What you most likely see when you walk into Kiddie Korner

The Importance of

Free Play

7:30am -9:20am

When you walk into the school in the morning you may see very loud, messy, children running around.  It may look like nothing other than complete chaos.  This is the time when the kids are playing freely, working on their social skills, exploring and experimenting different things they see and hear in their world.  We as parents and teachers are their models and free playtime is the time where they practice, learn and play hands-on.  There's no better way of learning then to try things out for yourself.

**During this time we also wait for all our friends to come to Kiddie Korner to start our day.

Oval Time

9:30am-9:45am

Around 9:30 every morning we clean up the toys and we all gather together to sit on the oval.  We start our morning off with the Pledge of Allegiance and the song "God Bless America".  Miss Verna leads the oval with different songs she has picked out for the month.  The songs usually have to do with the topic and sub topics of whichever month we're on.  When all the songs are sung and the topics are announced to the kids we split into our groups.  The Teddy Bears go into the tile room to start their day and the Dinosaurs start their day in the rug room.

 

Rug Side

DINOSAUR TIME: 9:45-10:30

TEDDY BEAR TIME: 10:50- 11:20

(Set up may differ a little depending which on the teacher and the class)

The rug room is where the Dinosaur's day begins and the Teddy Bears day ends.  The kids come in grab a small rug and sit down.  Every day a "star" of the day is picked out and placed on the wall or bulliten board for everyone to see.  The star of the day has little jobs to do as the day goes on such as being the line leader, the door holder, feeding the animals, watering a plant, etc.  The first thing the Dinosaurs do is check the weather and discuss what is appropriate clothing to wear for that day.  The Teddy Bears have a special Winnie the Pooh Bear that they dress themselves for the season.  After the weather is checked the class will work on the Calendar.  Together we discuss the month, the days of the week, and the date.  Each class has their own "days of the week" song that they sing.  In the Dinosaur class the star of the day picks a exercise to do and we use the date from the calendar for our count.  Each group usually does a "wiggle" song to get all our wiggles out before we start our learning.  After that is all done we may recap on what we did the day before.  A story may be read and then we will have a discussion of the story.  THe story is usually the start or the introductory of the lesson we will work on that day.  After it is read the teacher will model to the students the lesson/project for that day.  The kids will put their mats away and sit on the oval.  The children will work independently, paired, grouped, or all together throughout the year.

Tile Time

DINOSAUR TIME: 10:30-10:50

TEDDY BEAR TIME: 9:45-10:20

(Set up may differ a little depending which on the teacher and the class)

The tile room is the more active, hands-on, and independently structured room.  We have 5 tables set up

with different learning activities.  The kids randomly choose where they want to go.  Each table has an activity that is purposely thought out.  There might be play dough, for the children to work on their fine motor skills.  Another table will usually have something set up for them to practice writing, cutting, coloring, etc.  The Dinosaurs, since they are learning how to write, have the privilege of writing on the washboards, using marks, magnets, chalk, and their very own notebooks (all to make learning to write more interesting).  There is a table set up for art projects.  There is a table set up with flash cards or puzzles, depending on the sub topic of that day.  And/or there is a table with a few toys that takes patience to work with, understanding, and helps them learn to share.  They also have access to the computer where they can play games, color, and practice typing.  The tile room is the room we work on science projects and cooking projects.  When our time is done in the tile room, we clean up together and sit on the rug to get ready for some fun in the sun outside.  Our day is done we came, we learned, we conquered and now its time to relieve some energy and play with our friends!!