An exciting pre k activity is that of sequencing. You can learn how to sequence anything from stories to numbers to objects! Sequencing is important for young learners because it provides an introduction to pattern recognition, an important skill for math. For this activity, we used mermaid manipulatives to create various patterns. These were two and three color patterns that they were asked to repeat. Everyone enjoyed seeing just how many mermaids they could fit into their sequences!
Literacy manipulatives are physical objects that aid understanding of concepts or processes by allowing students to physically demonstrate and see the concept or process.
The use of manipulatives provides a way for students to learn concepts in a developmentally-appropriate, hands-on, experiential way.
Literacy manipulatives can be used to promote reading and writing skills, particularly in the early stages of literacy development for young readers.
For this activity, we used manipulatives to spell the word MERMAID.
Students were asked to name each letter in the word, trace it with their fingers, and eventually, place jewels on top!
With most of our blue planet covered by water, it’s little wonder that, centuries ago, the oceans were believed to hide mysterious creatures including sea serpents and mermaids.
Merfolk (mermaids and mermen) are, of course, the marine version of half-human, half-animal legends that have captured human imagination for ages.
One source, the “Arabian Nights,” described mermaids as having “moon faces and hair like a woman’s but their hands and feet were in their bellies and they had tails like fishes.”
We had so much fun learning about mermaids this week!
We talked about King Triton from the movie, The Little Mermaid, sung the song “Under the Sea”, and created mermaid tails with bubble wrap!
For this activity, we used a few materials to create our own version of the Disney story, The Little Mermaid.
With seashells, toy mermaids, a wooden house and their thinking minds, students enjoyed creating their very own mermaid lagoon!
Writing is a skill that most people use every single day, whether it be writing a note to a friend or writing a check to a utility company. Even in the age of technology, the written word is still everywhere. But how do you teach a young child the proper way to write? The first step is simple… pre-writing. Pre-writing is learning the skills necessary to begin writing.
Pre-writing is an important step because it teaches children the correct way to hold a pencil, how to use a good, firm grip, and emphasizes the use of fine motor skills. Pre-writing also helps children with the development of hand/eye coordination, learn that words go left to right, and that lines of writing go top to bottom on a page. For this activity, we traced the letter M into trays full of glitter. Students were first instructed to trace a pre-made letter, and then were guided to create their own! Although it was much more fun to create mountains out of the glitter, we are very proud of some of the magnificent letters we created!
The first theme of our “Fantasy Month” started out with the mermaid! This was accepted with much enthusiasm, as we deemed Monday, “Mermaid Monday.”
To celebrate, we created mermaid tales out of glass jewels and colored diagrams.
Students selected a variety of jewels, and placed the correct match onto the corresponding section of the mermaid tale.
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