This was our last full week of preschool for the spring 2014 semester so we introduced it with the last morning Star of the Week then got right to business. 
With the weather being as crazy as it's been this year, it made sense to talk about nature and all it entails. We learned about weather, seasons, animals and various environments this week. 
The morning preschoolers matched and sorted pictures of snowflakes, raindrops, flowers and suns with the seasons they might belong to. Then used their math skills further as they counted to see which pile had the most and least images.
Mother Nature is full of science so we had a blast with experiments this week as we made tornadoes, volcanoes and watched gas we used in a volcano to blow up a balloon! AWESOME! 
To try many of these things at home you need water, baking soda, vinegar, food coloring (for fun) and vegetable oil. Salt is also a common ingredient. Check out these great links above for ideas and directions to create your own science labs at home this summer!
We planted grass to help the preschoolers learn how plants work. (It grows fairly quickly as long as it has water and sun and the children can see the roots in the clear cups.)
They did all the planting; dirt, grass, dirt, water. If you have the time and space, plant real plants with your children this spring, inside or out. They take great pride in helping take care of these items.
We wanted to create rain sticks to bring the sound of rain home (though we know we have had a lot of it this spring already). The preschoolers were given toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubes and asked to decorate them then we put beads or rice inside and closed them with mesh or felt. The morning and afternoon preschoolers both created rain sticks with slightly different approaches yet they both work. You will find many 'recipes' online for these as well and they aren't too loud either.
We practiced writing our letters and the older preschoolers worked on writing words with their letters. Keep in mind as kindergarten approaches for our five year old preschoolers, they will be working on writing words and you will see more words coming home. If your preschooler is four or three, look more for letters appearing that might be readable. They may not be in a row and some might be upside down or backwards, but they will be there and that's the step after scribbles for writing.
An art experiment of sorts happened this week as we learned about fossils and imprints. We found leaves outside and brought them in (from the rain) for the preschoolers to learn how to color over them to show the imprint of the leaves on their paper. This works great fine motor skills and writing skills since the children have to color lightly in order to see the marks come through the paper. This is a definite summer project worth doing this year.
We also made trees with spring blossoms. The preschoolers practiced making the parts to the tree and used their fingertips for the tree blossoms. Talk about the parts of the trees the next time you go to the park, the branches, the limbs, the leaves, the trunk and it will review some of the things we covered in school.
We read some great books this week about animals, seasons, leaves, weather and more. We even heard a few on the iPad again too. They are great to use when you want to point out words to the children because everyone can see them easier in the classroom setting.
The weather was not in our corner during nature week but we made the best of it and played many games out in the hallways with tunnels (caves) and balance beams (skipping stones) and hula hoops (puddles). We played some great games with creating animal movements as the preschoolers helped us think of various creatures to emulate.
We made great winds with the parachute and talked about hail and then added 'bean bag hail' to the top of the parachute then shook the 'storm' until all the hail went away. This was terrific arm exercise and everyone's favorite thing to do!
At the start of each preschool day we talk about what season we are in and this week we worked on looking at all the seasons together. The children were given four 'trees' then asked to decorate them with the appropriate leaves. This was a great way for us to see and help them understand the changes in the year around us.
To help work on sounding out the first sound in words, the children in the afternoon preschoolers were asked to listen for the first sound and then try to find the picture that started with the first sound they heard.
We made caterpillars by linking paper strips together and used strips of masking tape to create paths in the wilderness. The children painted with greens and browns over the tape on the paper and then the teachers pulled the tape up to review the path. With all the rain we have been getting, the muddy trails they created looked just like outside.
Our little Itty Bitty Books came back this week while the preschoolers created books with animal words. Remember to ask your child to 'read' these to you so they can practice skills needed for reading books later in life.
For our pre-writing and pre-reading skills, we asked the afternoon preschoolers to match sounds and words together then draw paths to the correct words.
Puzzle time and play dough time fun allowed some relaxation for the kids this week too. If you don't have puzzles and play dough at home, get some and you won't regret it. They are great for fine motor skills, critical thinking and vocabulary building -plus they are just fun to do together!
Lastly, my favorite part of the week for morning and afternoon was when we brought out the magnify glasses and rocks, leaves, and creatures to view. We have bugs and sea animals and plants that are used for study and they are really interesting to the teachers as well as students. The kids rotated tables and were able to take turns seeing all the wonders of nature!
What's Coming Up?
Next week is our last week or preschool. The graduation information has been sent home and reminders will come home again soon too. Please be sure to notify me if you need additional parking passes for the day and remember the times are different than normal preschool hours. Treats for a dozen or so people are asked to be brought in to school on Wednesday if possible.
Preschool scrapbooks are finishing up and being evaluated before the big day, look for some great work to show off your child's skills this year! We have had a great year and are sad to see it end.
