Our PreSchool Blog

Hey everyone,  I was pondering some of the comments I have heard over the past few weeks about the struggle with potty training at home for some of your little ones.  I began searching for tips and found few I would like to share with you.  Click here for a link to a great suggestion from a dad who was struggling with potty training and found a great way to help his little one while making an unforgettable memory that will last a lifetime.

I have also heard many parents say that they still have to remind their child to use the potty in order to avoid accidents…well I’ve found a great solution that will help your little one gain independence and self confidence as the become more successful in the bathroom.   Click here to find a great product that might just be your answer.  Good Luck!

The Cincinnati Museum Center visits to talk about our five senses

Today, the preschoolers had the chance to experience their 5 senses in a whole new way!  Mr. Dan from the Cincinnati Museum Center was back again and proved to be as enthusiastic and exciting as ever. We enjoyed exploring the jobs of each of our senses and taking the time to understand how important those jobs truly are to us. From using special spy glasses to see the white light and rainbows that are all around us to training our ears to listen for different types of sounds. The children were excited to guess the secret smells and tastes that Mr. Dan brought along. Everyone had a chance to feel the funny vibrations of a tuning fork that tickled our hands and it was great to pet and visit with our friend Pokey the Turtle too! We look forward to more visits from the Cincinnati Museum Center in throughout the school year.

Today we practiced our developing scissor skills in Ms. Katie’s straw cutting/sorting activity.  The children had a ball cutting small bits of drinking straws and watching them shoot across the table…we didn’t know practicing our scissor skills could be so much fun!  Cutting is a wonderful activity to develop the small muscles in your child’s hand which is essential for writing.  For other small muscle activities just click the picture!

For more small muscle development skills activities click the picture above.

Paul Klee “The Golden Fish” Preschool Preview from Creative Tots on Vimeo.

This year the children began their art projects by studying the applications and techniques of the Swiss-born  German painter Paul Klee (pronounced <Klay>).  Paul Klee was known for his simple, child-like perspective on painting and expressionism.  Many of you may recall our art projects last year learning about his friend and colleague Wassily Kandinsky who together with Klee eventually came to be considered the historical masters of color theory making their art a wonderful example for preschoolers to study and imitate.  Throughout the year, Ms. Penny will help develop the kids appreciation for the various mediums of art and design by using well-known examples from the art world.  The children quickly learn to recognize some of the more famous painters by trying their hand at the various techniques used commonly by these great historical figures.  The early stages of the project are always thoroughly enjoyed by the children as you can see in this brief video of them working on Paul Klee’s “The Golden Fish.”

There is always a line at the face painting booth during our Back to School Carnival

After filing away the pictures from the Creative Tots back to school carnival this summer, I came across a few I had to post.  It was such a wonderful event this year with nearly all the families participating.  The kids had such a great time.  It is always fun to see the families interact, some for the first time and others see their friends and neighbors there only to realize that they both have students at the school.  We learn something each year with the carnival.  This year it was that you can never have enough popcorn and face painting is apparently the first order of business for all the kids upon arrival.

Welcome Ms. Joanie back to the Preschool.  We were glad to see her and she of course, brought Elmo and Brownie!  We will see Ms. Joanie once a week this year and we can’t wait!

Elmo teaches us the different parts of the guitar

Ms. Penny visited our classroom today and brought with her one of Paul Klee’s great works.  The children worked on step one of one of their main art pieces for the art show in November!  You can see the their own rendition of this piece on November 13th at Creative Tots annual Art Show!  Mark your calendars!  Miss Penny will be visiting us twice a week until the art show and we can’t wait to see what she has planned next!  Visit the blog often to catch a sneak peak at our creations!

It came quickly and the kids were bubbling with excitement on day one.  As with each year, the photo opportunities extended throughout the day as first-time preschoolers arrived with the customary barrage of flash photography.

Practicing one-to-one correspondence skills as well as visual recognition of numbers this week

Well, the year has begun and our little ones have not missed a step.  The children have been doing a fantastic job getting to know their new (new to some) classroom and all the different procedures and routines in “the big kid room!” We have kicked off the year with a math focus on numbers one, two and three.  As we attempt to hang onto summer just a little bit longer, we used ice cream cones to work on our one-to-one correspondence skills as well as visual recognition of these numbers.  We will be focusing each month on three new numbers and using them in all sorts of fun activities as we gain confidence in our all our math skills.  We also worked on some of our secret art pieces for the art show, but you’ll have to wait until November to see them!

The Preschool is set and waiting for the arrival of our first students of the year.

The year is upon us and we can’t wait.  The rooms are set and the schedule is full.  The preschool will be in full swing Tuesday, September 8th.  We have already had a number of students drop by to try and get a sneak peak of their classroom this year.  You will be amazed at what we have planned.