3 Things on November 2

In our classroom, we do at least 3 Things from the shelves each day. The 3 Things doesn't include updating the calendar, singing songs about the names of days or months, listening to a story, or field trips. The 3 Things are generally academic or developmental activities you'd find in a Montessori or traditional preschool classroom. Each activity can last a few minutes or can be extended as long as Zelda's attention span can handle. The only rule is that Mommy chooses the first two activities, and Zelda makes the third and subsequent choices. 

Here's the list (with commentary) for Wednesday, November 2, 2016:

• "Making 5" (Number Sense, Fine Motor, Sorting by Color, Counting)
• Zelda made groups of 5 unit cubes. She connected them to make chains of 5. She disconnected the chains and placed the cubes on the 5-square diagram. She removed each cube as she counted backwards.
• Game Extension: Each player choose a color. Player 1 put down 1-4 cubes in her color. Player 2 put down enough cubes in her color to make 5 total. (e.g. 3 green with 2 yellow, 4 green with 1 yellow, etc.) Use vocabulary: add, plus, equal, how many more. 

• Writing Counterclockwise Curvy Capital Letters (C, G, O, Q, S) 
• We circled our arms in a counterclockwise direction and drew counterclockwise circles on the white board. Then Zelda wrote the letters on the board and on paper.

• Insects: How many legs?
• Zelda LOVES bugs. She often chooses to get her insect models out so she can observe them with her magnifying glass and microscope. We counted the wings and legs on each insect, which included a butterfly, dragonfly, ant, grasshopper, and others.
• We talked about spiders often in the weeks leading up to Halloween, so I extended the activity with a comparison of the number of insects' and spiders' legs. Do they have the same number of legs? Which has more? Fewer? Are spiders insects? Why not?