The Maze

We love our new school!  Check out these short video clips that show our class during our first week in "The Adventure Lab" (the room that houses our MiM Maze).  Each student visits each activity station for 1 minute, for a total of 18 stations in 20 minutes.  Wow!!  They love it so much, and the video shows how well they stay on task.  We are so proud of them, and so incredibly thankful for this beautiful new classroom and all it offers the children of Lafayette Academy!

(I noticed that my I Phone wouldn't show the videos below, but on my laptop/desktop I am able to play the videos.  Be sure to check the blog out on another device if you do not see them below.  They are too cute to miss!)

 

Minds in Motion Brain Maze

Last week we were able to bring some of the Minds in Motion Brain Maze activities into our classroom.  I wish I had a video to show you all of their giggles, grins, and sweaty little faces!  They were able to rotate through 18 stations, spending 1 minute at each station.  In our new building one entire classroom will be dedicated to these activities (and several more).  We will visit that classroom as part of our daily routine.  It is going to be a wonderful addition to our program.  I really believe that these activities will be beneficial to every child at Lafayette Academy!
(Additional activity stations included in our new building that are not pictured here:  Strong Arm Push, Jelly Roll, Climb Every Mountain, Cross Walk, Low Balance Beam, Hopscotch, Hoola Hoop, The Electric Slide, & Skip to My Lou.)

 

Jumping Jack Flash.
The student does a standing "broad jump" between two designated lines.





The Twist.
This circular board has the feeling of a Sit and Spin, but is made for the child to stand on.  They must use their upper bodies and arms to make the board "twist".

Sit and Spin
Students spin towards their dominant hand.




Bean Bag Boogie
Students toss and catch a bean bag.  Starting with a 2 hand catch, students will progress through several skill levels of tossing and catching.

The Twist.

The Twist.

River Stones
These triangular "stepping stones" have raised surfaces. 



Puppy Dog Crawl
Children crawl on hands and knees through the tunnel.

River Stones.


Monster Mash.
Students stomp down hard on padded shapes laid out on the floor.

Balance Board.
Students stand on balance board to train their bodies to suspend in balance.


Mini Trampoline.
Students bounce to the rhythm of the music.

Check out these little smarties!

I am so proud of how these little people are working.  Doing their "jobs" to get their day started, finding their tabletop activity and working to complete it, cleaning up their work area, pushing in their chair, and then quietly transitioning to the library area to choose a book.  Wow, they are going to have some happy kindergarten teachers in August!

 

We are using a variety of "tools" to sharpen our fine motor skills.  Items like tongs, tweezers, hole punches,  and scissors are fun ways to strengthen their little hands to get them ready to do some great drawing and writing!

 

 

 

 

The library area has books that area related to our theme each week.  We always have new books to enjoy!

 

 

Here is another proud little worker who completes his tabletop activity with a smile.

 

 

The photo above focuses on uppercase letter matching, the photo below focuses on lowercase letter matching. 

 

 

When the children finish their snack, they push in their chairs and quietly choose a floor puzzle to work on independently or with a friend.  This is how we finish our day.  It is also a quiet time for Mrs. Karen & Mrs. Jennifer to get children ready for their families in carpool.  We LOVE how beautifully they are working together!

 

 

This sight word activity allowed our readers to review all of the sight words introduced so far.

 

 

Here the students are writing and illustrating their page for our "Student of the Day" book.

 

 

 

 

 

More "Student of the Day" pages being created...

 

 

Work continues on our last names. 

 

 

Here we are rolling the dice and following the "key" to be able to create our little snowmen.

 

 

Once in a while the girls take over the Lego table!

 

 

 

It is amazing to see how adding some REAL boxes from my pantry at home has made the kitchen area more interesting for dramatic play.  If you are willing to save your empty boxes and plastic containers that have lids (coffee creamer, salad dressing, ketchup, pancake syrup, etc) we would love for you to send them to school in a grocery bag to add to our kitchen area! 

 

 

 

 You may notice that the animals are all on their backs with their feet up in the air.  Don't be nervous, they are just napping!  Lol...

 

 

The weaving loom was a big hit this day.  The children use their fingers to push and pull the fabric through the frame.  If you ever have bright and colorful fabric scraps, we could use them to add to activities like this one.

 

 

More tabletop workers starting their day.

 

 

Enjoying books with some friends when their work is finished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focused and working independently.  Wow!!

 

Getting ready for Kindergarten!

This week many of the pictures will let you take a peek into the second semester classroom.  We are so much more independent with our work now that we are halfway through our Kinder Prep experience.  Tabletop centers focus on fine motor activities, and you will see them in many of these pictures working on a specific task.  These tasks incorporate letters, numbers, money, sight words, cutting skills, and so much more.  They focus on one task per day, and have a different task each day until school is out in May! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student of the Day is another activity that we work on daily.  We first meet on the carpet to sound out the letters in the Student of the Day's name, write the letters, count the letters, "cheer" their name, talk about the child's physical characteristics and how we might draw them.  Then we go to the tables to make a page for our Student of the Day book.  Each child from our class creates a page written and illustrated for our special book.  They are doing such a great job working on their letters and adding lots of details to their drawings.  I am so proud!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out these drawings that show all of the people who live in our homes!