Cuyahoga Falls Preschool

Welcome back everyone! I can’t believe how fast summer flew by and the new school year is in session again. Thanks so much for those who came to “Meet the Teacher Night.” It was wonderful seeing the returning students and parents and meeting all of our new families. The first month was filled with lessons on respect, friendship, family, and all about ourselves.

The first week the classroom was full of laughter and excitement.  During our line time we discussed the rules of the classroom: that we will always respect each other, we will try our best, we are a team, we learn from our mistakes, we create, and we will always celebrate each others successes. Throughout this month the children have been praising one another during work time and helping each other when they see someone using a word the wrong way. It has been a pleasure seeing and hearing the children remembering all of the rules we have gone over. Also, during the first week I have been introducing different words little by little to the children. I want the children to feel comfortable and have an understanding of the different words when they are using them.

Using the word “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “I’m sorry” were the lessons we learned while we were discussing the topic of respect. For the first lesson, we lead a discussion about when we should say “please” and why it is important to use it. The children then created a word poem based on each letter within the word “please”. The children then choose some of the words they created and turned them into sentences. Throughout the week, the children created word poems and sentences while using the other kindness words and have been working hard practicing each one.

The second week we focused on friendship. We started out by discussing the meaning of being a good friend and what qualities are in a good friend. We then read the book Do You Want To Be My Friend? By Eric Carle. The children discussed the mouse’s search for a good friend and what qualities were in each friend. After the story the children were able to create a friendship rainbow. The second lesson was called The Friendship Fish. We read the book Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. We then created our own “Friendship Fish.” The children were each given a scale and they wrote down the qualities they thought a friend should have. Ainsley said, “I want someone I can play with.” Meryem then said “I want someone who is nice,” and Jonah said “I want someone who will be silly with me.” After everyone shared their qualities they were able to tape their scales to the fish.

Throughout the week the children learned how playing together can foster friendships and build a community. The children then played a game called “The Blob.” The children had to work together by linking arms and hands to capture the other friends. On the last day, our class created a “Friendship Web.” The children were able to discuss what friends should sound like when they are together, how it feels when friends are together, what it looks like when friends are together, and the qualities in a friend. 

 The third week we discussed “All About Me.” We started out by reading the book “Stand Tall” Mary Lou Melon. We then talked about the differences and similarities in everyone’s appearance. We then created a graph about hair and eye color. The children were able to go around the room and see who had brown, black, red, or blonde hair. They did the same for eye color. The children were then able to see how everyone’s appearance is not the same. The next lesson the children created a bar graph about everyone’s birthday. I read the book “On The Day You Were Born.”  We talked about how everyone’s birthday is different and that makes us unique and special. The children then decorated their own birthday cupcake. Throughout the week we made an “I’m Special Book” and played a “How Do You Feel” game. 

The last week was all about our families! We first lead a discussion on what they think a family is. Annelise said, “My mommy and daddy.” Jackson said, “My sister, mommy and daddy.” Myla said “My whole family.” During the week we discussed how not all families are the same. We have different houses & places families live, the tradition families celebrate, and the special things that we love doing with our family. During this week the children and families created their own family trees. On the last day, the children were able to stand up at line time and share their family tree amongst their friends. It was so wonderful to see the children and their parents work and come together to create something so awesome! 
    
Again, this has been such a wonderful first month back to school. I look forward to the upcoming months with all of you as we head into Fall and Winter.