It was truly a wonderful experience to have our grandparents here at Pasadena Christian Preschool!! The excitement from the grandchildren was palpable as they eagerly anticipated this special day. Apple Leading up to the event, we enjoyed countless fun rehearsals, practices, and preparations. The children worked so hard, and their dedication shone through as they learned sign language for “Silent Night,” as well as the motions and lyrics for “Oh What a Special Night.” Seeing the joy on everyone’s faces made all the effort worthwhile, and we are so great full for your support in making this event memorable! Thank you for being a part of our preschool community.
This was truly a special event filled with joy and nostalgia! The grandparents had the opportunity to see their grand children’s artwork and class projects. Many grandparents expressed their heartwarming feelings. The mix of emotions tears, laughter, and joy really captured the essence,
“MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025”Moments like these help us foster strong family bonds and creat lasting memories.
We are having a delightful fall season with our young learners, they are having a fantastic time diving into the world of apples! Engaging children in hands-on activities like tasting, sorting, and exploring the different parts of apples not only makes learning fun but also promotes deeper understanding and retention of concepts.
Incorporating a variety of activities—such as apple-themed art projects, storytelling, sensory play, and science experiments—provides well-rounded experiences that appeal to different learning styles. For instance, the apple sensory bin allows for tactile exploration, while storytelling encourages imagination and language skills. By combining creativity with exploration, children are more likely to remain engaged and curious about their surroundings.
Additionally, the focus on problem-solving and critical thinking helps children navigate challenges and think independently, while activities that involve counting and sorting enhance their numeracy skills and understanding of categorization. Fine motor skills are also developed through art projects and hands-on experimentation, which is crucial for their overall physical development.
It’s wonderful to see the connection between play and learning so vividly illustrated through our apple-themed activities. This approach will undoubtedly foster a lifelong love of learning and curiosity in our young learners.
We also incorporated books to support and to wrap up the apple-themed learning experience. “Ten Apples On Top” by; Dr. Seuss and “The Biggest Apple Ever” by; Steven Kroll are both fun and engaging stories that captured the children’s attention and imagination.
Dress Up
Classroom #3 kids had a wonderful time engaging in creative play! Through activities like playing on the loft, dressing up, cooking, and caring for babies, they were not only having fun but also developing essential skills. Here are some key benefits of this type of play:
Communication Skills: As the children interacted with each other, they practiced verbal and non-verbal communication, learning how to express their thoughts and understand others.
Cooperative Play: Working together in shared activities helps children learn teamwork, negotiation, and conflict resolution—skills that are vital for social development.
Role-Playing: By trying on different roles, the kids explored various perspectives, which can enhance empathy and introduce them to different careers and situations they may encounter in the real world.
Imagination and Creativity: Engaging in imaginative play encourages creative thinking. As they invent stories and scenarios, children develop cognitive abilities and are inspired to think outside the box.
Exploring Real-Life Situations: Through imaginative play, kids can explore and understand real-life situations in a safe environment, which helps them navigate the world around them.
Overall, this type of play is crucial for children’s holistic development, allowing them to learn important life skills while enjoying their time in class. It’s wonderful to see such engaging and educational activities being fostered in our school setting!
We had a fantastic Harvest celebration for Apple Pumpkin Days! The activities were so much fun for the children in Room 3. Making apple pie and pumpkin pie in a cup was a delicious and creative way to celebrate, and painting with apples and pumpkins was a fun artistic twist to the event.
The pumpkin scooping activity is always a hit, especially when the kids get to feel the slimy pulp and explore the insides of the pumpkin. Creating a volcano explosion inside a pumpkin was an exciting experience, combining science with the fun of Harvest!
This was a wonderful way to engage the children with the seasonal harvest, allowing them to learn about apples and pumpkins through hands-on activities. It’s great to see the kids make such meaningful and enjoyable memories! A big thank you to all the parents that volunteer . We couldn’t have done it without your help and donations!
During this Harvest season the children have also been hearing the story of the Pumpkin Patch Parable. The Pumpkin Patch Parable is a beautiful story that illustrates important spiritual lessons, especially for children. In this parable, a farmer goes out to a pumpkin patch and selects pumpkins that may not look perfect on the outside but have the potential for greatness inside. This mirrors how God sees us—not just for our outward appearances, but for our inner qualities and potential.
