MASTERING THE GRIP!

We take for granted sometimes the simple things.  You probably don't remember but at some time, someone had to show you how to hold a pencil!   Kids can have an awkward pencil grip.  Mostly  because they don't know how to position or move their fingers or how to shift the position of their hand so that the weight rests on the little finger.   You probably didn't realize there was so much involved.  I've been teaching the kids the "Duck".   Making a duck with your thumb, pointer and middle finger--then letting the duck eat your pencil.  Placing the pencil in the proper position & biting down.


Now that the position is correct, we have to work on strength.  A lot of the kids are showing minimal strength in those tiny little fingers.  No strength makes writing wobbly & light, so here are some things you can do to build that strength.
  a.  Playing with Clay.   Clay is hard to manipulate and that works to our advantage.  Have the child pinch the clay between the thumb and index fingers, keeping the fingers in a round "O" shape.
  b.  Using a stress ball.  My kids always liked those things anyway.   
  c.  Pinching clothes pins.  Have the them help hang some clothes on the line or just have them place the clothespins on string or a ruler.
  d.  Try using the pencil grippers.  They now make them with the sides curved inward to show you where to put your fingers.


Finally we have to work on keeping their arm and wrist on the table.   Holding your arm and wrist in the air while writing does not allow for any control.    Try it & you'll see exactly what I mean.  If you notice them raising their arm, tell them to pretend we put some glue under it and it's stuck to the table.    I do this a lot with cutting---we pretend their elbow is glued to their side so they don't raise their arm while cutting which then leads to them twisting the scissors up side down.


Holding your pencil!  Something so simple we take for granted knowing how to do!

A TOAST to the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

It's amazing how we are all ready and anxiously awaiting that first day of school, the kids included.  Today was the start of another amazing school year.   I am truly blessed to always have such wonderful parents and students.   I really believe it's going to be another great year.  

The first day of school is always an emotional one.  Children can be filled with so much anxiety when entering a new place and it's so important as a teacher to calm those fears right away.   This morning was no exception.   I know as a parent it's awful to see your child in tears but kids are so resilient.  Their attention span allows them to change on a dime which really works to a teachers advantage!  Within 5 minutes of class time we went from tears to laughter.   All the kids participated in our Question of the Day, coming up to the board and marking their answer.  We had fun singing and playing the name game.   In story after reading Officer Buckles I got to hear about all of the rules & chores the kids have at their house.   Rules help keep us safe--that was our theme of the day!    We also talked about teamwork.   I always tell my class,  we are team:   we work hard together, play together, laugh & cry together but no matter what WE DO IT TOGETHER!   We built a tower together, 1 brick at a time, 1 student at a time and it never fell down.   That's what happens when you work as a team.   If you instill that concept into those kids from day one, you will have an exciting, fun filled & tear-free year!

I am looking forward to watching these precious little people grow, not only in size but in knowledge!  Here's a toast to the start of something wonderful!

SCHOOL SHOPPING can be fun!

You finally reach a point over the summer when you not only are ready for your own kids to go back to school but YOU are ready to go as well.   I hit that point this week so I went to the Parent Teacher Store in Florence and loaded up on some great goodies for the class.   I never seem to a lot myself enough time for that store.  I have been twice and still not gone through every isle!   They also have a great clearance section in the back.

I am excited about my Monday class this year because it's all hands on activities.  Getting the kids excited about the alphabet, math and science by getting their hands dirty so to speak!  Of course now that my shopping is done, I'm ready to start planning.  I am working ahead this year by planning my journals in advance.   I also found a great reference with over 200 questions of the day.   You don't realize how hard it can be to come up with a question on topic until you're rushing at the last minute to write it on the board.  Now I have plenty to choose from!

Check out some of the great activities we will get to explore this year!   Not to mention the many activities I can make using my best friend "The Mailbox".

The Parent-Teacher Store is exactly what it says; full of teacher supplies but also filled with many activities, workbooks and games that you can buy for your home.  A wonderful resource!

