Virtual Visit from Santa!

This week, both preschool classrooms had a virtual visit from the one and only Santa Claus! The children were so excited able to see and talk to Santa through Zoom. We had a lot of questions to ask him:

"Do you like to eat cookies?" - Elias 
"Are we getting presents? - Blake
"How do you deliver presents to kids who don't have a chimney?" - Hudson

Santa assured us that he had a special book that explained where to leave the presents if there isn't a chimney in our home. He told us that he likes cookies, but makes sure he also eats a balanced diet. Then he told the children that he was proud of them for being so friendly, kind, and patient this entire year. What a special way to celebrate the holiday season at school! 

Holiday Ready!

 The children have been busy working away preparing Christmas decorations for the classroom and for their home. These activities include painting, using glue and glitter and cutting! This helps the children develop their fine motor skills, visual art skills and their language skills as they discuss Christmas decorations they have at home. 

Welcome Back!

The children were so happy to be back in school, playing with friends & sharing Thanksgiving stories with teachers. Everyone was ready to get back into action in all areas of the classroom. 

Some children worked with mirrors in the Art area looking at the details of their eyes & drew them. Others were super excited to find out kinetic sand was back in their sensory kit & baked cupcakes for friends but the children couldn't wait to start building creative structures such as trains, ships, rockets, towers, camp sites and gardens in the building area & talk about what they built with each other.

It's been great having everyone back from Thanksgiving break!

Utopia Train Station

 All aboard! The children have been collectively working on their train in our classroom. We read the book, “Terrific Trains” and got many ideas for our own train. We also discussed a train station where we would keep our train. We turned the dramatic play area into a train station. The children have helped make signals and signs for the train station. We also made train tracks using masking tape so we know where the train route is. This activity helped children practice taking turns and supports their fine motor development. Can’t wait to see how our train station evolves! 

Lego Structures & Face Portaits

This week, building with Legos & drawing faces were a popular activity. The children built unique structures for their animals and people. 

Thomas- "This is a train for animals." Levi "This is a train." Blake- "I made a school with a swimming pool." Juliana- "An insulation from my home."

Drawing faces of friends, family members and of themselves have been fun. We gathered all their portraits and displayed their artwork on the hallway board for everyone at STM to see.

Election Week!

Today is a very important day in our country, for ourselves, our community, and the lives of all future adults: our children! I hope all of us have taken the time to vote, if you can. It is such a critical time in our country and our voices matter, no matter how young we are.

"I vote for Pete the Cat. He is nice and friendly." - Elias

We did not want to pass up the opportunity to talk about why this day is important and what it means to vote, so we had a little election of our own. First we read the book Vote for Our Future and talked about why our votes matter. Then, we cast our votes on who the children thought would be a better friend, Pete the Cat or the Pigeon. We also voted on a special snack we would have tomorrow (Apples or Bananas), and what activity we should do outside (Legos or Playdough). Needless to say it was a landslide win for Pete, Apples, and Legos. Afterwards, we each got a "V" for I Voted sticker. 

"Pete is a good friend because he is calm. The Pigeon is always yelling!
Maybe he can ask nicely to drive the bus next time." - Kaidha

"I vote for Pete because he says, 'It's all good.' He is friendly. The Pigeon is very angry." - Hudson

We will continue to have these conversations in the classroom about what it means to be a leader, and what kinds of changes the children want to make in the world. We encourage all families to do the same at home!

Other age appropriate book recommendations about Voting and Civic Engagement:
My Vote (Bryant and Prosterman)
Say Something (Reynolds)
Grace for President (Dipuccio)

Happy Halloween!

 Although Halloween looks very different this year, we still found a way to celebrate and have a good time! All the children were excited to see each other in their costumes. We also did a Halloween egg hunt outside and get to take the eggs home filled with some treats and goodies. The children also made spider snacks by spreading cream cheese on to a ritz cracker and then using pretzel sticks for legs and chocolate chips for eyes. It was a fun and exciting day!! Happy Halloween!! 

Pumpkin Patch

This week the children have decorated different sized pumpkins, leaves & spiders with open ended materials such as pipe cleaners, foam shapes & Halloween stickers, colored square tissues, glitter and glue. It's been exciting watching our Dramatic Play area transform into a Pumpkin Patch!! 

Puppet Show Stories!

This week, the children in the Sea Turtle class worked on puppets from our favorite stories The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes! The children read the stories a few times to get familiar with the words, then made their own popsicle stick puppets. We created a theater inside our Dramatic Play Area and took turns retelling our favorite stories. The children also pretended to make  snacks like popcorn and candy to eat as they watched their friends perform. This activity promotes language and literacy, as well as fine motor skills as they draw, cut, and glue their puppets together.

Fun Run!

Today was our annual Fun Run! Although it looked a little different this year, the children were still able to participate and have fun. They were so excited to run and wear their new t-shirts. We did lots of running and even had a little dance party at the end which helped us practice our gross motor movement. Thank you so much to everyone who donated!!! We appreciate you!