Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, Nov. 21, 2014

Oak Room: Pre- K class

Thanksgiving Day - by Anne Rockwell is the story we read about the first Thanksgiving.

We made place mats for our feast. The children drew pictures and snipped the edges.

Maple Room:

We read "Arthur's Thanksgiving" by Marc Brown

We corn muffins and butter (from heavy cream )from scratch to eat at our Thanksgiving Feast .
We had oil pastels and used them on dark colored paper at the easel.

We read "Thanksgiving Day Thanks" by Laura Elliott too.
We played Color and shape Bingo.

The Maple Room kids and the Oak Room kids joined together to have a special Thanksgiving Day feast- the children each brought in food like Cheerios, Gold Fish Crackers, chocolate chips, etc to make a mixture we could all share.  The children in the Maple Room had made costumes and dressed like Native Americans and the children in the Oak Room made costumes and dressed like Pilgrims.  We all sat at the table together.  We had corn muffins, butter we made from heavy cream by shaking it in small jars. We all joined together for music time.

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving at our house" by P.K. Hallinan

We painted as a group across the table as we danced to music.  We made our brushes dance to the music too.

We baked pumpkin muffins to have at snack today and we shook heavy cream in small jars to make home made butter.  We had some of the "Friendship Mix" from the Maple and Oak Rooms for part of our Thanksgiving Day feast in our room with our muffins.

We did "Please pass the peas", We danced with feathers to the song "Shake something" and we did "The turkey Hop" for music today.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, November 20, 2014

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving at our house" by P.K. Halliman

We painted as a large group to music using fun sparkley colors of paint as we danced around the table.

We had magnetic letters and magnetic sticks at the easel.

We did The turkey hop, Please pass the peas, and we danced with feathers to the song "Shake something"

We made pumpkin muffins from scratch today.  The children helped mix the ingredients and we ate them for snack today along with some other special foods for our "Thanksgiving feast".

We also made our own butter by shaking cream in small bottles until it turned into butter.  We had it on our muffins today.

Oak Room:

We read "One is a feast for a mouse- a thanksgiving tale" by Judy Cox

We made turkeys using pine cones and feathers.

We had small turkey stencils and dab a dot markers at the easel.

We did "This old man" and had pictures of actions with rhyming words and we used bells to do "I know a chicken".

We asked the children "Does your name have the letter K in it?" and graphed the results.

We played ABC Bingo today as a small gorup game.

Maple Room:

We read 10 black dots" by Donald Crews

Each child was given 10 black dots to make their own picture.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving FEast" by Quinlin B Lee

We used cookie cutters and paint to make wrapping paper for presents.

We had magnetic 3 D shapes at the easel.

We did a 5 little turkeys sitting on a fence rhyme.

We did "Turkey pokey", "Travelin' Turkeys" and "Over the deep blue sea" for music today.

Maple Room:

We read 5 silly turkeys

We did marble painting at the table with blue and purple paint.

We had water colors at the easel.

We skyped today with someone living in Nairobi,  Africa.  It was exciting to hear about the animals they have there.

Oak Room:
"Many ways" by Shelley Rotner, a book about family traditions and "Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes

We read the letter K book.

We played an ABC Bingo game- the kids loved it.

We worked in our journal notebooks on the letter K - we practiced writing it, wrote words that start with the letter K and drew pictures.

We did "The turkey hop", and "Can you dance?" (using just our eyes, nose, lips, etc.)

Stay and Play:  We read "Don't worry Douglas!" by David Melling

We drew with markers on paper towel, coffee filters, and paper.  Then we applied water with a brush over each to see what happened.  We compared the differences in how the water absorbed and the effect of the water on the markers on each type of paper.

We did "You gotta sing" and "Inky Dinky Doo" for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving feast" by Quinlin B Lee

We made wrapping paper for our presents for our parents by dipping holiday cookie cutters in paint and pressing them down onto white paper.

We had magnetic 3 D shapes at the easel.

We did a 5 little turkeys sitting on a fence rhyme

We have ground up corn husks in our sensory table.

We did "Travelling Turkeys", "The turkey Pokey" and "Over the deep blue sea" for music time.

Oak Room:

We read "Run turkey, run" by Diane Mayr and "Who will carve the turkey this Thanksgiving?" by Jerry Pallotta

We painted with feed corn on the cob.  We will turn them into a turkey shape.

