Experience is not the best teacher, it is the only teacher-
BEV BOS
Each day at Annie's Alphabet, we create, move, sing, discuss, observe, and read. We do all of this through play.
We are constantly working on the recognition and sounds of letters and numbers through games, chants, flannel stories, sensory materials, puzzles, and songs that may or may not be related to the theme in the room. We also work on colors, shapes, sizes, large motor skills (like hopping, climbing, playing ball, etc) fine motor skills (drawing, stringing beads, tearing, cutting. gluing) math, science, language, reading, writing, art, social skills, and most of all fun!
We go outside twice a day, for about an hour or more each time. Even when it is lightly raining- children LOVE puddles! When it is pouring down rain or overly windy, we either stay on the porch or find ways inside to exercise our bodies.
We play hard! Make sure to dress your child in daycare wear- aka- things that can get paint on them!
A day at Annie's
- 7:00 Arrive/Play
- 8:30 Breakfast
- 9:00 Group Gatherings/Activities/Play
- 10:30 Outside/inside large motor activities
- 11:30 Lunch/Rest period
- 3:00 Snack/Outside/Inside Play
- 5:00 Close
Our Daily Schedule
Creating can look like, building cities with blocks, gluing, painting, playdough, cutting, drawing with different materials, making tunnels in the sandbox, and dictating stories. What other things can you think of to create?
Sing
Kids need to move! This can look like dancing, running, hopping, riding bikes, climbing, balancing, digging, and crawling. Some kids even need to move around to paint using their whole body. We let them do that!
Move
We sing all the time. Children don't care if your voice is perfect, they just love to sing with you! We learn new songs and sing old favorites at circle time, on the playground, while washing hands, and while waiting for lunch.
Create
Every day we make Time to.....
Read
Observe
Discuss
Discussions help children feel like a valued member of our school. It helps bridge their home and school life together. We have discussions at circle time, anytime they want during the day, and when we need their input about what they want to learn about.
What can we observe? Other peoples facial expressions to find out how they are feeling, bugs, science experiments, how our bodies are feeling, the weather, the changes in the season, how to make bread, and how many children are at school today are just a few ideas.
I LOVE children's books and reading. We read books all of the time and they have access to all the books. We teach the children how to treat and handle books and if they do accidentally get ripped, they go to the book doctor to get fixed. I have great pride in my children's book library!!
- Our themes and activities revolve around what the children are interested and what is happening in the outside world. We scaffold learning, depending on the developmental level of each child. An example is:
- Bee's -- focusing on honey bees but learning about the different kinds. For the younger children we might focus on the colors yellow and black, scooping up bees, ovals, counting 2 bees, and bee songs. For the older children we might focus on a hexagon and cells of a honeycomb, and how bees make honey, and drawing and painting bees. Maybe even making a home for a bee- followed up by creating their own story about a bee.
- Fall: All About Me, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Leaves, Squirrels, Apples, Pumpkins,
- Winter: Mittens, Hats, Snow, Trees, Hearts,
- Spring: Wind, Rainbows, Rain, Umbrellas, Birds, Caterpillars,
- Summer: Ants, Bees, Flowers, Ducks, Camping,
Themes
There are many aspects to school readiness. Recognizing letters and numbers is just a small part of it. Being socially and emotionally ready is the largest part. At Annie’s Alphabet Childcare, we foster positive relationships and connections through role modeling, problem solving, and group projects. Feeling connected helps children feel safe; when they feel safe they feel more comfortable taking risks; when they feel more comfortable taking risks they share more, engage more, and learn more. Being able to take those risks in a safe and loving atmosphere builds self-confidence and compassion for others.
We also work at scaffolding children's thinking; Linking prior knowledge, Relating things to the child’s life, asking ‘who, what, why’ questions to further thought process. We make observations, predictions, and experiments. We foster this all day long; during play time, group time, meal time, outside time, and nap time. Combine the social, emotional, and cognitive parts all together and between the ages of 4 and 5 you will begin to see it all coming together. All of the children that have been here since a young age are ready for kindergarten in a well-rounded way.
What is School Readiness?
