Abilities, PLLC

Abilities is closed today, Thursday 12/17! Enjoy the snow and stay safe!!

Let it snow! Our first week back from the break was everything snow and ice! From science experiments and journaling, to melting snow man goo, to building a snowman inside and outside, creating sparkly snowflakes, reading about what snow men do at night, and language experiences during show and tell! Brrrrrr.... but being with our friends warms our hearts

Lights and shadows!! Our classes explored lights and shadows through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The kids learned how a broken strand of lights can still work when connected to a battery. They also learned that an object can only create a shadow when there is a light source (sun, flashlight, etc...). Creating silhouettes was fascinating and fun!

A fun-filled,messy, festive day! The sense of touch is just one way that children explore and make sense of the world around them! Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight, and hearing! = ... Why is Sensory Play Important?.... Encourages problem-solving...As children manipulate objects and explore through their senses, they are developing key strategies to problem-solving. Guessing, experimenting, drawing conclusions are all foundations. Increases brain development... Kids learn about the world around them through their senses. When the senses are engaged, neural pathways in the brain are being created. These pathways are what help your child in learning throughout their life. Provides sensory input...Getting adequate sensory input each day is important for every child. It’s even more crucial for kids who have sensory processing difficulties. Better retention... When children use more of their senses while learning, they are better able to retain what they’ve learned. Language development...During sensory play, a child can describe with touching, hearing, tasting, seeing, smelling, or experiencing through the body sensations. Learning descriptive words in relation to their senses such a smooth, rough, soft, cold, sweet, spicy and so many more expand a child’s vocabulary. Regulating emotions and behavior... Certain types of sensory play can be calming and help a child in self-regulation. Heavy work, sensory input that engages the proprioception sensory system can be particularly effective in regulating behavior. Improved fine motor skills... The type of movement involved in sensory bin play such as squeezing, pinching, sorting, placing, and scooping are designed to improve find motor skills and increase coordination. Sparks an interest in learning... Adding Sensory elements into teaching restores a child’s focus and can spark an interest in learning. Children who learn through play get more enjoyment out of it and thus want to do it more. So many fun ways that we incorporate sensory play into teaching!

123 Did you know? There’s A domain reached in every lesson! Why the Nursery Rhyme theme? Here we share many benefits of Nursery Rhymes on Preschool development: Cognitive development....Repetition of rhymes and stories is good for the brain, teaching how language works and building memory capabilities. Nursery rhymes help develop inferencing skills, both with encountering new words and in reading comprehension. Because these verses are made up of pat...terns, they are easy first memorization pieces. Speech..... Nursery rhymes are important for language acquisition and help with speech development. Nursery rhymes are excellent, the natural choice for a first recitation selection. The mouth and tongue muscles are developed as children say these rhymes. Listening comprehension is a foundational skill that is often skipped, but nursery rhymes can help ensure this crucial ability (that precedes reading comprehension) is covered. Reading..... Nursery rhyme knowledge provides an excellent foundation for later literary works. They are a great introduction to stories since many contain a beginning, middle, and end (sequencing). Creativity..... Nursery rhymes expand children’s imagination. They promote creative dramatization when kids act the scenarios out. Math.... 123Nursery rhymes are full of patterns, sequencing, numbers, and counting (forward and backward). They also discuss size, weight and other important math vocabularies. Physical..... Since many nursery rhymes involve movement, coordination and physicality are integrated with their readings (Think Ring Around the Rosey or London Bridge.) Coordinating fingerplays are helpful to fine motor skill development. Social and emotional..... Nursery rhymes develop humor. Because of the connection between movement, rhythm, and words, singing these songs can be a great group activity. Children can learn social skills from many of the rhymes. Nursery rhymes are familiar and can thus provide comfort and support to youngsters in uncomfortable situations. Finally, nursery rhymes are just plain fun to say!

R is for RAINBOW What does a fun and creative preschool teacher do when there’s a rainbow sighting on the way to school...AND the letter of the week is R?!! We have a rainbow day! So grateful for our amazing teachers!

Our Grateful Gobbler! We are grateful for our Abilities family! Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!