Pumpkin Fun in the Classroom

This month we have been talking about fall and the things that come with fall. One of those things is pumpkins. You can do so much with pumpkins including counting, learning letters, learning smells and the way the guts feel inside the pumpkin. I feel children learn best when hands on and that’s just what we did with pumpkins. We used the ipad for a learning tool to learn about pumpkins and the thing we could do with them.

The children loved to dress up the pumpkins.

Making letters out of pumpkin pie playdoh.

 Mrs. Kelly is showing the children a story about pumpkins while the children are playing with playdoh.

Making pumpkin pie playdoh.

Counting seeds from the pumpkin.



 

below are websites that can expand on the leraning of letter, numbers, counting, reading and colors:

 

1)      Starfall

http://www.starfall.com/

This website is for preschool, kindergarten and up. It uses common core and has items for the holidays. They also have a Starfall Pre-K and Kindergarten curriculum.

Teachers can take the songs from the website and sing it with the children in the classroom; the children can also match colors from the web to inside the classroom.

2)      Abcya

http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm

With this website children can do ABC and 123 Magnets witch then they can do in the classroom. The website aloud children to make words, music and read story.

Teachers can make alphabet bingo cards and matching games along with puzzles.

3)      Preschool Learning Games

 http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/preschool_games.html

Great website on tons of different things, there is a color mixing song, learning body parts, heath games and art games.

Children can learn the songs (like the color song) and bring it to the classroom and mix color while singing the song.

4)      Fisher Price

 http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/gamesandactivities/onlinegames/index.html

This website helps children learn their ABC’s, Shapes, Numbers, and more.

Teacher will be able to help children learn by playing games about learning, teacher can get ideas and make lessons from the games and have the children interact with the games.

5)      Sheppards software preschool

 http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/preschool/preschool.htm

This website has a lot of color games along with animal games and numbers.

When playing the color game, teachers can tape a strip across the bottom with the color word in the boxes for the children to learn to read the color.



 

 



Self-feeding at an early age

Many years ago..... Over 20 to be exact; I was a young mother of three messy little boys and just beginning my carreer in early childhood education.  I cound't stand to have to clean up a mess so I fed my children for years.  I would have never dreamed of putting a plate of spaghetti in front of them to feed themselves.  However, as you can see in the pictures below, this is no longer the case for me.  I now know the importance in developing these early developmental skills. 

My granddaughter, Braylyn Honeycutt self-feeding

So proud of herself!

Mess-making is all part of your baby’s first attempts to learn to eat independently. To make mealtimes less stressful, it can help if you:

• put a plastic sheet or newspaper under the highchair
• use a bib or take their shirt off
• cut food into strips or fingers so that it is easier to eat
• let your baby eat with her hands

It is important for young children to learn self-feeding even at this messy stage. Before long they will  will use the spoon very well and can enjoy a variety of flavors and textures.  They can eat the same food as other members of the family if it is cut up for them.  By the age of three they will have learned to use a spoon and fork without help. This helps in developing independence, and ensures that they can use both hands skilfully together.

If your child has difficulty achieving the milestones suggested then you should discuss this with your child's teacher or doctor. By encouraging your child to feed himself independently and offering a variety of nourishing foods you will be starting him on the road towards a healthy lifestyle.

Mr. PUMPKIN Head

This blog will help you make your very own Mr. Pumpkin Head!

First, find a pumpkin. Any size will be fine. Cut or drill holes in the pumpkin where the pieces will go in. (Most pumpkins are too hard to simply push the body part pieces in without a little help)

 

Next, gather Mr. Potato Head pieces.

Encourage your child to be creative while teaching body parts. Find fun ways to teach, such as singing a song, such as "eye, nose, and mouth then ears on top, arms on bottom" to encourage the learning of body parts.

Another fun activity to do with pumpkins is to carve out shapes, such as in a shape sorter. Save the cut-out shapes and encourage your child to play the puzzle of finding where the shapes go.

Have fun with it and allow your child to make "silly faces."

Katie Zink, Infant-Toddler Family Specialist

Inside the Classroom

Fire Fire Fire !!

Last week in the classroom we talked about fire trucks and fire safety. The children loved every bit of it, they were very happy to learn all the things about fire. Thanks to Mrs. Kelly and Smart Start we got to have a lot of fire items in our classroom. Some of the things we got to do in the classroom include:

Using different shapes to make a fire truck along with dressing up like a fireman.

 

 

    Making fire truck snacks.

 

Making tracks in the beans with a fire truck.

 

Playing fire safety games in the Ipad.

 

Working on fire trucks in the block center.

 

All the children loved everything about fire week and would tell any teacher to try this lesson in the classroom!

 

 

Amanda Marshall