Monday

Dinosaurs

     SMART START traveled back to the prehistoric era both this and last year to learn about dinosaurs! 

Read below to view what we studied during 2018 dinosaur week and 2019 dinosaur day!


  Our dinosaur displays exhibited a variety of related books, dinosaur models, habitat structures, fossils and an encyclopedia. Pupils practiced identifying different species such as, Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Apatosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, ankylosaurus and more. 
Here are additional facts the class learned: 
  •  Dinosaurs were reptiles 
  • All are now extinct 
  • The Spanish translation of dinosaur is: Dinosaurio
  • Some were carnivores/ate meat and others herbivores/ate plants
  • The study of dinosaurs is Paleontology 

2018

2019



      Dinosaur enthusiasts used fine motor and problem solving skills to assemble themed puzzles.  In addition, this year the group also worked diligently to match upper case and lower case T-Rex letter cards.
2018

 2019


     Young learners dramatic played with dinosaurs throughout the outdoor classroom. They roamed, jumped, stomped and roared around the yard and play structures. Imaginations soared as the  "dinosaurs" relived a day on Earth. Engaging in pretend play yields numerous benefits for children. Some being but not limited to:
  • experience the subject matter 
  • encourage creativity
  • promote literacy 
  • enhance social skills and communication
2018


2019

      The class circled in our outdoor classroom for a Jurassic storytime. All listened intently as information about dinosaurs was read. Our school chickens joined in and assisted with this activity. We discussed how chickens are closely related to dinosaurs, especially the T-Rex!

2018



    2019
     

     Classmates gathered to enjoy their lunch in dinosaur fossil bowls. This mealtime provided students the opportunity to discuss what they have been learning during the unit. Conversations included favorite dinosaur species and wanting to become a paleontologist! 
  
 2018



    2019


     Last year, SMART START artists created their own handprint dinosaur. They decorated paper with stickers, painted their hand and made a handprint. Each project was labeled with the child's name and "osaurus." 
     This year, aspiring archaeologists used tools to find artifacts inside a fossil dinosaur egg. All picked and dusted until they managed to crack their egg open. Miniature dinosaurs were discovered inside!

2018



2019


     Peers paired up to use dinosaur rubbing plates. Each covered their plate with paper and colored with pencils until a dinosaur appeared. Pterodactyls and t-rexes were among the creatures created. This craft allowed students to practice holding a pencil in writing position while testing their knowledge on dinosaur species.

2018


2019


     SMART START paleontologists excavated dinosaur fossils that were buried in the sand and outdoor structure mulch. Brushes, picks and other tools were used to unearth the fossils. All used magnifying glasses to inspect the findings up close and attempted to name what skeletal part they thought the fossils were: arm, leg, tail etc.  

2018




2019

     Last year, future engineers put their fine motor skills and hand to eye coordination to work as they built a 3D dinosaur fossil of a Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus. They followed the step-by-step instructions accordingly. Superior building!

     This year, the group constructed their own dinosaur fossil model using fossils they uncovered in the outdoor structure mulch. All cooperated as they arranged and rearranged the skeleton pieces. The
class named the model a SMARTSTARTosaurus!

2018



2019


     
                                            
๐Ÿ”SMART START๐Ÿ”Ž

Tuesday

Erica’s “All About Me” Book and 4th Birthday!

     Miss Erica was the next author to present her "All About Me" book at school. She beamed with pride as she detailed her mini autobiography to the class. All were impressed with the effort Erica put into creating her book, presenting it and answering questions. Astounding work, Erica!

Here are some details from the chapters in Erica’s book:


  • Wants to be a princess when she grows up ๐Ÿ‘‘
  • Favorite colors are purple and pink ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’—
  • Likes to eat vegetables and bagels ๐Ÿฅฆ๐Ÿฅฏ
  • Goes to the beach with her brother Max ๐ŸŒŠ
  • She likes to go shopping ๐Ÿ›’




     Everyone was exited to celebrate Erica’s 4th birthday party at school! Erica brought in delicious 
cupcakes and goody favors to share with her peers. Friends gifted Erica with a book and sang “Happy Birthday” to her in English and Spanish. 

