Utopia Preschool

This week we had a special visitor, Colette's mom (Dilva), teach us about a holiday that is personal to their family. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico, where people celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed on. Family members eat special food, create decorations, and tell stories about their loved ones to keep their memories alive.  Dilva first read the children a story, then she stayed to help us create some calaveras (skull art) and papel picado (paper with holes). The children were able to practice their folding and cutting skills, then Dilva helped tie up all the children's papel picado into a long banner! We hung the skull art and papel around the room to prepare for the altar which we will set up next week. The altar will hold photos of our family members, food and snacks, drinking water, and more special items that represent our loved ones who have passed away. Thank you Dilva and Colette for sharing this beautiful tradition ...

We had a blast at the pumpkin patch this year! We were able to visit many of the attractions at Lemos Farm including pony rides, train ride, hay ride, inflatable slide, jumpy house, and a tractor playground! Thank you to all the chaperones who spent time with us, keeping our class safe and happy. 

The Building Area is a popular area of our classroom where the children have free rein to collaborate, problem solve, and try out their ideas. Having various shaped blocks supports their imagination as they learn to represent different shapes for other other objects, measure, and create symmetry, and patterns. All of these skills are important for cognitive development and early math skills. They children also learn to communicate their ideas with peers, while building flexibility and understanding.  Mikey, Donovan, and Bryce use a variety of building materials to create castles, an airport and a farm.  Before building, Sherleen Kate and Hunter looked at a photo of a real castle as inspiration for their structure. They were able to compare and contrast the images in the photo with the blocks in front of them.  Arden uses symmetry to match cubes and bridges on the top of her "Princess Castle" Luna Bella and Madeline choose several rounded arches in the center of their "Ch...

We turned a portion of our yard into a pumpkin patch complete with hay, cornstalks, and pumpkins of all sizes! The children were curious about what each pumpkin looked like, their parts, and talked about what they could be used for: jack-o-laterns, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin soup! We also invited the children to draw pictures of what they saw, while hypothesizing what was inside the pumpkins. This week, we will take our investigation further by opening up the pumpkins and observing the flesh and seeds. Special thank you to Mia's family for donating these pumpkins to our classroom!