A simple recipe for amazing preschool success with your little ones

What does it take to make an outstanding recipe - whether the traditional kind for food, or a recipe for something much less tangible, like success?

I would argue that all recipes need ingredients, and better ingredients will usually yield better results. Of course, there has to be a method for putting those ingredients together, and surely almost every recipe needs to be carefully seasoned. 

 

My ingredients for preschool - beside the obvious preschoolers and adult carer - would have to start with books and music!  So it was this last week, when we focused on learning the letter J.

One of the wonderful things about children is their energy, and rather than fight it, I figured we'd expend some of it by dancing and singing. We exercised to 100 with Jack Hartman's Count to 100, and did the Tooty Ta with Dr. Jean - because no kid can resist sticking out their tongue and bottom while they dance (who can)?! We sang Hello My Name Is Joe, adding actions until we could barely stand, and worked on vocal modulation sang loudly and quietly with John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt while jingling our bells. Were the kids worn out? NO! Were the teachers? Yes, yes we were, but it was only 9:30 am so we kept going.

Do you see the huge pile of jewelry in the box shown above? We put it ALL on and JUMPED JOYFULLY in jewelry.  By the time we were done the kiddos were ready to sit down for a few books (and my exercise ring was closed for the day)! 

Jump Frog, Jump is a great book for an energetic group - the pages alternate between story line and exclaiming "Jump Frog, Jump!" We held our bodies still on the story pages, just waiting to explode our arms up into the air as we shouted at the frog to JUMP! (Little ones can't still for very long, but by alternating still and moving we're working on self control.)

After our stories were done we worked our fine motor muscles gluing jewels onto a letter j.  I had fine plans for making a jack-o-lantern uppercase J another day, but... some days you follow the recipe, and other days you improvise. It's all good!

This week we'll be focusing on letter K.  My music playlist includes Katalina Matalina, Old King Cole, Kookaburra, and Polly Put the Kettle On.  We'll be reading about kangaroos and koalas, making a letter K craft with a kangaroo and song, and crafting adorable koala headbands.

K is also for kittens, kisses and Kente Cloth, and we'll read about them all. We'll reach into my letter K box to find a king, keys, koala, KitKat and chocolate kisses. I have a karate outfit that the kiddos will take turns wearing, and we'll look for chocolate kisses hidden in the toy kitchen. In case that isn't enough, I'm super excited to have downloaded all the alphabet songs from HeidiSongs, so we'll be singing and dancing lots of letters!

If we go back to the recipe metaphor, I'll finish by adding a helping dollop of outside time and free play, and seasoning liberally with joy and love.  I'm pretty sure our recipe is going to be amazing!

Kicking it with Kk

 Yes, we're really kicking it with Kk! Karate kicking that is, because it's a memorable way to introduce the letter!

There are actually a surprising number of words starting with Kk that the kiddos can relate to, and that make a great starting point for learning.  Let's talk about some of them!

Kittens (and puppies) in a kennel.  I found an adorable pink fabric kennel at a yard sale, and of course we filled it with all the kittens and puppies we could find!

Kebabs - we made fruit kebabs, but if you're learning at home you could make a whole meal of it!  Yum!  Remember that we all learn best by doing, so try to find (safe) ways for your child to help.  Can they cut the fruit or veggies that are going on the kebab?  I used plastic drink stirrers for ours so the children could safely put food on and take it off.  Get creative!

Komodo dragons, kookaburras, koalas and kangaroos - can you take a field trip to the zoo to see any animals that start with K?  Can you visit a Japanese Garden with a koi pond?  Or head to a grocery store looking for kiwi fruit?

 

We found a koi pond at the zoo, and bought fish food so we could feed them.  There's something very calming about just watching them - and who couldn't use a few moments of calm?  

If you want to follow up by painting the koi, take some photos and also talk about the colors of the koi.  They're usually shades of yellow, orange, red, black, white and grey.  Talk about how their bodies curve, notice the fins sticking out, and the eyes you can just barely see on the sides of their heads - all the features your child will get to draw for themselves.  I used this wonderful step by step tutorial, and was amazed at the gorgeous art work even 3 and 4 year old children can create!

For some fun math learning,  I created this counting and addition resource full of koalas, kangaroos, kookaburras and lots of other Australian animals.  The count and clip cards are a sneaky way to get in some fine motor practice (opening the pegs), and the counting and addition mats support young math learners by making the math concrete (rather than just an abstract concept).  You can find it in my TeachersPayTeaches store if you'd like it!

 

Candy doesn't start with K, but KitKat and kisses do, and you KNOW those will get your child's attention!  I like to hide a mini KitKat or chocolate kiss in the toy kitchen for each child to find, and to keep the wrapper to go on our letter Kk pages.

Of course, you know we have to make hand or foot print art!  Here are our kingfishers and koalas!

To make the kingfisher you'll need to paint your child's foot half blue and half orange.  When it's dry they can add a torn paper branch, wiggle eyes, a skinny triangle beak, and little bird feet.

To make the koala have your child glue a paper tree along the side of the page, and a branch coming off it near the bottom of the page.  Paint their hand grey, and print it in the crook of the branch, with the fingers printing onto the tree to look like the koalas legs holding on.  They can add a head and ears, and when it's dry add features and torn paper "leaves" in the tree.  Too cute!

I have to admit, I'm really quite pleased with the letter Kk crafts that I came up with - they both have movable pieces!  

The joey kangaroo can be slipped in and out of the mother's pouch, which goes well with the song I made up to teach the kiddos about kangaroos (text below).  The lower case k is a king (it has a crown), knows karate (check out the belt) AND it kicks! Check it out in this quick video:

The Kangaroo Song by Paula Beckerman, 

(to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)

The kangaroo hops up and down, up and down, up and down,

The kangaroo hops up and down, all around Australia.

The baby kangaroo is called a joey, called a joey, called a joey,

The baby kangaroo is called a joey all around Australia.

The joey kangaroo jumps in and out, in and out, in and out,

The joey kangaroo jumps in and out of its mummy's pouch.

 I've also created a cute koala song and headband craft...

...and for slightly older children, a koala book!  Here's a peak at some of the pages...

 ... and the adorable koala cover!

You may also enjoy the picture books you can see in this photo, they're another fun way to add some letter Kk fun to your days.

Of course the very best thing that starts with Kk is kisses! Remember to shower your little ones with lots of hugs and kisses, and have an awesome week!