     SMART START has loved having Erica as a student for over 2 years! She is lighthearted, intelligent and always eager to learn. We are excited to witness you excel as a prekindergartner, Erica! 



Click below to hear SMART START students singing "Happy Birthday"



๐Ÿ’›SMART START๐Ÿ’›


Friday

Spanish Studies

     Hola familia and amigos! We are proud that Spanish studies is a part of our curriculum here at SMART START. It is evident through research that children learning a foreign language during their preschool development benefit tremendously! Children’s brains are able to absorb information at an impressive rate. Our young learners have welcomed this addition with open arms, ears and eyes and are learning new words daily!


     Last year, artists gathered at the table for a lesson focusing on colors and numbers! Each had caddies filled with an assortment of markers, crayons and bonkers. We used this creative opportunity to introduce basic colors being red/rojo, blue/azul, orange/anaranjado, yellow/amarillo, green/verde, purple/morado, black/negro, brown/cafe and pink/rosa. A rainbow of Spanish colors filled the air as pupils chanted them out. Well done/bien hecho, amigo

2018

     This year, older Prekindergartners expanded their Spanish vocabulary using our whiteboard. Displayed was an assortment of words placed into categories such as, animals/animales, food/comida, school/escuela and more! Miss Francesca/la maestra described each category as classmates took turns choosing words to be translated. All did an excellent job practicing the pronunciation of each new word. Very good/Muy bien!

    2019

     SMART START students/estudiantes were excited to learnall about numbers and counting in Spanish in the outdoor classroom. A hopscotch mat was laid out as friends/amigos gathered and sat on a foam number. Each had a turn to practice their hopscotch skills while identifying and reciting numbers aloud in Spanish.

     Lastly, los ninos/classmates enjoyed a game of number memory match. Even Charlotte, one of our classroom pet chickens wanted to play! Number memory match provides children with the opportunity to not only develop their social skills with their peers, but challenge their reasoning and problem solving skills. Los numeros son divertidos/numbers are fun!

      2018

     Currently, our preschoolers are learning to count 1-10 while our prekindergartners are working on numbers 11-20. Young learners recently practiced their counting through a game using a deck of cards and dice. All took turns rolling the dice and then matching the number on the dice to the corresponding card. The class stated the numbers in both Spanish in English. This foreign language and mathematics lesson strengthened students number recognition, memory recall, fine motor skills and more! 

Counting in Spanish (1-20) goes as follows: (1) uno, (2) dos, (3) tres,  (4) cuatro, (5) cinco, (6) seis, (7) siete, (8) ocho, (9) nueve, (10) diez, (11) once, (12) doce, (13) trece,  (14) catorce, (15) quince, (16) dieciseis, (17) diecisiete, (18) dieciocho, (19) diecinueve, (20) veinte!


                                      2019                                          

     Espanol Bingo had been a favorite school activity both this and last year. Each player/jugador recieves a bingo card and markers. The cards are filed with a variety of objects and the corresponding Spanish words underneath. La maestra reads a card and estudientes check to see if they can mark it. All repeat each vocabulary word in English and Spanish as they are called. Once a child has five/cinco in a row, they shout, "BINGO!" Players/jugadores are always ecstatic when they marks cinco so they can select an item from our prize bin. So much fun/muy divertido!


                                                 2018                                                 

2019

     UNO is a riveting card game that is fun for all ages! Last year, La maestra taught the estudiantes the rules and object of the game (Be the first to get rid of all of your cards/cartas and when you have one card you say, "UNO"). This is the perfect game to practice colors and numbers in Spanish as well as simply reinforcing number identification. We loved watching them as they concentrated and anticipated their next move. Fun/divertido was had by all!

2018

     Twister was the game we selected to play this year! The object is to place your hands/manos and feet/pies on a color according to the spinner without falling over. SMART START amigos paired up to spin or take the mat. This activity enhanced color recognition, gross motor skills and following and giving directions. The most popular move was right hand on red/mano derecho en rojo!

