Utopia Preschool

This morning the children were excited to show off their Christmas spirit as they performed and sang"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Jingle Bells" for the Alma Via community! The friends at Alma Via were so excited to see and hear the preschoolers that they unexpectedly sang a few Christmas songs for us as well! The children then passed out ornaments they made and decorated the room with red and green paper chains! It's safe to say that both Utopia and Alma Via spread holiday cheer this morning!

Today Russell and Sergio created a fun game called "Toss and Throw" during outside time. The two boys each took turns throwing beanbags into basket from a distance. As they played their game together they alternated turns, created rules and counted their "scores" when they made a beanbag in the basket!

Today at the Art Table, a bottle of silver glitter spilled all over the floor and chairs! Mathias was quick to grab a broom and dustpan and clean it up, even though he didnt make the mess!  We love highlighting simple moments like this because it shows just how kind and helpful the children are with each other, without any reminders from teachers.

The children were invited to decorate foam frames today! They were able to sprinkle glitter on them, glue foam shapes on them or draw on them using markers. There was lots of sharing going on and friends waited patiently for their turn.

Today, the dramatic play area transformed into a sewing station! Fabrics were carefully selected, trimmed and 'sewn' using tape. Three beautiful dresses were designed for the babies.

The children went right to work making handmade presents for their families! They used glue, glitter, tape and markers to design their special gifts! We encourage them to get creative and share their ideas with each other. They are so proud of their work and eager to gift them to their families!

Today, we created candy canes with the kindergarten class, using pipe cleaners and beads! Each child made their own candy cane, creating a pattern of alternating red and white beads. They counted to make sure they had a total of 20 beads before finishing and worked together when in need of help. We had a great time with kindergarten and look forward to more activities together!

Today, we made chain link decorations for our Christmas Program next week! The children learned about patterns, alternating between red and green. This was also an opportunity to strengthen fine motor skills as they used glue to attach the pieces together. 

The children have been busy creating their own ornaments for the Christmas tree right outside our classroom. Some materials the children have been using are glitter, paper plates, colored paper, markers, stamps, stickers, fabric scraps, ribbon and sequins to name a few! Stop by and check out their ornaments!

The children kept warm, rocking out to their favorite Christmas songs! While waiting to have a turn at the 'drums', others jumped, spun around and waved their arms to the music. The concert continued, as the children practiced for the upcoming Christmas show!

Today in the block area the children used blocks, cups and unique plastic shapes to create and add character to their structures! Some children built "bases" and forts, whereas others used the materials to build boats!

Enjoy a piece of artwork from our preschoolers!

Remember that next Tuesday, November 22nd is a minimum day for Utopia Preschool. We will be closed on Wednesday, November 23rd through Friday, November 25th for the Thanksgiving holiday.

During our school closure on Veterans' Day, all Utopia preschool staff and STM staff participated in a service day at St. Vincent de Paul's Multi-Service Center (MSC ).   The  MSC shelter provides a safe place to sleep for some of San Francisco's homeless population as well as meals, medical, employment, education, mental health and housing assistance; a library and computer lab; free weekly haircuts; as well as shower and laundry facilities. The preschool staff cleaned the beds and mattresses in two different dorms, helped to clean the lobby area, and worked on Thanksgiving art displays in the cafeteria. Supporting St. Vincent de Paul was a powerful team building activity and gave the staff an opportunity to serve some of the homeless population in San Francisco. Please connect with the staff if you are interested in finding out more about St. Vincent de Paul's MSC and how you and your family can help!

Reminder! We will be closed tomorrow (Friday 11/11/16) in observance of Veterans' Day. We will see you next week!

Exploring Fondant May 25, 2016 Now that the children have had time to become familiar with frosting and the different techniques used to decorate cupcakes, I decided to introduce fondant! I noticed that the children seemed to have a good understanding of how to decorate cupcakes with frosting and the different tools used with it (piping bags, tips, frosting knives). I also noticed that they seemed to be interested in using combination of tools, so I decided it was a good time to introduce another decorating ingredient, fondant! I wanted to create a concrete experience with fondant for the children so I contacted “Kiki the Baker” to see if she was available to visit the classroom again. Unfortunately, her schedule was too busy, so I decided to show short videos of bakers using fondant to decorate cupcakes. One video demonstrated how to knead the fondant, how to make it less sticky (by adding corn starch or powdered sugar) and how to flatten and shape it with cutters. The other ...