Physical Education

     Physical education is an integral component of SMART START's curriculum. Exercise is necessary for a child's gross motor development, physical health, emotional well-being and more! Our young learners constantly utilize their bodily energy throughout the school day. Whether they are free playing on the swing sets or engaged in a structured fitness activity, our students are kept active in the indoor and outdoor classrooms.

Read below for more information regarding our physical education studies!


     During the Spring, Summer and Fall, SMART START athletes enhance their soccer skills with Coach Anthony! Recently, students have been training to perfect their footwork when dribbling, passing and kicking a ball. After many practices, Coach Anthony gathered the team for a scrimmage. Players were given pinnies to wear and assigned to positions on the field. Future world cup contenders showcased their abilities through goals, assists, punts and more. All received a good sportsmanship/team player award at the end of this season!

     Young yogis unrolled their mats in our outdoor classroom for some nature yoga! Pupils stretched and practiced poses such as, butterfly, downward dog, tree, cat-cow and warrior. This activity is concluded with guided meditation in the position of shavasana. During this time, students are encouraged to take deep breaths and close their eyes while poems or short stories are read. Yoga yields an exorbitant amount of benefits for children both mentally and physically. Some being but not limited to:

• Improves strength, flexibility, coordination and balance
• Teaches breathing techniques and self regulation
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Enhances concentration and mindfulness

     

     In addition, peers played yoga memory match to reinforce poses they learned. 

     The class was thrilled to welcome Miss Courtney for a gymnastics on-site field trip! Students participated in group stretching and exercises before beginning lessons on the mat and tumble track.  

Miss Courtney instructed on how to execute a forward roll and handstand and many were able to master these moves. This field trip served as the perfect way for the children to expend their energy while acquiring new skills!

⚽ SMART START⚽

All About Lucas!

     Lucas was the star student of July! He was most excited to present his “All About Me” poster to his classmates and teachers. Lucas did a remarkable job articulating his poster details and addressing comments. All were surprised when he showed a picture of his new baby sister, Kennedy! Great work, Lucas!

Here are some details from Lucas’ poster:

• Wants to be an astronaut when he grows up 🚀
• Wishes for a weed wacker 🍃
• Favorite color is green 💚
• Loves to ride his mower 🚜
• Favorite food is cheesburgers 🍔

     The class always looks forward to birthday parties at school. All had a wonderful time celebrating Lucas’ 4th Birthday! Lucas brought in superhero cupcakes and goody bags to share. Peers gifted Lucas with a book and sang “Happy Birthday” to him in both English and Spanish. 

     Lucas is one of the most recent members of our SMART START family. He is a bright student, kind friend and has been a great addition to the group. We are happy you are one of our Pre-kindergartners now, Lucas!  

Click below to view SMART START students singing "Happy Birthday" 🎂

💚SMART START💚

All About Bees!

     One of this year's insects of focus were bees! We hope you enjoy buzzing along with us through this unit of study 🐝

    Young learners were eager to explore our busy bee book display. In addition to showcasing literature about bees, the table contained an acrylic encased bioblast life cycle of a honeybee. Students used magnifying glasses to closely examine the egg to adult transformation.

     SMART START friends swarmed together in our outdoor classroom for an interactive storytime. Miss Francesca read books that contained numerous facts about bees. All were given a flower to hold while each classmate took turns using a bee puppet to "pollinate" the flowers. 

Here is some of what the class learned:

• Honeybees help plants grow through pollination
• A hive is where honey bees live
• The queen bee runs the hive and lays eggs
• Honey is made by worker bees

     The class was all abuzz over a new game called "Honeycomb Tree". The object of this activity is to remove every tree leaf before all the bees fall out of the hive. This cooperative game promotes good sportsmanship, hand eye coordination, cognitive development, fine motor skills and more!

     Future beekeepers worked diligently on constructing a three dimensional model of a honeycomb. Materials used for this project included: a large box, paper towel roles, bubble wrap, yellow paint and glue. Once complete, pupils compared their finished work to a real piece of honeycomb. 

     SMART START's colony excitedly welcomed a professional beekeeper to our hive for an on-site field trip! After an informative presentaton, the beekeeper passed around a jar of live honey bees, honeycombs, a bee smoker used to calm the hive and her beekeeping hat. All were fascinated to experience the subject matter up close. The group participated in a dramtic play activity that consisted of acting as various types of bees such as, workers (gather pollen nectar and make honey), drones (male bees) and the queen (lays eggs). Lastly, the children savored a taste of honey made by the beekeeper's very own honeybees!

🐝SMART START🐝 

All About Brooklynn!

