Tips & Tricks for Traveling with Tots

Traveling with small children can be a hassle, especially when you know you have two little ones who refuse to sit still. Managing snacks, entertainment, and nap time can be quite the challenge when you know you have a long trip ahead. Thankfully, there are a few strategies that will help ease the challenge for the short (or long!) road ahead.

Plan your Snack and Meals Ahead of Time.

Remembering to pack snacks and meals not only saves you money, but also helps keep snacking healthier compared to opting for the fast food alternative. A few healthy snacks that are also lightweight to pack are granola bars, string cheese, fresh fruit and the kids’ favorite – applesauce. If you have a long trip you might want to avoid packing foods that turn brown or can crumble such as bananas, avocados, and crackers. Stick to snacks that can be thrown in a bag and can be treated as rewards such and edamame, dried fruits, or even cubed tofu! All of these are healthy options and can stand at room temperature.

Entertainment for Traveling

Traveling with young children can be a task, but if planned accordingly, it can be a much smoother ride. If traveling by car, bringing small, cheap toys such as stickers, dolls and trinkets can help. Make sure that you bring it along in a travel bag or box to help keep things tidy. For kids older than the toddler stage, you can create a map of your trip and have them check off the locations you pass and even reward them when you reach a checkpoint with a snack, toy or special activity. Bringing your child’s favorite CD and having a sing off in the car can help time go by quicker in a fun way.

Planning Nap & Bed Time

Whether traveling by car, train, or plane, planning when to sleep can become a real challenge as most younger children need their down time. Making sure you stick to normal nap time schedules and planning your day around them can help avoid the sleepy-time crankies. Try bringing nap time products that help children feel like home such as their favorite toy or blanket. Traveling by night can help children as their bodies are normally getting ready to go to bed. This can also help as you will not have to manage a squirmy little one during a long flight or a crying child in the back seat.

Author: Stephany Mijanos, CSULA intern

Happy April!💐

Hi there from Room 2! 😊

We hope you’re well and blessed! We’ve definitely been having TONS of fun here in Room 2! Can you believe the school year will be over in just a few short weeks?! We definitely don’t want to think about that just yet… Not when there’s still so much fun to be had.😎

Last week was a huge treat for our entire school as we were visited by two police men, who came to speak to us about their job! It was so exciting to have them teach us about their gadgets, general safety, and about their vehicles! Some of our kiddos even had the chance to see inside! SO. COOL.🚓🏍

It was such a great day! We’re so thankful for the visit and hope to have more educational visits like it in the future.

Meanwhile, inside the classroom, we’ve been hard at work as we finish up our very last unit of curriculum! So exciting!!Our friends have been working hard, learning their shapes and letters as we conclude our last unit. They’re doing so well! We are super proud of their progress!!📚🖍☺️

Also, Room 2 is SO excited to be diving into the fascinating world of dinosaurs!! Our friends have been learning about dinosaurs, their anatomy, and their lifestyles! We saw the children develop an interest in dinosaurs and took the opportunity to encourage their curiosity to learn! It’s been such an amazing adventure. WE ARE LOVING IT!!

Our friends have also been busy developing their culinary skills!😉 Last week’s menu was dinosaur bones made from dough, and this week we made dinosaur eggs out of rice crispy treats! So yummy!!🥖🥚

We’re so thankful with God for the amazing gift He gives us each day, to learn and grow. Our hearts are elated and full of praise for the amazing ways His heart shines in our room. We’ve become such a family in our classroom, and as we head into these last few weeks of school, our hearts are deeply thankful and pensive at the memories we’ve made so far. The love, compassion, kindness, and overall growth that God has done in us will always remain, and that is the highest and sweetest blessing. We can’t wait to see what else these next few weeks have in store for us! Easter is next week, and we have one last adventurous field trip coming up in a couple weeks. We can’t wait to see you there.❤

Blessings and TONS of love,

Miss Wendy and the Room 2 Team💕

p.s. As always, some extras! Enjoy!🌞

Worship with Room1&2!❤

A Private Concert for the a Younger Pod!

