Connect Pre-Kindergarten
14 Neslia Place S6J 1M9 Moose Jaw, SK, Canada

I have a freebie to share with you! I just finished creating a social skills unit that focuses on feelings, The Zones of Regulation and creating a toolbox of strategies for dealing with emotions. If you would like the unit, comment or message me and I will send it your way!

The May Learning Together unit is ready! This month we will be learning all about farming. The unit includes a full plan for the month with daily learning activities. The activities incorporate ELA and Math each day as well as Science, Health, Phys.Ed., Music, Dance, Drama and Cooking. It includes ideas for setting up learning centres at home, all of the activity printables and access to the private "Learning Together" Facebook group. The cost for the whole month is $20. If you would like to join, send me an email at [email protected] and I will be happy to answer your questions and send you the unit! I’m looking forward to learning together with you!

Using centres or stations seems to be one of the best ways for us to do school these days. Even though it takes time to get them prepped and set up, the happy and content play that results from it is so worth it! It also allows me to spend more one-on-one time with each child and work with them at their level. Sometimes we do free choice centres and sometimes we do stations (either independent or all together) with a set time to rotate. Let me know if you need ideas or tips for how to make this work for you and your kids!

I have had quite a few people asking me about name learning activities, so I thought I'd share some info with everyone. Teaching your child to recognize, spell and write their name is something that you can easily work on at home and is great prep for Kindergarten. There are four stages to name learning. Once your child has mastered one stage, move on to the next. 1. Name Recognition - Have your child select their name from a group of other names - Ask your child questions a...bout his/her name like: Does your name have the letter ___ in it? or How many letters are in your name?. - Have your child find the first letter of their name (could use letter magnets or letter blocks). To make it more fun, add the letters to a sensory bin. - Write out their name on a piece of paper and have them build their name with dot stickers or any small object. - https://justreedblog.com/free-editable-name-practice-activ/ 2. Letter Matching - Write your child’s name on a cue card. Put the letters of their name on some clothes pins. Have them clip the matching letters to the cue card in the correct order. - Popsicle stick pockets (picture attached) - Any other activities (Pinterest is full of ideas!) that involve matching the letters of their name to their written name. 3. Spelling - This includes any activities where your child has to arrange the letters of their name independently, without having something to match to. - Write your child’s name on a strip of paper. Cut the letters apart like a puzzle and see if they can put it back together. - Arrange letter beads on a pipe cleaner in the correct order. - Put the letters of their name on blocks, lego, duplo or unifix cubes with masking tape and see if they can arrange the blocks in the correct order. 4. Writing - Again, you can find many different name writing activities on Pinterest (Say, Spell, Build, Write) - Put salt in a tray and have them write their name with their index finger. - I Can Write My Name: https://www.mrsjonescreationstation.com/name-writing-pract/ Another big question, and debate among early years teachers, is whether to use uppercase or lowercase letters. There are great arguments for both methods. If your child is not yet able to recognize the uppercase letters of the alphabet, I would start with showing them their name in all uppercase letters. Once they have a firm grasp of uppercase, then you transition into using lowercase. I hope this is helpful for you!