Utopia Preschool

We talked about the different kinds of emotions. Students shared what makes them happy, sad, mad, and excited. Being happy, sad, excited, and mad are emotions that are normal. It was interesting to note that the children thought that being mad was not okay. We talked about it in class, and we concluded that being mad is normal and is okay. Hurting someone because you are mad, however, is not acceptable. As we continue to explore our feelings, we will continue to talk about different emotions and behavior. Play Dough We made our very own play dough in school this week. The children measured, poured, and mixed the ingredients, and the teachers cooked the dough until it was soft and pliable. We enjoyed kneading and shaping the dough into different shapes. Garden Harvest We harvested several ears of corn from our vegetable garden. They were cooked and served for lunch last week. The children are eagerly anticipating the harvest of the other garden vegetables. Pa...

The play structure was finally ready to use this week. The Pre-k students had the opportunity to use it and they loved it! It was challenging for most to swing on the monkey bars, but that didn’t stop them from trying. For safety, I check if the child knows how to fall on both feet with knees bent, before I let them try the bars. Chef of the Week was a success. Yvonne (Elisa’s mom) helped the children prepare Elmo pizzas using English muffin, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Olives, cherry tomatoes, and cheddar cheese were used to make Elmo’s eyes, nose, and mouth. If you are wondering why your child’s lunch seems untouched today, the pizza was prepared right before lunch and some children ate their very own creation. With the cooking success today, we are looking forward to our regular parent cooking activities. YUM! For the first few weeks of school, we will talk about how to be a good friend and how to be safe in school. This week we talked about th...

We apologize for the delayed posting. We tried posting this last week and we thought we were successful. We only found out later that it didn't make it to our pre-k blog. Hopefully, the second try is a charm. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Happy first week of school! Going back to school can be both exciting and overwhelming for young children. It will take some time for them to adjust to their teachers, their classmates, and the new environment. Please help them with the transition by dropping them in school on time and picking them up on time. Making Good Choices Independence is one of our goals in Utopia. Please consider this when helping your child choose the clothes to wear and food to bring for lunch. The teachers will always be there to assist but we want to empower your child by allowing him to choose what food to eat and how much food to eat. Small portions of a variety of food from the different food groups work best. Curriculum We use emergent...

End of the Year Potluck Luau Our end of the year potluck is only days away! Our party will start early so feel free to join us as early as you would like! We will eat around 11:30. We would love more people to join our decorating committee so sign up if you can help out! See you June 30th! *Summer session begins July 6th* Spirit week was so much fun! We were all so comfy on pajama day! On backwards day we had a special surprise! Alex’s dad Ted is a police officer and he and his partner came in a police car and motorcycle! We sat in the police car and on the motorcycle! We had so much fun! Alex and Austin on the motorcycle Our new friend Logan Our special snack on pajama day Watch the road Talia! Our Group Police Shot

June 4th, 2010 - This week we started putting together a classroom cookbook. Each student told a teacher about a recipe that they love to eat and know how to make. The titles of each student’s dish is posted on the parent board. Every family should have received a recipe form. We are asking all families to return the form with either the recipe for the dish your student told us OR a family-favorite recipe. PLEASE RETURN YOUR RECIPE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE – NO LATER THAN TUESDAY 6/8 . We only have a few weeks left and we need to put the book together and ensure that all families receive one. - We made a classroom quilt this week! Each student decorated a piece of felt with fabric markers and puffy paint. All students were asked to draw something that made them happy – many chose to draw their families. We are planning on putting the quilt together and hanging it by the end of the year potluck. - Starting Wednesday June 9th drop off and pick up will be through our side gates . One of the te...

We hope everyone enjoys their 3 day weekend! Memorial day is Monday May 31st!Only one month left of school for Utopia Preschool! Thursday June 3rd we will have a special breakfast for those kids who will not be here for our end of the school year potluck! Our end of the school year potluck will be on Wednesday June 30th at 11:30 am! Everyone is invited to join us this day even if it is not your child's regular school day. We hope that everyone will be able to bring in something to share with the class! This day will be a minimal day. School will dismiss at 12:30! Summer session begins Tuesday July 6th! Please make sure to fill out the summer registration form if you plan on having your child attend any of the sessions. Please remember to return your book swap bag!If you lose a book please notify us right away. Have a fun-filled weekend!

May 21, 2010 * This week we started our Utopia book swap. The book bags were sent out on Thursday and need to be returned by TUESDAY. Each bag has three books in it – please ensure that the bags are returned on time with all three books inside. Also, when returning the bags, please write the bag # on your students checkout card. *Our Dance Festival was a success! Thank you for joining us! All the children were so excited to perform in front of their parents and the “Big Kids” of St. Thomas More. Everyone couldn’t wait to wear their special shirts that we made ourselves and worked so hard on all week! * This week we began drawing family pictures. We took down the family pictures that were hanging on the branches and put them on the table so the children could look at the pictures while drawing! We are going to continue working on this art project next week. We have posted the completed ones in our dramatic play area. * Thursday June 17th we are going to have an end of the school year a...

Thursday May 20th at 7 pm we will be performing at the Dance Festival! We have decorated special shirts that we will wear the night of the performance! We are hoping that every student will be able to participate in the performance! During our performance we will be lying on the floor and rolling around so keep that in mind when choosing what bottoms your child will wear. If you plan on your child wearing a skirt make sure that you put leggings or short underneath. We are starting a new program: Utopia’s Book Swap! * Here’s the deal: We made 26 bags with three books inside each bag. Every Thursday each student will choose one bag. The student, with the help of the parent, will find his or her checkout card. He/she will then write the number of the bag next to the corresponding date when he/she checks the bag out. * The bags need to be returned on the following Tuesday. When they are returned, the students need to find their checkout cards and write the number of the bag they are return...

* HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Have a fabulous Sunday! * On Thursday, May 6th, Olivia Jimenez and Liane Louie-Badua (Ryan and Kai’s mommies) cooked us a fabulous lunch. The Jimenez family is from the island of Guam so they cooked us traditional Chamorro (the indigenous people of Guam) food. It included red rice, BBQ chicken, potato salad, and finedene sauce. Everyone had the opportunity to taste each item and several of our students especially enjoyed the red rice. Our class loves learning about different cultures! THANK YOU OLIVIA and LIANE! * We added two apple trees to our garden this week! One is a Fuji apple tree and the other is a Gala apple tree. They are about 5ft. tall, with lots of buds, and one tiny apple already growing on the Gala. We also transplanted our sunflowers into our biggest flowerbed. These sunflowers were originally planted in tiny containers as seeds. They are about 2-3 in. tall and growing strong. * Today, Friday May 7th, our class went to see a special opera performan...

April 30, 2010 * This week we have had so much fun making the best gifts a mother could ever want! But we can’t tell you what we made….it’s a surprise! We have also been practicing a lot on our dance festival performance! The performance will be on May 20th at 7:00pm. * On Thursday we read a story about Anansi the Spider. In the story Anansi weaves a web to catch a warrior’s good dreams! We began making our own dream catchers by painting the cut out rim of a paper plate. Next week we will continue the project by weaving yarn through holes punched in the plate and adding feathers and leaves to the bottom. They will eventually either hang from our ceiling in the classroom or, if your child does not stay for nap, be sent home to hang in your house. These dream catchers will ward off bad dreams and only send us good dreams. We will be a room full of happy nappers! * Exciting news! Another new addition to our beautiful garden will be a new mural that students from the elementary school will...