Number fun!

Afternoon everyone!

Today I thought I would blog about how the Pre-Primaries learn how to write their numbers 1-10 in PPH.

In Pre-Primary we learn to recognise our counting numbers first by sight,by matching number quantities and counting a group of items in order. The children learn number sense through many 

multi-sensory and hands-on experiences and then learn what the numbers look like when they are written down. 

Learning through song and rhyme help little brains to remember the writing patterns and shapes of the numbers.

Down below is a story poster of one of the strategies I use to teach how to write each number. 

From Miss Horrocks. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

LEARNING THROUGH LITERATURE: Week 7 and 8

In PPH we have been looking at the story " The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as we are approaching Easter time and the concept of new life. 

We studied the letter sound 'C' as we learnt about the caterpillar in the story. We read the story three times each in a different way to encourage the development of the children's comprehension and retelling skills. The children heard the story being read to them, they helped the teacher retell the story with a felt board and puppets and then viewed a animation version of the story. By the end of the third day, the class were helping fill in many missing parts to the story during a shared reading experience. 

The children made counting caterpillars to practise the recognition of the numbers 1-10 and promote one to one correspondence. The class are also becoming clever at learning the order of the days of the week just like in  "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"... On Monday the very hungry caterpillar ate through one apple. 

The class dramatised what happened to the caterpillar in the story with a song and dance. They started off as a egg on the floor, hatched into a caterpillar, turned into a cocoon and then a beautiful fluttering butterfly. 

This week, the children are making butterfly life cycles to celebrate new life and the true meaning of Easter. The letter sound Ee for egg is our focus. Later on we will be looking at the letter sound Hh when we make our Easter hats for our parade. 

All parents are welcome to come watch our parade and sing " If I were a Butterfly" in the hall on Thursday, the 2nd of April at 9am. 

Thank you all for bringing in eggs so Miss Horrocks can win the raffle this year hehehe!. Keep bringing them in.

PPH love listening to stories and when we follow up with many purposeful language experiences the learning opportunities are endless. Thank you Eric Carle for this wonderful story that makes learning in Pre-Primary fun and enjoyable. 

Monday Magic

PPH had the best start to their Monday morning. We had to cancel PMP ( clever fitness) due to the rainy weather, however, Miss Caroline was here to save the day. Our talented mum taught a moving and dancing class instead.

The children warmed up with some action dances, told a story through movement and enjoyed doing an expressive dance with a paracute and ribbons.

The children laughed and had lots of fun.

Green Room loves having parent helpers in the mornings. It is such a special time for the children and of course Miss Horrocks is ever so grateful.

Thank you Caroline Jensen for spending the morning with us.

Week 6

Weekly learning concepts in PPH:

Literacy: focusing on the Letter sound M for moon and R for robot. These are two of our letter sounds from group two ( mrecdhk). Sharing robot and rocket stories and viewing on the Interactive whiteboard about the moon. 

Numeracy: continuing the children's understanding of patterns and knowing they can see them everywhere in the environment. Revision of 2D shapes; recognition and saying their names. 

Science: mixing of primary colours to make secondary colours. The class spray painted an old white sheet using edicole dye colours; red,blue and yellow. 

Health and Physical Education: Learning about our five senses; touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste. 

Some highlights from our week:

Outside  2D shape hunt....

 

 

 
 

Making pattern kebabs... white, yellow, pink, white, yellow, pink says Skyla.

 

Using our sense of taste to experiment with different types of tastes . Wow that lemon was sour!....

Making moons and rainbow rockets for our weekly letter sounds...

Warming up for our fun run last week...

 

 

 

 

 

We also love when we spend time with PPB. On the Tuesday, Father Ian came to visit and the both classes had a special class liturgy. We came together to thank God for making us, our unique bodies and our senses of hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste. 

It was a happy and fun-filled Week 6.

 

WEEK 5 6/3/15

WEEK FIVE

Weekly learning schedule:

Literacy: focusing on our initial sounds m,r,c,e,d,h,k and learning about the letter n. Name awareness and writing.  

Numeracy: recognition and counting 1-5 and learning about patterns. Counting the letters in our names. 

Science: nature walk: all about living things and non living things. 

Health and physical education: what makes a healthy body and how to take care of them. 

