Utopia Preschool

Finger Paint   As the school year proceeds, the class will do a lot of learning and exploring through sensory activities and art. This year we’ve decided to start with finger paint! This activity gives opportunities for children to practice a variety of skills, such as color and letter recognition, letter formation, exploring with cause and effect (mixing colors and materials), and sharing the space and materials. Children are asked to write their name on the paper before they start painting. This encourages children to become more familiar with the letters in their names and also strengthens their fine motor skills to prepare them for writing more letter and numbers. Some children have also chosen to etch their names with the back of a paintbrush or their finger. This also is a fun activity to practice writing skills. Teachers also guide the children in exploring and problem solving with other classmates. For example, a teacher may point out a child making the color p...

Teacher In-Service Preparation August 4-August 15, 2013 For the past two weeks, the Utopia teaching team has been hard at work preparing the classroom environment for the 2014-2015 school year! The teachers organized and cleaned the classroom, labeled each child’s personal areas (cubbies, mailboxes, extra clothes, etc.), prepared for the new children joining our class, and restocked and organized the various learning areas. In addition to the work in the classroom, the staff took a training focused on positive guidance and discipline, attended a welcome back workshop provided by Preschool For All (PFA), and participated in a Project Approach curriculum workshop.   During the Project Approach curriculum workshop, our PFA Coach, Betty, challenged the staff to think of new ways to engage the children in our classroom. As part of the training, the staff discussed a project about birds and participated in activities that would allow them to have a better understanding about...

The First Phase of The Pet Project!          For the first phase of our pet project, Michelle brought in her cat, Misty, and Mairead brought in her dog, Valentine! The teachers told the kids that we had a surprise visitor for them to meet in the Art Studio and the kids were immediately intrigued and excited. When we walked over to the Art Studio, Misty was under a blanket and we asked the kids what they thought could be under the blanket. This is what some of them had to say: Ariana: “A kitty cat” Daisy: “A unicorn” Gabriel: “A car” Anya: “A princess unicorn” Brendan: “Horse” Kaylin: “A polar bear” The kids had a wide variety questions about Misty and wanted to know all about her. The kids also got to pet Misty and we asked them, “How does she feel?”: Kaylin: “She feels warm.” Brendan: “I don’t know.” Gabriel: “She feel good.” Anya: “She hot.” Daisy: “Good.” Daniela: “Soft and good.” Ariana: ...