We did "Deep in the jungle" , Pass the turkey" and "One little pumpkin" ( a song about happy, sad, angry)

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, November 17, 2014

We read "Countdown to Thanksgiving" by Jodi Huelin and "5 silly turkeys"" by Salina Yoon

We cut out feather shapes, strung beads on a string with the feather shapes.  The children told us what they were thankful for and made a "I am thankful necklace".

We made our pilgrim "bibs" by putting fall stampers on them at the easel.

We did "Come and buy a pumpkin" and "Couch potato pokey" for music today.

Maple Room:

We read "Turkey Trouble" by Wendi Salvano

We made handprint turkeys.  The children painted their hands with various colors of paint.  Brown on their palm and thumb, and red, yellow, green, etc. on their fingers.  Then they pressed it onto paper to make a turkey.

We had corks and dab a dot painters at the easel.

We did letter P activities, learned the song, the motion that goes with the letter P .  Read the book and did the alphabet monster box of items that start with the letter P.

We did "The November song,", and "Turkey feathers" (using letters)

Willow Room:

We read "If you give a cat a cupcake" by Laura Numeroff

We painted a cup cake shape paper using a mixture of shaving cream and glue.  Then we added confetti to look like sprinkles.

We did a group art project where we painted a big sheet of paper green using various painting tools.  We will turn it into a big Christmas tree for our classroom.

We did a counting cookies rhyme.

We did "Late last night", "Can't sit still", and "Put your hands up in the air" for  music time.

Stay and play:

We read "Bear says Thanks" by Karma Wilson WE also read Bear Wants more" by Karma Wilson Then we talked about the books and made comparisons and contrasts between them.

We did an experiment with water colors, baking soda and vinegar.  Each child got a tray with baking soda sprinkled on it.  Then we gave them water colors made with vinegar and eye droppers to drip the water colors on top.  It bubbled and was fun to watch the reaction.

We did "Picking leaves" (a number recognition game), Hide turkey hide, and "If you are thankful" for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, November 14, 2014

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Sneeze big bear, sneeze! by Maureen WRight

We painted with dish scrubbers and tempra paint.

We had chalk boards and colored chalk at the easel.

We did "clap if you want to", 2 little blackbirds" and Turkey hop" for music today.

We did a 5 little turkeys rhyme and the teacher wore a turkey finger puppet on each finger!

We traced each child's hand and arm and so it looked like a tree.  The children added colored leaves with glue.

Oak Room:

We read "10 little rubber ducks" by Eric Carle

We painted a water scene on a large piece of paper and gave the children each 10 yellow paper ducks to add.  They had markers to draw faces on the ducks if they wanted.  They glued the ducks to their paper to illustrate the story.

We made a list of words that begin with the letter J, we wrote the letter, and words on dry erase boards.

We did "The bean bag alphabet rag", and Turkey hop for music time.

Maple Room:

We read "Franklin's Thanksgiving" by Paulette Bourgeois

We used stampers and paint on grocery bags that we cut to make a vest.  The children will wear them for our Thanksgiving feast.

We had dab a dot painters and turkey stencils at the easel.

We did letter I activities.

Stay and Play:

We read "Grisswold" by Syd Hoff

We did a group painting project to various tempos of music. The children had paint brushes and walked around the table to various styles of music.

We did a partner switch at music time.  When the music stopped, we do a specified action and then switch partners.

We did some bear rhymes while each child was holding a bear.

We played with cars and a large rug tube.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, November 13, 2014

Oak Room:

We read "The grouch ladybug" by Eric Carle and we also read "Rhyming dust bunnies" by Jan Thomas

We made a clock to illustrate the grouchy lady bug story. The children cut out a circle shape, stamped numbers on it, and a lady bug stamp shape.  Painted them with water colors.

We had a lady bug number matching game out today and we played "ring around the rosie" using different actions.

We did a graph about "Does your name have he letter J in it?"

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Stuck in the mud" by Jane Clarke

We painted using dish scrubbers and tempra paint.

We had chalk boards and chalk at the easels.

We did "Clap if you want to", 2 little blackbirds" and "The turkey hop" for music today.

We did a 5 little turkeys rhyme with the teacher wearing a turkey finger puppet on each finger.

We drew each child's hand and arm to make a tree and they glued on paper leaves.

Maple Room:

We read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"

We played a game with the alphabet mystery box:  Each child pulled out an object from the box and had to figure out what the beginning letter for that item is.

We did "The November song", "Face the facts" and "There is a dog in school" for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Willow Room:

We had storytime from one of the librarians at the Mount Prospect library today.

We glued feathers on a turkey shape paper.

We painted leaf stencils with roller brushes at the easel.

