Stepping Up, Taking a Risk & Trying Something New

Today was foot painting day in the four's class. One of our goals is to teach children to step a little out of their comfort zone and try something new. Many are apprehensive when this type of art is first suggested and I always allow those who are fearful to opt out. If children are hesitant I ask them to sit and watch first. After watching for a minute they invariably jump right in.

The children take off their shoes and socks and sit in a chair. Next comes the paint. As I paint their cute little toes I tell them their foot prints were also taken on the day they were born. We wonder about how much their feet have grown since then.

As the squishy paint is applied we talk about how it feels. Many of them giggle and squirm at the sensation of the paint adding to the fun. Who wouldn't love to have purple feet?

After we make a print of their feet to take home they add their piggies to the class mural.

Next comes a soothing warm-water foot bath complete with bubbles!

After painting about 12 adorable pairs of feet this morning the class insisted that I try it too. In all the years I've done this project I have never tried it myself. They were excited to grab a paint brush and take turns painting my badly-in-need-of-a-pedicure feet a beautiful shade of yellow. Next my sweet little friends held my hand as I walked across the paper and they gently helped me into the chair for the foot bath.

"Wasn't that fun?" they asked. "You thought you wouldn't like it but when you tried it you did!" one little guy told me.

How interesting that the concept I was trying to teach; taking a risk and trying something new, is exactly what my four-year-olds taught me today!




Cheryl Hoover has been the Director of Northampton Christian Preschool since 1995.

Spreading some love

For the past ten years our church has sponsored a Royal Family Kids Camp (royalfamilykids.org.) This all-volunteer camp provides a week of respite for children in foster care and showers them in royal treatment. Campers spend the week swimming, fishing, canoeing, hiking, creating crafts and making positive connections with caring adults. We pray they return to their homes with a renewed sense of hope for their lives.

A silent auction is held each year to raise the funds needed for this ministry. This year our preschool will be contributing five original pieces of artwork for auction.

Bree Young, a real artists and mother of a student, graciously volunteered her time and expertise to create the following masterpiece.

First she instructed the children in making proper strokes. Each child practiced on their own.

Next we added the brilliant colors to the canvas. The children worked in groups of two or three and anxiously awaited their turn. A few budding artists remained at the table throughout the morning.

We used colors that reminded us of the beautiful leaves of autumn.


And here's the finished product!

Although our preschoolers don't understand the significance of this project, they know their paintings will be sold at an art show to help other kids.

Our Royal Family Kids Camp Auction will be held on Saturday, April 20 at the Falls Natatorium. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased from Cheryl Hoover.


P.S. On April 20, 2013 these paintings were purchased at the RFKC Auction for $1200 (and Mrs. Hoover only purchased one!)


Northampton Christian Preschool is owned and operated by Northampton United Methodist Church.

Sharing Ideas

One of the beautiful things about modern technology is the ability to share good ideas with others in your profession. This weekend I received a tweet from Lisa Murphy (@OoeyGooeyLady) that directed me to a preschool blog detailing this activity. I was so excited to share this idea with my own class I could barely sleep last night.

Using the book I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and David Catrow as a launching point, I organized the above supplies and covered two walls with our canvass. Upon arrival the children gathered around to hear the story. We discussed the importance of keeping the paint on the canvass, waiting patiently for our turn and using our imaginations. 

Then we added talented artists like this. 

And these sweeties. 

Even the teachers contributed. 

This guy worked up a sweat!

Adding finishing touches.

When our painting was dry each artist signed the work. It will be on exhibit for the next several weeks in Room 202. Stop by and view it for yourself! 

Northampton Christian Preschool has been inspiring artists like these since 1995.

Slurping our way to better nutrition!

For the past several years we've made a concerted effort to improve the health and nutrition curriculum at Northampton Christian Preschool. The children are taught how to distinguish between healthy foods and treat foods and the importance of filling our plates with an abundance of healthy foods. Our snack menu has evolved from teddy grahams and juice to one rich in fresh whole veggies and fruit. Today we tried something new; Green Smoothies!

When my children were young I had difficulty getting them to eat veggies. When they did try an occasional carrot or celery stick it always seemed to be smothered in a high-fat dip. To make matters worse, my children were terrible breakfast eaters. I wish I had tried smoothies back then. Not only is it a wonderful way to sneak veggies into a picky eater's diet but it's quick for families rushing out the door in the morning.

My co-teacher, Mrs. Lori starts each day with a smoothie and she graciously shared her "magic bullet" with us this morning. A blender or food processor works too. After perusing several recipes online, we adapted our own. Here's what we used:

• frozen banana chunks 
• frozen peaches 
• green apples, peeled and sliced 
• fresh spinach 
• a little bit of juice for thinning 
• ice cubes 

First we blended the fresh spinach with the juice. Next came all the other fruit and ice. The finished product looked like this: 

You can mix fruits and veggies for a variety of combinations. It's a good way to use up those brown bananas or the last few wrinkled strawberries. Although many recipes call for yogurt or milk, we omitted it this time.

