Due to doctor appointments, we have a two-day week which includes one more day of letter P and one day of review. By Wednesday, Alex is very ready to go, she has asked me everyday at least three times when preschool is going to start.
Our last P day is for produce and playground, but once again, due to our weather (which they continue to guess correctly since it hasn't changed from cloudy and rainy yet), I have to postpone the playground fun. But that's just fine since we have enough for today with all the produce we are going to learn. Instead of Show and Tell, teacher introduces fruit. The students describe each piece of fruit's color, shape, and texture. I let them take turns holding the fruit until Preston decides to further explore the tomato by pounding it on the floor. Preston is really into the fruit and veggie learning, he is a pro at naming fruit, unlike Alex who does not partake in the eating of any fruit or vegetable with one exception of a banana, and sometimes even a green bean or two.
Activity 1 includes the alphabet and handwriting followed by the Hot Tomato game, and just like Hot Potato and Hot Pumpkin, they are really having a blast with this. 
Craft time starts with sitting at the table to look at our basket of fresh fruit and vegetables that we have just described a few minutes ago. The workbook page for today has pieces of fruit to identify and color correctly. Next, they must cut out their fruits and paste them onto their construction paper harvest baskets. 
Again, Preston is done cutting in record time while Alex is cutting her fruit into some real pieces. I compare the way they both cut to see if I can figure out how to help Alex. I notice that Preston has a better grip but this is partly because his hands are also bigger. I decide comparing is pointless, and that she will do it in her own time, as she will not let me do it for her nor do I want to. She is holding them correctly, and that is good enough for teacher, so it should be good enough for Mom, too, I tell myself as I remember who I am. She allows me to hold her paper for her as she uses two hands to cut through.
Craft time starts with sitting at the table to look at our basket of fresh fruit and vegetables that we have just described a few minutes ago. The workbook page for today has pieces of fruit to identify and color correctly. Next, they must cut out their fruits and paste them onto their construction paper harvest baskets. Again, Preston is done cutting in record time while Alex is cutting her fruit into some real pieces. I compare the way they both cut to see if I can figure out how to help Alex. I notice that Preston has a better grip but this is partly because his hands are also bigger. I decide comparing is pointless, and that she will do it in her own time, as she will not let me do it for her nor do I want to. She is holding them correctly, and that is good enough for teacher, so it should be good enough for Mom, too, I tell myself as I remember who I am. She allows me to hold her paper for her as she uses two hands to cut through. I make a smorgasboard of cut fruit for snack time, and Preston digs in. He has had his eyes on the grapes since I introduced them during our description activity. He is busy picking every single grape out of the fruit bowl. Alex looks interested, and they talk and chatter throughout the picking and choosing. I realize how cheerful a beautiful bowl of cut fruit is, and make a mental note to include one on our kitchen table more often. I am shocked when Alex picks out celery with peanut butter, a cherry, and even a plum. She watches Preston. So do I since he is really enjoying his fruit happily. He makes me want to dig in, too. Alex finally takes a bite, and I realize what a great influence it is to have Preston here eating in front of her, she now sees that other children really do engage in eating activity (unlike her). Alex eats two cherries, a plum, and a bite of an apple and celery. This is dumbfounding to Mom. Teacher is ecstatic because this fruit bowl is such a hit. Alex is even eating a raw carrot after watching Preston in the below picture:
Preston is trying everything - he has moved onto his new favorite after the grapes, which is the watermelon. I would say that our snack time is probably the most time we spend on an activity for the day. Included with the fruit, are little "P" sandwiches that no one is really touching. In the picture below, Alex is about to bite into the celery while Preston is working on his watermelon.
Preston is trying everything - he has moved onto his new favorite after the grapes, which is the watermelon. I would say that our snack time is probably the most time we spend on an activity for the day. Included with the fruit, are little "P" sandwiches that no one is really touching. In the picture below, Alex is about to bite into the celery while Preston is working on his watermelon.Instead of doing playground fun, P is for piggy bank counting at Activity 2. After our number song, we head to the table to count real pennies with our workbook page piggy banks. Amy is busy playing with the Fisher Price piggy bank, too. I explain the purpose of a piggy bank, and how you can save up your money for a perfect rainy day like today. I put out three miniature candy bars. In order to have the candy bar, they must take five pennies out of their bank. They both want to count faster than their pennies. They need to work on "mouth and eye coordination" if there is such a thing, or maybe it is just the end result of a candy bar that is distracting their counting skills. I slow them down though, and they finally count the pennies out perfectly.
