Utopia Preschool

With the school year coming to a close and everything winding down, we participated in our last P.E. class of this year. This time, both groups did P.E. together. We got to do some of our favorite things such as animal action and using the hula hoops. We even made Mr. C a giant thank you card and took some group pictures. Thank you Mr. C for teaching us new sports and encouraging us to try our best!

The children had a great time using our new rings! They found a variety of uses for them, such as, spinning them on their arms, rolling them on the floor, jumping over them and even pretending they are "huge glasses". Jackson was adventurous and spin several rings at once! Kingston leaped over two rings!

Today the children had so many exciting ideas playing with the puppets outside. They ordered food at the restaurant, made food for them to eat, a place for them to sleep and had a dance party with them.

This week a few children started putting the bases out on the bike path as speed bumps. Today more children joined in on the fun! The children quickly realized that is takes more power to get over the speed bumps. Some children would get stuck so friends would come help them. They also learned that it slows them down, helping everyone go a safe speed while on the bike. Julianna and Mathias both took turns pulling friends in the wagon over the bumps. It was not easy! Ellie liked using the bigger bike to go over the bumps instead of the little bikes. Calleen said, "This is hard!" This was a great way to explore our interest in roads!

This morning, our young gardeners checked in on their individual seeds and sprouts. They've been recording their observations in a variety of ways. For example, Evelyn has been writing a book that describes what materials she used to plant her seeds.  Russell has been sharing his observations and recording them on a chart. Aria, Reilly and Sloka drew pictures of what they think is happening to their seeds within the soil. It is always great to see the children enjoy and learn from the same activity in a variety of ways!   a

The children have always enjoyed being "Ninja's" and "Power Ranger's" at school. Sometimes acting out different Ninja and Power Ranger scenarios can lead into physical interactions between the children. Last week we re-directed their Ninja and Power Ranger energies by creating a "Ninja Course"! The children were able to use their ideas to build different obstacles and create moves as the completed the course. They had so much fun with this last week, that they continued to create and practice their moves today!

The classroom buzzed with the sounds of conversations as the children enjoyed their lunch and caught up with one another. This time of the day offers a variety of learning opportunities! They exercise their independence and self regulations skills as they practice opening and closing their lunchboxes, Tupperware and thermos. They support one another in developing their language skills by sharing events of the night before and activities they experienced that morning. We even do simple math lessons as the children count how many items they have for lunch! It is always wonderful to witness and take advantage of informal learning opportunities.

During outside time, the children have been very interested in the legos from Kyle Rebecca's family. Lena has been talking about how much she loves to visit the zoo, so she began to build a zoo out of the legos. Naomi saw the zoo Lena was building and joined in. Naomi made a bus full of people and animals going to the zoo. Calleen built a train for everyone to ride on while at the zoo. Then Regan built a park for all the families and made sure to make a palm tree for her park at the zoo. Julianna and Cassidy came over to observe the zoo. They placed lego people into cars so they could drive to the zoo. We love when we can collaborate and play together!

This morning the children had so much fun helping Teacher Elda make GAK!!! After their first attempt, the gak was a bit stiff and hard to stretch so we decided to make the activity into a science experiment as well. Some children decided to add water to their gak, where as others wanted to add more glue. After some mixing, squeezing, and kneading the gak started to get softer and the children were able to stretch it!

We had a Mother's Day celebration today! We ate brunch together, made jewelry at a beading station, and took photos at our photo booth! The children also sang "This Little Light of Mine" and gave their moms handmade crowns and necklaces they made this week! Teacher Linette brought her polaroid camera to give each family a souvenir from the day.  Happy Mother's day to all the mothers and mother figures who help all our children grow!