Stokes and Salem Pond Field Trip

Oak View Pre-School enjoyed a fun field trip in October to Stokes Fresh Food Market and Salem Pond.  First the students were given a tour of the grocery store by a preschool student's parent that is employed at the store.  They toured all the different sections of the store including sampling cheese from the deli and cookies from the bakery.  Then it was off to Salem Pond to have Friendship Salad which included; Apologizing Pineapple, Kind Peaches, Helpful Melons, No Push or Hit Pears, Loving Grapes, Sharing Cantaloupe and Friendly Bananas, NOT Rotten Bananas.  It was a beautiful Fall day enjoyed by all!

Granny Smith Day

On September 24, 2012 Granny Smith came and visited Oak View Pre-School to teach the students about different varieties of apples and how they are grown and harvested.  We love it when she comes!

Play Group vs. Preschool

Small children love to associate with each other even before they can talk.  Organizing a play group so your children can play with other children is great enjoyment for them.  It teaches them to communicate, share and take turns.  Preschool is great for an older preschooler who is getting ready to attend Kindergarten.  In selecting a preschool, make sure that your child isn't in an over sized classroom and will be taught to recognize and write letters (upper and lower case), letter sounds, rhyming, number sense skills, patterning, shapes, etc..  A good foundation in these subjects will help them to be successful when they enter Kindergarten.  The curriculum taught in the past for First Grade is now the curriculum for Kindergarten.  Make sure your child is ready socially and academically for Kindergarten. 

Books

Professor Michael O. Tunnel of Children Literature quotes, "Too much television dramatically decreases children's reading comprehension by age 5."  Reading about things your children like increases attention span by 15 minutes a day.  Surround your children with books.  Start with board books when your children are infants.  You don't have to spend a lot of money on books.  You can find bargains on the web, at second hand stores and yard sales. 

Storytelling

When a child has a favorite story book, they love to share it with others.  Encourage your child to tell or read you a story, even if they don't know how to read every word.

Numbers

We use numbers every day to count, measure, weigh, tell time, calculate, purchase, etc..  Children also use numbers every day, when they tell someone how old they are, use the phone, how many crackers or cookies they want to eat, how many toys or friends they want to play with, etc.  Encouraging the sense of numbers is very important in a child's development of math skills, not only in counting, recognizing and calculating numbers but also in writing numbers.  Encouraging children to write numbers helps children to retain what they have learned about numbers and also maintains the small motor skills they are developing in their hands.  Sidewalk chalk is fun to use to make a hopscotch on a sidewalk or to make a poster for a lemonade stand.  Dry erase markers used on white boards is a great source to practice with.  Look for ways for your children or grandchildren to use numbers daily.

Reading

Children naturally love to look at and read books.  Providing books for children is very important in their reading development.  Start with picture books and then progress to emergent reading books with simple sentences.  Model reading so your child will want to read also.  With a fast moving world we tend to not talk to our children enough.  A great way to talk to your children is to read to them.  Children love to be read to and hear your voice.  Take your children to the library and keep encouraging the love of books.  Reading opens up a whole new world of adventure and discovery!