Utopia Preschool

Our puppies did an INCREDIBLE job performing in the Spring Musical, 101 Dalmatians! They practiced all month long and it paid off. Thank you to all the families and guests who participated and made it such an exciting event for our students. We are so proud of them! 

To finish our ice cream parlor project, we made Jello Pudding Pops with the children! Teacher Linette found a tasty recipe and included the children in measuring, mixing, and pouring the batter into molds. After freezing, we enjoyed our pudding pops on a sunny day! We have included the recipe below. Pudding Pops Recipe (From the Jello Pudding Box!):

The children have been showing an ongoing interest in castles. To build upon these interests, we asked the children what they know about castles: Franco - There's a King and Queen. Ynez - They have bricks. Aaron - They are giant! Emily - It has arms (towers). Charlie - At the top, they are pointy. Kate - They have moats. Those are castles surrounded by water. Junior - They are really tall. Chloe - The dragon goes around the castle where the princess is. The Knight has to stop the dragon breathing fire. Colin - There's cannons. Trixie - Princesses live in there. Lorelai - You can put them next to each other. Donovan - They have bridges. They have gates and flags.  After gathering the children's ideas, we asked them to draw up plans of castles they would like to make using paper and markers. We also gave them visual prompts of real castles to point out more details for their buildings. Then they started to build using Magnetiles, wooden blocks, and Legos. They saved their bui...

Thank you to all the mothers and people who love, care for, and guide our students. Your impact does not go unnoticed! And thank you for spending time with us at school for a chance to celebrate you. We hope you have a well deserved Mother's Day.                                           

The teachers received so much love from the families and children of Utopia for Teacher Appreciation Week. We were showered with drawings, cards, flowers, and treats! We're so lucky to be part of this important time in your children's lives, so thank you for trusting us to care for them. 

The Dramatic Play Area is a popular spot in the classroom where the children are able to work on a number of skills. The Ice Cream Shop first started as a bakery where the children were making cakes and treats out of clay and playdough. This interest in sweet things eventually turned into an interest in ice cream! After observing the children’s play and asking them about what they knew about ice cream, we came up with different flavors they wanted to make, toppings, types of utensils needed, cups, and cones. The children also labeled their flavors with the corresponding words, which supports their writing skills and print awareness. The children are also using social skills in this area when they take turns to be the customer or the seller. They are communicating and using language with peers as they ask questions to one another as they play. The ice cream shop is not only a fun pretend activity for the children, but a rich experience where the children can collaborate, plan, problem s...

With spring here, lots of little crawly creatures have started to appear! This week we wanted to learn more about them, so we caught and observed them in our new bug habitat! The children made a checklist of the bugs they wanted to find, then checked it off every time we discovered a new one. We plan on drawing bugs and making 3D versions of the bugs we have found. This activity supports their understanding and care of nature, counting, fine motor skills, and problem solving.  Kate and Franco watch a Roly Poly as it travels through a tube in the bug habitat Lorelai draws her favorite bug, a ladybug!  Franco, Jude, Colette, and Kattaleya collected a variety of bug books in the classroom.  They compared the pictures of bugs to actual bugs we found! Kate and Emily pretend with the bug toys in the classroom The teacher found two black beetles and placed them in the bug habitat.  Teacher: What do you think will happen when the two beetles meet each other? Aaron: I think t...

We love asking the children these curious questions! It gets us to see things from their point of view and how they understand the world around them. It also leads to more insightful and interesting conversations about the topic. We suggest asking your child curious questions, especially at the end of their school day!  --- What would you buy with $100?  Kate: Candy. Lot's of candy.  Pamela: I'd buy a golden bed. And golden shoes!  Jude: Maybe a Ninjago set, a Ninjago temple, and 100 Ninjago robot snakes!  Rylie: A lot of toys, like Barbies or LOL Dolls. Chocolate and ice cream.  Donovan: Pokemon cards and a lot of dinosaurs.  Aaron: Spiderman, Batman, Robin, and Mr. Freeze. Emily: Everything. All of the food and the jump houses!  Lorelai: A big, big, big, big, big gumbball machine with 100 gumbballs inside. Fiona: The Earth. So I can live on it by myself. And a mansion outside of my house. Charlie: A cake, that's this big (motions with her hands)...

The children have been showing a strong interest in animals! We found that they had many questions about how they live and what their environment looks like. After reading books and drawing pictures, the children gathered variety of materials to make their animal habitats come to life! This took planning, teamwork, writing and drawing skills, and attention to detail. This ongoing project not only supports the children's understanding of the natural world, but encourages us to take care of our environment because we are all connected. After looking at a book together, Fiona and Franco draw ideas for a rainforest habitat. "There needs to be trees for the birds. And there are vines all around." - Franco After drawing the plans for the rainforest, we used a cardboard box to create a 3D structure.  Rylie and Emily are seen here adding paint to the rainforest habitat, along with paper towel roll trees, green streamers, eucalyptus pods, and leaves gathered from outside. The comp...