Today we enjoyed a special up close and personal concert from one of our fabulously involved parents and family friend who happen to be incredibly talented concert musicians!! We had a counting lesson on the strings of the violin and the cello, learned musical vocabulary, and joined together in song as we were serenaded by our special guests!

The younger pod extends a huge THANK YOU to Elliston’s mommy, Joo, for arranging and providing such a once-in-a-lifetime immersive experience for the budding minds of rooms 4 and 5. Thank you!!

Children of the King

Why is emergent curriculum so great? Engagement! Engagement! Engagement! When children are engaged they are productive and productive play is essential to a successful learning environment.

Our Room 1 friends have been productively exploring their interests in everything Medieval! Our “Almost Kindergartners” began showing interest in princesses and knights, a popular area of interest for 5 year olds. So naturally, and with their help, we transformed our classroom into a medieval kingdom. We have been exploring their interests in dynamic and multifaceted ways–ways that have not only kept their interests alive for MONTHS but have absolutely propelled them forward as critical thinkers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, artists, writers, and thespians!

Room 1 loves to start exploring an area of interest with literature! Books and pictures inspire us, peek curiosity, provoke questions and brainstorming…

We built.

We measured.

We catapulted.

We melted and molded.

We designed.

We wrote.

We patterned.

We micro-dramatic played.

We painted royal self portraits.

We became knights, princesses, servants, and jesters.

We built castle walls and colored stain glass windows.

We created.

We declared ourselves children of the King.

We put on the full armor of God!

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

We know there is a war going on for our hearts. God wants us to obey His word and the enemy doesn’t. When conflict arises in our classroom we remind our kids: “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

It is our prayer that our kids learn to fight this spiritual battle. We want them to put on their helmet of salvation and believe in Jesus. We want them to gird themselves with honesty, fairness and righteousness. We want them to use God’s word to separate right thoughts and actions from wrong ones. We want their faith to extinguish the lies–lies that they don’t have to be obedient or share their toys or love their classmates. We want the truth of God’s word to hold everything in place. We want them to walk out the Gospel with peace. We pray our little ones make Jesus the Lord of their life because He is the King of ALL kings and the Lord of all lords!

2017 April News and Calendar of Events

Dear Parents,

Spring has sprung and we are bounding towards summer! We are on the home stretch! The mood at the preschool has been filled with fun as the warmer weather has allowed for some water play (off an on, anyway!) and sunny days outdoors. Many classrooms are also delving into the wonderful world of insects and you should be seeing caterpillars, silk worms and more making their way into the school. We had our annual Association Meeting last week and we recognized Monica and Joy for their 5 years of service, as well as Pam for her 10 years! Feel free to send a warm thank you their way. Our fabulous parents are one of the many reasons our staff enjoy LONG working tenures at PCS :-). In fact, our 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Gallego, just celebrated 30 years and Dr. Gray was not far behind, with a whopping 25 years at PCS!
In the News:

Water Bags for Cubbies

The time has come! Please send in a Water Play Bag with your child within the next week or so. Please see attached Water Play Bag Supply List flyer for details.

Room 1 Staffing Update

We are pleased to announce that Mrs. Joy will soon be having her first baby! She left on maternity leave this past Friday and we ask that you keep her family in your prayers as they prepare for their little one. Miss Kristen will be leading the classroom and Mr. Sam will be joining the Room 1 teaching team for the remainder of the year.

MVP HOURS – DUE SOON!

MVP hours are due SOON! Please make an effort to fulfill your hours and turn in your booklet as soon as possible to avoid the MVP fee to your account. Don’t have a book? Lost your book? No worries…come to the office and we will replace it for you. Enrolled late to PCS? Plan on completing 1 hour per month of attendance. Sign up to help here! https://signup.com/group/1186271400029

Summer Camp Registration

Thank you to all the families who registered by the March 8^th deadline for summer camp. You should see your first tuition payment posted to your Smart Tuition account for April 1^st. For those who haven’t registered, we have a few spaces left in some of the classrooms, so if you are still looking to enroll your child, please do so asap. Submissions received by April 8^th may be billed to your account; submissions received after May 8^th will be due in full and will incur a $50 late fee.

