November 28, 2010

Busy November Schedule

So much has been happening in November, with holidays, birthdays, and preschool, we have been busier than ever.  Follow this blog entry to see a typical busy preschoolers schedule at PattyKakesKidz. 


Socialization:
As I wander the playground, I find little pockets of chitter chatter and talking about games, families, plans, ideas and more.  It's the beginnings of the social-development among others.






Flannel-board stories:
Telling stories to the children in flannel board style brings the stories alive, but when a child asks to be the story teller, it brings a whole new meaning to story telling.


Learning the letter G:
So many opportunies to learn letters were done.  From collaging the letter G, making G is for Goats, worksheets, and more.  We reinforced our letters in so many ways through out the month to help the children see how to use our letters daily.






We learned the letter H:
H is for House.  This letter was an opportunity to learn about homes as well.  See next line to see our unit on homes.


All about homes:
Learning about our homes was so much fun.  We played games, made puppets to tell the story of City Mouse, Country Mouse, we created art to express our learnings of homes for different animals.  We told stories and so much more.


The letter I:
I was for so many things.  From Igloos to Iguanas.  We did art work, worksheets and spent time writing and finding the Capital and Smaller letter I's.  We found the letter I in 4 of our names; Riley, Julian, Piper, and Nicole.  The children realized that I's are everywhere. 









We used our large muscles:
From riding bikes, climbing structures and trees, swinging on swings, teeter-tottering, and more; the kids continue to use all their large muscles to help them grow strong.













We rested:
We eat good food, play hard and strong, learn many things, but part of growing includes resting too.  Each child has their very own cot, sheet and pillow to get a good afternoon rest as part of their growing cycle.











We baked cookies:
Part of our learning includes cooking and baking.  Some items this month have been; home made clay, playdough, cupcakes, pancakes and cookies. 








All about fall colors:
After taking a walk in our neighborhood, we talked about fall colors.  The kids then painted their own version of fall colors into leaves.


 


Preschool work:
I often hear that people are against "worksheets" but I have found that if incorporated lightly into a daily preschool routine, the kids love writing and feeling like they are big kids doing homework.  It's a good experience to get them ready for kindergarten as well.










Park Visits:
We discover new parks all the time.  This park was only 10 minutes away from our preschool and the kids loved the frogs, the riverbed and the climbing structures like never before.


Cornucopias to Turkeys:
From cornucopia art work to creating turkeys with pinecones from our southern Californian home.  The kids had a blast learning about our Thanksgiving in many forms.
 





And as a promise, my father made road signs as a surprise for the kids so they can learn about following the rules while riding bikes, trikes and cars on our roads.  They haven't seen these yet, so watch for future blog on the big surprise.


November 6, 2010

Our Spotlight of the Week

Piper's Busy Day

Piper had a super fun and busy weekend last week--so we thought we would share. She got to spend all day Saturday playing with her Grammy who came to visit.



Then we went out to a yummy dinner and she ate a bowl of spaghetti that was as big as her. 

On Sunday she participated in her first charity event--a walk in San Francisco to raise money and awareness to end Polio. She did so well on the walk even though she got soaking wet--so she got a cupcake for a special treat. And then she got to go on her first cable car ride. 



Sounds like a very eventful weekend for Piper.

Another Birthday Boy

We have been caught celebrating, yet, another birthday.

Our birthday boy got to go first.  He decided he wanted to put in the oil.  Three others wanted to each put in an egg.  Another wanted to put in the milk and water. 


I put in the cake mix and together, we all mixed and whipped it up into a creamy batter. 








After pouring it into the small paper cups, we watched it bake in the oven and all came running once they heard the "ding" on our oven timer.  It was chaos and happiness all in one. 


Julian is now 4 years old.  He is so eager to grow up, just like all our other children.  Happy Birthday Julian, until our next birthday party.