Gayton Preschool Blog

Get out and play!

As the weather warms up, these are a few gross motor skills you can practice inside or out.  Remember that gross motor skill development is important for the development of good fine motor skills (including pencil and paper work), speech and language.

*  catching a ball (approx. 8” in diameter is good, from 6-10’ distance)

*  throwing a ball with direction to a receiver (good turn-taking)

*  kicking a stationary ball; then kicking a rolling ball

*  catching a ball after it has been bounced one time

*  walking heel-to-toe on a straight line, balance beam or curb (remember to

try and keep feet close together)

*  balancing on one foot (try counting up to 3, then 5)

*  jumping with two feet together

*  jumping forward with two feet together (how far can you go?)

*  hopping on one foot (how many hops?)

*  climbing up/down/around/over a variety of playground equipment

*  pushing a riding toy forward using feet

*  pedalling a 3 wheel bike, while steering

This week we are focusing on body parts and warm clothes for cold winter weather.  This also gives us the perfect opportunity to learn about the opposite concepts of hot and cold.

Some of our activities this week include:

• cognitive / language identification and functions for winter clothing items (“what do we wear on our hands?”)

• cognitive / language sequencing (putting on winter clothing to go outside and building a snowman)

• cognitive / language  “position” words and answering “where?” (Where is the mitten?  UNDER the chair!)

• sensory and motor activities (squeezing clothespins to hang mittens on a clothesline, rolling up in a blanket to stay warm, painting on foil, hot and cold experiences)

• featured books:  THE JACKET I WEAR IN THE SNOW (by Shirley Neitzel) and FROGGY GOES TO BED (by Jonathan London)

This is a great time of year to practice dressing/undressing skills:  coat on/off, zip/unzip, hang up coat.  It is easier to take OFF clothing than it is to put it on, so this is a good place to start.  Please encourage your child to hang up their coat (or place it in a designated spot) rather than simply dropping it on the floor.

The best way to become independent in self-help tasks is to practice, practice, practice.  Please help your child take advantage of every opportunity throughout the day to practice independence.  Some examples include:

*  washing hands (turn on water, get one squirt of soap, rub hands together,

rinse hands, turn water off, dry hands)

*  coat:  zip/unzip, take off/put on, hang up

*  mittens, hat:  take off & put in backpack (so they don’t get lost)

*  backpack:  zip/unzip, pack/unpack lunchbox and folder

*  harness:  take off/put on/hang up

Special note:  it is helpful if your child’s name is on his/her clothing items this time of year.  There are a lot of hats and mittens to keep up with (this is why we encourage them to take them off and put them in their backpack).

*  We typically “pretend” to not notice when a child needs help.  This requires them to communicate their needs effectively.  We also encourage them to help one another with harnesses.  This builds social skills and helps them practice zipping/unzipping.

CONTINUE TO PRACTICE:  Winter Clothing and Concepts (hot/cold)

Many of the children are already able to name all winter clothing items.  The next step is to make the task more challenging.  Some examples include:

Which ones do we wear on our feet?

Which one is red?

What do we wear to keep our neck warm?

Show me the one that is cold.

These kinds of questions require that the child listen and process the entire question.  This is significantly more difficult than “labeling” or “naming” objects.

When increasing vocabulary, it is important to remember to include action words (practice “what doing?” questions with actions like swimming, eating, sleeping, jumping, etc.) and descriptive words (big, purple, soft, tall, long, etc.)

Next week, we will be learning about reindeer.  Some of the activities we have planned are listed below.

• reading and singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (you may have noticed that we’ve already been practicing Jingle Bells!)
• using shapes to create a reindeer (rectangle, circle, triangle)
• using our hands to make reindeer art (who’s ready for a mess???)
• reindeer motor games and practicing action words
• practicing holiday vocabulary words (gingerbread man, tree, stocking, jingle bells, reindeer, star, present)
• playing holiday matching games (remember to take turns and share!)
• practicing our fine motor skills by “wrapping presents”

NOTE:  If you have small empty boxes, or stick-on ribbons, they would be greatly appreciated in this center!

We are expanding our knowledge about The Farm!

*  Identifying animals, people and objects on the farm (expressive communication)

*  Vocalizing a variety of sounds by producing animal noises:  baa, moo, oink, neigh, maa.  (expressive communication)

*  Showing understanding of animals, people and objects on the farm by responding to requests and directions:  “Show me the farmer.” or “Where is the cow?” (receptive communication)

*  Showing understanding of descriptive, more complex requests:  “Show me the one that eats corn.” or “Which one has feathers?” or “Which animal rolls in the mud?” (receptive communication)

We are looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 6.  We will meet in the bus loop at 9:00. We usually unload the bus in the area of the middle front door.  You are welcome to bring supplies any day next week, and bus drivers will be happy to bring them on the bus.  Just put them in a paper grocery bag with your child’s name on it.