Glitter & Gluesticks: A Day in PreK 4: A Preschool Picnic

Each week we try to center our crafts around a theme. This week we talked about picnics. In math we have been working on counting numbers up to 12. We are identifying numbers, writing numbers (that number 8 was a tough one) rolling dice and counting out the right amount, and naming which number comes next.

Of course we have to do all these things preschool style. The children used tweezers to put ants on a picnic blanket for one of our math activities this week.

The fine motor practice with the tweezers also helps improve their pencil grip and letter formation. I love it when one activity covers so many skills and looks like play. Perfect for Preschool.

We are also working on quickly recognizing the amount without counting all the dots on the die. Numbers are presented in a 'standard configuration' on dice. The children are practicing placing dots in the correct formation when given a number.

Try playing at home. Roll a die, ask your child what number comes next. The faster they are able to name the number without counting from 1, the stronger their cardinality of the number.

In Daily 5 we introduced 'Write the Room'.

Each child has a clipboard hanging at the front of the room. We use our clip boards when we are working together on the rug. What the kiddos really love is walking around the room with their clip boards. They feel so 'official'.

Each week we place pictures and words (or letters) relating to the theme of the week. The children have identical pictures on their papers. They walk around the room on a scavenger hunt to find the pictures. When they find the picture, they write the word on their recording sheet. At the beginning of the year this activity is used for letter recognition and formation practice. As the year progresses it becomes a vocabulary building as well as a reading activity.