Utopia Preschool

This afternoon, a few children participated in a buh hunt. Before our search, Kingston, Matteo and Eloisa gathered materials they would need for their hunt, such as, goggles, magnafying glasses, a net and jars. Teacher Elda asked, "How many jars will we need?" Kingstong said we would need three jars. Once outside, we discussed where to seach for bugs. Teacher Andrea and Elda asked, "Where would the bugs be hiding? Where do they live?" Sean Matthew shared there were bugs by the flowers. Isabella said she would check the sandbox and used a shovel to dig through the sand. Eloisa says there might be bugs under the trampoline. Teacher Andrea, Eloisa and Isabella find worms under a planter! Teacher Andrea is brave enough to place the worms in a jar for the children to observe inside the classroom. Looks like a worm investigation is about to develop!

Today we had our field trip to Lemos Farm! We got to ride the school bus with special seat belts and wear special blue shirts. Once we got to the pumpkin patch we rode ponies, saw the goats and baby goats in the petting zoo, rode the train and hitched a ride on the hay ride.  Before we left we each got a little pumpkin!

The children were excited today was Friday & couldn't wait for the long weekend to start. They were in good spirits with friends & teachers talking about family coming over for pizza, games, & looking at a new house. The children were engaged in different activities indoors & outdoors such as building a magic castle, cheering, dancing, & even some meditation.

In celebration of our amazing Fun Run Fundraiser, we took the children to the park down the street! On the way we walked under a big bridge, and pressed a button to safely cross the street. We also made predictions of what we might find at the park! We were right about the slide, a tube, and something to climb on! When we returned to school, we enjoyed a special snack: muffins!  Thank you to Nori, Naomi's mom, for coming with us today and making our day extra special.

Naomi's family made a new batch of play dough for the month and the children were very eager to play with it. Play dough is always a popular area and somtimes the children have to wait their turn. Today there was a sign-up sheet! The children practiced writing their name on the list to have a turn. Waiting can be difficult, but they were patient and enjoyed writing their name on the list. There was also a lot of sharing going on. Ryan asked Enzo if he could have the star cookie cutter and Enzo  said he didn't need it anymore and he could have it. Not only did they practice sharing space and materials, but they also worked on fine motor skills and letters!

This morning, the children enjoyed working at the light table with colorful interlocking shapes. Amir created a " long dinosaur" using " only green" shapes. Cayden put together two "flyers", using blue shapes. Garrison and Luca created dinosaurs! It was very interesting to see them redesign, morph and improve their creations as they play. Our children are incredible engineers!!

The children love using the puppet show theater outside! Because it is so popular, we came up with a list of rules so that everyone could enjoy the show. 1. Only two performers at a time 2. No throwing puppets 3. Keep the puppets behind the theater 4. Audience is quiet and sits down The children took turns performing behind the stage, giving silly voices to their puppets and asking the audience, "What's your name?" Naomi came up with an idea to have a sign up list so everyone could have a turn. We called them up when the last performer was finished!

This morning, the writing table was the center for a variety of writing and art activities. Each child was able to express their ideas using different mediums and tools, such as, markers, crayons, tape, glue, hole punchers, scissors and magazine clips. Shirley created an art piece that required multiple steps. First she cut strips of paper. Then Shirley glued the different strips on a large orange paper. She also used the start shaped hole puncher to add stars to her work. Matteo focused his attention on cutting square pieces of paper and then used a star hole puncher to make several stars. At one point, Shirley and Matteo worked collaboratively, making stars and gluing them on paper. Aria dedicated her time to creating a card for her little sister. She also decorated an envelope using cards, which she used to place her work inside.

This morning the children had a fun time decorating and preparing their Question Jar with their special guest! They worked together by cutting and gluing the tissue paper, adding jems, and cutting out the questions. It was definitely a special time and a fun activity for children and their families!

During nap time, some of the children may wake up early or aren't sleepy that day. Teacher Cassie came up with an box full of quiet activities for those children who need something to do before we go out and play! They may read a book, make a beaded necklace, use felt toys, sponge blocks, draw with markers, peel stickers, and so much more. These materials not only keep the children engaged and busy during a long part of our day, but help develop their fine motor skills as they carefukly  recognition of shapes, and dramatic play as they pretend and create scenarios during their independent play.