First Day of Preschool - Letter A, Number 1, Circle, and Primary Colors

Today was Aidan's official first day of preschool - and what a day it was!

We started our morning out with assessments to figure out exactly where we are starting from. I explained to Aidan that this was not a test and there wasn't a right or wrong answer. I hoped to ease his mind and help him de-stress so he wouldn't feel pressure when answering the questions. Half of the assessment was figuring out what uppercase and lowercase letters he knew, what numbers from 0-9 he knew, and what letter sounds he knew. I didn't do colors or shapes because I know he knows those well. He did OK on the uppercase letters, but not so hot on the lowercase and the sounds. Which is exactly why we did it! The second half of the assessment was completed by me, answering questions about his learning style, his concentration, as well as his fine motor skills. I used flashcards to go through the letters, sounds, and numbers. (These flashcards are part of the Letter of the Week program from Confessions of a Homeschooler and can be found here: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week )

Once the assessments were completed, I had Aidan use the restroom and grab a snack while I got our Circle Time board ready and what we were going to be using this week. This week's focus is the letter A, the number 1, the shape circle, and the primary colors red, blue, and yellow. We started circle time with the Pledge of Allegiance, then sang the Alphabet Song, and the Days of the Week song. Then we discussed what day of the week it was, what yesterday was and what tomorrow will be, and what the weather was like. We discussed the letter and sound of the week, as well as the number and the shape. I then had Aidan complete today's page in his Preschool Binder.

After that we did some cutting practice and I had Aidan cut the lines for this week. (Found in the Letter A of the Letter of the Week program) An important reminder when teaching your child to use scissors is to be sure you have a GOOD pair of children's scissors with a lid to keep them sharp. Also, make sure you are sitting with your child and constantly making sure they are holding the scissors the right way. It is very easy for your child to fall into a bad habit of holding scissors incorrectly and very hard to break.

 After cutting practice, we took another little break so Aidan could get some water and I could get some coffee. I didn't want him to get stale sitting for too long. Then he colored the "A is for Apple" page!

Once we completed the "A is for Apple" coloring page, we played a number recognition game where Aidan jumped to large letters on the ground when I shouted them out. I forgot to take pictures of this activity. Sorry!

Then it was computer time. We use ABCMouse.com and LOVE IT! My first grader uses it as well and we love it. You can create lessons plans or have the program create them for you. Your child earns tickets as lessons are completed that he or she can use to play games and buy fun prizes. It's a great way to get your child familiar with using technology. Today, we completed lessons for the letter A, for the shape Circle, and for the primary colors red, blue, and yellow.

Then it was time to use the restroom again and get the wiggles out before sitting down to read a story. We read two stories - one from a book we have and one from ABCMouse.com about the primary colors.

After reading time, we made reminder bracelets of the letter, shape, and number we are working on this week!

Then we focused on the shape Circle. Aidan knows his shapes really well, but it was part of this week and I think it was good for him to do something he felt really good at! These circle worksheets are from www.preschoolpalace.com. Another good reminder is to have your child write his or her name on all the work - it's good practice for Kindergarten!

We finished the school day off with our primary color Red book! Aidan did a great job coloring, cutting, and stapling his book!

Tomorrow we will continue our focus on this week's letters and numbers, and will introduce a few new concepts, including community helper, the police officer! Now it's time for chores and then we're off to the park before picking up big sister at school!