P. Bear's New Year's Eve Party

Snowmen at Night

Put On Your Snowsuit!

I WIN!

 

Playing games is so important to your child's growth and development.  Your child has to learn the rules of a new game, follow the rules, cooperate with others and so much more.  Find out why playing games is more than just fun and games. 

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/07/games-people-play.html

The Night Before Christmas

The Wild Christmas Reindeer

Up on the Housetop | Christmas Dance

The Noisy Paint Box

Happy Birthday to Wassily Kandinsky!

Storytime: The Mitten

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Read Aloud

Christmas Cookies

 

Dramatic play. Pretend Play.  Whatever you want to call it is a HUGE part of the MCP curriculum and an important piece to your child's early childhood education. 

In December, our students will have fun playing in Mrs. Claus' Bakery. Why is dramatic play important to your child's development?  Find out more and how to set up a bakery in your home---

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/12/mrs-claus-and-her-bakery.html

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/kids-activities-and-printables/activities-for-kids/arts-and-craft-ideas/importance-pretend-play.html

Boom Chicka Boom Christmas

Let's Learn More About Wayne Thiebaud

You Would Even Say It Glows

 

Our students are learning a lot about moose, elk and deer.  Simple shapes with teacher directions and we have Rudolph.  He's so cute. What did your child learn about moose, elk and deer?  A lot!

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/12/our-mwf-prek-classes-know-so-much-about.html

Fun Food Friday?  Moose Munch Mix!

Mr. Moose

So Sweet!

Wayne Thiebaud is an American artist best know for his colorful paintings of everyday objects especially food.  

Drawing is hard for our preschoolers but we see improvement in small motor skills as we progress throughout the school year. We are learning that using a pencil to draw before we paint or color is called sketching.  We are also learning that every time we draw we get a little bit better.  Practice doesn't mean perfect.  It means improvement.  

Using shapes and letters children are able to draw as they listen and watch teacher directions (oooooh...listening and following directions is an important school skill!)

Masterpiece Monday is an opportunity to introduce vocabulary.  When students learn to draw a cupcake they learn adding lines creates 'texture' in their work.  

See if your child can draw a gumball machine and cupcake at home! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Thiebaud

The Missing Piece

 

Puzzles are an important piece of the MCP curriculum.  Hopefully you have a wide variety of puzzles at home, too.  Puzzles are meant to be hard.  Puzzles are meant to be challenging. Children get a real sense of accomplishment in completing a puzzle on their own.  

We start off the year with four-to-six-piece puzzles, puzzles with knobs and handles.  Super easy puzzles with a low level of frustration.  These pictures are our more difficult puzzles.  We move to more difficult tray puzzles and then 24–46-piece puzzles.  

Puzzles provide a lot of learning for your child.  Puzzles help with eye/hand coordination and small motor skills. Puzzles are great for logic and problem solving.   The children often try to just randomly put pieces together without any thought.  We teach them use the picture on the box for 'clues'.  Some children already know how to look for the straight edges pieces to form the outline of the puzzle.  

If you have a spot in your home, set up a puzzles area this winter.  Puzzles are great for all ages, a fun family activity and fairly inexpensive.  For more information on why puzzles are important in preschool---

https://illinoisearlylearning.org/blogs/growing/puzzle-play/

The Night Before Thanksgiving

Gobble Gobble Turkey Wobble

Good Manners

 "Good manners reflect something from inside-an innate sense of consideration for others and respect for self."  

Emily Post

Good manners aren't just for Grandma's house at the holidays.  Good manners are life long skill.  

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-importance-of-good-manners.html

The Seven Silly Eaters

Because we all have at least one silly eater!

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

Turkey Dance Freeze

Free as a Bird

 
A turkey is nothing without feathers.  Our friends are busy tracing and cutting out feathers.  Great small motor work!  
Trace and cut...

What are you thankful for?  Make a tally mark and press 'the easy button'. 

Happy Birthday, Wayne! 101 y/o today!!!

Our friends are learning about American artist, Wayne Thiebaud who is 101 years old today.  Wayne Thiebaud painted colorful cupcakes, shoes, ties and gumball machines.  He painted cityscapes and much more.

