Trick or Treating on Halloween: still the best

Parents have asked me what I think is a good way to spend Halloween with their preschoolers. I say take a walk down your neighborhood street for the time honored ritual of Trick or Treating is the best activity. We need to pass down this tradition that instills the best of what our lives are all about.

My grownchildren have told me that Halloween was one of their favorite holidays, as they remember being in our little neighborhood at night, with flashlights and in costumes, going from house to house. It was simple: no big party, no props, no electronics. Just us in our community. Can we start a movement to bring back the simple Halloween ?

While we all know the driving force for trick or treating is candy, isn’t there so much more that occurs when you are going from house to house on your own street where you live, seeing people sometimes only this once a year, laughing with your friends and partners on this crazy night. It is a simple premise that I believe we must preserve. A tradition that maybe carries more to it, creating a time for children to explore where they live, who their neighbors and most importanly the value of free candy.

Halloween and Preschoolers: Keep it light

As our children get old enough to enjoy more activities we need to be mindful of what is developmentally appropriate for them to experience. Here at La Canada Preschool, we have set up some Halloween decorations in a well lit room to create a preschool haunted house. If a child seems apprehensive, we do not make them come into our classroom where you will find a skeleton, a witch and some scary props. Yet as we have left the room decorated for the week we are seeing children slowly approaching this room full of make believe.

It is important the we stress the make believe of Halloween and demystify the scary images that can be frightening for young children. It seems that if Halloween is introduced slowly with caution not to frighten children, they are able to process this holiday that seems to be more of our culture every season.

Fears for children are normal and healthy. Think of the book, “There’s a nightmare in my Closet”. When we read this story a t circle time the children are glued and begin talking about how monsters are not real. If we can look at Halloween as a time to address fears as normal and part of our emotional make up, our preschoolers can enjoy this time and learn to keep it light during these dark days of Halloween…

Open House is October 16 at LCP

It is fall and open house time at La Canada Preschool. On Saturday October 16 all our families are invited to stop

by between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. for a morning of preschool fun. We have created lots of art for all to see and

look  forward to seeing all our great families. The year is off to an amazing start with all the children settling in.

It has been a smooth opening with many new faces and the return of many familiar ones. Please take the time to

bring your entire family to our Open House. We would love to see you…

Summer Fun at our Preschool

What a ball we are having this summer at La Canada Preschool. Beach week was filled with sand art, sea life and talking about how we all like to go to the beach. Then we had Dinosaur Week, always a favorite. Seems you can’t go wrong with the talk of T.Rex and his friends at preschool.

There are many new children who are just getting to know us and they are doing extremely well. Coming to a new school is a big adjustment away from home. With Mr. Tony, Miss Rosemary, Miss Debbie, Miss Elizabeth and  Miss Olivia the children are getting lots of one on one care and love.  Our teachers have twenty years of experiance dealing with seperation and we handle it with respect for you and love for your child.

Summer Fun is available for five more weeks, from Monday through Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. till 12:00 noon.  The cost is $145.00 per week. We have extended care till 2:o0 p.m. for $10.oo an hour. Come on in for some summer fun at preschool> next week is Family Week:)

This coming week

What to look for in a Preschool: The 4 E’s

When looking for a private preschool the choices can be confusing. There are different philosophies of early childhood education, with many time schedules, tuition costs, and fees. Here is what you need to consider when looking for a preschool we will call the Four E’s.

Energy: what is the energy of the school say? Are there lots of rules, is it quiet or loud, does it feel open or closed?Spend a few minutes observing the feelings you get.

Education: What is the education of the staff, as well as the director of the preschool? Some directors have a Masters degree while some have taken as few as 12 units in early childhood education.

Environment: It has been said that environment dictates behavior. Are children allowed lots of freedom, are they moving freely though a relaxed setting, are there lots of materials? Observe the environment quietly for a few minutes.

Eyes: look in the eyes of the children. Are they engaged, connected and communicating?

Energy, education, environment and eyes of the children. That is a good place to start:)

Last Day of School June 16

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Please note that Wednesday June 16 is our last day of preschool for the school year. We will begin our summer fum program Monday June 21. Thank you to all our families for a great year filled with happy memories, joyful moments, and a rich experiance that will stay with us all:)

I love a Parade !

We marched yesterday in the La Canada Memorial Day Parade as a preschool group and it was enlightening on many levels. First, I was able to really take in what an amazing community we are a part of. With each step we marched we were met with cheers from alumni, smiles and waves that brought a smile to each child’s face, as well as the adults. Secondly we took in a rich exercise in community spirit, something that cannot be taught in a classroom.

Who knew that walking down the street in La Canada could evoke such feelings of belonging to a community, being part of something bigger. Parents were able to feel that their being a part of our school is also being a part of a neighborhood where we all all accepted for who we are, with their beautiful young families looking to make sense of the world we live in.

As I marched in the parade for the thirteenth year I was reminded how blessed I feel to be here, in the moment, with each family, seeing there smiles and hearing the excitement amongst the children that we, La Canada Preschool, were part of a parade.

May 31 Please come march with us in the Memorial Day Parade!

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Please come out and march with us at the La Canada Memorial Day Parade on Monday May 31 at 10:00 a.m. School is closed,

and this is an amazing event for the children to be a part of the local community and their school. We carry balloons, a banner,

teachers ride in vintage cars, and it is just a blast.

Our Outside Quiet Area

This blog is courtesy of Miss Pam, one of our amazing teachers:

Last week one of the children asked me if they could bring books outside to read in the yard. At first I was hesitant, thinking that the books would wind up strewn all over the yard. At the same time my instincts are to always listen to the children, as they are my best resource for curriculum. If the children feel they have a say in our school, what ownership that creates.

So now we have a new outside space we are calling the quiet area. We have placed a small table with chairs, some pillows and books. Here the children can sit and read, lay on a pillow with a book, underneath our beautiful elm tree. This morning there were children that wondered in and out of this space, taking time to look over a favorite story .

In the shade of the quiet area children can take a break from all the action in the school yard and have a time to enjoy a book. All this from a belief I have that the best curriculum is what we call emergent curriculum. We practice this when we listen carefully to the children’s interests and implement school activities based on those interests.

“Miss Pam I like the quiet area. Now we can read books outside too.” That made my day:)

What’s for Snack?

There is a wonderful part of our curriculum that does not get enough discussion and that is snack.

Everyday we serve what I think is the best school snack in a school community. Snack also creates unique time of communication and gathering that goes on at the table. Today I was having snack with the children, watching them ask for what they needed, “More grapes please”, as well as talking to each other and laughing over a silly conversation. Over food the children are learning to try different things, to pass items around the table, and to eat away from home with a group.

Today  our menu consists of crackers and cheese with grapes. The children delight in making their cracker sandwiches and talking about how sweet the grapes are. Tomorrow we will have strawberry yogurt and fresh strawberries from Oxnard. Wednesday we will have pears and pirates booty, Thursday is casadias and peaches.

We have started serving Nutella on Ritz Crackers and fruit on Fridays. How excited the children are over nutella. We say it is our fun friday treat and everyone agrees it is a tasty way to end the week. When we have an extensive healthy snack we are teaching the children the importance of nutrition along with how to enjoy food. They are encouraged to take their time, relax, and visit with their friends while eating.

In being mindful of the food we serve we are modeling healthy eating. We also ask the children what they like for snack and we make every attempt to adapt our menu to their preferences. We include spaghetti, sandwiches, bagels and many kinds of fruits in our menu.

How fun to have snack at La Canada Preschool.