Science Week!

We have Mr. Bond the science guy here to start our science week off with a bang!

Children learn best when they're involved in the learning. This means getting to ask questions and have discussion, and it can also mean letting their interest guide planning. Children need their senses engaged! Hands-on science activities let children do just that, giving the kids a chance to engage multiple senses. Children learn by doing! Hands-on science encourages the children to do something- observe, ask questions, touch, smell, experiment. Allowing children to really get into science gives them the chance to make discoveries on their own. They'll be more likely to remember a learning experience if it's just that... a real experience.

Everything Is Adding Up Here At AOHV!!

We have found that young children are, by nature, curious about math. Math becomes real to young children as they use it by talking, reasoning, playing, and doing. We have a better understanding of how preschoolers' early exploration of math helps them make sense of their world and what kinds of instruction and practice are needed to help them build new skills and deepen their knowledge.

                                           
"Letters look different than numbers"

"How many bugs do you see"?

Hopscotch is a great way to play and learn numbers!

We're making play dough numbers!

"Pi Day"

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making fun snacks! Thank you to all the parents who participated in "Pi Day"! I knew I loved Math for some reason! HAHAHA!

I have to mix one cup!

I have nine cookies and one big smile!

I'll take one piece and have five left!

Math Week!

To many adults, the word Math and Play have absolutely nothing to do with each other. For many of us, math was a torture, something we had to do, and something we didn't understand and couldn't do. Play on the other hand is something we love. Young children are learning math all the time through a wide variety of play experiences. From the time they are born, babies are surrounded by sense impression. Shapes in particular are of immediate importance: babies react instinctively to the arrangement of shapes which make up the human face. At the Academy children have many opportunities to enjoy and learn Math through Play.

         We are putting patterns together with
           different shapes, sizes, and colors.

We love counting with the peg boards!

We are counting with colored bears!

How many bears do you need?

I like putting the green bears on mine!

Pete the Cat and his four groovy buttons!

It's so fun to sort and count the pom pom's!

How fast can you count them?

Wrapping Up Music Week!

Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness: intellectual, social and emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sound and meaning of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. For children and adults music helps strengthen memory skills. This week the children enjoyed exploring the power of music! 

The Power Of Music!

We have had so much fun this week exploring the power of music! Our teachers have done a wonderful job creating fun music activities for the children! Our infant 1 room had so much fun exploring sound with a homemade drum! Our Toddler 2 room worked on their gross motor skills while playing with a giant piano!