Finches
–
2 years old by September 1st –
A Day in the Life of a Finch
9:00-10:10 Arrival & Free Play
At the start of the school day, the children are encouraged to explore and discover age-appropriate activities correlating with our theme for the day in two classrooms.
These activities may include, but are not limited to: painting at an easel, building with blocks, dressing up in costumes, exploring different themed items in the sensory table, making music or looking at a book. Through these different experiences, the children learn to understand important social and developmental skills, like sharing with other children their age.
While the children are busy exploring, one area of focus for the teacher and the two participating parents is to assist the children with communicating their needs to others. We use both verbal and nonverbal communication techniques to accomplish this goal. This is an important concept of teaching two year-olds since they only are beginning to communicate with others.
10:10-10:20 Clean Up & Getting Ready to Go Outside
The children assist with picking up the toys that were available during free play. Once the toys are put away, everyone dresses in appropriate outerwear. The children learn to put on their own hats, gloves and jackets.
10:20 -10:50 Outside Time
As long as the temperature is above zero, we go outside to play on the school’s well-equipped, half-acre playground. The children get to play on the tire swing, sandbox and playhouse, to name just a few items permanently situated on the playground.
We also provide tricycles, sand toys and sleds on the snowy days for the children to use as tools for enhancing their imaginative play. We encourage them to have fun, and we expect them to get dirty!
10:50-11:05 Snack Time
After spending time outside, we return to the classroom for a small snack, such as crackers, pretzels or dried fruit.
On a special ‘color day’, we offer the children a fresh fruit or vegetable that is the special color. For example, on red day, we may eat red raspberries or red apples as a snack.
In addition to coordinating the snack color as a learning tool, we encourage the children to independently pour water into their own drinking cup.
11:05-11:30 Quiet Reading/Circle Time/Dismissal
After the snack, we gather for circle time. The teacher leads the children in several songs related to the day’s theme. A song that we sing every class day is the ‘hello song’ which is intended to help the children learn each other’s names. The teacher then reads the children a story.
During circle time, the children are encouraged to dance or move around as it is developmentally appropriate for two year-olds to move as they engage in circle time learning.
After circle time, parents pick up their child. Parents are always invited to stay and to socialize with each other.
