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.

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.

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.

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