It's a Good Day in Pre-K

October is always a fun and exciting month in our Pre-K classrooms! From engaging read-alouds like Them Bones and Leaf Man to colorful fall crafts, apple runs, and learning about fire safety, our students have been busy exploring the world around them. Of course, one of the biggest highlights of the month is dressing up and celebrating Halloween together! As we move through the season, October is also an important time for our little learners as routines are established, transitions are smoother, and our classrooms are buzzing with curiosity and confidence. We’re so proud of how well our students have settled in! Wishing all our Pre-K families a safe, fun, and happy Halloween! 🎃👻🍂

Cooking up learning in Berlin

This month our PreK students in Mrs. Lavoo's classroom at Berlin had a hands-on, sensory-filled experience making applesauce in the classroom! While it may seem like just a fun fall activity, cooking together provides so many valuable learning opportunities for young children. Of course, the best part is tasting the warm or cold, homemade applesauce the children helped prepare! Activities like this bring learning to life and give students a sense of independence and joy in trying something new.

The Catskill Elementary PTA put together a Boosterthon fundraiser this month which raised over $42,000 to support programs and activities at Catskill elementary. The fundraiser concluded with a Color Run where students in all grades braved clouds of color. Below are pictures of our PreK students joining in on the fun! Good work Catskill Elementary!

Our PreK students at our sites had a blast investigating the insides of a pumpkin. By touching, smelling, and examining the seeds and pulp, children engaged in a hands-on sensory experience that sparks curiosity and encourages scientific thinking. Activities like these help young learners develop fine motor skills, build vocabulary as they describe textures and shapes, and practice observation and prediction which are key early STEM skills. To the left are two of our Red Mill students exploring pumpkins, while below students from Mrs. June's classroom at Catskill are enjoying their pumpkins.

In PreK our students do many activities to build strength in their small muscles in their hands and fingers. These precise movements are called fine motor development. But research is showing that students are entering PreK and Kindergarten lacking in these skills. Why? Well according to the attached article, " This lack of dexterity in their fingers and hands can be attributed to the increased use of touch screen technology and decreased use of crayons, paints, pencils, scissors, clay, and other manipulatives in their daily lives." Luckily, our PreK programs are building these little muscles on a regular basis. There is more you can do at home to reinforce these activities. Have your children use scissors to cut out pictures, play with Play-Doh or just color! Attached is an article on the decline of fine mortor skills. https://www.mother.ly/child/child-milestones/fine-motor-skills-declining-in-children/. Below are pictures of our PreK students putting their fine motor skills to work.

Making apples

Students in our PM class at ICC using finger paint to create apples for their trees.

Fire Prevention week

During Fire Prevention Week, one of our students built a fire engine using classroom materials, even using a glue stick to carefully assemble each piece! Squeezing the glue stick, pressing pieces together, and positioning small parts all strengthen the muscles in the hands and fingers!

Who has more apples!

Ms. Kristine is helping our students stay on task and add apples to their trees!

Our Pre-K students have been making wonderful connections between literacy and creativity! After reading Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, our young Ichabod Crane artists gathered real leaves to design and glue together their very own “Leaf People.”

Inspired by the rhythmic story Dem Bones, our students at Donald P. Sutherland explored how bones connect in the body by building fun pasta skeletons with glue and imagination. These hands-on activities help bring stories to life while strengthening fine motor skills, creativity, and a love of reading!

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

Leaf Man follows a figure made of leaves as the wind carries him across marshes, orchards, and prairies.

Hard at work!

Two of our Lil Riders making their leaf people by gluing leaves to the paper.

Leaf Man!

Here is one student's completed Leaf person!

Dem Bones by Bob Barner

This fun picture book teaches human anatomy through dancing, musical skeletons.

Spooky Skeletons

Ms. Martha explaining to two of our students at DPS on how to use the pasta and glue to make a skeleton.

Dem Pasta Bones

This is some fine macaroni art!

At Green Meadow, our Pre-K students brought the story Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell to life in a hands-on, creative way! After the read-aloud, students worked together to build a safe hiding place for the ghosts using Legos, Lincoln Logs, and magnetic tiles. They even used a ghost on a stick and a witch figure to act out the story, practicing storytelling and role-play as they went. This activity encouraged teamwork, problem-solving, and fine motor skills, while letting children connect literacy to hands-on exploration, proving that learning can be both spooky and super fun!

Questar III BOCES District Superintendent Dr. Gladys Cruz visited our district-based Pre-K classroom at Ichabod Crane Central School District. Dr. Cruz spent time with students to learn about their current projects and read "Porter the Hoarder and the Ransacked Room," by Sean Covel to the class. We learned from the students that all of their rooms are super neat and clean! 😂🤣

Students learned about fire safety at Cairo Durham. PJ Pugsley spent a day with our Little Mustangs not only talking about fire safety, but letting students hold a fire hose, try on equipment and explore a fire truck! Thank you PJ!