We talked about animals in the winter and how they hunt for food.  We hid paper nuts around the room and went on a hunt for Mr. Squirrel to help him find the nuts.

We did "Rhythm in my fingers", "Animals Exercising" and "Tap your toe and follow me" for music today.

Maple Room:

We read "One is a feast for a mouse" by Judy Cox

We did spool painting, using thread spool ends dipped in paint.  We made headbands for our Thanksgiving feast.

We had turkey shapes and glue with feathers at the easel.

We had the librarian visit us today and do a special story time.

We did "The November song", "Bean Bag Boogie", "Put that bean bag", and "If you are thankful" for music time.

Oak Room:

We read "The mixed up Chameleon" by Eric Carle

The children glued a chameleon shape to paper and then painted over it so it blended in with the background.

We did "Turkey feathers" and we acted out a variation of Brown Bear, Brown bear with our pictures and names.  We also did "Autumn colors" for music time today.

Stay and Play:

We read "The big wolf and little wolf- the little leaf that would not fall" by Nadine Brum- Cosme

We painted with a mixture of shaving cream and glue

We did "Musical spots"  when the music stops, you find a spot and put a body part on it that is called out ( like elbow, foot, knee, etc.) We  also played a magic hats game.  Which color disappeared?

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, November 11, 2014

We read "Secret Birthday Message" by Eric Carle and "Slowly slowly, slowly, said the sloth", also by Eric Carle

We worked in our journals on words and pictures with the letter J.

We had the Mount Prospect Librarian come and do a story time with the children today.

We did "Turkey in the brown straw", "List of dances", and "Please pass the peas" for music today.

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We had the librarian from the Mount Prospect library come today to do story time for the children.

We glued feathers onto a turkey shape.

We painted with real feathers at the easel.

We talked about winter animals ( we hid pretend nuts around the room and helped Mr Squirrel find the nuts )

We did "Animals exercising", "tap your toe and follow me" and "Rhythm in my fingers" for music.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday November 11-10-14

Oak Room: We are starting a series on books and art by Eric Carle.

We read "Walter the Baker" by Eric Carle and "Rooster's off to see the world" by Eric Carle

We used special rollers that have designs on them to roller paint over an apron shape paper, then cut out an apron pocket shape and glued it onto the apron shape.


We did "Turkey in the brown straw", "Silly dance contest", and Alphabet Sounds" for music time.

Willow Room: MWF

We read "Franklin's Thanksgiving" by Paulette Bourgeois

We made turkeys using water colors and eye droppers on a coffee filter.

We painted using feathers instead of paint brushes (long, large feathers)

We did "I'm a little leaf rhyme" We did leaf rubbings at the free art table.

We talked about sharing and how they shared in our story.  We shared paint today.

We did "Put your finger on", "Bean Bag Boogie" and "Bean Bag Pretend" for music today.

Maple Room: MWF class

We read "The great turkey race" by Steve Metzger

We made place-mats for our Thanksgiving feast, we did weaving.

We had water color pencils at the easel.

We did letter I activities, the letter I song, learned the motion that goes with the letter, we did the letter I book and the looked at the things that start with the letter I in the "monster letter box".

We did The November song, 5 little turkeys, and Turkey feather song with letters on them.

Stay and Play:

We read "Mr. Murry and Thumbkin" by Karma WIlson

We painted on water colors on tin foil and then pressed paper on top to make a print.

We did "Tommy Thumb" "Herman the Worm", and we played musical instrument chairs ( we put musical instruments on a chair and when the music stopped, they played the instrument on that chair.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, November 7, 2014

Maple Room;

We did the story "I know an old lady who swallowed a pie" by Alison Jackson and we used the Old lady puppet to tell the story.

We used bubble wrap to make prints with paint that we will turn into corn for our bulletin board.

We had acorn shapes at the easel with yellow foam circle painters.

We did letter T activities, we asked the children "Do you have the letter T in your name" and graphed the answers.

We practiced writing the letter T on our dry erase boards.

We did The November song, and 5 little turkeys smiling song.

Oak Room:

The little house" by Virginia Lee Burton was our story today.

We glued packing peanuts on a paper plate- making a 3 D building.

We did a syllable tap- we used rhythm sticks to tap out the syllables in words and in our names. ex: outside has 2 syllables. house has one, umbrella has three.

We did Row, row, row your boat and used the rhythm sticks as oars.

We made a list of words that start with the letter I, we wrote the letter I on dry erase boards.

We put shingles on the roof of our group house we have been making.

