Underwood Family Farm

The children in Room 2 had a wonderful time learning at the farm. We listened to a presentation about fruits and vegetables. Did you know that kiwis grow on a vine? We also got to go on a tractor ride to the fields to pick vegetables!

tractor ride.

picking candy cane beets.

we got to pick carrots, cilantro, beets, and lettuce.

The farmer showed them how to pick carrots, candy cane beets, cilantro, and lettuce…all the yummy makings of a salad! We put some aside to make next week to have with our Stone Soup.

FullSizeRender (6) — Sharing our carrot green with our classroom tortoise, Mack!

Farm Animal Show and Feeding

Our volunteers didn’t know they would have Basil and Cilantro crawling on them. These were the farm rats!

A big thank you to all the parents that volunteered. We couldn’t have done it without you!!!

Harvest Cooking Activities

Learning Through Cooking

Children learn math skills such as counting, measuring, and following directions. They also explore simple concepts about quantity, conversations about color, texture, shape, and sizes. Cooking also involves reading and communicating. We use picture recipe boards so the children can see the recipe in print. During fall we have cooked with apples, pumpkin and corn.

You have to focus and use gentleness to crack an egg.

We had a discussion about “wet” vs. “dry” ingredients.

Yes, we get to play with our food in our cornmeal sensory bin!

A Musical Visit

The preschoolers enjoyed a visit from PCS orchestral students. The 5th grade students played a selection of songs and then demonstrated each instrument by explaining the various parts of each instrument and playing a few individual notes. The preschoolers were eager to say which instrument they liked best. One little friend danced through the whole show…a musician in the making!

Food For Thought

Trying to create preschool-friendly lunches can be a challenge at times. Add in trying to make those same lunches healthy, appealing, variety-rich, sugar-reduced, and chemical-free, the challenge gets even bigger!

Sometimes sandwiches end up being the go-to lunch. However, with lunch meats quickly spiraling down the list of ‘healthy’ options (new research links lunch meats to possible colon cancer, high blood pressure, etc.), occasionally shaking things up with sandwich-free lunches may be something to add to the repertoire.

Check out The Kitchn for some tantalizing choices!

Resting our bodies and minds…(Room 4)

Our mornings at preschool are BUSY! We play, sing, dance, read, climb, dig, jump, talk, socialize, and SO much more! Nap time provides much-needed rest for our bodies and minds.

According to Kids Health (click for full article), “Crucial physical and mental development occurs in early childhood, and naps provide much-needed downtime for growth and rejuvenation.”

Also, “well-rested kids are quicker to settle down at night than overtired ones. Overtired kids are often “wired” and restless, unable to self-soothe at bedtime, and more likely to wake through the night.”

We love nap time at preschool…but we are always ready for the kiddos to wake and playtime to begin all over again!

Calmer, Happier Parenting Workshop – Nov 17, 2015

Noel Janis Norton, a learning and behavior expert and author of Calmer, Happier, Parenting will be presenting a workshop in Pasadena next week! For anyone interested, the workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 17th from 7- 9 pm at Pasadena City College.

Click here for more information and to register!

Autumn Activities in Room 5

Nature in the classroom…

We gathered fallen leaves from our outdoor classroom and brought them in. We dipped them in different colored paint and pressed them down on our papers to make beautiful leaf (and hand) prints!

Math Foundations and Sensory Experiences…

Room 5 has a new permanent sensory station, currently featuring multi-colored beans with autumn “jewels” and measuring cups. We scooped and poured as we compared and counted the amounts of beans and jewels in our cups.

More fun with our sensory bin... our friends are hard at work! — More fun with our sensory bin… our friends are hard at work!

Our Cozy Campsite….

Complete with forest animals and a glowing fireplace.

Room 5 also has a new campground theme in our dramatic play center. We are sharing our outdoor experiences in our indoor campsite, learning new vocabulary, and having new experiences like sleeping by a “fireplace” or in a tent! Sitting around the campfire is a great new way to come together as a group.

Don't worry, the bears are friendly here! — Don’t worry, the bears are friendly here!

Even for those who have not had their first genuine camping experience, the indoor campsite is a fun introduction to the concept of camping and being in the wilderness.

Welcome to Our NEW Blog!

We are pleased to announce our new blog! The intent of this blog is to provide snippets of preschool life in the form of fun stories and photos from the classrooms, studio, outdoor classroom, special events, etc. We will also be including tips and tricks for surviving the preschool years, links to informational articles, blogs and videos, and announcements for upcoming events.

We hope you enjoy this new blog. Click “Follow” to receive email updates when new posts are added.

Please note that this will replace the “Classroom Connection” newsletter.

Do Teachers REALLY Come to School on a Professional Development Day???

Absolutely! Today, our teachers spent time organizing, cleaning classrooms, and preparing upcoming lessons for our students. They also learned how to accurately complete the new Developmental Profiles (aka ‘progress reports’) using the new state assessment form for upcoming Parent-Teacher conferences. They also learned how to add a post to our new blog! It was a productive day, but we are excited to see our little ones back on Monday!

STEM Learning Through Sensory Bins

Children in Room 3 spent countless minutes investigating the new multi-level sensory experience in the Outdoor Classroom during yard time today. Multiple children busily went back and forth, carrying cups and bowls filled with corn kernels over to the gutter ‘slides’. The corn rolled down the gutters, got pushed into the slot in the box, then fell to the next gutter to make its way down the line. Kids delighted as they prodded, pushed, scooped, and poured the corn. All of these activities create stronger connections in science as they learn measurement, gravity, engineering, and more.