Tracing lines, tearing paper and play dough!  All fun things to strengthen the tiny muscles in their hands.  
They chose what manipulatives to play with and they chose math counters and mini squares.  They sorted and stacked the math counters and set up the mini squares like dominos.  
They sorted upper case and lower case Bb's in their fine motor journals.  

Fine motor skills are essential for a child's development as they enable them to perform tasks that require precision and coordination of small muscles. We did a few different activities to get in some practice.  Q-tip painting, stamps, stickers and play dough.  
Stickers and stamps aid in developing finger control and coordination. Playing with play dough by rolling it into balls, flattening it, squeezing and using small tools like cookie cutters helps enhance hand strength and dexterity.

The shape for September is a circle and the color is brown.  We are starting a little early with basic preschool and learning the classroom rules.  They are doing so well! They sorted shapes and used brown circles to create their names.  They counted the number of letters in their name.
Fine motor activity, they used circle stickers in their fine motor journals and traced circles using a brown crayon.  
They also enjoyed water play! 

They made sunshine names.  The older kids will either trace or write their name on their own and if able they cut out the pieces.  If unable to cut, they will tear paper.  

They tore brown paper and glued on letter "B".  I brought out the play dough today to introduce how we use and some tools.  They don't know while they are having fun, they are working their little muscles in their hands! 

They colored or traced lines in their fine motor journals.

We have spent the last couple weeks getting acquainted with one another!  We are learning rules, schedules and everyone's sleep patterns. Preschool will officially start in September but we are doing a few things now to get them familiar with the routine. I have introduced fine motor journals to those that have never done before and moving right along with the kiddos that have used in the past. We are also working on our names! Name activities are one of my favorite lessons because there is so much you can do while learning the letters of your name.  You can count, you can create patterns, you can learn shapes and colors and so much more!  We made ice cream cone names and counted the number of cones for each child.  
The older children got to make potions with magic paint and water!

Poof...just like that summer is almost over! We are prepping and getting ready for a new school year.  We are excited to have some new friends join us this year!