Willow Room:

We read "Dora's Thanksgiving" by Sarah Wilson

We cut the edges with little snips on leaf shapes to make our turkey decorations.

We had magnetic letters at the easel.

We did The turkey hop, Turkey freeze dance, and The turkey on the farm ( to the tune of wheels on the bus)

We did a guessing rhyme of Who am I?

We made little turkeys and worked on our fine motor muscles by putting small feathers in holes to make a turkey.

Stay and play:

We read "Too tall houses" by Gianna Marino

We made salt clay dough ( equal parts salt and flour with 1/2 part water)

After we made the dough, the children used beads, pipe cleaners, and other items to decorate the clay.

We did Ways to move and I changed my mind for music and we danced with scarves to the music.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, November 6, 2014

Oak Room

We read "In a people house" by Theo Lesieg and "Come over to my house" also by Theo Lesieg

We cut out a house shape from paper that also opened.  We glued magazine pictures of things you might find in a house.

We did Can you clap, and mack chicken dance for music time.

We asked the children "Do you have the letter I in your name? and made a graph

We did a group project by gluing paper tubes to a box to make a log cabin.  We drew inside the big box we painted.

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Fall, leaves fall" by Zoe Hall

We colored on paper towels with markers and then sprayed them with water ot make the colors run.

We matched numbered corn husks with the right number.

We did Leaves on the move, I like my hat, and sticky bubble gum for music today.

We did a 4 little leaves rhyme

Maple Room:

We read "The perfect Square" by Michael Hall

The children were each given a piece of paper in a square shape  and made their own creation.  Like the story.

We read "The doorbell rang" and used the story as a jumping off point for a math activity.  We divided 12 cookies up.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Oak Room

We read "The three little pigs" and architectural tale by Steven Guarnaccia

We worked in our journal notebooks on the letter I words and pictures

We did a 5 little houses rhyme, I can dance, and Zip i de do dah using different beginning letter sounds for the song.  "B- Bip i be bo bah", etc.

We glued red paper bricks on a large box for a house.

We glued yellow rectangles (to look like windows)  on a group of boxes stacked on top of each other to look like a sky scraper.

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Fall, leaves, Fall" by Sarah Wilson

We colored paper towels with markers and then sprayed water on them with mister bottles to make the colors spread.

We worked on matching magnetic numbered corn husks and putting htem in correct numerical order.

We did :eaves on the move ( tune of wheels on the bus), I like my hat, and sticky bubble gum for music time today.

We did a 4 little leaves rhyme

We looked at leaves, some big and some small and made a chart of the sizes.

Stay and Play:

We read "Bear has a story to tell" by Philip Stead

We made prints by using stockings filled with beans dipped in paint and raised and lowered onto paper.

We did little fish and who stole the cookie from the cookie jar for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Willow Room_ Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins" a story on a CD

We painted using mini pumpkin halves and pumpkin cookie cutters dipped in orange paint.

We painted leaves on a paper with a tree outline on it by using our finger tips dipped in fall colors of paint.

We did The silly dance contest, face the facts, and give me a clap for music today

We did "down around the corner at the pumpkin patch" today.

Oak Room:
we acted out the story of the Three little pigs today using puppets and props.

We did a group painting project.  They used rollers to paint on a large box for one of the pigs houses.

We did "Rock and Roll Freeze dance", 5 clean and dirty pigs and I can hammer for music today.

We have a construction zone in our room with large blocks, construction hats and construction signs.

We read How a house is built by Gail Gibbons too.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, November 3, 2014

Maple Room-

We read "Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes

We cut out feather shapes for our class "We are thankful" turkey decoration.

We painted with feathers at the easel.

We did letter T activities, we learned the motion, the song, and did the alphabet monster (it has items in it that start with the letter T).

We did The November song, The Alphabet song, and Turkey feathers for music today.

Oak Room-

We read "The three little pigs" by Rochelle Larkin and "The Napping House" by Audrey Wood

We cut out 3 house shapes and glued them onto paper.  Then they glued sticks on one, straw on one, and paper bricks on the third. We used a stamper shaped like a pig to add pigs to each one.  Some of the children wanted a wolf stamper, so we found one that was an animal track like a wolf.

We did musical chairs today to the song Three little pigs.

We did rock and roll freeze dance, 5 little pigs in a house, and the letter I song for music today.

Willow Room: Mwf class

We read "Sixteen Runaway pumpkins" a story on a CD by Diane Ochitree

We painted using mini pumpkin halves, pumpkin foam shape stampers and pumpkin cookie cutters with orange tempra paint and orange glitter paint.

