Almond Tree Preschool

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Preschool Teacher and Assistant Teacher - Brooklyn, NY - Indeed.com Almond Tree Preschool

Last week, we had a wonderful time exploring and learning the characteristics of Pumpkins. The children showed great interest in investigating the inside of a large pumpkin, learning basic science concepts ie its parts. They also had hands-on experience scooping out the insides, which was a sensory experience, and counted and compared the sizes of the seeds, practicing math. The children shared the 'P' items they brought from home with their peers, increasing literacy and vocabulary. They also enjoyed a beautiful Fall day in the park 🥰.

Our exploration of Apples 🍎🍎🍎 was not just about the fruit, but also about the skills our little ones developed 🥰. They worked together to arrange apples into the letter A, demonstrating their cooperation, collaborative skills, and literacy and math awareness. They also had the chance to go apple picking in our backyard, a task that required them to climb a ladder and pick apples, thereby strengthening their large and small motor skills and balance. Furthermore, they observed and drew apples, fostering their visual art appreciation and understanding of colors. And, enjoyed time in Prospect Park running, jumping and playing in the leaves on the ground learning about seasons and nature.🍂🍁

For our exploration of Friendship 🫶 we wrote letters to our classroom friends, sealed them in envelopes with stamps, and set off to our local UPS store to mail them. We practiced our fine motor skills while writing our letters, used our gross motor skills to walk to UPS, and expanded our knowledge about our community and community helpers at UPS.

So many benefits to Playing, for children and adults. PLAY MORE ❤️

🧸 Play is essential in early childhood.

📚 Read more here: https://blog.experienceearlylearning.com/the-importance-of-play/

Open-ended free play is crucial for kids' social-emotional growth. It helps them express and manage emotions, practice empathy, and build problem-solving and communication skills. Through imaginative play, children learn to navigate social situations, develop resilience, and form healthy relationships, setting a strong foundation for their future well-being.

Littles enjoying outdoor time in our front and backyard ❤️

For our Insects unit 🪰🐜🐞🪱, children listened to the Hungry Caterpillar story 🐛🦋 while placing corresponding felt story pieces on board, practicing their counting skills, color recognition, and learning about the days of week and healthy eating. Children also observed real caterpillars (and will continue to until they become butterflies) in a jar learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. They created caterpillar art using pom poms and acted out bees flying to flowers to get pollen🐝 🌺🌻. This unit introduced children to new words ie chrysalis, pupa & pollen 🙂

Last week we learned about Gardens. Learning experiences included children using their fine motor skills to manipulate gardening tools to dig soil to plant herbs and vegetables which they will tend to throughout the upcoming months; painting plant parts in our backyard and observing flowers and plants in Prospect Park while enjoying friendships and strengthening their gross motor.

Last week we learned about Dinosaurs. Children got to be excavators, using their fine motor skills to hold tools to chisel through ice to dig out dinosaurs and make dinosaur footprints in clay. They exercised their gross motor skills to travel and balance while moving around like dinosaurs to music. They collaborated and cooperated with each other to create a dinosaur habitat which facilitated lots of play and learning of how dinosaurs lived long ago. They created dinosaur art and increased their vocabulary to include words ie excavator, different dinosaur names, chisel etc.

Our Transportation unit last week provided so many learning experiences to our Littles on how we get around 🚗🛴🛥🚲🚦✈️. We also learned ways children in other countries travel to school ie by canoe, climbing a ladder, walking up a mountain, and ziplining. The experiences supported collaboration, fine/gross motor development, learning traffic signs shapes and colours, and knowledge of how people live.