It is my week to host preschool again. This week I was assigned the letter V. As I started researching all the cool stuff I found was for valentines day. Well, it is Halloween, not valentines so I was kind of at a loss. I found a few things but just wasn't really loving anything. Then Sunday night I was laying in bed talking to Jeff about it and he suggested making a volcano. Seriously... AWESOME IDEA! I then got super excited because I could just see how excited the kids would be. I looked up a few ways to do it to make sure I had all the supplies and I did.
So this is how Monday School went:
Binders 9:45-10:00
Practiced writing the letter V and talked about things that started with V. They were really excited about writing today which isn't usually the case (at least when they are at my house).
Calender 10:00-10:10
Just like last time I hosted I brought out the calender. I had them say: "Today is Monday, October 15." Then we counted out loud to 15 together. Then they each get to put a sticker on today's square. We also sang our 2 days of the week songs.
Harvest Sticker 10:10-10:25
As I was looking through my stuff I found these foam stickers I bought last year on clearance. You know how kids love stickers so I decided to incorporate them, not to mention they are a great fine motor skill to learn. I gave each child a piece of paper with the word Harvest on it. We spelled it together, I had the kids find the letter V. Then we talked about the fall, gardens, vegetables & harvesting while they put their stickers on.
Volcano 10:25-10:45
There were many ways to make the volcano. My original plan was to use a flour and salt dough to make the mountain but then I found another site that suggested just using dirt. I like that idea a lot more than using my ingredients. I thought the kids would be excited about the mud and helping me build the volcano, but they didn't want to get their hands dirty (except Emily). However, they were very excited to actually pour the stuff in to make the lava. We used warm water, red food coloring, a few drops of dish soap, baking soda, and then of course vinegar. They LOVED it! I used almost an entire bottle of vinegar because they kept asking me to do it again and again.
Letter Recognition 10:45-10:55
I had the kids pull items out of mr. pelican again. I didn't have very many V items around my house so I just grabbed a bunch of toy vegetables so each kid pulled out a different vegetable.
I also found a cute little poem about vipers so I decided to write it on the chalkboard and have them take turns finding the letter V. They needed a little assistance finding them, but they really enjoyed taking turns finding and circling them.
Playtime 10:55-11:10
Let the kids run around out back and get out some energy while I prepared the snacks
Snack time 11:10-11:25
Today we have vegetables in the shape of Vs (carrots and celery). Also a few fish and grapes. And some of the kids had peanut butter on their celery. Then we read books while we ate. We read books about adventures like "Going on a Bear Hunt," and "The Big Honey Hunt." I let the kids each taste some honey too so they could better relate to the book. The only thing they knew about honey was that Winnie the Pooh likes honey. Needless to say they all loved it.
Playtime 11:25-11:30
They played inside for a little while I cleaned up snacks and set up for the craft.
Letter V Volcano craft 11:30-11:40
I found this idea and loved it. The kids really love to glue and paint and this involved both. They loved it. The girls like the crafts more than the boys but they all participated and loved it. I was going to just have them use their finger for the lava but I offered Q-tips and they all wanted to use them which was fine for me since it was must less messy. :)
Duck Duck Goose 11:40-11:45
Once we were all done painting I was going to let them just have free play until their parents got here but they were a little restless so we played Duck, Duck, Goose. I haven't played this with kids in a long time. In the past it has never really worked, but I guess a year does make a difference. They all played correctly and they all loved it! They were laughing so hard and did such a great job of making sure everyone was "goosed." It was perfect.
I'm really pleased with how well today went, especially since just the day before I had no clue what I wanted to do. The kids all had a blast and I did too!
Today was a little crazy. I'm not gonna lie. I think this extended summer is getting to all of us (90 degrees this week!). But we still had a ton of fun at school today. I don't have the time break down like I did for Monday, but here is what we did.
Binders
We started out practicing writing our letter Vs but only for a few minutes. I had a lot of crafts to do today to we had to get started. I gave them a connect the dots that had a picture of flowers and after they connected the dots it made a Vase. Then I also gave them a Vine Maze and they had to find their way to the Vegetables (I found both those handouts at education.com). So these got us talking about what starts with V.