2019

     Books are part of our every day routine here at SMART START. We are glad to incorporate Spanish reading into our daily learning. Our Spanish books/espanol libros are filled with all sorts of useful information for our estudiantes. We are reading books during circle time, independently and with amigos. Last year during circle time, the children/los ninos were each given a different colored scarf/bufanda. When la maestra said their color aloud, they had to wave their bufanda around and repeat the color as well. This year, la maestra has been reading some classic children's books in Spanish such as, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", "Little Blue Truck", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and more! Los ninos have loved hearing some of their favorite stories read in Spanish and have recognized a substantial amount of the given vocabulary.

2018

2019


     This year, estudiantes were given Spanish name plates. Each wrote their first names on the cards. Afterwards, peers practiced introducing themselves using the phrase, "Hola! me llamo es (child's name)/hello my name is. Gran trabajo/great job! 

2019

     Estudiantes are doing extremely well incorporating the Spanish language into their vocabulary here at school. We hope they are sharing these new words with you at home to reinforce and practice newly acquired skills. Thank you for your support!

 



๐Ÿ’™ SMART START๐Ÿ’™

Saturday

SMART START Fundraisers

     During the month of September, SMART START students host a fundraiser here at school! Last year, classmates worked a farm stand and this year a bake sale! Our goal of these hands-on events is to promote parent/family involvement and to provide our young learners with experience in customer service, knowledge of money concepts and instilment of hard work ethic.  

Read below to learn more about our annual fundraisers: 

2019
Bake Sale!
๐Ÿง๐Ÿช




     Future entrepreneurs were most enthusiastic organizing for the bake sale to be held in their outdoor classroom. Each SMART START family contributed a baked item that pupils priced and packaged. The sale displayed an assortment of treats including: cookies, muffins, cupcakes, cake pops and more! In addition, eggs from our classroom pet chickens, tomatoes from our grow what we eat garden and raffle tickets for a pumpkin were sold. 



     
     Our prekindergartners managed various jobs at the bake sale: cashier, item scanner, price stamper and raffle supervisor. Preschoolers assisted their older peers when needed. All were excited once shoppers/their families arrived and helped them purchase goods for home. Students learned how to communicate with customers and practiced phrases such as, "Welcome to our bake sale!" and "Thank you, come again!"  




Congratulations to Lou Lou and her family for winning our raffle- We hope you enjoy the Pumpkin





2018
Farm Stand!
๐Ÿ…๐Ÿฅš


   ๐Ÿ‹๐Ÿฉ๐Ÿช  Eager chefs took to the kitchen and worked together to make lemonade, apple cider donuts and cookies! They washed and squeezed lemons, used the donut maker and measured and mixed cookie ingredients. These goods were highly sought after at the farm stand. Customers were quite satisfied!


   
     With food preparation complete, it was time to package and price the items. Our hardworking bunch put eggs in cartons and green beans, donuts and cookies into individual bags. Each item received a sticker with a price. A special thank you to Cody and Kinsley for bringing in tomatoes to sell and a large zucchini for a raffle!

     All were up to the task of learning the role of cashier and following through on responsibilities. Adorable as ever, they sported aprons and name tags. This was an ideal activity to learn about the value of money, coin and dollar identification, as well as basic addition and subtraction. SMART START cashiers were proud to be in charge of the transactions and converse with customers.

  

Thank you to all our SMART START families for supporting our school fundraisers! Your participation and efforts are greatly appreciated!

๐Ÿ’šSMART START๐Ÿ’š

Monday

Welcome Fall!

๐ŸClick below to view what our young learners have been doing at school to prepare for the season of fall!




๐ŸSMART START๐Ÿ

Saturday

Science/S.T.E.A.M

๐ŸงชSMART START's core curriculum highlights a major focus on S.T.E.A.M (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Educating preschoolers/prekindergartners on the basics of the five aforementioned fields allows them to formulate observations, develop critical thinking, learn problem solving skills, make discoveries, instill inventiveness and so much more! 