Check out our Skeleton dance that the children loved singing and moving to this week.They learnt that all our bones are connected and there are many things we can do to keep our bodies healthy and strong. 

Search for it with the above Youtube site. 

For the study of the Letter sound 'N', the class went for a nature walk around the school, they made nests in the sand pit and pattern necklaces. 

When practising the letter n at home the children learnt the formation cues of; start up the top, candy cane over the hill and tick. 

We made a big giant name necklace to put up in the classroom. The children all wrote their names on a bracelet each. 

The children learnt that a pattern is something that continues and goes on and on using colours, shapes or objects.They became clever at their ABA patterns: using two colours.

See you next week as the children make a pattern using marshmallows on a kebab stick. 

PPH letter and name writing

I wanted to add this article to the blog this week as it sums up my beliefs on and the way I teach letter and name writing in Pre-Primary. 

NAME AND LETTER WRITING PRACTISE
By Traci Geiser
Updated on Dec 6, 2013


A young child begins her/his journey of reading and writing as she/he learns to read and write her first word. For most children, that first word is her/his name. But just how do preschoolers make the jump to writing their names and the other letters of the alphabet? And is there a right and wrong way to teach your child to write?


“Ideally, the first materials used are not markers and pencils but materials that allow children to strengthen the muscles in their hands needed to properly hold writing implements," says Mara Guckian, early childhood specialist and managing editor for Teacher Created Resources. "We add a tactile (kinesthetic) component when we practice shaping the letters with different materials. Shaping letters with dough, tracing them on textured paper cutouts, and writing in the sand or salt trays all help children internalize the shape of the letter, while developing their fine motor skills.”
Young children learn best when they are taught using a multi-sensory approach, involving as many senses as possible. Try a few of these hands-on letter formation and name writing activities for beginning writers and your child will have all the skills she needs as a beginning writer.
Letter Formation
Try a few of these fun activities to help your beginning writer learn the correct strokes when writing the letters of the alphabet:


Air Writing. Have your child write letters in the air first. These large muscle movements will help your child process what she/he is writing and make it more likely to stick. As she/he writes the letter, have them say the letter name or the directions for writing the letter. For example, for the letter T, she might say, “Start at the top, go straight down. Pick up your pencil and cross it.”
Foamy Fun. While your child is in the tub, spray a bit of shaving cream on the side of the tub or wall. On a hot day this is also fun to do outside, and your patio table will sparkle when you're done! Allow your child to practise writing letters, and then erase and try another set. A playful challenge will get your child even more excited to write.
Kitchen Tracing. Pour a small amount of sand or salt in a cake pan or baking dish. Allow your child to practise tracing letters without the pressure of more permanent writing utensils such as markers and crayons. If they make a mistake, they can simply erase what they have written and try again.
Paint Practice.For a non-messy alternative to fingerpaint, put a bit of fingerpaint inside a quart or gallon zipper bag. Remove the air, seal the bag and double the seal with some masking or duct tape. Your child can practice tracing letters on the outside of the bag, manipulating the paint with no mess or cleanup!
Sand Writing. Write the letters of your child’s name on a sheet of sandpaper. Allow her/him to trace the letters with their finger for a tactile name experience!
Trace the Name. When she/he is ready to begin writing their name, write the letters in large letters on a big sheet of paper. Have your child first trace the letters with her finger several times, then the eraser side of the pencil, and then the pencil. Use a dab of paint on the end of her pointer finger to add a bit of colour and even more multi-sensory practice tracing over the letters.
Learn Your Letters. When she/he is ready to move to paper, give them large sheets of paper and show them the strokes to make different letters. If you can give the letters human characteristics, it will be even more fun! (For example, a letter E is a straight line with a hat, a belt and a shoe.
The exciting journey of reading and writing begins with the alphabet. Give your child a great start to a lifetime of writing by providing hands-on experiences with writing. These playful interactions will go a long way in creating a positive attitude about writing for your child!


These last couple of weeks in Pre-Primary we have been focusing on the formations of our first group of letter sounds and of course our names. Young children find it easier to have ago at writing their names in their upper case letters first. Don't be concerned as this is normal writing and tracing development. It's a lot easier to write D,P,B then d, p, b. Through lots of repetition and letter study they soon learn the "school way" of forming the letters. 
• Happy reading:) 

Miss Horrocks.