     Next in the “All About Me” poster sequence was miss Brooklynn! She creatively designed her poster and was eager to begin presenting. Brooklynn informed the class of many interesting facts about herself. All were amazed by Brooklynn’s vocabulary, self-confidence and conversational skills. Fantastic job, Brooklynn! 
Here are some details from Brooklynn’s poster:

• Favorite color is purple 💜
• Wants to be a doctor when she grows up 💉
• Wishes for a baby brother 👶
• Favorite animal is a cow 🐄
• Favorite food is cookies 🍪

     Brooklynn’s 3rd birthday party at school was so much fun! She kindly brought in lovely princess cupcakes and goody bags for her friends. Classmates gifted Brooklynn with a book and sang “Happy Birthday” to her in both English and Spanish. 

     It is a delight having Brooklynn at school with us! She is a smart, adventurous and caring student. We are thrilled to continue watching you shine as a preschooler, Brooklynn!

💙 SMART START💙

Space Explorations

     SMART START astronauts were excited for an "out of this world" experience both this and last year! Blast off with us as we journey into outer space!

2018: Space Week!

     SMART START's indoor classrooms transformed into a galaxy learning area. Book displays showcased posters and reading materials featuring asteroids, the solar system, moons and deep space.       

     Star gazers challenged themselves to a riveting game of "place the star of the constellation" (similar to the classis game "pin the tail on the donkey). Each child used their sense of touch and spatial awareness during this activity.

     Crew members landed around the table to decorate magnets.  Each received a wooden star or spaceship magnet to paint, create and design. 

            

    SMART START astronauts were in awe and full of imagination as they dressed up in a space suit. Thank you, Gus for bringing in this themed related costume to share with friends. The children  zoomed around and launched into the universe. Dramatic play and dress up are an important part of preschool development for many reasons:

• engages brain development and memory
• vocabulary building
• problem-solving
• emotional development
• gender exploration
• motor skills
• imitation

            

Students look forward to story time with a teacher, as well as independent and paired reading. Learning in nature is good for the mind and body for many reasons:

• boosts concentration
• develop a love, respect and appreciation for nature
• develop understanding of how we look at our environment
• encourages holistic development of children

   Miss Francesca taught the class fun facts about the big and bright sun star ! Inflatable planets were used to demonstrate orbiting around the sun.  

 

    

 

     

2019: Space Day!    To commence space day, we had a space ship race! Students lined up, waited for the countdown then rolled their spaceships as fast as they could. This activity allowed the children to practice good sportsmanship, enhance hand to eye coordination, develop concentration, engage their imaginations and more! 

    Classmates joined together for a special treat!  Asher brought in space themed cookies that he helped make at home. Snack and meals during the day at SMART START provide peers time to converse with each other about the subject matter at hand. Pupils were naming planets, counting stars and some thought it would be fun to live on the moon!                          SMART START astronomers constructed their own star constellations. They used black foam as the night sky, galactic glue for shine, small blue stars and Q-tips. Preschoolers had a blast creating their own constellations while older prekindergartners attempted to make an imitation of a constellation they could witness in the sky such as, the Aquarius or Orion as they had recently learned about.  

     Miss Francesca gathered the children in a circle for outdoor story time about the solar system. Here are some space facts we learned: 

• There are 8 planets 
• The planets orbit around the sun
• Saturn, Jupitar, Uranus and Neptune have rings
• Mercury is the smallest planet.

     We also taught about how human beings and animals live on planet earth. Each child was handed a paper planet earth for an interactive story. All were instructed to raise their planet earth up high every time they found it as the pages were read.

             

     Art was incorporated into our space agenda to make a personalized spaceship using their own footprint, stars and other media. Students are always exceptionally proud of their projects when made with their own handprints/footprints. Crafts such as these also serve as a great sensory activity. Young learners pretended their spaceships were taking off to the moon... 1, 2, 3 blastoff!

     Early readers enjoyed sitting at a space themed book display. Pupils participated in partnered reading and reviewed all that they learned during the day. There are numerous advantages of partnered reading some being but not limited to: learning how to give and receive feedback, assist in developing reading fluency and allow peers to learn from and help one another. 

                     🌙 We hope you enjoyed learning about our space explorations!☀

                                                                                                              🚀SMART START🚀

Nora's "All About Me" Book and 4th Birthday!

