Wow- Are We Learning!

I always get so excited when I begin to see results of my teaching.  It is like adrenaline for me.   This week I have seen writing skills improve, cutting is coming along and your children are learning the letters and sounds!   Phonics at the Zoo is such an amazing way to teach phonics.  We have already done letters A-J and even when we are not working on them, the children are walking around saying their letters and sounds on their own.   Some say a childs' learning environment isn't necessarily important.  I say yes it is!   Even though I do not have a lot of space provided for hanging things, the children gravitate to the zoo phonic posters I hang.  They stand there following the hand movements and practice on their own. They love to imitate the things I teach at circle time.

Amazing Little People!

We have moved into our Community Workers and Transportation Unit.   When I asked the children what they wanted to be when they grow up, here's what I got:

Kevin: Police Officer like dad,

 Saira: a Ballerina, they can twirl.

 Arianna: Jesse, a cowgirl and a mom,

          Kalaya:  A giant because they can look down at people,  

Cole: a driver who flys planes (a pilot)

Elias: a firefighter, they can't get hot, though

Olivia:  a Rock star, singing

Please call me when they graduate, I'd love to see how this turns out!    I provided different kinds of hats for them to pretend with, and this week we will have official contruction hats and vests.  We'll see what gets built.  I am sure they will love making the race cars, which will be painted.  

Even though our police officer was out keeping the Gilbert streets safe, we were able to have a good time making our own officer, learning what vehicles are on the road and which are in the air.

I felt very safe in the room with all the officers!

Even though we have our themes, we are talking about our zoo phonics letters and their sounds throughout the class.  The zoo phonic puppets seem to be a hit with this class.  
At circle, the children are learning our morning song in sign language, and we are working on the following colors in Spanish:  red-rojo,  yellow-amarillo, purple-maron, white-blanco.   Ask your child to show you the signs for:   more, together, happy, sad, mad, friend, sit-down.

This week our math centers were measuring, sorting and matching numbers.   We are currently rote counting to 20.

Do you hear your child singing songs?  We have a special snack song, "Open, Shut Them" with a focus on manners and putting hands in our lap while being served.

If you are enjoying the blog, please feel free to comment, leave questions.  Feel free to share the link with grandparents and other family members.  It's a great way to have them connected with what your child is learning.