Summer Centers

Hooray for June and summer weather!  With just two weeks left of school, we are spending our days talking about ice cream, swimming pools, campgrounds, and other "Summer Fun".  We sang this song during circle time.  I set out pictures of various summer activities (drinking lemonade, building sandcastles, wearing sunscreen etc.) and the students each chose a verse to sing.

The next day, we made a graph.  Students chose their favorite summer activity from these 4 choices, and placed their name under the picture.  We analyzed the graph and found that swimming and eating ice cream were both very popular, but swimming won by 1 vote.

During centers, students looked at pairs of words pictured on sunglasses.  They sorted the pairs into 2 groups: Words that Rhyme and Words that Do Not Rhyme.

At the math center, we practiced counting and number recognition to 16.  Students count the pictures on each card, and then clip a clothespin to the matching number.  When they flip the card over, a self-checking sticker shows them whether their answer is correct or not.

Since it is the end of the year, the students have had a lot of practice tracing lines and shapes.  At the writing center this week, they are tracing the initial letters of many summer words.  This has become an easy skill for most of them, so (without prompting) they also traced the rest of the word!  Win.

At this visual discrimination center, the child looks at the four pictures and has to determine which one is unlike the others.  This is a great center for young preschoolers because visual discrimination is an essential early literacy skill!

All of these centers and circle time activities (plus many more!) are included in the "Summer - Centers and Circle Time unit for Preschoolers".

I hope that your summer is off to a great start!  Have fun playing and learning with your children today.