Number 8
Along with being assigned a letter, we also talk about a specific number. I had the number 8. I found this awesome craft for a number 8 spider which was perfect timing since spiders are Halloween-ish and they have 8 legs. So we had fun gluing on the legs and eyes while we talked about 8.
All about V
We went into the other room to continue our lesson on the letter V. I used another handout from education.com that had a bunch of pictures of random things. Half started with V and half didn't. We we said all the words out loud to figure out which ones started with V. The kids really did well with this and seemed to really like it. And when one didn't started with V, let's say it started with B, they would list a bunch of other things that started with B all on their own. I was so proud of them!
Find the V
I found another handout that was a little story and as we read it they took turns finding the letter V. About a year ago I found this blog that give free preschool packs on LDS themes. I LOVE them. And since everyone in our little school is LDS I decided to use one today. It was V is for First Vision. So we had a little talk about the First Vision while they found letter Vs. Again, they were more receptive then I expected during this and I was impressed at how much they kids knew.
Math Time
That same pack just happened to be focusing on the number 8 too so I used a few handouts in there to work on more math skills. We did a little adding together. And then we had to count the objects in the square and find the ones that had 8 in them. And all the objects started with V too (vacuum, vest, violin, vegetables) so it was perfect! The kids had fun taking turns. I was really super impressed with how patient they were today.
Playtime
Let the kids play while I got Snacks ready.
Snacks & Stories
The kids were really excited about stories today. They had me read 6 books while they ate. I had a had time finding letter V type books so I decided since today I was focusing more on Halloween (spiders, vampires, & candy corn) that I would just read Halloween books. I included the V by having them search each book for Vampires while I read. They really thought this was awesome and got so excited when they found one.
Vampires
I found this awesome craft and knew the kids would LOVE it. This morning I painted paper plates purple, cut out the eyes and glued on the hair. I passed out the plates and let the kids put on the eyebrows, nose and teeth (I drew on the smile). Then we added the Popsicle sticks and they LOVED them! They held them in their hands for almost the rest of preschool.
V song and dance
The kids had a TON of energy today. They pulled off my couch cushions and all 5 were jumping on the couch with their vampire faces. I decided we still needed to get some energy out so I played this song/video that was all about the letter V. I remember finding these songs last year (they have one for each letter) but I thought they were so boring. But today I tried it and the kids LOVED IT! They even asked to do it again. I really liked it because it allowed them to practice saying a lot of words that start with V over and over. And also just making the V sound in general. I think I might include this every time now. We were able to jump, dance, sing, and learn all at the same time. It was awesome.
We then sang a few other V songs that I had from last year (I randomly had the letter V last year too). They are just silly songs someone made up words to for familiar tunes. Like do you know the valley man instead of muffin man.
Veggie Tales Preschool Pack
So I found this Veggie Tales pack that helped the kids with colors, shapes and position. So I held up a picture and asked them what shape they were in, or what position they were in (above, on, in, etc.) or what color that veggie was. They all knew who veggie tales were so they were very into it and even started singing the veggie tale song together. It was fun.
Name Recognition
Also with this packet is suggested a name game. I'm not sure how they intended it to be played (I didn't read the directions) but I wrote each child's name on one of the squares then held it up to show everyone and they had to figure out whose name it was. Then we gave that card to that child. They really liked this one too and got so excited when they recognized their own name. We played this twice because they liked it so much.
Candy Corn Craft
Last craft of the day. Normally I only do one but I loved all three of these so I squeezed them all in. So obviously candy corn does not start with V, BUT... if you turn a candy corn upside down it looks like a V. :) So I drew big Vs on their paper and then had them glue paper scraps to make a candy corn. They had fun with this, mostly because it was really fun to throw the paper (which was basically confetti) in the air. But I still think they came out cute. The idea came from here.
Then they had about 2 minutes to play before their parents came. WOW! What a crazy day, but it was tons of fun and the kids did awesome! I can't wait until I host next time.