We love teaching the children how to draw. Students know that when we draw with a pencil that we are sketching (a Masterpiece Monday vocabulary word).  Directions are given by using lines, letters, shapes and positional words. Teachers demonstrate and students follow. Students will learn how to draw a gumball machine and a cupcake.  A cupcake is sketched on watercolor paper and outlined with a Sharpie marker. We learned we can create texture (another vocabulary word) by adding lines to the cupcake wrapper.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Mr. Thiebaud!

Circle Up

 

"The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing and arithmetic...music dance, painting and theater are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment."   

William Bennett, Former US Secretary of Education

Our MCP students have learned about the works of Wassily Kandinsky. We have learned Kandinsky was born in Russia and are able to find a Russia on a map or globe.  Kandinsky loved to listen to music and saw his art in the music.  He loved circles and his work is describes as abstract.  

Have some fun at home with Kandinsky!  Easy breezy with crayons and paper!

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/12/happy-birthday-wassily.html

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2017/12/kandinskys-colors-black-lines.html

-Color and add black lines-

Our next Masterpiece Monday artist creates some yummy art!

Pizza Parlor Field Trip

Dinner's Ready!

 

Gathering around the  dinner table for a family meal is super important for your child's growth and development.  Find out more:

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-most-important-thing-for-your-child.html

Jingle Bells

Sorting, Patterns and Counting

 

November lessons are all about food, family and fun.  MCP math lessons do not rely on worksheets but hands-on activities like sorting with these food shaped erasers.  We have thousands (I don't think we're exaggerating) of items for the children to sort, create patterns and count.  What can you and your child do at home?  A lot!  

We have sorting trays at school.  

These are readily available at most dollar type stores or your favorite superstore.  Look in the party section.  Or just use a napkin or plate...

Or even the floor!

What can you find at home? A lot! Coins, buttons, cereal, Hot Wheels, shoes, action figures, blocks, LEGOS---use your imagination.  Anything you have a lot of your child will be able to sort, create patterns and count. 

We start with an AB pattern and will continue to introduce additional patterns throughout the school year (AAB, ABB and ABC).

More info:

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/using-patterns-to-boost-your-childs-math-skills

Make math fun at school and home!  

Door Dash Delivery

 

The MCP Pizza Parlor is open! 

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/11/pizza-parlor.html

Can You Say That Word?

Nocturnal, orchard, palette, sketch experiment, observe, abstract, chemistry, globe---your child can say these words.  We introduce new vocabulary all the time in our daily lessons. We use the new vocabulary words in the classroom.  The children use the new vocabulary words in the classroom and hopefully carry it home. 

Why do we do this?  Because building vocabulary is an important part of your child's development and reading readiness skills.  Find out more:

https://notjustcute.com/2017/06/13/language-for-literacy-the-importance-of-building-vocabulary-in-preschool/

Witch's Stew 2021

 An MCP favorite!  Witch's stew and Halloween gives us an opportunity to talk about what is real and what is pretend.  Some silly fun without being scary for our little ones!  

The recipe and song:

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/10/witchs-stew-2018.html

Big Pumpkin

The Monster at the End of This Book starring Grover!

Pumpkin Power!

For the health and safety of our students, there are lot of MCP activities that we will not be able to have in the classroom this year.  You might want to try some these ideas at home with your child!  

One of the easiest is just to get a pumpkin and cut it open.  Have your child look, touch and smell.  If you have a magnifying glass let your child look up close.  Pull seeds out and count.  How do the seeds feel?  Estimate.  Do you think there are ten seeds or more than ten?  One hundred?

Mix up pumpkin playdough!

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/10/dough-boy.html

More playdough recipes:

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/10/perfect-playdough.html

Easy breezy pumpkin muffins!  Yummy!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/93290/easy-pumpkin-muffins/

It's just a can of pumpkin.  Cover up your child with a smock or old t-shirt. Use a plate or cookie sheet and draw shapes, numbers, and letters!

or just have some messy pumpkin fun!

Lots of fall fun for you and your child!

Starry Starry Night

England: Big Ben

Vincent

 We are going to study the works of Vincent Van Gogh and paint a sunflower.

More information:

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/10/masterpiece-monday-sunflower-sketch.html

Visiting the Largest Bat Colony on Earth!

Fruit Bats

This Is England

 

Ask your child what they learned about England! 

This Is Halloween

 Patterns with push pins and a pumpkin!

What a fun way to practice patterns.

So pretty with all the push pins!

A fun way to practice our letters---

and Halloween I SPY bottles to keep us busy.