     Our most recent SMART START author to present an “All About Me” Book was Miss Nora! Nora has become quite confident with her public speaking skills and truly excelled during this project. Inside Nora’s Book were a few interesting facts about herself as well as some beautiful drawings. Classmates were very impressed with how effortlessly Nora read off each page. All enjoyed learning more about their friend. Thank you for sharing more about yourself, Nora! 
Here are some details from the chapters in Nora’s book:

• Wants to be a princess when she grows up 👑
• Favorite color is red ❤
• Likes to eat pizza 🍕
• Favorite thing to do is go to Florida ☀
• Enjoys going out to eat 🍝

                              

     Much fun was had by all while celebrating Nora’s 4th Birthday party here at school in our outdoor classroom! Nora thoughtfully brought in goody bags for each of her friends.  Nora was gifted a book from her peers and they sang “Happy Birthday” to her in both English and Spanish.            Nora has been a pleasure to teach at SMART START for over 3 years now! Nora is a warm and kindhearted girl. She is insightful and inquisitive and has blossomed into a lovely prekindergartener. We look forward to helping you flourish this year,  Nora!

💙 SMART START 💙

Butterflies

     Our butterfly unit both this and last year has kept all of our curious learners engaged and amazed! We were busy learning all about butterflies here at school through various activities. We hope you enjoy taking a look at our butterfly journey here at SMART START.

     One of the best ways for preschoolers to learn is to immerse themselves in a good book. Whether in a group, shared with a friend or on their own, books are traditionally a class favorite! We value reading time here at school and surround our students with an abundance of literature. For our butterfly units, we filled each book case ,set up display tables and had accessible materials in each of our classrooms. Young learners learned many interesting facts about butterflies some being:  

• What flowers butterflies like
• drink nectar from the flowers
• proboscis is the name for a butterfly's tongue
• they taste with their feet
• a group of butterflies is called a flutter
• butterflies are insects and have 6 legs
• life cycle stages

                                                                   2018         

2019  

         

  

                                             

     The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle served as the perfect book for our butterfly units. This classic story celebrates this year it's 50th anniversary! 

Budding Entomologists listened intently and could hardly wait to recite the next part of the story each time we flipped a page. While this childhood favorite offers an insight into the life of a caterpillar and butterfly, there are other basic concepts that we focused on as well.  Classmates counted the food items that the caterpillar ate each day and practiced the order of days in a week.  Having the Spanish version of this book was a fun way to fit in some Spanish to enhance their vocabulary and comprehension of the language. 

     Pupils played "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" board game. This is a creative rendition of the classic game "Chutes and Ladders". SMART START friends had lots of fun playing this challenging activity together as a team and did an excellent job taking turns, encouraging one another and even learned some facts, too! 
                                                                   2018

                                                                      2019
            

  
     Last year, Kinsley, one of our students, was so kind and shared her Monarch Butterfly costume with the class. Peers were delighted as they pretended to fly around like a beautiful butterfly. We offered additional butterfly costumes for our animated bunch as dress-up and dramatic play is always a sought out activity. Pretend play offers endless benefits for this age group! Social and emotional development, imitation, motor skills, problem solving, empathy and vocabulary building to name a few. Thank you for sharing your costume, Kinsley!

     This year, we viewed the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" animated narration on our white board. The children loved seeing one of their favorite stories come to life on a large screen. Viewing this provided students with a visual representation of metamorphosis. In addition, classical music played throughout the narration which enhances memory, promotes creativity, reduces stress and more. 

                                                              2018

 
                                                                             2019

  As part of our science-based lesson, our class witnessed the butterfly lifecycle here at school. Students watched as tiny baby caterpillars grew into large adult caterpillars,  that transformed into chrysalises and then finally emerged into painted lady butterflies! This project allowed the subject matter to be studied up close with magnifying glasses and binoculars. All were fascinated as the caterpillars changed each day until they fulfilled metamorphosis. 

                                                               2018

                                                                  2019

    Arts and Crafts as well were incorporated into this unit of study. Last year, the children decorated plastic jars which served as a home for our school butterflies. Handy Helpers had the opportunity to work alongside Miss Francesca and drill a hole in the jar by using a power drill. This year, artists  constructed their very own caterpillar using recyclable materials. Each used an assortment of art media for their insect creation. 

                                                                     2018
                                                           

                                                                    2019 

     Our SMART START  group assisted in releasing the butterflies into their natural habitat. Last year, each child received a butterfly that they brought home and released into their yard. This year, as a class we decided to release them into our outdoor classroom. All took turns holding and saying goodbye to their beautiful insects! Earlier this Spring, we planted milkweed and other plants that attract butterflies. We are looking forward to having a visit here at school from our newly fluttering friends!

                                                                     2018

2019

                                       

🐛 SMART START 🐛