So this is how Monday School went:
Binders 9:45-10:00
Practiced writing the letter V and talked about things that started with V. They were really excited about writing today which isn't usually the case (at least when they are at my house).
Calender 10:00-10:10
Just like last time I hosted I brought out the calender. I had them say: "Today is Monday, October 15." Then we counted out loud to 15 together. Then they each get to put a sticker on today's square. We also sang our 2 days of the week songs.
Harvest Sticker 10:10-10:25
As I was looking through my stuff I found these foam stickers I bought last year on clearance. You know how kids love stickers so I decided to incorporate them, not to mention they are a great fine motor skill to learn. I gave each child a piece of paper with the word Harvest on it. We spelled it together, I had the kids find the letter V. Then we talked about the fall, gardens, vegetables & harvesting while they put their stickers on.
Volcano 10:25-10:45
There were many ways to make the volcano. My original plan was to use a flour and salt dough to make the mountain but then I found another site that suggested just using dirt. I like that idea a lot more than using my ingredients. I thought the kids would be excited about the mud and helping me build the volcano, but they didn't want to get their hands dirty (except Emily). However, they were very excited to actually pour the stuff in to make the lava. We used warm water, red food coloring, a few drops of dish soap, baking soda, and then of course vinegar. They LOVED it! I used almost an entire bottle of vinegar because they kept asking me to do it again and again.
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| Just finished building it and ready for the lava! |
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| They were so excited! |
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| They all wanted to touch it. |
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| Again! Again! |
Letter Recognition 10:45-10:55
I had the kids pull items out of mr. pelican again. I didn't have very many V items around my house so I just grabbed a bunch of toy vegetables so each kid pulled out a different vegetable.
I also found a cute little poem about vipers so I decided to write it on the chalkboard and have them take turns finding the letter V. They needed a little assistance finding them, but they really enjoyed taking turns finding and circling them.
 |
| Sorry it is so messy. Em got to it before I could take the picture. |
Playtime 10:55-11:10
Let the kids run around out back and get out some energy while I prepared the snacks
Snack time 11:10-11:25
Today we have vegetables in the shape of Vs (carrots and celery). Also a few fish and grapes. And some of the kids had peanut butter on their celery. Then we read books while we ate. We read books about adventures like "Going on a Bear Hunt," and "The Big Honey Hunt." I let the kids each taste some honey too so they could better relate to the book. The only thing they knew about honey was that Winnie the Pooh likes honey. Needless to say they all loved it.
Playtime 11:25-11:30
They played inside for a little while I cleaned up snacks and set up for the craft.
Letter V Volcano craft 11:30-11:40
I found this idea and loved it. The kids really love to glue and paint and this involved both. They loved it. The girls like the crafts more than the boys but they all participated and loved it. I was going to just have them use their finger for the lava but I offered Q-tips and they all wanted to use them which was fine for me since it was must less messy. :)
 |
| Painting on the lava |
Duck Duck Goose 11:40-11:45
Once we were all done painting I was going to let them just have free play until their parents got here but they were a little restless so we played Duck, Duck, Goose. I haven't played this with kids in a long time. In the past it has never really worked, but I guess a year does make a difference. They all played correctly and they all loved it! They were laughing so hard and did such a great job of making sure everyone was "goosed." It was perfect.
I'm really pleased with how well today went, especially since just the day before I had no clue what I wanted to do. The kids all had a blast and I did too!
Thursday School
Today was a little crazy. I'm not gonna lie. I think this extended summer is getting to all of us (90 degrees this week!). But we still had a ton of fun at school today. I don't have the time break down like I did for Monday, but here is what we did.
Binders
We started out practicing writing our letter Vs but only for a few minutes. I had a lot of crafts to do today to we had to get started. I gave them a connect the dots that had a picture of flowers and after they connected the dots it made a Vase. Then I also gave them a Vine Maze and they had to find their way to the Vegetables (I found both those handouts at education.com). So these got us talking about what starts with V.
