Utopia Preschool

The children have been having a great time manipulating the spray bottles! Today they used the spray bottles to "rain" on the plants. They also combined dirt and water to create mud. Later, Perry predicted it would take 109 squirts to fill up the bowl with water.

This afternoon Thomas found a bumble bee during outside time! Teacher Elda was brave enough to hold it while the children were observing and inquiring about its features, what it likes to eat and how it might feel. Russell and Sean Matthew noticed that the bumblebee had wings and 6 legs! Mairead shared thats she thought the bumblebee would like to eat flowers and honey! Our little scientists had so much fun getting to know the bumblebee before he flew off (after about 30 minutes of hanging out)!

Today we had a very exciting fashion show where the children showcased their carefully designed clothes on teddy bears and baby dolls of our classroom! They have been making these clothes for the past two weeks with Teacher Andrea in the house area. They set up chairs in the block area, announced each person with a description of their clothing piece, while displaying it to the group. We had a blast! They are already talking about ideas of another possible fashion show!

In the manipulative area, the children have been exploring sensory and fine motor activities. Today, they used felt figures that represent a story and have a sequence of events.

The children have been taking turns using the spray bottles while outside. They like to spray all the plants to make sure they are growing. Gianna said, "I will spray this plant right here. A rose will grow in 100 days!" Amir said, "You have to spray the dirt, that's what my grandma says!" The children used the spray bottles to clean the sand toys, the buckets and the ground. They also preteneded to be a team of  firefighters working together to put the big fire out!

This afternoon, the children decided to go on a Desert Bug Adventure! Before embarking on our adventure, the children prepared a backpack with goggles, boots and water bottles. Our young explorers found a Kinga beetle, Flyer, Dung beetle, Kilalila bug and a Maka beetle! After each discovery the children were encouraged to draw a picture of their bugs. These rare and unusual creatures can be found in your children's imagination!

Today the children were finally able to go outside again after the rain stopped! When they got to the house area, they excitedly noticed the addition of a new kitchenette.  Eveyln and Calleen quickly jumped in and started preparing food for their classmates! Other children eagerly waited for their delicious meals!

Today Gia created her very own library for our classroom! Many came by to look at what books were available and took some to the reading area after checking them out with Gia. She was so excited to set up the library and see it being used by her friends! We may need to take more trips to our own school library to learn more about libraries!

The children were so engaged in making clothes for their dolls. First they chose the material, then they cut and last they taped pieces together.  They were so happy seen their dolls all dressed up ready for the party.

Children are challenging themselves with their fine motors. They are using paper punchers and are refining the usage of their hand muscles. After they get the final product -shapes- they glue them on paper.

Many of the children were interested in using the play dough today. They worked together to create cookies, pizza and cakes to share with one another. The children practiced sharing the tools and space with one another as well as experimenting with mixing the play dough colors. Some children tried to predict what would happen if they mixed a little blue with the pink or a lot of blue with the pink.

The children worked on their cognitive and fine motor skills, as they manipulated the clay to create various lengths. The children placed their clay on a piece of paper and traced its length. Teacher Stephanie demonstrated how to use the ruler and challenged the children by having them compare sizes!

We got a break from the rain today, so we headed outside to play! Some children wanted to paint with water colors. We talked about what happens when we mix certain color and how to make new colors. One child figured out how to make brown by mixing all the colors together!

Today, the children worked on adding on to an existing pattern during small group. Some students took turns creating their own sequence using colored apples and stars. The block area echoed with laughter, as the children called out the next color. Who said rainy days were boring?!

The block area was very busy today as the children created a very elaborate classroom with benches using blocks, boards and cups! They worked together to add pieces and talk about what they would make next. When structures would fall down they were not discouraged but rebuilt quickly! They look forward to continuing their work this week and expanding on their ideas.