Utopia Preschool

During outside time today, the children started setting up a party underneath their tent. They brought over all sorts of food from the house area and set it up for friends to enjoy. Dylan and Isabella made sure there was an area for everyone to dance and Ellie and Paige helped with the food. We had so much fun listening to the music and dancing with our friends!

The children have been working hard at the clay table over the past few months! They have been learning so many new techniques and working closely with Teacher Linette and Teacher Jamie to create detailed sculptures! Here is some of their work in progress!

We love our new teacher, Theresa! She is a wonderful addition to our classroom and already knows each student’s name and unique personality. She is also an expert story teller, playdough maker, a great listener, patient, helpful and so much more. We cant wait to learn and play with her the rest of the year!

This week the children have been exploring styrofoam. They have been using paint, glue and glitter to create art. Some children even glued pieces of styrofoam together to make 3D art. The children get very creative!

This morning the children were suprised to see tiny green footprints around the leprechaun trap the made! They decided to do some investigating and followed the tracks with their magnifying glasses and even came up with different stories of where he could be! That leprechaun was soooooo sneaky!

Today we had a special guest read a book during morning group! Dylan’s dad, Jordan, read “The Boy Who Lost His Name”  and the children loved how animated he was while reading. This book highlighted the letters found in Dylan’s name and supports letter recognition. Thanks for the great story Jordan!

This morning, the children were introduced to ladybug larva. At first the children were not quite sure what they were looking at, wondering what was hiding inside the packaging tube. The teachers explained that we had ordered ladybugs but that they are still growing. They were encouraged to observe the larva using magnifying glasses and microscopes.  “I see them!” shouted Fiona looking into a microscope. Luca shared, “I see little beetles”. Amir shared, “Thry have two eyes and one, two, three, four, five, six legs and a pointy tail”. We then transfered the larva into a small terrarium or Ladybug Land. The children giggled as they watched the larva crawl around the terrarium. Teacher Cassie stopped by and asked, “How many ladybugs do you think we have?” Shirley replied, “Eight”The children then drew pictures of the larva, as well as other insects.

It started to rain during outside time in the afternoon today so we came in early and read the book “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover”. The book shows numerous pictures of a leprechaun, which developed into a conversation about creating a leprechaun trap! Within minutes the children were busy working together to create their own trap for the classroom!

During outside time, a child found a slug and another child brought over a latge container to put it in. Other children joined in and gathered leaves for the habitat. They noticed the slug climbing the walls & making shapes. One child noticed it made the letter P, then the letter O, and the letter D. “How does the slug know how to do that.”

We had music class today! First we practiced using the rhythm sticks to a steady beat. Then we marched in a circle to the song ”Hi-Ho” and danced with partners! We love getting to sing and learn together with Ms. McDaniel every Thursday!

The children have been very interested in music and making music. We recently added some new intruments to our collection along with some new ones brought in by Dylan. Cayden was busy on the drums, while Kingston played away on the ukukele. A lot of the children have been trying new instruments and making new sounds. Maybe we should get a preschool band together!

This morning we had a special guest! Sharon (Matteo’s mom) lead a bubble making activity during outside time! The children had so much fun making small, medium and large bubbles. They also made their own wands by using pipe cleaners or straws and string!