Constant Beginnings

 <> <> immediately after i took claire's picture, mya jumped into place. <>  alphabet floor puzzle from  bx i say it jokingly, but i do feel as though i have a third job as a private preschool teacher. ha. i was feeling more torn now that claire is three and not enrolled in a preschools. i decided to provide a bit more structured support at home to compensate for what she may be missing. here are some of our little lessons and activities. my focus is strictly on helping her become more aware of letters and their sounds. she is solid on her vocabulary use and understanding, conceptual use and understanding, counting, etc., but has limited ability to identify letters and know what sounds they make. i do tie writing into our lessons, but i could care less at this point if she actually write the letter 'f.' i simply do it because writing seems to mean 'school' to her. i can't seem to place a caption on some of ...

I don't claim to be an expert on this stuff, but it is why I went to school. Sooooo, here is my posting about preschool, language, and ideas for you. First let me say that I am not the product of a preschool education. Nope. Never went. Did well in school. Learned what I needed to know there, although I suppose I had some "teaching" from my parents along the way. Anyway, I never really believed in the whole preschool thing. I still don't, really. HOWEVER, living in New England, there is a strong push to get your child in the best preschool with the best curriculum with the best experiences. Those schools also have the biggest and best price tags, too. Chris and I have talked alot about what we should do with our kiddos. Claire is smart, not that I am bragging. It is simply a fact. She has a very large vocabulary, learns quickly, uses sounds far above what is expected for her age, and has a memory like no other. That being said, language is tied to cognition. Theory ...

We have been working on teaching Claire her colors. I found a great little cookie recipe that I thought would be the perfect hands-on lesson--Playdough Cookies (sitsgirlsrecipes.blogspot.com). They were definitely a hit. We talked about the colors, rolled them out with our hands and molded them into cookie-like lollipops. She was so excited to bring them to daycare to share with her friends. They were equally as excited. Here is the recipe: Playdough Cookies 3/4 c. butter 3 oz. cream cheese 1 c sugar 1 egg 1 t vanilla extract 2 3/4 c flour 1 t baking powder 1/4 t salt assorted food coloring 1. In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat until smooth. 2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. 3. Divide into fourths. Tint each "fourth" with a different food color. Wrap in plastic or put in a ziploc bag and refridgerate for 2 hours (we put ours in the freezer for 15 min...