The children used the tips of their fingers to add paint to paper with a tree shape on it.  It looked like fall leaves.

We did "Face the facts, silly dance contest, and give me a clap, for music today.

We did the "Down around the corner at the pumpkin patch" today.

Stay and Play

We read "A friend for all seasons" by Julia Hubery

We did squish painting" with paddles, popscicle holders, and round blocks, and containers....all circle shapes.

We did Tap your toe and follow me and a fall, What is missing game for music today.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween- We are having super high winds, and cold, cold temperatures today.  For the first time in as long as I can remember it also SNOWED TODAY!

We do a pretty regular day in Preschool at Halloween, we do not do costume parties or have the children come to school in costumes.  We do some special pumpkin/jack-o-lantern activities, but just as they are incorporated into our normal school day.  We have a special snack, but not a sweet one.  We gave the children mini bagels with orange cream cheese and raisins to make a pumpkin face.

Willow Room:  MWF class

We read "Bumpy Little Pumpkin" by Margery Cuyler

We asked the children "Do you have a pumpkin at your house?"

We glued orange circles squares and triangles on a small paper plate to make a pumpkin.

We painted with rollers over a pumpkin shape stencil at the easel.

We played "Pass the pumpkin" (like hot potato), "Pumpkin in the red barn" ( a rhyming song) and "There is a dog in school" for music today.

We did a pumpkins on the move rhyme.

We had our muddy pigs (corn starch, water, and brown paint with plastic pigs) again today.

We put our pumpkin out with holes poked in it and Mr. Potato Head Pieces.

Maple Room: MWF class

We read "Froggy's Halloween" by Jonathan London

We used thread spool rollers that we dip in paint and roll back and forth across the paper.

We had pumpkin shape paper at the easel with glue and black pieces of paper to make eyes, nose, and mouths for a jack-o-lantern

We did The October song, 5 little acorns, stomp and clap, and Pass the pumpkin ( like hot potato) for music today.

We did a sink and float activity and one of the things we checked out to see if it would sink or float was a huge pumpkin.  (It floated)

We also voted for which pumpkin face we wanted carved into our pumpkin.  Then we carved that face into our pumpkin.

Oak Room: Pre- K class

We read "Nothing at all" by Denys Cazet ( a story about a scarecrow) and "Little Owls Night - a book on CD. by Divya Srinivasan

We made masks using a paper plate with holes cut out for the eyes.  The children could create whatever they wanted, with yarn, construction paper, markers, etc.

We had pumpkins cut in half at the easel for painting.

We used tweezers and pumpkin seeds to sort and also to dip into liquid water colors to see what would happen.

We had corn in the sensory table with little pumpkin cups.

We made a list of words that start with the letter H and we practiced writing the letter H on dry erase boards.

We all sat in a big circle and and made a spider web using yarn.  The teacher went around the circle and as she asked each child "What would you catch in your giant spider web?", she wrapped the yarn around the foot.

We did a spider rhyme and wore spider rings to act out the song.

Stay and play:

We read "Flo and Wendell Explore" by William Wegman

We drew pictures using oil pastels, then we did a water color wash on top of the picture with sponge brushes.

We did Everybody's jumping", an action song, and It's a small world, using an instrument called a guiro tone block.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, October 30, 2014

Maple Room- Thursday class

We read "That is not a good idea" by Mo Willems

We played an ABC GO FISH game.  We worked on conversation skills.  we worked on our names- some are still working on first names, but some have started their last names.

We did the October song, Fall leaves, to the tune of wheels on the bus, tommy thumb, and over the deep blue sea.

Oak Room: Pre- K class

We read "Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman

We did a sponge painting activity using alphabet stampers to illustrate the story.  In the story the firefly lights up the night sky with words, so we used black paper and white and yellow paint.

We did a firefly rhyme, five little acorns for music time.

We lined up to go out of the room in ABC order using flash cards.

We took a vote on how to carve our pumpkin.  Then we carved it.  We removed the seeds with tweezers and divided them into egg cartons, putting 10 in each one.  This way we can find out how many seeds our pumpkin has in it.  We estimated ahead of time, some said 10, some said 1000. ( We have about 360.  We will dry out the seeds and do some activities with them.

We did our graph asking "Does your name have the letter H in it?"

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class:

We read "Bumpy little Pumpkin" by Margery  Cuyler
We also read the BIG book "Farmer Duck"

We asked the children today "Do you have a pumpkin at home?"

We glued orange circles, squares and triangles onto a small paper plate to make a pumpkin.

We used rollers at the easel to paint over pumpkin stencils.

