12/16/09
More Christmas Fun at Daycare!
Last Friday the preschoolers had a great time making Christmas trees. They frosted sugar cones and then attached candy ornaments to their trees. The children at the baby home made handprint Christmas trees.
12/10/09
Preschool Christmas Preparations
The Christmas preparations continue at daycare and several different projects are in the works. Today the preschool class made beautiful wrapping paper with Amber! The children had fun and were very focused on this activity.
12/9/09
The Babies Made Pinecone Ornaments
Yesterday the babies enjoyed making pine cone ornaments. They had a lot of fun painting the pine cones with glue and then rolling them in bowls of beautiful glitter!
12/5/09
Preschool Christmas Preperations
During the last week the children began preparing for Christmas. They put up a Christmas tree and then made snowman ornaments with teacher Helen. Each child picked and glued an outfit for their snowman. Helen asked them what they want to get as a present for Christmas and fulfilled their wishes by giving their snowman a gift. We put the snowmen up on the preschool Christmas tree and they will take home their ornament during Winter Break.
It was fun to find out what the children's Christmas wishes are. Lucy wanted to help Helen. Leo would like a lion and Hugh wants a choo choo train to share with Roland. Kaylee asked for toys and Kendra desires a ladybug. Josie just wants Christmas!
10/31/09
Pumpkin Prints at the Preschool
Thursday the preschoolers cut open a pumpkin to explore and do art with. They looked at the seeds and pulp under the microscope. Then they used cut up chunks of the pumpkin to make Halloween prints. The kids had a great time doing art and learning Chinese with Helen and Amber.
10/27/09
Day Care Halloween Party
The Halloween Party will be held October 30 in the playschool gym at 3:30. Amber and Kimberly have fun games and activities planned for the kids including a pinata. Everyone is invited to attend and parents are welcome to join their children. Please remember to bring your child's costume to school. The teachers will help children change into their costumes after nap. I hope everyone can come!
10/8/09
Nearly Everyone is Healthy Again!
Nearly everyone is back at day care and healthy again. Things were a bit crazy last week trying to keep ratios intact with teachers and kids being absent. We managed by having the preschoolers join their friends at the baby house. The kids had a great time playing together and the teachers took a few pics of the kids outside.
10/1/09
Apple Painting at the Baby Home
On Monday and Tuesday the children at the baby home had fun painting with real apples! The babies really enjoyed putting their hands in the paint and using the apples as stamps to make designs on their papers!
~Teacher Kimberly
9/28/09
Fall Portraits
The boys at the baby house went outside to take fall portraits this morning. They turned out so well we decided we should do this of all the kids. The preschoolers went over to the baby house this afternoon to get their pictures taken. We'll send emails to parents this week with their children's pictures.
All I See is Part of Me
Today the preschool class listened to the story All I See is Part of Me written by Chara Curtis. As we read the book we took time to look at and talk about all the beautiful illustrations and learn some Chinese vocabulary. The book does a great job promoting children's self esteem and building self confidence. After we finished reading the children created their own body figures and drew stars, planets, moons, and suns on them.
9/20/09
Preschool Face Prints
Last Friday the preschoolers made prints of their faces. While sitting in front of the gym mirrors they attempted to paint the features of their faces. When their paintings were finished a print was made by placing a piece of white paper over their artwork. I'm going to save these pieces and then have the children do this project again late next spring.
9/17/09
Self Portraits
On Monday the preschoolers made self portraits with Helen to put on the bulletin board. Helen and Xiaoying are teaching the children Chinese while they're engaged in projects that pertain to our current theme. Each child was given a cutout with their picture glued to the body. Children used fabric and other art materials to decorate their portraits. Helen designed the bulletin board which will be used to stimulate conversation about themselves and to learn more Chinese vocabulary.
9/10/09
Me, Myself, & I at the Preschool House
The children at the preschool home are beginning their school year learning about themselves. This week they made picture frames with Amber. During Chinese the three year olds are learning to introduce themselves and their friends to others. Teacher Helen has brought in two new Chinese songs for the children to learn. One is about friends and the other is to bring children together for their morning circle time. It will replace our current circle time song.
The first family assignment for the year was sent home this week. The children are creating a scrapbook for their classroom. This week families are helping their children create a page about themselves. These pages will be put in a book that the children will be able to look at and share with their friends. It will also be used for Chinese instruction throughout the year. We will add pages about the children's families, our school, and our community. Samples of the children's work will also be included in the book.
Sidewalk Chalk
We had a lot of fun this morning at the baby house using sidewalk chalk. The boys really enjoyed spreading the colors across the pavement. It was wonderful watching them make lines and circles with many different colors.
-Kimberly
8/24/09
Painting with our Feet!
On Wednesday and Thursday of last week we really enjoyed painting with our FEET! The children had a lot of fun feeling the textures in their toes, sliding on the paper, and watching the colors mix together. It was a great outdoor project!
Teacher Kimberly
8/19/09
Musikgarten at the Baby Home
We have really been enjoying the new Musikgarten classes with Amber. The children love dancing, shaking bells, and using the rhythm sticks. Its very cute to watch the babies shaking their heads to the beat of the music and clapping along with a song. We are very excited to have this a part of our daily program.
Teacher Kimberly
Music & Literacy
Our curriculum has always focused on language and literacy skills, but this year we want to expand this to include cultural literacy through music. I’ve been doing some internet research about this and have found many sites arguing the pros and cons of cultural literacy. One site argued very well for the use of music in the classroom to promote academic excellence. Some interesting reading has been linked below. While I’ve never read E.D. Hirsch’s book about cultural literacy I thought the argument for cultural literacy was excellent. However, what each of us would deem necessary to be culturally literate would be up for debate. Reading this also made me ask if my own children were culturally literate and what gaps need to be filled in their educations.
8/17/09
No Mess Finger Painting!
Last Wednesday and Thursday the babies had a lot of fun doing some "No Mess Art." The children were confused at first about why the paint was not on their hands... They would look at their hand and then at the paper. It was a lot of fun playing drums on our pictures as well! It’s a great project that you could easily do at home with your little ones as well. Pick paper of your choice, place globs of paint on the paper (use multiple colors), cover with plastic wrap, and allow your child to hit, push, and use their fingers to move the paint around. When child is finished, or the plastic wrap is beginning to come off, compliment your child's beautiful art, remove plastic wrap (discard), and hang the picture to dry!
Teacher Kimberly
8/7/09
Three Year Old Drawings
Today your children and their teachers had their first drawing lesson. We’re using a book that I purchased when I was taking an art class for elementary education teachers in college. Drawing with Children is written by Mona Brookes who founded the Monart Drawing Schools. The premise is that anyone can learn to draw and that young children should be given the opportunity to learn.
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