Utopia Preschool

The children in the Sea Turtle Classroom have been learning about all things that FLY! This week, we have turned our attention towards airplanes, airports, and places. Teacher Andrea brought in a special guest expert, KJ, who is a flight attendant and currently studying to be a pilot! KJ so kindly showed us videos and photos of the airplane she works on, and answered all of the children's curious questions.  Thank you so much KJ for Zoom-calling our classroom today.  Questions for KJ: - Does the plane have an engine? (Hudson) - How many passengers fit on the plane? (Hudson) - What kind of doors does the airplane have? Not like house doors. (Jelani) - Do the pilots take turns flying the plane? Can they sleep there? (Hudson) - What if both the pilots need a break? (Kaidha) - Where do you fly? Do you just go to the airport? (Jelani) - Can you eat on the plane? What do the pilots eat? (Elias) - Do you fly to Disneyland? (Liana) - Do you hang out with passengers? (Hudson) - Do you ...

 The Children of the Sea Otter class have been working together to create a collaborative piece of art. The children used recycle materials, paint, pom poms and feathers to create their art. Teacher Linette’s group worked together to build “Disneyland” while Teacher Cassie’s group created a little tree house. By encouraging the children to work together, they learn to listen to each others’ ideas and build off one another. The children took this idea outside as well when they decorated the play house with streamers. They said it was a “spooky, haunted house!”  Tree house  Disneyland “Ta-da” haunted house is ready!  Disneyland Creating the haunted house  Tree house 

We have been working with clay for the past month! The children are learning to manipulate the clay using hands and fingers, which helps strengthen their fine motor development. Clay also allows them to work on a particular idea for many days at a time starting with touching, sculpting, letting it dry, then painting and naming their final piece!  Enjoy some of the children's finished Clay Creations! "O Cereal" By Liana "Rainbow" By Kaidha "Big Rock and Smoosh Rock" by Elias "Snowman Happy Face Pancake Train" By Hudson "Bowser's Head. He takes off his head and throws it!" By Jelani

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!