We did "Pumpkin in the red barn", "Pass the pumpkin" and "Dog in school" for music today.

We did a pumpkins felt board rhyme.

Our pretend hen hatched her pretend eggs, and now we have pretend chicks.

Trinity preschool activities for Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Willow Room: MWF class

We had fire fighter Jim visit our class today and talk abotu fire safety.

We read "Dot the fire dog" today.

We asked the children "Have you ever seen a real fire fighter?"

We decorated paper fire hats with black tempra paint and the number stampers  9 1 1.

We had Dalmatian shape dogs at the easel and we used corks dipped in black paint to add the  spots to the dogs.

We had a paper with a building drawn on it and pretend fire coming out of the windows.  The children used real water in the fire extinguisher bottles to squirt the fires out.

We used Mr. Potato Head pieces to decorate our pumpkin.  The children could add the pieces into holes we punched with a screwdriver ito our pumpkin.

Our pretend Hen "hatched her eggs" and now we have little pretend baby chicks.

We did "I'm a firefighter, the fire truck song, When it is autumn and the cool bear hunt for music time.

Maple Room: MWF class

We read "The little orange house story" by Jen Stangi

We did pumpkin painting with real pumpkins that we cut in half crosswise.

We had leaf shape stencils and special water color pen brushes at easel.

We had fire fighter Jim visit our class today to talk abotu fire safety.

We did the October song, Scarecrow, scarecrow, silly dance contest for music today.

We did a Halloween Pipe cleaner Beading Activity today.

We had pretend flames in the water table floating.  They each have numbers on them and the children had squirt bottles with water in them and they would squirt the "flame" the number of times that was on it.  So a flame with a number one got one squirt.  A flame with the number ten, got ten squirts.

We had pretend fire extinguishes and pretend flames around the room, the children could pretend to put out the fires.

Oak Room: Pre-K  class

We  read "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell and "the little old lady who was not afraid of anything" by Megan Lloyd.

We made owl pictures today using fiber fill, paper, google eyes, crayons, feathers, and twigs to make an owl family picture.  The kids loved doing this today.

We did "5 spotted owls", "One little pumpkin smiling", and Face the facts" for music today.

Stay and Play:

We read "Cock a doodle HOOOOOOOO!" by Mike Manning

We painted with brushes that slip onto our finger tips.

We did the ABC letter sounds song, 5 little ducks, and Let's go fly a kite while moving with ribbons.

We played the game "Trouble" as a group and we enjoyed the car race track.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Oak Room- Pre- K class

We had fire fighter Jim visit our class today to talk about fire safety.

we read "Little Raccoon's Big Question" by Miriam Schlein and Raccoons by Allan Fowler

We worked in our letter journals on the letter H, we drew pictures and wrote words that start with the letter H.

We did "Pass the pumpkin" "Raccoon Raccoon" ( a finger play), and "Wiggle in my toe for music today.

Willow Room:Tue/Thurs class

We had fire fighter Jim visit our class today and talk abotu fire safety.

We read "Dot the fire dog" today.

We asked the children "Have you ever seen a real fire fighter?"

We decorated paper fire hats with black tempra paint and the number stampers  9 1 1.

We had Dalmatian shape dogs at the easel and we used corks dipped in black paint to add the  spots to the dogs.

We had a paper with a building drawn on it and pretend fire coming out of the windows.  The children used real water in the fire extinguisher bottles to squirt the fires out.

We used Mr. Potato Head pieces to decorate our pumpkin.  The children could add the pieces into holes we punched with a screwdriver ito our pumpkin.

Our pretend Hen "hatched her eggs" and now we have little pretend baby chicks.

We did "I'm a firefighter, the fire truck song, When it is autumn and the cool bear hunt for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, October 27, 2014

Maple Room- MWF class

We read "Franklin's Halloween" by Paulette Bourgeois

We made pumpkin lanterns.  The children got some cutting practice in while they created these fun fall decorations.

We had paint and brushes at the easel.

We did letter A activities

We did our first skype talk today with someone in California.

Oak Room: Pre- K class

We read "Don't laugh, Joe" by Keiko Kasza ( a story about a opossum)

We made paper jack 0- lanterns.  The children drew on lines on the paper, and added a face.  We staple it into a circle shape and added a handle.

We had painting at the easel.

We did Miss Mary Mack ( using a BIG BOOK), Late Last Night, and a 3 little possums rhyme.

We put our pumpkins on a table with markers and a wet rag.  The children could draw on the pumpkin with the markers and then erase it.

