Utopia Preschool

This morning the children were busy exploring the use of tape with blocks! Some children made ramps, others created structures with blocks and taped them together. We saved their creations and are looking forward to what creative additions are to come!

The children were busy building and creating with a variety of materials at the tables. Some built a “habitat” for dinosaurs while others molded play dough, worked with piped cleaners and painted their clay sculptures.

Yesterday afternoon, we made jewelry that we could eat! This fine motor activity strengthens the muscles in the hands as the children carefully bead the cereal onto the string. We also talked about what it means for something to be “edible.” Some things are safe to eat and some are not. Afterwards, the children enjoyed their extra cereal as a snack before they went home.

The children have been enjoying sharing pictures of their pets at school! They’ve also been busy at the drawing and painting pictures of them. Here are some pictures of our students in action!

During group time Teacher Cassie introduced  a new music and movement song by Greg and Steve helping them warm up their bodies. It was a fun way to work on improving balance and coordination as well as listen to directions. The children had so much fun, they asked to do it twice.

Foam shape stickers are simple, but so much for for the children. They use their fine motor skills to peel the paper off the sticker. This can be difficult for tiny hands. While adding these stickers to their artwork and paper planes, the children reviewed the names of each shape.

Yesterday, we brought out the colored blue bottles to trace and draw pictures outside. Our rule with glue is “dot, dot, not a lot!” This helps the children remember to use only what they need when squeezing it onto their paper. Squeezing glue helps refine fine motor skills and strengthens the muscles in the hand. It also encourages attention to detail and focus as they follow the lines they’ve created.

The recent appearance of slugs outside have been catching the children's attention! This morning the children watched a slug slowly move on the ground and shared their observations with one another. Here's what they noticed: "He's walking!", "I see his mouth!" and "It has eyes!" It's always an exciting experience when the slugs start to make their way into our playground!  

Teacher Stephanie and some children were excited to release our new fish friends into the tank. As each one swam out of the bag, we counted and talked about how different they all looked. The children were so excited they started thinking of names to give them.

In the afternoon, some of the children wanted to create a carwash. We talked about the steps. First step is to dig a deep hole. The children dug all the way to the bottom. Next step is to get water. The children talked about filling their buckets up so it was heavy. Then they poured the water in the hole. They worked together to make sure they poured the water into the hole. Then they added their cars. They described their cars as dirty and sandy before the carwash and clean once it went through the carwash. This activity supports their language skills and helped them learn about cause and effect and  opposites.