Show children a written lower case [e]

Model the mouth movement and sound [e]

Visually connect the picture/word “egg” with the letter sound [e]

Kinaesthetically connect fingers producing an egg shape.

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This week we’re learning about the letter [m]. We started off rainbow writing the letter [m] using our texta silk crayons.

We then moved our rainbow writing onto more unconventional mediums.

We scooped some sweetened condensed milk onto baking trays and practised writing the letter shape of [m]. It’s a tricky letter shape to learn as it involves hops, not just simple lines and circles. We’re still working on it.

N & M have never tasted sweetened condensed milk before. They were blown away.

MMMMMMM

More Milk? Yes. More. Milk.

More m’s.

Mmmmmmm

Then I gave them some melted chocolate to add to their trays.

Last but not least came the bowl of warm custard.

They delighted in mixing all three wonderfully sweet ingredients as they practised their rainbow writing of [m].

(There may have been more tasting than rainbow writing.)

Simple ideas for introducing [m]

Show children a written lower case [m]

• Model the mouth movement and sound [m]
• Visually connect the picture/word “mix” with the letter sound [m]
• Kinaesthetically simulate a mixing action. Close fist and move it in a circular action.

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The post [m] is for mixing the wonderfully sweet by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

This week, we’re learning about the letter [a]. We started off rainbow writing the letter [a].

We used Texta Silk Crayons. They’re really fun. They are of similar consistency as window crayons – think rich oil pastels but washable.

These silk crayons could be also be changed to water colours with a wet brush. Going over the letter shape of [a] with a wet brush provided more chances for N & M to practise the shape of the letter [a].

 We then made some chocolate fairy apples as part of our introduction to the sound [a].

We used delicious fuji apples.

N & M placed chocolate melts into a microwaveable bowl. They practised counting orally to ten and learnt about matching each number word to one, and only one object when counting – (a most tricky lesson to master).

A quick minute or two in the microwave and we had yummy melted chocolate. I placed a skewer in the middle of the apple to help them move the apple around more easily. Using a teaspoon, they spread the melted chocolate over the apples. So far, the mess was very manageable.

Enter the hundreds and thousands. They poured it over the melted chocolate and those little things bounce everywhere!

Do the pretty colours of the hundreds and thousands make the mess worth while? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. N&M are convinced that the sugary goodness of the hundreds and thousands are worth while.

Presenting our chocolate fairy apples.

We sliced them up (most of the chocolate bits fell off the apple at this stage), and N&M gobbled them up.

Simple ideas for introducing [a]

Show children a written lower case [a]

• Model the mouth movement and sound[a]
• Visually connect the picture/word “apple” with the letter sound [a].
• Kinaesthetically simulate biting an apple. Open mouth and place open hand close to mouth as if biting an apple.

The post [a] is for chocolate fairy apple by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

I grind my teeth at the thought of cleaning up craft activities involving sequins. Yes, sequins are so pretty and shiny, but they are next to impossible to clean. There’s always the elusive sequin that manages to escape the mighty cleaning powers of the vacuum cleaner. But I wanted to do a craft activity that focused on building up fine motor skills, using tweezers, and sequins seemed a natural complement. Enter Smiling like Sunshine’s Making an Autumn Tree with Pumpkin Seeds. Ah ha – I thought! Let’s use seeds or beans instead. Brilliant!

This tiger craft was part of our introduction to the sound [t].

We used chick peas and lentils.

To build up their fine motor skills, N & M were armed with tweezers and set to work covering a template of a tiger’s face with the beans.

Using tweezers allowed them to practise their fine motor skills. My fine motor skill teaching point for them was to hold the tweezers with one hand so that the index finger was on one side and the thumb on the other with their other fingers gently curled into the palm.

They practised opening and shutting the tweezers, trying to keep the correct position and action.
In terms of fine motor skills, this was great for: hand and finger strength; shoulder and elbow stability; and practise for the pincer grasp (helpful in writing).

Soon their hands and fingers couldn’t resist feeling the beans.

They then realised it was much faster and more effective for them to use their hands to scoop and pour the beans onto the tiger’s face.

When they finished covering the tiger’s faces with the beans we popped on some finishing touches.

Yes, our tigers seems to be missing stripes and whiskers… mmm it’s a working progress.

Simple ideas for introducing [t]

Show children a written lower case [t].

• Model the mouth movement and sound [t]
• Visually connect the picture/word “tiger” with the letter sound [t].
• Kinaesthetically simulate a tiger growling with hands shaped like a tiger’s claws.

More Activities for Preschoolers

Three to Five: Playful Preschool is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. There are 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources and additional links to over 50 more activities. A great resource for parents. Download your copy here.

N & M: 3 y.o.
October 2011

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The post [t] is for tiger and tweezers by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.