Number 8
Along with being assigned a letter, we also talk about a specific number. I had the number 8. I found this awesome craft for a number 8 spider which was perfect timing since spiders are Halloween-ish and they have 8 legs. So we had fun gluing on the legs and eyes while we talked about 8.
All about V
We went into the other room to continue our lesson on the letter V. I used another handout from education.com that had a bunch of pictures of random things. Half started with V and half didn't. We we said all the words out loud to figure out which ones started with V. The kids really did well with this and seemed to really like it. And when one didn't started with V, let's say it started with B, they would list a bunch of other things that started with B all on their own. I was so proud of them!
Find the V
I found another handout that was a little story and as we read it they took turns finding the letter V. About a year ago I found this blog that give free preschool packs on LDS themes. I LOVE them. And since everyone in our little school is LDS I decided to use one today. It was V is for First Vision. So we had a little talk about the First Vision while they found letter Vs. Again, they were more receptive then I expected during this and I was impressed at how much they kids knew.
Math Time
That same pack just happened to be focusing on the number 8 too so I used a few handouts in there to work on more math skills. We did a little adding together. And then we had to count the objects in the square and find the ones that had 8 in them. And all the objects started with V too (vacuum, vest, violin, vegetables) so it was perfect! The kids had fun taking turns. I was really super impressed with how patient they were today.
 |
| To give you a visual since it was kind of hard to describe. |
Playtime
Let the kids play while I got Snacks ready.
Snacks & Stories
The kids were really excited about stories today. They had me read 6 books while they ate. I had a had time finding letter V type books so I decided since today I was focusing more on Halloween (spiders, vampires, & candy corn) that I would just read Halloween books. I included the V by having them search each book for Vampires while I read. They really thought this was awesome and got so excited when they found one.
Vampires
I found this awesome craft and knew the kids would LOVE it. This morning I painted paper plates purple, cut out the eyes and glued on the hair. I passed out the plates and let the kids put on the eyebrows, nose and teeth (I drew on the smile). Then we added the Popsicle sticks and they LOVED them! They held them in their hands for almost the rest of preschool.
 |
| Coolest Vampires I have ever seen! |
V song and dance
The kids had a TON of energy today. They pulled off my couch cushions and all 5 were jumping on the couch with their vampire faces. I decided we still needed to get some energy out so I played this song/video that was all about the letter V. I remember finding these songs last year (they have one for each letter) but I thought they were so boring. But today I tried it and the kids LOVED IT! They even asked to do it again. I really liked it because it allowed them to practice saying a lot of words that start with V over and over. And also just making the V sound in general. I think I might include this every time now. We were able to jump, dance, sing, and learn all at the same time. It was awesome.
We then sang a few other V songs that I had from last year (I randomly had the letter V last year too). They are just silly songs someone made up words to for familiar tunes. Like do you know the valley man instead of muffin man.
Veggie Tales Preschool Pack
So I found this Veggie Tales pack that helped the kids with colors, shapes and position. So I held up a picture and asked them what shape they were in, or what position they were in (above, on, in, etc.) or what color that veggie was. They all knew who veggie tales were so they were very into it and even started singing the veggie tale song together. It was fun.
Name Recognition
Also with this packet is suggested a name game. I'm not sure how they intended it to be played (I didn't read the directions) but I wrote each child's name on one of the squares then held it up to show everyone and they had to figure out whose name it was. Then we gave that card to that child. They really liked this one too and got so excited when they recognized their own name. We played this twice because they liked it so much.
Last craft of the day. Normally I only do one but I loved all three of these so I squeezed them all in. So obviously candy corn does not start with V, BUT... if you turn a candy corn upside down it looks like a V. :) So I drew big Vs on their paper and then had them glue paper scraps to make a candy corn. They had fun with this, mostly because it was really fun to throw the paper (which was basically confetti) in the air. But I still think they came out cute. The idea came from here.
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| The girls are showing it off both ways, one as a V and the other as a candy corn |
Any ideas for the letters K or Q?
Comments
Quilt, quiet, quarter, queen
You're such a fun mother!