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" by Lois Elhert

We made wreaths using real leaves and paper leaves.

We painted as "a team " at the easel sharing the space and the paint.

We did "Over in the meadow", "Come and join in the game" and "As I was walking" for music today.

We cut open our pumpkin today.  We looked inside and smelled it and played with the seeds and the stringy parts that were insice.

We also read the book "Press Here"

We have our pretend hen in the room- she is almost ready to hatch the eggs.

Stay and Play:

we used paint and brushes at the table.

It was beautiful outside so we had our snack outdoors and played outside extra time.

We did Brown Bear and on the count of 5 for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, October 24, 2014

Oak Room: Pre-  class

We read "One smart sknuk" by Harriet Ziefert

We cut out circle shapes for a tree top, then we cut out a tree trunk shape. We glued them to paper and glued on leaves that were cut punched using a hand held leaf puncher.  We made the leave various fall colors.  We used markers and crayons to add other elements to our fall pictures.

We did a 5 little coyotes (rhyme using props and music)
and we used the clackers to do "alligator stomp"

We practiced writing the letter G on dry erase boards.  We made a lst of words that begin with the letter G.

Willow Room- MWF class

We read "No sleep for sheep" by Karen Beaumont

We asked the children today "What is your favorite animal sound?"

We painted with corn cobs by rolling them in boxes with yellow and white paint.

We painted with regular brushes at the easel.

We did a rhyme of various colored wagons,

We did "Over the deep blue sea", "Tommy Thumb", and "Everybody has a face" for music today.

Maple Room- MWF class

We read "There was an old lady who swallowed some leaves" by Lucille Colandro
We used a large puppet for this rhyme and we had her eat the items in the book.  The we had her sneeze and the props all came out onto the magnetic board.

We used pumpkin and leaf cookie cutters to make prints on orange paper with glitter paint

We painted leaf shapes at the easel.

We did The October song, Scarecrow, scarecrow, and Pumpkin in the straw for music today.

Activities to do at home to develop fine motor skills in preschool children

Fine Motor Skills:

Children going into kindergarten are expected to be able to do so much more now than in the past that requires good fine motor skills.  They are expected to be able to hold a pencil, write their name, first and last, have good scissor skills, etc.  

While we work on those skills here at Trinity, some children have weaker fine motor muscles, or possibly, just have not had additional experience with the materials needed to develop those muscles.

Make a game of the ideas below, don’t make it be work or seem like punishment:

Here are a few ideas for helping your child build their fine motor hand muscles.

1. Scissors:  Children should use blunt tip, kids’ scissors to cut little snips of paper or cut out simple shapes.  Remember, thumbs point up to the ceiling.  Small paper is better as it is hard for children to manage moving a large piece of paper when learning scissor use.
2. Tearing: Have your child rip up pieces of scrap paper, junk mail, etc.  They could then use glue to attach the pieces to paper.
3. Pencils- For young children the jumbo pencils are good or put a pencil grip on a pencil to make it easier to manage.  At first you can have them just scribble, encourage them to press down some too.  Many children with weak fine motor muscles make barely legible pencil marks.
4. Markers, Crayons, etc.  All good for developing those muscles.  Crayons, break them into pieces no longer than 2 inches so they need to pinch them to hold them.  Longer crayons rest on the hand and don’t require as much muscle work.
5. Modeling clay:  This is similar to playdough, but more firm.  You can get it at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Kmart, Meijers, etc. This works the hand muscles, and they can make fun creations.
6. Playdough, This works too, it just is softer, so does not work hand muscles as well. We have a good recipe for home made playdough.
7. Slant board  or easel: When the paper is flat on the table, the child does not have to work as hard to write or draw, if you are able to make the paper vertical or at least slanted, they need to hold the pencil, crayon, etc. more firmly to use it.
8. Tweezers: Picking up small objects using tweezers or just picking up small objects with fingers is great for fine motor too.  We pick the corn off feed corn cobs as a way of doing this type of activity.
9. Small water color size paint brushes.  You can use any kid of paint, water colors, or even water.  The idea is that the child holds the paint brush with a finger grip, not a whole hand hold.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Pigsty" by Mark Teague

We asked the children "Do you like to play in the mud?

We fingerpainted using chocolate pudding on pig shape paper.

At the easel we separated apple shapes according to size.

We played with "muddy pigs", corn starch and water mixed with a little brown paint to make mud, and plastic pigs for some great sensory fun.

We did a 5 clean and dirty pigs rhyme

We worked on our fine motor skills by peeling stickers off a paper and adding them to a barn shape.

