Utopia Preschool

This week we read “Another” by Christian Robinson. This is a wordless picture book about a little girl who enters another world and finds that, in this world the children all have someone that looks just like them. Since there are no words, we had the children take turns narrating each page. We wrote down everything they said and then read it back to them. This activity supports an interest in literacy and story telling. 

 This week the children have been very interested in creating art, especially with different types of paint. Some children have been experimenting with oil crayons and watercolor. Other children have been painting rainbows with glitter paint. During outside time, the children tried out chalk paint and loved watching it drip down the wall! This supports their visual art development and their fine motor skills. We love seeing all their creativity being expressed through their artwork! 

The Sea Otter class have really enjoyed turning the Dramatic Play area into a Nursery. The children have drawn pictures of their babies & talked about what kinds of food they like to eat. Isa said, "Moana likes apples and bananas." They have also taken the responsibility of giving their babies a bath.  Dramatic play encourages the children  to role play everyday life situations & provides opportunities to practice overall good care  & hygiene of our bodies. Aside from all the caring, and role playing fun, baby baths are a really fun sensory activity & the children love it! 

The children definitely showed their school spirit this week & were so kind in complimenting each other on their clothes and outfits. Not only were they in such good spirits, they were busy making their grandparents gifts, designing clothes for their babies and started the process of making a gas station in the bike area. 

The children in the Sea Turtle class have been turning our classroom into a city. This week, the children created their own neighborhood, each with their own house made of cardboard! They added details to their houses like kitchens, bathrooms, garages, roofs, and doors. The children also gave their houses an address and mailbox, so they could send each other mail and letters. This activity supports writing development, sense of place, and community building!  The neighborhood on Purple Street. The streets are marked with purple masking tape which leads to each house.  Hudson shows us how to use his oven and stove. Hudson's bathroom with a toilet, sink, and piping!  Kaidha adds an address in front of her house: "35 Purple Street"  Hudson's address: "1213 Purple Street"  Kaidha looks through the mail she received in her mailbox Elias creates a number plate for his house: 100 Purple Street  Elias writes and receives letters from his neighbors

 Welcome back to preschool! This week the children have been getting reacquainted with their classroom, materials and most importantly their friends. The children have been busy with Legos, magna-tiles and drawing. They have been riding bikes and pretending to do a countdown for New Years while throwing leaves in the air as confetti! 

This week, both preschool classrooms had a virtual visit from the one and only Santa Claus! The children were so excited able to see and talk to Santa through Zoom. We had a lot of questions to ask him: "Do you like to eat cookies?" - Elias  "Are we getting presents? - Blake "How do you deliver presents to kids who don't have a chimney?" - Hudson Santa assured us that he had a special book that explained where to leave the presents if there isn't a chimney in our home. He told us that he likes cookies, but makes sure he also eats a balanced diet. Then he told the children that he was proud of them for being so friendly, kind, and patient this entire year. What a special way to celebrate the holiday season at school! 

 The children have been busy working away preparing Christmas decorations for the classroom and for their home. These activities include painting, using glue and glitter and cutting! This helps the children develop their fine motor skills, visual art skills and their language skills as they discuss Christmas decorations they have at home. 

The children were so happy to be back in school, playing with friends & sharing Thanksgiving stories with teachers. Everyone was ready to get back into action in all areas of the classroom.  Some children worked with mirrors in the Art area looking at the details of their eyes & drew them. Others were super excited to find out kinetic sand was back in their sensory kit & baked cupcakes for friends but the children couldn't wait to start building creative structures such as trains, ships, rockets, towers, camp sites and gardens in the building area & talk about what they built with each other. It's been great having everyone back from Thanksgiving break!