Small group time

What is small group time at preschool? It is the time right after snack, where a teacher sits with a group of 5 children working on various skills. Typically, small group time consists of simple games that encourage turn taking, math (counting and sorting), literacy (letter recognition and enjoying a story together), fine motor skills (stringing beads, puzzles, colored links, etc.), and much more! It's a great time to really focus in on specific skills we want the children to work on and learn.

Here is Ms. Chantel with her small group from today. First, the children put the "links" together - they are plastic fasteners that hook together (great fine-motor skills) at the table. Then, Ms. Chantel had them walk over to connect them all together to see how long it was! 

Working together!

Adding one color at a time.

Are they all together?

Fire Safety TR

Oh boy, were we busy today. I took quite a few pictures to capture all of the "firefighter play." There was a lot of what we call parallel play going on, which is when children are using the same materials and being in close proximity to other children, but are not interacting or role playing. We had a lot of firefighters putting out fires through out the room! It was so neat to see this group test out the materials and use their imagination!

This guy was making the sound effects
of spraying water!

The infamous firetruck that makes
real siren sounds.

I think she may have rescued the cat.

Testing out the firetruck.

Spraying the teacher with water!

These cuties were hiding from the water
that was being sprayed on them!

Getting the adults involved too.

Figuring out what to do with the rope.

What a cutie!

These teachers were rescued by the gal (far right)
with the headphones on. She took the
rope to them and had them hold on
while she pulled them to safety! 

Early Childhood Students

Last week, the Early Childhood Freshman Students started in the lab. They come in the lab 1 time a week to observe, interact and learn more about young children! 
Monday - Ms. Morgan
Tuesday - Ms. Cassidy and Ms. Rebecca
Wednesday - Mr. Toby
Thursday - Ms. Ivonne and Ms. Faith
We have excellent child/teacher ratios! 

Fire Safety

Fire fighter hats. Check
Fire hoses. Check
Fire trucks. Check 
The block area was set up for some fire fighter play today. And they did! It was very interesting to see how creative and imaginative several children were as they created scenarios, assigned "roles", and scripted the story. There were a lot of areas of the room on fire, but the "firefighters" were also saving people and rescuing a cat from a tree. It is amazing to me how well children fall into different roles and scripts in play - it demonstrates the learning and thinking that happens while they are playing! 

Putting a fire out!

Fire trucks are fun too! 

Rescuing a cat from a tree

We are ready!

She just wants to do her work - no pictures please!

Get to know the teachers!

Here is some fun information about your child's teachers!

Ms. Chantel is a sophomore from Cimarron, Kansas. Her favorite color is turquoise. A highlight from her summer was babysitting and going on vacation to Boston, Maine and Canada. If she could go on any vacation of her choosing, she would travel to Paris because she would like to see the Eiffel Tower and she would take her best friend, Bailey with her. She says that she is super shy when you first get to know her. Ms. Chantel is a kind, gentle and caring person! 

Ms. Larisa is starting her 13th year at HCP. She is married to Vic and they live in Wichita. She loves the color turquoise too. She dreams of traveling to Australia and Europe - some day she'll make it there! In the meantime, Colorado is her favorite vacation spot! Larisa loves antiquing and enjoyed doing that one weekend this summer in KC. Something you may not know about her: she lived in Colorado for 10 years and did a lot of rock climbing! 

First day for TR!

This group was a little more cautious coming into a new place, but quickly became comfortable after we sang a few songs. It was a busy day filled with singing, reading stories, playing, drawing, eating a snack and much more! I didn't take many pictures because I was busy moving around too!! 

Tradition

This is my 13th year at Hesston College Preschool. I've gotten to know a lot of families over the years. Some families have multiple children, and that's allowed me to get to know the whole crew. It's been a lot of fun! I always enjoy seeing former preschoolers and how they've changed and grown up (literally!). Some families I've known for 1 or 3 or 8 years (depending on how many kiddos come through our program). I call it tradition. It's what the first child did, so now the remaining children do the same thing. 

Here's a family who are sending their 4th (and last) child through preschool.

The tall girl to the left of me was in the TR class
when I first starting teaching at HCP, and
now she is a sophomore in HS!!