As the farmer cleans out the pumpkins, he removes the yucky stuff inside, symbolizing how God cleans our hearts of negativity, sin, and anything that prevents us from shining brightly. Just as the pumpkins can be transformed into glowing jack-o’-lanterns that light up the night, we too can let our hearts radiate God’s love and joy.
The core message is about transformation and allowing our inner light to shine. By accepting God’s love and letting Him shape our hearts, we become beacons of hope and happiness to those around us. It teaches children the importance of inner beauty and kindness, encouraging them to let their light shine in the world.
As they reflect on the story, they can think about how they can share their light with others, just as the pumpkins brighten the darkness during Halloween. This parable provides a gentle reminder of faith, acceptance, and the joy of sharing God’s love.
The Children in Room 3 help to make Pumpkin Delight this past week. Cooking activities are a wonderful way to engage children in hands-on learning. Here are some of the skills developed while making Pumpkin Delight:
Math Skills
Measuring Ingredients: Children practiced measuring out ingredients using cups and spoons, which reinforces concepts of volume and measurement.
Counting: Counting the number of ingredients or steps in the recipe helps develop basic counting skills. We also counted to 5 while they mixed the ingredients.
Science Skills
Understanding Changes: As they mixed and cooked the pumpkin dish, they observed chemical changes (like how the mixture thickens or changes color).
Exploration of Ingredients: Discussing the nutritional benefits of pumpkin and other ingredients introduces basic biology and nutrition concepts. They also enjoyed smelling the pumpkin and the spices.
Social Skills
Teamwork: Working together to prepare the dish fosters collaboration and teaches the importance of sharing tasks and responsibilities.
Communication: Sharing ideas and instructions encourages verbal communication and active listening.
Patience and Turn-Taking: Waiting for their turn to stir or add ingredients helps develop patience and self-control.
Fine Motor Skills
Cutting and Mixing: Using utensils and handling ingredients helps improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Cooking activities like Pumpkin Delight provide a rich platform for experiential learning, allowing children to apply various skills in a fun and interactive manner. They had a delightful time learning while creating something delicious!
Every spring, Mourning Doves make their nests around The Older Pod Patio (in the rafters). Our friends in Rooms 1, 2 and 3 enjoy watching the birds fly around, gather twigs and care for their eggs. We enjoy observing and discussing the beauty of nature in our learning environment.
Check out how our friends use playdough and natural elements to create their own bird nest inspired creations.
Snail’s Pace Race is a children’s board game that teaches cooperation, turn-taking, one-to-one correspondence, color matching and more! On the Older Pod Patio, we’ve adapted this game to be a fun and interactive gross motor activity.
Our friends in Rooms 1, 2, and 3 have enjoyed learning the rules to this game, trying new roles, cheering each other on, and practicing good sportsmanship with a hug or a high-five.
The preschool has so many different sensory experiences. There is sand, wood chips, gravel and a myriad of things for little hands to touch.
A place where we can experience something new is the field on the main campus. Once a week we get to walk over and roll and run in the grass.
We love the grass on the big field and it’s such a fun gross motor experience. Here are some photos of a few of our trips there.
Red Light, Green Light is an always requested. Sometimes we have a picnic snack on the field
We love running and chasing each other
We all got to be part of a tunnel
We had so much fun that we didn’t want to stop and come back. Until I said that we were going to go to patio when we headed back. So we held hands with a buddy and walked back to preschool.
We are enjoying all the sunshine 🌞 and beautiful weather this week!
February is a busy month with lots to celebrate. One of the things that we get to celebrate is love!
We learn about God’s love and about loving each other
Each year we have parties to celebrate and share that love with each other. Here are a few photos of our Valentines week
We cut strawberries and crushed graham crackers for our morning snack. Whipped Cream is optional 🍓
We also did some crafts with hearts and stickers! Room 3 loves stickers. ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷
The colors of the month are red, pink and white and our art reflected that.
We also had a couple of parent volunteers come in and they helped with snack and craft and special stories for the day. The class loved having them here!
Our afternoon snack was a special snack mix with very berry Cheerios, craisins, raisins and square pretzels.
We also had fun in our classroom and on the patio!
Thank you to all our families that participated in our fundraiser. We reached our goal of $25,000 and then some! The children enjoyed running with their parents and siblings.
