Lights, Camera, Idol!

If you're looking for a surefire way to get some great language out of even the most difficult kiddos, take my advice on this one: give them a microphone. This is Preschool Idol.

We're studying Fine Arts and taking the Idol stage to showcase all sorts of music and performing skills. I've heard some unique, confident, and fabulous renditions of the ABCs, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." I'm also targeting voice projection, social skills such as listening and turn-taking and giving compliments, and, for some of my little friends, just general TALKING.

We start by planning out our costumes (sequencing and describing), primping and dressing (motor and self-help skills), and choosing a talent. I created a little back-stage dressing station that includes a full-length mirror and costumes including mini sport coats and ties, tutus, masks, feather boas, and funny glasses. The action that takes place around the mirror alone is priceless.

Preschoolers explore various instruments (our repertoire includes jingle sticks, tambourines, a keyboard-turned-grand-piano, triangles, and castanets), and vocabulary practice includes labeling both the instruments and their associated actions; How does a tambourine make noise? What do you use to play a triangle?

We created our stage using large, wooden hallow blocks and I manipulated some red bulletin board paper into curtains, tied back with yellow ribbon. The "piano" is an electric keyboard (with the volume button taped into a set position) placed on top of some play kitchen furniture, turned on its side to make a bench, and covered in black paper. My coworker added a music stand and students choose their song inspiration from a basket of visuals representing familiar tunes. Post-performance includes applause and a shower of roses. And paparazzi. I just can't stop taking pictures of these little superstars.

How are you using music to inspire communication?

The Power of Words

Sometimes it's not what we say, but how we say it...

Baby, it's (still) cold outside!

In the mountains we may be doing snow dances on the ski slopes (boooo), but in preschool we're getting cozy and trying to enjoy the rest of winter Dramatic Play style! This year we brought the outdoors in and combined a cozy cabin with some sledding and ice skating fun.

I rolled up big sheets of brown butcher paper like ribbon candy and used a stapler to attach it to a large piece of cardboard for our little log cabin entrance. Inside, students are cooking up some hot cocoa while we work on sequencing, peer interactions, and concepts of "hot" vs. "cold."

We made our little cocoa station using empty hot chocolate containers, spoons, mugs, and white pom pom balls for marshmallows. Some of my team members were kind enough to lend their thermoses and we've had a bit of a tailgate at the ice rink...

To create an ice skating rink, I used four pieces of white poster board, rounded the outside corners, sprayed with adhesive, and coated them liberally with blue and silver glitter before running each through the laminator. The four boards are attached together using clear packing tape and the whole "rink" is stuck to the carpet with velcro. We then created "ice skates" using paper plates and more packing tape and we've been working on our winter s-blends. So easy and my students are seriously loving it.

I target size concepts, comparatives and superlatives, pronouns, and following directions while preschoolers work together to build a snowman. We spray-painted cardboard boxes for stacking and punched holes for buttons and facial features (we found a kit at the dollar store, similar available here and here). How cute is this spontaneous snow-woman?

 

This unit I am learning that sometimes the simplest, least expensive things can make for a lot of play and creativity. What kind of winter fun are you getting into this January?

Something in my Pocket

There's just something about rhythm and a catchy tune that leads to retention for little ones. My predecessor introduced us to this song and I recreated it for my classrooms. 

We're currently using it to practice vocabulary (related to our unit theme and book; "Winter" and "The Mitten," respectively) pre-literacy skills, and syllable segmentation as a large group. However, I can put anything in the pocket to target a variety of skills: articulation, Letter of the Week words and pictures, name recognition (show just the first letter, "L" for....), sight words, etc. 

Sang (chanted?) to the tune of "Tiny Tim the Turtle," patting knees in rhythm:

        

I pull the words out slowly, emphasizing each syllable separately and pausing between. Progressively, I shorten the pause between syllables until preschoolers guess the word. Then, I flip it over to show the picture ("Was s/he right? RAB-BIT, Rabbit! It's a ...!") and we clap out the syllables together.

My song chart is half of a piece of poster board, laminated, with the words printed and glued on the bottom. I printed the pocket on cardstock and laminated it separately. The pocket is attached with clear packing tape, top end left open. I made the words size 2"x8" and printed them double-sided.

Find the template here (you will need Boardmaker to open this file).

But - ter - fly

We're working on syllables and segmentation as part of the preschool general education curriculum and I've been correcting some related phonological patterns.

I've been pulling pictures and objects from a variety of activities to target multisyllabic words and I typically pair the words with a motor movement cue (usually hand-claps). However, I am ready to start fading cues for some of my little friends and I needed a picture card set specifically targeting two, three, and four syllable words.

I included dots below each butterfly to indicate syllable number. I arrange my prompting hierarchy to fade from full motor (clapping or finger-tapping) to tactile (touching each dot) to visual and then I can cover the dots completely when appropriate.

We've also discovered a few words for which my team has been vehemently debating the syllable count. Epenthesis, anyone?

If you use my butterflies, please take a second to say so and let me (or rather, my wonderful teammate) know below: how many syllables are in the name "Kyle"?