Upcoming Events :

Easter Parties

Be on the lookout for Easter classroom party information. Each classroom has their own schedule and traditions for how Easter is celebrated, so please look for their information regarding the parties. Just a reminder that PCS celebrates Easter for what it truly is – recognition of Christ’s sacrifice for us. While the “bunny” may play a small part in the fun, please help us in remembering the true meaning of this Christian holiday.

70^th Anniversary Gala & Auction

We hope you can attend our 70^th Anniversary Gala and Auction! This is a very special event and our very first Gala. Enjoy time with PCS families while joining the fun in bidding on amazing auction items and priceless classroom auction baskets! Visit our BidPal Center at http://bidpal.net/70 to register and
purchase tickets today. Event seating is limited. Advanced reservations are required for entry.

Bidding from home will be available through BidPal! Mobile bidding goes live at 9:00AM on April 22^nd.
Watch for our email giving you early access to our event’s Silent Auction!

Week of the Young Child:

Each year we celebrate the Week of the Young child with some daily fun and activities. Join the fun and have your child participate in the following:

Monday, April 24 – Pajama Day – Wear your jammies to school!

Tuesday, April 25 – Color Day – Show your classroom spirit by wearing your class color!

Rm 1- Purple, Rm 2 – Orange, Rm 3 – Green, Rm 4 – Red, Rm 5 – Blue

Wednesday, April 26 – Mismatched Day (we often joke that every day is mismatched in preschool…but on this day…go extra crazy!!)

Thursday, April 27 – Fruit Day – Bring a fruit to share in the classroom Fruit Salad Snack!

Friday, April 28 – Crazy Hat Day – How crazy can you get???

Moonlight Magic – May 5

Our FINAL Moonlight Magic of the year will be held Friday, May 5^th from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Don’t let your kids miss out on the fun…sign up soon! We enjoy glow-light dance parties, flashlight tag, pizza, movies, and popcorn! Flyers are available at the preschool and BYH desks.

Volunteer Opportunities:

PTF Preschool Teacher Treats: April 21 – Parents of Room 3

Meal Trains – Congratulations to the Williams family on the birth of baby Cameron! Help bless this family with a meal while earning 2 MVP hours! https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/6gw20y

Preschool Family Picnic – Look for volunteer sign-ups for the annual preschool family picnic. We always need help with preparation, donations, and working the event at this super-fun picnic party!

Communication:

PLEASE FOLLOW the Preschool Blog for classroom updates: www.pasadenachristianpreschool.com

PCS Weekly: Check your emails for the PCS Weekly! This e-letter features links for volunteer opportunities, the main calendar, and more!

Calendar

Tuesday & Wednesday, April 4 & 5 – Spring Photos on the yard

Friday, April 14^th and Monday, April 17^th – Easter Break – No School

Saturday, April 22^st – Dinner Gala – NO MOONLIGHT MAGIC

April 24 – 28 – Week of the Young Child

Friday, April 28^th – Open House 6:30 – 8:00 – Minimum Day

Friday, May 5th – Moonlight Magic

Saturday, May 20^th – Preschool Family Picnic

Thursday, May 25^th – Rooms 1 & 2 Preschool Promotion Ceremony – Minimum Day

Friday, May 26^th – Last Day of School – Minimum Day

Monday, June 5^th – 1^st Day of Summer Camp

July 3 & 4 – Holiday – School Closed

June 5 – August 4 – Fun in the Sun Summer Camp

August 7 – August 18 – School Closed

Monday, August 22 – Preschool Classroom Welcome – Details to follow

Tuesday, August 23 – First Day of School 2017 – 2018