Florence, Kentucky
6914 Burlington Pike
Florence, KY 41042
(859) 283-0151 phone
M-F 9-8:00, Sat 9-6:00, Sun 1-5:00

Every Penny Counts!

All teachers know that the money you receive for your classroom only goes so far and as a dedicated teacher you end up spending a lot of your own.   Last year I got permission to paint a tree mural on my wall which I can use each year for my classroom display, this has been very helpful.   I now pick a theme each year that will work with trees.   This year I used monkeys and my new class theme for 2011-2012 is "Look Whoooos in Preschool" OWLS.   Did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament--me either!  Owls go great with trees.   This year instead of buying all my supplies like name tags, cubby tags, etc.   I have decided to utilize the greatest tool ever,  the internet.  I have created all my supplies including name plates and will be printing them on card stock, laminating them and using them at school.   This will save me at least $25 - 30 and I can utilize that money for something educational like a manipulative, felt board themes or idea books.   Another good tip that a co-worker taught me is to duplicate those art projects that you see in certain trade magazines.    Why spend $10 to $12 on a class project in foam when you can make it yourself with construction paper.   It really is easy and best of all, IT'S FREE!

SCIENCE ROCKS!

Today was a science day for me.  For the second year I am working on our schools science curriculum.  We do approximately 60 experiments each year, all of which have to be researched, documented into a lesson plan and of course done, to make sure they work!   I just wrapped up last years science documentation review so now I can begin year number 2.  We decided to do two years worth of experiments so that we can be on a rotation to keep it fresh for the kids.  I really can't express how much I enjoy science.  The kids faces when doing some of the experiments are priceless and if I can spark a bit of interest in the subject at a young age, then wow, what a bonus!

Here is a simple experiment you can try at home called "The Knotted Bone".

• Take some thin chicken bones and drop them in vinegar for a day or so until they become very soft & pliable
• Now you can tie them in a knot, just like a piece of string.
• Leave them sitting out on the table and they'll get hard again!  Or for a good experiment try putting it in milk?  Does it re-harden?

Vinegar is considered a mild acid, but it is strong enough to dissolve away the calcium in the bone. Once the calcium is dissolved, there is nothing to keep the bone hard.

What a great way to show kids why they should drink more milk!

Going above and beyond!

(Sadly I forgot to take a before picture, so this may not seem very impressive)   Today I was reminded of how wonderful it is to be working at such a great school.   It's not just a place to work, it's a community of friends who work together to make our school the best place it can be.  You know you are blessed when someone you work with will spend 5 hours in a closet with you!  At the end of school when I said, "OMG, we have to clean this closet out before someone gets hurt!", A dear friend and co-worker named Joanne was the first person to say, "I'll help you".   So today at 11:00 a.m. we started pulling things out of the right side of the closet.  We didn't even remove a lot of the items from the shelves.   Just from that right side  & we filled the hallway with stuff!  A lot of stuff!  5 hours later & a long trip to the dumpster, we had cleaned everything off that wall & the floor, removed an old coat rack and installed a new shelf.  You can actually see the floor now!   This may not seem like a normal preschool teacher activity but being a teacher is doing what is best for your students AND your school.  Sometimes you have to go above and beyond, not just in the classroom!

THE MAILBOX: A teacher's best friend!

Today I received my latest edition of The Mailbox, preschool.   I cannot tell you what an inspiration this magazine is.  They have so many creative and unique ideas, even if you don't use their exact set up it really helps jump start your creativity when it comes to artwork and bulletin boards.   For instance, today they had a great idea for promoting good listening skills.   Kids love rewards & they love to be singled out for doing a good job so I now have the GOOD LISTENER STAR!    This giant cardboard star is a place mat on the floor and in the morning when we are getting ready to have Calendar time the child with the best listening skills gets to sit on the special star spot.    This really makes the child feel good and encourages the other children to be good listeners.      It's amazing what a simple star can do!   The mailbox is also great for sensory motor & story time.