Week 2 Pets
Dear Spoede Pre-K Families,
We finished our unit on Pets this past week and will be starting a two week unit on Apples and Fall. We learned about Focusing our Attention in our Second Steps SEL curriculum. We are working on identifying and making rhyming words, beginning letter sounds, ending letter sounds, breaking apart and putting back together compound words, and listening for the number of words in simple sentences in our Heggerty Phonemic Awareness curriculum. I look forward to seeing you on Curriculum Night on Tues., Sept. 22 at 5:00 to go over our curriculum and to answer any questions you may have up to now. If you can't make it, I will be sending home the presentation through ParentSquare. We hope you enjoy all of the things we have been learning and doing in Pre-K this past week.
Monday - We did Q-tip painting on a pet fish outline with paint colors yellow, blue red and pink. Q-tip paining is an excellent activity for pre-K fine motor development!
Pincer Grasp Strengthening: Holding the small, thin Q-tip naturally encourages the use of a tripod grasp (using the thumb, index, and middle finger), which is the precursor to a proper pencil grip for writing. This strengthens the small muscles in the hand crucial for all fine motor tasks.
Dexterity and Control: Manipulating the small Q-tip requires refined, delicate movements. This directly hones dexterity and the ability to control a small tool with precision.
Hand-Muscle Endurance: Concentrated work in a small area helps build endurance in the hand muscles, preparing them for future school tasks like extended coloring or writing.
This simple activity is a powerful way to build the foundational pre-writing and fine motor strength your pre-K student will need for kindergarten!
We also Read the story Elmer, about a Patchwork Elephant that is unique and special, just like each of us. As a follow up activity, we made our own, unique, colorful elephants with glue sticks and colored tissue paper squares. The third center activity was counting pets and filling in the matching numeral.
Tuesday - Everyone looked great for Picture Day! Using Eric Carle's illustration technique, we pre-cut special shapes from watercolor paintings we made on the previous Friday in centers. Then we used those pieces from all the different watercolor paintings to make a dog collage. They turned out really great. We practiced cutting skills on different shaped dotted lines leading to pets. We also made colorful patterns with shiny stars on snake templates.
Wednesday - We made a pet cat out of colorful pre-cut shapes. A chance to refresh our knowledge of shapes, working on following directions, and showing our creativity while making a cat. Practiced our cutting with different lines leading to insects and a leaf. We also dot painted a cat, working on fine motor and pre-writing skills. Dot painting bridges creative play with essential developmental milestones, making it one of the most effective fine motor exercises for early childhood.
Fine Motor & Pre-Writing Mastery
Pincer Grasp Reinforcement: Grasping dot markers strengthens the thumb, index, and middle fingers needed for proper pencil grip.
Hand-Eye Coordination: Aligning the tool with a specific point on the page trains the brain to map visual targets directly to hand movements.
Spatial Control & Precision: Working inside designated boundaries teaches children how to regulate pressure, stop movement intentionally, and refine muscle memory.
Cognitive & Early Academic Growth
Patterning and Math Readiness: Alternating colors or filling in numbered dot sheets introduces early sequencing, counting, and subitizing (recognizing quantities visually).
Bilateral Coordination: Holding the paper steady with the non-dominant hand while painting with the dominant hand encourages two-sided brain and body integration.
Sustained Focus: Aiming for individual dots slows down physical movement, building extended attention spans and goal-oriented task completion.
Sensory & Emotional Development
Low-Frustration Success: Dot painting yields vibrant, clean results quickly, giving children a strong sense of artistic mastery without the pressure of complex drawing skills.
Self-Regulation: The rhythmic, repetitive motion of dabbing paint provides a calming sensory experience that aids focus and emotional grounding.
On Wednesday, we also played a roll and cover/color pet game with one dice. After each roll, students had to either use their subitizing skills (recognizing number of pips on each face of the dice without needing to count) or count the pips on the dice and then color that matching numeral on the game board. We practiced making the letter F with our wooden pieces, one big line and two small lines. We worked named things that started with the /Ff/ sound and then worked in out Handwriting without Tears workbooks on the letter F, always starting our letters at the top.
Thursday - Built letters and other things creatively with our Handwriting without Tears wooden pieces; Listened to stories read by our West Minster student, Tim during morning work time. Worked on cutting out animals and matching them to their habitats. Worked on different activities in This is My Letter Book Ff. After readiing the story, Rainbow Fish, we outlined the scales of a Rainbow Fish template with black Oil pastel crayons. Then painted fish with watercolor paints.
Friday - Started the day with Friday Fun morning activities. We enjoyed art with Ms. Tara making a painting influenced by the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. We were given several different paint colors and a dot in the middle of a paper plate. Our task was to make circles of different colors around the dot until all of the white was covered in beautiful colored circles. We used one of our centers as a make up for projects that were not finished earlier in the week. We also painted glue onto our watercolored Rainbow Fish and added silver glitter to make the Rainbow Fish's beautiful scales. Ms. Shaquita stopped by and did Farm Animal Yoga with us for Afternoon Indoor Recess.
- 5:00 - 5:30pm - Pre-K, Kindergarten, & 1st Grade Classroom Presentations
- 5:45 - 6:15pm - 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade Classroom Presentations
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Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26, for the 14th Annual 'Due Run 4 Education! Join your neighbors and friends at the LHWHS stadium for a morning of fitness and community fun.
Starting at 8:00 AM, enjoy a live DJ and refreshments before heading to the track for the 8:30 AM shotgun start. Keep an eye out for your favorite teachers and administrators, who will be joining us on McKenna Plaza to celebrate our wonderful Ladue community! Participants of all ages can choose between the 5K or the 1-mile fun run/walk. This event is a vital "friendraiser" for our district, with proceeds directly benefiting classroom grants and student success.
Register now at LadueFoundation.org/Due-Run to take advantage of early-bird pricing and ensure you get your race T-shirt!
Strollers are welcome; no pets, please.
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Morning Letter Practice
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Wednesday
Thursday
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Indoor Recess
Art with Ms. Tara. Focusing on Painting around a Dot on a paper plate.
F