Read below to see what our curious learners studied during this S.T.E.A.M unit!

๐ŸงฒInquisitive minds were quite attracted to our physics lesson on magnetism. Peers tested out an assortment of magnetic objects and engineered them into towers, castles, airplanes and more. Preschoolers were amazed how the items pulled together while prekindergartners grasped the concept of invisible magnetic fields. 



๐Ÿ”Future researchers explored a science based display which contained: test tubes, goggles, magnifying glasses, beakers, magnets, specimen slides, a microscope and manuals. Pupils learned that experiments begin with a question and a hypothesis/educated guess. It is crucial for children to inquire, seek answers and find resolutions in order to expand their knowledge. 




๐Ÿ”ฌSMART START scientists put on lab coats and welcomed Bobby The Scientist for another on-site field trip! Interactive learning commenced with a Biology experiment. Bobby offered expertise on the technology equipment used in laboratories such as, a microscope. Next, he handed out Q-tips and instructed how to wipe inside the cheek to collect bacteria. Students then swiped the sample on a glass slide and examined it under a microscope. All were fascinated by the microorganisms living in their mouth!




๐Ÿฆ€Bobby introduced his aspiring apprentices to a group of hermit crabs. Magnifying glasses were used to investigate the species up close. 

Here are a few facts we learned:
  • Hermit crabs are crustaceans 
  • They inhabit empty snail shells
  • The study of crustaceans is called carcinology
  • Crabs have 10 legs and 2 sets of antennae
  • Humid temperatures are ideal for crabs


๐ŸšCreative classmates designed some shells that the hermit crabs once resided in. Materials used were paint, glitter and miniature rocks. All were proud of their finished product and thanked the crabs for the spare shells.  



Click below to view more S.T.E.A.M at SMART START








๐Ÿ’กSMART START๐Ÿ’ก

Friday

Fun on the Farm

     Throughout the summer, we had been studying all things farm at SMART START!
Follow along below to see what we learned.๐Ÿ‘


    ๐Ÿ„ Future farmers free played with an assortment of theme related toys in both our indoor and outdoor classrooms. Pupils entertained items such as, puzzles, tractors, barns, animals and puppets independently and in groups. Structured and unstructured play yields numerous benefits such as,
  • an outlet to express emotions 
  • foster independence
  • encourage creativity 
  • promote healthy brain development 
  • freedom to choose and establish friendships
  • enhance language and communicative abilities
  • Instill a love for learning and so much more!

    ๐Ÿ–Young learners are always eager to observe our book displays. To coincide with this unit of study, the display showcased books and materials regarding farm life. Peers partnered up to read, learn and sing their favorite farm classics such as, "The Farmer in the Dell", "Five Little Ducks" and "Old Macdonald Had A Farm"! E-I-E-I-O!


    ๐Ÿ“ July is blueberry picking season! Dutiful gardeners were excited to discover a blueberry bush in the garden at our new school. In addition, students planted strawberry plants this spring that were ready to be picked. After harvesting the crop, all enjoyed the delicious berries during mealtime- grow what you eat!


    ๐Ÿ“ SMART START agriculturalists are gaining experience working their barnyard at school. The children diligently care for our classroom pets of chickens, ducks, rabbits and newly welcomed ducklings. In accordance of pecking order, prekindergartners are the relied upon farmhands while the younger preschoolers assist them. Farms chores include: feeding, grooming, cleaning and nurturing the animals.


    ๐Ÿด The travelling petting farm and pony rides on-site field trip was highly anticipated by all! Farming friends enthusiastically explored the pens of animals which included: chickens, rabbits, ducks, bunnies, chicks and goats! The children were able to pet, hold and feed each animal and were given a ride on Pearl the pony! Our farmer guests shared their expertise and were impressed with the knowledgeable comments and questions from the class. The petting farm also brought some farm fresh apple cider donuts! The group enjoyed these along with a special treat made by Asher-Thank you! These extended hands-on components of curriculum allow students to better comprehend the subject matter and further enrich their education.





๐ŸšœSMART START๐Ÿšœ