Hello!
I am going to start structuring the weekly newsletter a bit different. As I was getting used to writing weekly articles for the preschool site, I solely used the newsletter to let you know about the latest article I posted. While I will still include link(s) to my latest articles at the bottom of the newsletter, my newsletter will now give you ideas, tips, recipes and other relevant preschool information that is different from the weekly articles I post.

Language Tip : In every day conversations with your preschooler try and use a descriptive, novel vocabulary. For example, your preschooler already knows what the word ‘big’ means. Why not say ginormous, massive, enormous, or colossal instead of simply saying that something is big? When you ask them to hand you an object try to use a few descriptive terms along with the item you are naming (e.g., the squishy, slippery bar of soap instead of simply asking for the soap).

Recipe of the Week: Cooked Play dough

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Food coloring of choice
Scent of choice (almond extract, vanilla extract, coconut extract, banana extract, cinnamon, etc.)

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a pan on the stove and cook over medium heat until the ingredients form a ball. Remove from heat and let cool. Store the play dough in an air tight container.

Quick Art: Make a magazine collage.
Recycle your magazines and let your child make a collage. They will need kid-friendly scissors, a glue stick, and construction paper. Let them flip through the magazine to find pictures they would like to cut out. After they have a stack of pictures they can start gluing them to the paper. Another option is to give them a theme. Have them search for pictures of animals, a certain color, nature items, etc. They can also cut out the letters in their name to glue to the top of their magazine collage.

Movement Activity: Using chalk, draw a city on your driveway. This does not have to be elaborate at all. Draw a road on the perimeter of your driveway. Then add some simple features (store, gas station, park, etc.). You can draw a square and write the word “store” at the top, it truly does not need to be elaborate. Then let your child ride their bike/tricycle/scooter around their city. You provided the city, now they can provide the imaginative play.

Did you know?? : According to a study done by Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, “preschool teachers’ use of sophisticated vocabulary and analytic talk about books, combined with early support for literacy in the home, can predict fourth-grade reading comprehension and word recognition.”

Ocean Theme Preschool Plans Are you looking for Ocean inspired preschool plans? Here is a sample lesson plan that you can easily adapt to your child's skill level and the materials you have on hand.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art181460.asp

Have a great week!
~Amy