This was my first time hosting our preschool group, and I loved it!! We had 10 boys, all ages 2-4, and it's so sweet to watch my kids learning side by side with new friends. It's especially nice for us mamas to get the chance to chat with other moms and ask questions about potty-training, vocabulary development, and all the other things we're tackling for the first time! So I started out with a super easy letter, the letter Q (ha!), but it actually turned out that there was lots to do with this letter.
Gathering Their Attention: The last few times we've started the lesson with "Open Shut Them" to gather their attention. This is a good one to practice at home to get your kiddos used to following a common group song. I also really like the version by Super Simple Songs to practice opposites!
Quack, Quack, Quack: After reviewing a few things that start with the letter "Q," we sang "Five Little Ducks" since the mother duck says "quack, quack." It's also a great one for practicing counting to five and counting on your fingers. I added hand motions to get all of the kids involved!
St. Patrick: Since it was the Friday before St. Patrick's Day, I read a book about St. Patrick's life. I love that both the shamrock and the rainbow - the two icons of this month - have a beautiful connection to Christianity. St. Patrick used the shamrock as a metaphor of the Trinity for the people of Ireland (one leaf but three distinct parts), and the story of Noah teaches us that rainbows are a symbol of God's covenant promise to us.
Rainbow Necklaces: We practiced our colors, sorting, and fine-motor skills with this activity. Click here to see the full post on making these cute necklaces!
Shamrock Quilts: This was a fun activity to practice using scissors! I gave each preschooler 5 strips of paper with 4 different patterns. They cut each strip into squares or rectangles, and then mixed up the patterns to make their own quilt.
Q-Tip Shamrock Painting: This was another fun way to combine the letter "Q" with St. Patrick's Day and practice following a pattern. The kids dipped their Q-tips into the paint and then traced the dotted line to form the shamrock. Once they followed the pattern, they were free to fill in the center however they wanted.
Snacks: We ate quinoa tortilla chips, mini-quiches, and Quaker oat bites for our snack.
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