The best part is the kids loved them!


If you have a favorite  smoothie recipe, please share it in the comments below. We'll be trying several more varieties before the school year ends!

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Developmentally Appropriate Practice or DAP, is a term commonly bantered about in early childhood education. Simply put, DAP involves teaching children based on their stages of development. It's meeting children where they are and encouraging them on to the next level. It also includes using materials and toys that are age-appropriate and best suited for the preschool child.

At Northampton Christian Preschool we strive daily to put DAP into practice. Our curriculum is designed to fully engage children in the learning process and help them achieve realistic goals. In addition we are careful to include all areas of development: physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual.

Below are a few examples of children engaged in developmentally appropriate learning.

 

Each of these girls is actively at play without the direction of a teacher. It's important for young children to learn how to pretend and engage their imaginations. Our little artist above is free to experiment with the painting materials and discover on her own how the paint is absorbed onto the paper.


Materials and toys facilitate learning. 

Age appropriate toys look like this. 

Not this. Do you see the difference? 

This is a DAP way to teach children beginning writing. 

This is best reserved for First Grade. 

This is how a preschooler learns math. 

This is how a second grader learns math. 

Now there's nothing wrong with a child playing with commercial cars or using a coloring book or a school-aged pencil, especially at home. But at school we want to provide children with open-ended materials that have many uses and are designed for their little hands and minds. 

I have oversimplified DAP to give you just an idea of what the term means. Volumes of research has been conducted on the subject over the past decade or two, most notably from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Northampton Christian Preschool will continue to provide developmentally appropriate experiences for our children and to adapt our curriculum to the best practices of the field. Our chief goal is to prepare your child for a lifetime of learning. 

The Elf In Our School

"Guess what?" blurted out my little friend as he walked in the door Monday morning, "we have an ELF at our house!" he continued, "his name is Peanut and he loves candy and every morning he's someplace new!"

The Elf on the Shelf has been all the rage these past few years and the families at our school seem to have caught the fever. During free play in the morning the children chatter excitedly about elf names and activities. One child's elf was hanging from the ceiling fan, one hiding in the lamp. Most of the elves are well-behaved creatures but a few have some naughtiness coursing through their impish bodies.

One elf (who shall remain nameless) spilled a bag of flour all over the kitchen and was making snow angels! My little friend explained that even though the elf was naughty sometimes, they loved him anyway. As I relayed this story to mom at pick-up she said they are using the poor behavior of the elf to teach grace to their children. These children are learning that God loves us even when we make mistakes or don't deserve it.

Although I never had the pleasure of an elf at my house, I do have a close personal friend who is a real elf. I'm not sure I'm permitted to discuss this but . . . Mrs. Davis is an elf!

For the past several years Nora Davis has been a volunteer on the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad's Polar Express. After teaching young children during the day she magically transforms into her elf self and hops aboard the train with Santa in the evening. She helps serve cookies, reads to the children and makes sure everyone on the train leaves with happy memories. Sometimes she gets home very late at night and has to quickly change back into human form for school the next morning. If you look very carefully, you can see a special twinkle in her eyes and the remnants of glitter in her hair. 

As adults it's too easy to get caught up in all the fuss of holiday preparations and miss the magic and wonder and grace. Whether or not you have an elf at your house, may you find some magical moments with your little one this season. The cleaning and cooking and decorating and baking and wrapping can all wait. Take a deep breath, find your sweeties and cuddle on the sofa. Read the Christmas story and share a favorite childhood memory of a Christmas past.  

Most importantly, remember the gift of love that was held in that stable manger and the hope it still provides for us today. 

Cheryl Hoover is the Director of Northampton Christian Preschool in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 

Thank you God, for everything

                                                   Thank you for the world so sweet,
                                                    thank you for the food we eat,
                                                    thank you for the birds that sing,
                                                    thank you, God, for everything.

This little prayer is recited at school each day. As we learned the story of the first Thanksgiving we also learned what it means to be thankful.

Here's a little of what I've learned about Thanksgiving from the very wise three, four and five year olds who teach me each day.

I thank God for:

• a new puffy winter coat that keeps me warm on chilly mornings
• news shoes, especially the pretty sparkly ones or the ones that light up when I stomp
• a fresh new batch of play dough
• the joy that comes from banging on rhythm sticks or jingle bells 
• a healthy body that allows me to run, climb and skip 
• chasing my friends on the playground on a sunny, 60 degree day in November! 
• being able to "read" my favorite book all by myself 
• getting a birthday treat from a friend at school 
• new smelly markers on the art table 
• finding a little treat food at the bottom of my lunch box 
• playing pretend 
• dancing to a song that I know the words to
• digging a hole on the playground and finding a squiggly worm 
• making a friend 
• my parents who pick me up each day and take me to the best place on earth--home. 

May your home be filled with wonderful sounds and smells and family tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!