trees

This week we are working on sequencing the life of an oak tree.  This is kinda review for them as we have already talked about the life cycle of an apple tree last week.  First I go over this paper with the class (and then again when they come to the table to do this activity) – I love that it uses photographs!  Then, when they come to the table and we review the sequence, I give the child this paper and have them cut out the pictures.  Then they glue the pictures to a piece of construction paper in the correct order.  I have to thank Karen over at PreKinders for these awesome printables!

I am surprised how well my kids do cutting out these pictures!  I know we’ve been snipping, cutting playdough, and doing a few other cutting activities – but in the back of my mind I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to cut out these pictures.  Boy, was I surprised!  I don’t expect them to cut exactly on the lines – that wouldn’t be realistic for a 4 year old – but many of them came really close!  It always makes me happy when I get surprised by how much they have progressed!  🙂

cut, cut, cut

We did a formal cutting exercise today.  I cut 4″ by 1″ strips of construction paper in all different colors.  I drew black lines on each strip with a sharpie.  Some strips had 2 lines, some had 3 lines, and others had 4 lines.  I laid them on a tray in the middle of table.  In front of each chair I put a pie pan and a pair of scissors.  Then I invited the children over to cut up the strips.  Some cut on the lines – others didn’t.  That was fine by me.  I helped them hold the scissors correctly and praised their efforts – I was happy to see how hard they were trying!  I didn’t realize what a big hit this activity would be with my class!  I actually ran out of paper before everyone had had a turn!  I’ll have to prep more and do this again!

After we cut all the paper up – I turned this into a sorting activity.  I had some strawberry baskets with cut up paper in them left over from last year.  I had the children sort today’s paper pieces by color into these baskets.  They also really enjoyed doing this.  I told them that we will be doing art with these little pieces of paper – and they loved the idea of helping me get ready for an art project by actually cutting and sorting the paper for me!  They were happy and engaged – just what I like to see!  🙂

*thump thump*

Today we worked more on our “I Like…” collages – they are turning out great!  I’m also taking note on who needs more scissor practice and who is progressing at a better rate.  Besides our collages, we did an activity today that the children were very thrilled about!  I bought 2 stethoscopes (one for each teacher) and the children were able to listen to their heartbeat and their breathing!  They were stoked about this!  I loved watching their faces light up when they realized what they were hearing!  I love these moments!  Isn’t our job great?  🙂

snip, snip…

Today we started “I Like…” collages.  Basically I give the children magazines, they cut out pictures of things they like, and then glue those pictures to a piece of paper.  Simple, easy, and the children really enjoy this activity!  I like it because it gives us a good excuse to practice our scissor skills.  We have scissors out with our playdough – one way we get informal practice – and we’ve snipped a couple things before – but this is new for them.  I sit at the table and show the children how we hold the scissors correctly – then I let them have at it!  It’s nice because they don’t have to worry about cutting on a line and they still get practice.  So far the collages are turning out nicely – and they help us learn more about each other.  A good project for an All About Me theme. 🙂