week learned (or reviewed) their lunch and rest routines. At lunch, children have three jobs: 1) “tummy to table” (so we keep our bodies near our lunch), 2) “take your time” (we can eat slowly and feel calm), and 3) “listen to the story” (we listen to an audio story while we eat, and talk to our friends once the story finishes). At rest time, the teachers dimmed the lights and read “Squares & Other Shapes” by Josef Albers, a book that shows “Two little rectangles lying down for a nap.” We then talked about how during rest time, the children would all be “lying down flat.” The teachers invited children to take a baby doll or block, lay the toy flat, and tuck it in with a blanket. This set expectations for the children to lay their own bodies down flat on their mats for rest time.
Finally, this week’s story was “Knuffle Bunny” by Mo Willems. Many children were familiar with this book, and the group had a fun time speaking in “baby language” with the character Trixie as she says, “Aggle flaggle klabble!”
Looking forward to seeing everyone next week!