P is for puzzles, so we end day one with a fun exercise. Allen has set up "puzzle stations" numbered one through ten. Each student has a "ticket".
They make their way around the stations. With each puzzle station that they complete, they can go to the teacher's chair for a star sticker. The house is quiet as the students are deep in busy thought. 
Allen and I walk around watching, for if they get disgruntled, we offer to help but not do. I decide right then and there to include this type of activity more often. The puzzles include putting the alphabet and numbers 1 though 10 in proper order, along with some wood-shaped animals that have been crafted by big brother. Time is running out so we finish stations one through five, and leave the last five for next week. After class has ended, and the children are playing freely, I watch as Preston goes to the puzzle shelf and picks one out. Most the time, the puzzle shelf is rarely touched in lieu of dressup and princess toys. He then asks the girls to help, and all three of them are working cooperatively at a pretty hard puzzle that they do end up proudly finishing.
They make their way around the stations. With each puzzle station that they complete, they can go to the teacher's chair for a star sticker. The house is quiet as the students are deep in busy thought. Allen and I walk around watching, for if they get disgruntled, we offer to help but not do. I decide right then and there to include this type of activity more often. The puzzles include putting the alphabet and numbers 1 though 10 in proper order, along with some wood-shaped animals that have been crafted by big brother. Time is running out so we finish stations one through five, and leave the last five for next week. After class has ended, and the children are playing freely, I watch as Preston goes to the puzzle shelf and picks one out. Most the time, the puzzle shelf is rarely touched in lieu of dressup and princess toys. He then asks the girls to help, and all three of them are working cooperatively at a pretty hard puzzle that they do end up proudly finishing.In my spazzed out teacher state, I have dropped the camera three times as I try and snap pictures,and the screen is no longer visible, opps. Allen orders me to switch to a disposable, so some pictures today are not here but I will add soon. I have been banned from our camera, and rightly so!
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Review day is full of new activities. I want to remember to include a review day every couple of letters that we learn. Preston is out sick today. Teacher has bought a new calendar to use (the good old dollar stores always come through) that is going to work a lot better than sticky notes. 
After we talk about what month it is, we read Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell, a good review book because it covers a trip to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins. Our colors red and orange are talked about along with big and litte apple trees and pumpkins,and plenty of farm animals.
After we talk about what month it is, we read Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell, a good review book because it covers a trip to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins. Our colors red and orange are talked about along with big and litte apple trees and pumpkins,and plenty of farm animals. Instead of Show and Tell, our description for today is a new "game" of "What am I?" Such as "I am a P word, I am pink, I am found on the farm, you can use me as a bank", or "I live in a tree, I eat acorns, I am brown with a bushy tail", or "I am a triangle, you eat me, you can put pepperoni on me if you like", or "I am a P word, you can eat me on a sandwich, the birds eat me, too, I am brown"...so we do that for pig, pizza, squirrel, peanut butter, pinecone, chicken, potato, scarecrow, acorn, apple, and pumpkin. Alex keeps repeating "Teacher, this is really fun." That's all I need to hear. This game is a winner and a fantastic review. Plus, it teaches her listening skills, it really is keeping her interest and attention. 
I like to watch her face as she thinks. Mostly, she guesses on the second or third description. She has a little trouble with the last one which is a barn. She can't figure out why something "can be red and sometimes brown, too". When she guesses right, I pull out that item from my bag. I got this idea from the library. At storytime, she always has a bag afterwards filled with some items from the story that the kids have to guess at.
