West Richmond Preschool

We recently visited the Nature Park and the peat bog, a watery land of mosses, heaths, and shrubby trees. Squirrels and chickadees are at the park all year round, but the Spring brings hummingbirds and warblers. The weather cooperated for our visit and the children enjoyed “Exploring the Bog in the Spring”. Keefer was our friendly and enthusiastic guide, and the children were well engaged. Our first stop was The Hut:   Matias and friends enjoyed playing frog hop - tick tack toe:   Jayden was the first to touch the garden snake, helping his friends overcome any concerns. “He feels sticky and I think he feels wet” - Jayden   Off we go to explore the bog:   The bog is a wetland and the ground is waterlogged. The children jumped on the spongy ground and watched the branches on the shrubs bounce... as well as their parents!   Keefer shows us how much water can absorb into the peat moss. “Whoa, it's like magic I think.” - Lucas

Sensory play is an important part of a childs development and learning. It provides children with endless opportunities to explore and develop skills. Best of all, the open-ended learning is therapeutic, as it calms and relaxes our minds. With all this in mind, we created an experience for the children. We added soap to warm water and provided whisks, strainers, and hand mixers. First, the children wanted to scoop the water. Since we intentionally did not provide any cups for pouring, the children put their hands in the water and quickly learned how to scoop the water by putting their two hands together. Then, the fun began. The children began to explore and experiment with the tools provided. The children with the hand mixers realized that when they turned the egg beaters, bubbles began to appear. The children with the whisks started to whisk the water and more bubbles began to appear. Soon, we had a tub full of bubbles. Strainers were used to scoop up the bubbles. Children l

In our last visit at our Grand Pals, we had a teddy bear picnic with them. All of the children brought in their favorite stuffie and joined us in our activity.      These teddy bears surely welcomed us to our picnic.     We first made necklaces for our stuffies using fruit loops and string. Both the children and the grand pals helped each other to string the cereal in.         Of course, some of the children were not able to resist eating the fruit loop necklace. I don’t blame them. The smell and colors of the cereal were definitely too hard to turn down. When everyone was done making his or her necklaces. We had teddy grahams and apple juice for snack. The children were excited to use real breakable tea cups. After snack, the children and the grand pals enjoyed listening to Linda tell the story of “We’re Going on A Bear Hunt”.   The children went home with their own teddy bear purses.