Oak room: Pre- K class

We read "The bravest of the brave" ( a skunk story) by Shutta Crumb
 and Night Creatures by  Wade Cooper

We also read the letter G book.

We worked in our journal notebooks on letter G words and pictures.

We had pumpkin shape sponges at the easel and orange paint.  We also had green paint with small brushes so the children could add embellishments to their pumpkins.

We did a Nocturnal animal rhyme and "Gt ready get set, lets dance " for music time/

We had a new construction building toy out today and we have corn kernels in our sensory table.

Maple Room: MWF class

We read "The little old lady who wasn't afraid of anything" by Linda Williams

We did acorn painting.  We dipped acorns and little bumpy balls in paint and rolled them back and forth in a box on top of our paper.

We did Down around the corner at the pumpkin patch for music.

We did letter S activities, we reviewed the letter and Sound motion .  We read the letter S book and asked do you have the letter S in your name?

Stay and Play:

We read "Pete the cat books- "His 4 groovy buttons and also In my school shoes: by Eric Litwin

We did a group painting project with trucks and airplanes with a large box and rolled them down an incline to make the tracks from the wheels.

We did Leaves on the trees and on the count of 5 for music today.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, October 23, 2014

Willow Room- T/TH class

We read "Pigsty" by Mark Teague

We asked the children "Do you like to play in the mud?

We fingerpainted using chocolate pudding on pig shape paper.

We sorted apples by size on the magnetic board.

We did scarecrow, scarecrow, what do you see?, Jump up turn around, and I like my hat for music time today.

We had muddy pigs in the room!  We mixed corn starch and water with a little brown paint and put plastic pigs in the mixture for the children to explore.

We did a 5 clean and dirty pigs rhyme

We read "The farmer in the Dell", using a BIG Book.

Oak Room:  Pre- K class

We read "I'm not sleepy! by Jane Chapman
and Incredible Owls by J. Martin (which is a fact book about owls)

We made "eyes in the night".  The children used two corks taped together to dip in glue and press onto black paper.  Then they sprinkled colored glitter onto the glue to look like eyes glowing in the night.

We did Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and acted out using props, and "Can you leap like a frog?"
 for music time today.

We did our name and letter graph for the letter G "Does your name have the letter G in it?

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Oak Room:

We read "Bat's Big Game" by Margaret Read McDOnald and "While the world is sleeping" by Pamela Duncan Edwards

We made bat prints by using glitter paint on dark blue paper.  We later cut the paper into bat shapes and hung them around our room.

We did "Pumpkin in the brown straw", "Dance with me", and "Nocturnal Animal rhymes" for music time today.

We looked for bats that were hidden around the room. We traced the bat shapes onto a large piece of paper and as the children found the bats, they placed them onto the outline.  This helped with some counting and figuring out how many more bats we needed to fine.  After we found them all, we hid them again.

Willow Room- T/TH class

We read "Peek a boo Puppy"  "The Apple pie tree " by Zoe Hall

We painted using prickle ball rings and fall colors of tempra paint.  We held the prickle balls with a clothes pin as a handle.  We put leaf and acorn shape frames around our art.

We did The freeze dance, couch potato pokey, and 5 little ducks for music time.

We played with rakes on the playground today.

We introduced our pretend Mother Hen to the children today.  She is sitting on a tray with play eggs in it.  She will be in our room until the eggs "Hatch".

We made apple pies with the applesauce we made last week.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, October 20, 2014

Maple Room- MWF class

We read "The biggest pumpkin ever" by Elizabeth Bennett

We used oil pastel crayons and made leaf rubbings.  The children used black construction paper to place over leaves taped down to cardboard.  They used the side of the oil pastel crayons to rub across the paper and make a print of the leaf.

We had leaf shape stencils at the easel.

We did 5 little leaves, 4 little leaves, ( a rhyming song) and Fall leave ( tune of wheels on the bus)

We are starting the letter of the week in our class, however, we are using a phonics program and are not doing the letters in order. We start with the letter S.

Stay and Play:

We are painting with balls as paintbrushes, and fingerpainting.

We did a shape game.

We did Little fish, and who stole the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. for music today.

Oak Room: Pre- K class

We read "Stellaluna" by Janel Cannon

We had a discussion about "What animals are nocturnal?"  What is "nocturnal?"

We made bats out of toilet paper tubes.  We painted the rolls black and cut out wings to add. They will hang from the ceiling in our room.

We dud "5 little bats"; "Sticky Bubble Gum" and "A little faster on 3" for music today/