Our PreSchool Blog

There are lots of unique dishes that come from Brazil, but none as tasty as biscoitos de maiz.  These cornmeal cookies are popular in Brazil, and easy to make.  The children enjoyed making this yummy Brazilian representation!

Biscoitos de Maiz (cornmeal cookies)

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2tsp salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the cornflour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and blend thoroughly then add the butter and mix well.
3. Set aside for 15 minutes to rest.
4. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper
5. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the lined baking sheets, spreading well apart. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Recognizing the difference in size amongst shapes and objects is the first step to sorting.  Today, the boys and girls ordered circles by small, medium and large.  Using fine motor skills to peel the stickers off, the children caught on to this sorting very quickly!

Our memory is a muscle that is constantly at work.  Using different tactile ways to learn how to write helps to strengthen motor memory.  Today, the children used sandpaper to write their numbers.  They put a piece of paper over the sandpaper and wrote the numbers one through six.  Each child took their sandpaper home to practice with.  It can also be used for letters.

Today we learned a zookeeper prepares the food and feeds the animals every morning.  The children practiced their fine motor skills by cutting and chopping the food just like the zookeeper. After preparing the food we discussed what food each animal ate.  However, the children found it all to be very tasty!

Thank you everyone for over 250 packages of diapers, wipes, and creams.  We were able to help so many deserving families in our community.  We love to see the children put their lessons of compassion into practice.  Way to go everyone!

The letter O makes the /o/ sound, as in octopus.  The short o sound is most commonly found in three letter words, such as hot, top and lot.  Today, the boys and girls brainstormed some letter O words while stringing their very own letter O’s using Fruit Loops.  It was a tasty  way to practice the /o/ sound!

Writing our name is a skill that we, as adults, use every day.  The children have been working hard all year to form their letters correctly and in the right order.  Today, the boys and girls continued to practice forming the correct letters when they used white crayon to write their name, and then paint over it with water color. Instantly, the children could see their name in white appear through the paint!

Did you know that the rainforest is comprised of four separate layers?  Each layer plays an important role and is home to specific animals.  The boys and girls learned about the rainforest floor, understory, canopy and emergent layer.  The children built a model demonstrating each layer, along with the animals that live there.