Clear Lake Academy

Memorial Day is more than a long weekend it’s a reminder that freedom came at a cost. 🇺🇸
Today we honor the brave men and women who gave everything for this country and remember the families who carry their legacy forward.
Forever grateful. Never forgotten. ❤️🤍💙

Learning is FUN!!! Our PreK students helped Ms. Kierra create an anchor chart with all of the letters of the alphabet complete with pictures. Then, Ms. Kierra hid letters all around the classroom and created a scavenger hunt that required the children to use binoculars and magnifying glasses to search out the letters hidden in the class and match them up with the anchor chart letters. They LOVED it and had so much fun!

Texture and Science! Touching new textures creates connections in the brain that support learning and problem solving. Exploring various tactile surfaces strengthens finger and hand muscles essential for developing fine motor skills like griping, pinching, and eventually using tools. Sensory play with different materials helps infants manage emotions and reduces anxiety. Notice the curiosity and how engaged all the children are with this learn activity.

Here at Clear Lake Academy, we use the Reggio Emilia theory of learning when working with our children. This means that projects are driven by children’s interests rather than a set curriculum. For example, if children show interest in insects, a project might turn into a weeks-long study involving collecting, drawing, and storytelling about bugs. Last week our children wanted to talk and learn about ocean animals, so we did and it has continued into this week as well because they are having so much fun learning! It is so refreshing to allow children the ability to participate in the guidance of curriculum decisions because when it is their idea, they are excited, interested, and engaged. A huge shout out to Stellar Creations LLC for making AMAZING ocean animals for our kiddos to paint and hang on our wall to create their very own ocean scene in the classroom!!! We will keep y'all updated on the project as we continue!

https://www.instagram.com/stellarcreationsstudios?igsh=dnBrMWk2MHBuMjc0

STOMP Painting in the Two's class this morning and they LOVED it!!!

February the children were learning all about Health and Nutrition! We would like to give a great big THANK YOU to the American Dental Society at University of Houston-Clear Lake for providing us with a community outreach opportunity to talk with both parents and children about the importance of dental care and oral hygiene. They also talked about different professional opportunities within the dental community. Children learned the importance of brushing and flossing every day and were able to see what sugar and unhealthy foods do to our teeth. Ms. Kierra created a game for the children to play using healthy foods and making good choices and the children loved it. They really enjoyed the hands-on activities learning about germs and how to scrub properly to get them off.

We had so much fun learning about our state in March! The children enjoyed using different creative ways to recreate cacti, sunsets, bluebonnets, horses, cows, and everything in between. It is important not to restrict or limit a child's artistic imagination with coloring pages! Give them random supplies/materials and an idea and let them go!!!! We showed pictures of cacti, sunsets, and landscapes in West Texas and allowed their creative intuition to flow. It was beautiful and amazing listening to their explanations of their creations.

Our theme for March was The Wild Wild West! The children loved learning about cowboys/cowgirls, rodeo, farms, ranches, different animals, activities and instruments used in the Wild Wild West culture. This day they were making banjos to practice playing like the famous banjo player Earl Scruggs. It is important that children are introduced to a large variety different cultures to promote inclusivity and expand their worldview.

All of the different age groups LOVED the "slime" activity!
Science experiments are crucial for preschoolers because they foster natural curiosity, develop critical thinking, and build a foundation for lifelong learning through hands-on exploration. These activities allow children to engage in, observe, predict, and analyze results, which enhances problem-solving skills and boosts confidence while introducing basic scientific concepts. Hands-on experiments tap into a child's natural urge to ask "why" and "how," making learning active and fun. Preschoolers learn to observe, predict, and test ideas, helping them understand cause-and-effect relationships.Activities often involve pouring, mixing, and building, which improves fine motor skills, while using new scientific vocabulary expands language skills.