Pets/Vets, Small Group, and the Elf on the Shelf!

• At Large Group: 
• We have been studying pets and veterinarians this week. We read books about having and taking care of pets, and vets and how they also take care of animals. 

They thought this book was hilarious!

• We used bean bags to practice our  positional words: up, down, behind, in front of, beside, between, next to, over, under, etc. 

• We played a “Guess the Pet” game where we gave the kiddos clues and they had to guess and then act like the pet. We also danced to our Animal Action songs where we move like the animals. 
• This week instead of writing a rhyme on the dry erase board we worked on making up our own rhyming words. To go along with our new pet shop/vet clinic in our dramatic play area, we wrote different kinds of animals on the board (ie. Dog, cat, fish, bunny, mouse) and the kiddos came up with words that rhymed. 
• Our letters of the week were:M, N, O, & P. We identify the letter, the sound it makes, and see who has the letter in their name, and brainstorm other words that start with the letter. We also practice writing the letter during either planning or recall time.

• At Small Group: 
• We worked on our rhyming skills using cutouts and puzzles. 

• We classified animals into different groups (for example: zoo animals, pets, or both). We also sorted dog bones in size groups. 

 

• We numbered laminated pictures of dogs and wrote a number on each dog. The kiddos then identified the number and drew on that many spots on the dog. 

This child decided to practice writing her numbers

Several kiddos colored when they were finished.

• We played bingo with environmental print. Environmental print are the words that surround us in our everyday environment. It's the recognizable logo for your child's favorite restaurant, it's the words "Fisher-Price" written in white letters inside against a red background on the boxes of your children's toys and it's the labels on all the food you buy at the store. Children learn to "read' environmental print much earlier than they learn to read books and other forms of print, so many teachers use environmental print as a tool to encourage reading. 

• We created animals (and random cheeseburgers) with pattern blocks. 

• At Choice Time: 
• Discovery: We “hatched” a duck egg. They enjoyed watching the egg crack, but they were a little disappointed when it wasn't a "real" duck.

• Dramatic Play: We turned this area into a pet shop/vet clinic. We added animals, crates, animal food & medicine, and a cash register. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Library: We added books about pets and vets. 
• Art Area: We made more animals to add to our dramatic play area.  

 

 

These magna-blocks were used a lot this week. They made lots of homes and cages for animals.

 

 

 

•   Hearing & Vision Screening:
• We had someone from the Genesee County Health Department come in this week to do hearing & vision screenings on the kiddos. Afterward the children incorporated vision and hearing check-ups into dramatic play (complete with vision charts).

• Elf on the Shelf:
• Many of our kiddos talked about having their own elf at home. Our Elf on the Shelf (who the children voted to name "Strawberry") arrived this week. We read the story she brought with her. The kiddos have enjoyed finding her hiding spot each day. 

 

Hanging out with the Grinch.

 

Granny eats the silliest things!