I like to watch her face as she thinks. Mostly, she guesses on the second or third description. She has a little trouble with the last one which is a barn. She can't figure out why something "can be red and sometimes brown, too". When she guesses right, I pull out that item from my bag. I got this idea from the library. At storytime, she always has a bag afterwards filled with some items from the story that the kids have to guess at. Activity 1 includes handwriting for both letters A and P, and a word sound game for these letters. I have cut out and colored all the items we have learned that start with these letters. Using an "A" and "P" stamp, she must sort the collage of pictures on the table by stamping them with an A or a P. "Teacher, this is so fun," she says to me. You can tell it is like playing office
as she does it, actually it is not that far from my own previous office job I think to myself.
as she does it, actually it is not that far from my own previous office job I think to myself. Next up, a floor game of position words. I have two scenes cut out from workbook pages. To go along with our review. one scene is 2 apple trees and the other is a barnyard. To go with each scene are two cut-out items. For the apple tree - a bushel of apples, and for the farm - a chicken. (I recruited C.J. to color these the night before, as he was watching some TV, he really enjoyed it even though he complained, at one point when I was talking to him about the show he states "Ma, I am coloring my preschool book right now, just a minute." Coloring really is fun no matter what age you are.) She must put her chicken on top of the barn, beside the barn, in the barn, outside of the barn, you get it. She has fun with this, it seems easy for her except for the words"beside" and "between", which I realize now she does not use regularly. Next time we do this for a review, I will add left and right to the list.
Snack is Allen's pencil creation (what will I do when my husband goes back to work is a thought I ponder often, I shudder to think - looks like I will be recruiting Grandma to help?). Alex just stares at it,
but at least she eats the cheese eventually. She won't touch the raisin which is the pencil lead or the bologna which is the eraser. During snack, we talk about long and short pencils again, as I have the pencils out and similar workbook pages.
but at least she eats the cheese eventually. She won't touch the raisin which is the pencil lead or the bologna which is the eraser. During snack, we talk about long and short pencils again, as I have the pencils out and similar workbook pages. Craft is the definite highlight for the day. Alex tells me at the end of class when we are doing her Me book that this is her favorite.
Using all of our fruit, the students make their own prints with paint at their easels. I don't know what they have more fun with, the fruit or the paint. The fruit is quite "squirmy" dipped in paint, and we have a few floor casualties. I try to remain Teacher and know that Mom will worry about it all later. It is very quiet right now as they work. We do one color at a time. They both delight in the shapes they are making and we talk about the circles and triangles. The grapes are quite fun, along with the corn which I demonstate to them to roll onto the poster. Disaster strikes with red though, as Amy decides it is funner to decorate her arms 
and Alex follows suit, since they won't touch the juicy tomato...as Preston's tomato is literally "beaten to a pulp" as I cut it. I wish he was here to witness it, I know he would appreciate it unlike my picky girls who don't want to get messy with a tomato but they will wipe their entire bodies in red paint instead. The apple is fun though, and I figure out how to cut it in half to make the star. All in all, this is a great review of colors and shapes, and we makes beautiful collages to take "home".
Using all of our fruit, the students make their own prints with paint at their easels. I don't know what they have more fun with, the fruit or the paint. The fruit is quite "squirmy" dipped in paint, and we have a few floor casualties. I try to remain Teacher and know that Mom will worry about it all later. It is very quiet right now as they work. We do one color at a time. They both delight in the shapes they are making and we talk about the circles and triangles. The grapes are quite fun, along with the corn which I demonstate to them to roll onto the poster. Disaster strikes with red though, as Amy decides it is funner to decorate her arms and Alex follows suit, since they won't touch the juicy tomato...as Preston's tomato is literally "beaten to a pulp" as I cut it. I wish he was here to witness it, I know he would appreciate it unlike my picky girls who don't want to get messy with a tomato but they will wipe their entire bodies in red paint instead. The apple is fun though, and I figure out how to cut it in half to make the star. All in all, this is a great review of colors and shapes, and we makes beautiful collages to take "home". We try to switch over to workbook pages with some farm animals and fruits after the number song, but Alex is exhausted and so am I. You can tell by her coloring. 
She has trouble with the word "fewer" although she understands which is more, she has not heard the word enough to know what it means. The craft has taken a lot of time and our energy is spent. All in all a good review lesson but I think we are all ready to be done with that stinkin' letter P.
She has trouble with the word "fewer" although she understands which is more, she has not heard the word enough to know what it means. The craft has taken a lot of time and our energy is spent. All in all a good review lesson but I think we are all ready to be done with that stinkin' letter P. 
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