The title of this post sums up any child/interest led program very well…while there were a lot of “airplane” things happening and planned, the most memorable may be the things that happened in between. Read on to learn more about our day!

Sticking with the best flow we’ve come up with for our Play Days, we started the day outside. Once again the beautiful pavilion made the unexpected sprinkles no obstacle to getting our work done. The airplane wings were prepped on the tables for children to complete anytime before Circle Time.

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Did you play with bubbles? Were you the blower or the chaser or avoider? One friend had varying techniques for catching bubbles from Grandma Bonnie using his hat! Today’s group added a layer of play that involved standing in front of the bubble wand and trying to move side to side to avoid them. Clever friends!

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How does someone get unfrozen? We’ve got one friend who is guaranteed to start a game of tag and today’s game evolved into “freeze tag.” There were a few techniques to unfreeze someone- a simple touch, a group touch or a distance touch. Grandpa Kelven was by far the most active teacher tag player.

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Have you ever found a 5 leaf clover? One friend shared that his mama is looking for a 5 leaf clover so a few friends sat down and got searching. We found a lot of 3 leaf clovers and turned some of them into 2 leaf clovers, but no 5 (or 4) leaf ones. Keep looking, friends!

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What do you call this toy? This is one of the items that we haven’t decided on a consistent name for. It was described very well by one friend: “the board with the little balls that come up to the stick thing when you put it close by.” Brilliant description! These are very popular and outdoor friendly items.

Another item yet to be consistently named: our colorful liquid filled floor sensory art tile squares (it just doesn’t roll off the tongue).

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Why was the paper bag wet? After many guesses of what could be in the paper bag, it was disclosed that it was apple sauce! Ms Kristin demonstrated how one can eat applesauce with the airplane spoons right before we went inside to have snack.

After eating, friends played and cleaned up before the big swing came out.

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Did you go on the big swing inside? The very last thing we did before going back outside was put up the big swing. It’s load bearing enough to handle all the preschoolers at once which takes a lot of patience to get bodies comfortable.

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What showed up just outside of our fence today? A real firetruck! The “lunch friends” with Peace Connections arranged to have them come for their last day of SEAK. What a treat to be up close to see the two fire fighters unroll 3 hoses, hook them together, attach one end to the fire hydrant and the other to the truck. After watching for a bit, we ran to the gate to be with Ms Brenda until our grown ups arrived.

I’m thankful for the people who are working hard to show up for children and families in our community.

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AFTER PRESCHOOL BONUS PICTURES:

As I was going inside, two former preschoolers found me! These sweet girls were here in 2020 when the pandemic hit our town. It was such an abrupt interruption which makes these moments all the sweeter.

As Grandma Bonnie was going inside, she couldn’t resist playing in the firetruck’s spray. A mama sent me this sweet picture.

After last week’s wonderful experience of starting our day outside, we did it again. Along with an airplane project, we had books, puzzles, water play, vehicles, chalk and bubbles. Read on to find the answers to 5 questions about today.

What was taped to the picnic tables when you got to preschool? Paper wings! Everyone could add any color to the paper with markers (including a few nacho cheese scented ones from this online preschool day). The next step was choosing a spoon and duct taping it on.

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What else did Grandpa Kelven use the white duct tape for? Repairing the foam airplane! Ms Kristin knew it could easily break because it was made of foam and it did! But there was some clever detective work and collaboration to get the airplane back in working order!

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Who got to blow the bubbles today? Anyone who wanted to! Often the teachers are the bubble blowers and the children are the bubble chasers, but today children blew bubbles too. The airplane flew right through them many times!

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What did you do with your airplane spoons? Took them inside and ate applesauce with them! We talked about people (infants, elderly and all ages in between) who may be fed by spoon. There was a lot of sweet sharing about taking care of babies and recalling stories of being babies ourselves.

Thank you to a preschool grandma who used to be a preschool mom who gave us these plastic trays years ago! They were perfect!

During Snack Time, our friend Ms Ruby (who used to be a preschooler!) read us books. When she got to the Neighborhood Mother Goose rhyme Pat-a-Cake, Ms Kristin got two dolls to demonstrate different ways people might help a baby do the actions. One of dolls has 2 arms and one of them has 1 arm. We also imagined a baby with no arms available for moving and they all did Pat-a-Cake in their own way! I bet your preschooler can demonstrate.

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Did you want to stay inside or go outside to play after snack? After (and during) Snack Time, we had wonderful indoor cozy play. When Ms Kristin announced that it was time to go back outside to play before the grown ups came, there was disappointment expressed. So Ms Kristin asked every child if they’d rather go outside or stay inside. Everyone said to stay inside! So even though it was only an extra 10 minutes, they played happily with puzzles, dolls, animals, cars, pretend computers, hiding in a pretend tornado shelter and building a Komodo Dragon den. What a sweet group of children.

I’ve been feeling very tender about this year’s group of children graduating to Kindergarten because I met some of them during Online Preschool and Zoom School in 2020. Our relationships were formed virtually and I never saw many of them in real life for months. In fact, there remain children I’ve never met in person. But Andrew, Rosalie, Everly, Nolan, Maxton, Dave, Eliza, Pam, Miles, Maddux and Naomi, you are still in my heart years later and hundreds of miles away.

The bond I felt to these children over Zoom, online Circle Time and packing up supply boxes was unexpected. I credit the intimacy of our faces so close, pets and family members coming in and out, facing loss together, lots of comments (with emojis) and email correspondence, speaking up and learning the skill of advocating for one’s time.

In looking at the Zoom School roster, there is no one returning to preschool. There are 4 names of children who graduated to Kindergarten this year and everyone else already went! However, there are siblings in the background of videos you can see who are now current preschoolers.

And, the babies you see in the videos and in my book are coming to preschool next year.

There are two 2 year olds in this video who will complete their preschool career in the next couple of weeks as summer Play Days come to an end. To say it has been an honor doesn’t do justice.

While Monday’s group explored the moon through the eyes of a kitten, today’s group explored through the eyes (and soft fur) of puppies. When children arrive at preschool, we almost always start the day inside. But today all the teachers were waiting outside and the children went straight to the playground.

We played for a little bit and then some visitors came!

The humans are friends of the teachers and know the church, the park and our preschool very well. They brought their 8 week old puppies who have only been alive long enough to see 2 full moons! Since it was MOON DAY, we looked in the book, Dog Gone, to find the moon page. Otis and his dog friends were doing something at Misty Meadow.

What were Otis and his dog friends doing with the moon? Howling at it! We took a picture with the puppies and you can see us howling at a pretend moon:

How many puppies were there? Six! At first there were three people from the family there and each one held two puppies. All the puppies had French names and we wished our friend who speaks French had been there!

We learned some things about them from their human family.

What was the safety plan if you wanted to hold a puppy? If you wanted to hold a puppy, you had to sit down.

What did Ms Kristin say about running? If you want to run, go far away from the puppies so they don’t accidentally get stepped on. The puppies were allowed to run where ever they wanted. If a human wants to be away from the puppies, they can sit on a bench.

Why might a puppy lick you? They like the sweat (and we sure were sweaty…it was very hot and humid by 10:15).

What do the puppies eat? They just stopped nursing which means drinking the mother dog’s milk. Now they eat their own puppy food mixed with a bit of water. Ms Kristin said that reminded her of the preschoolers who put their crackers in their water at Snack Time.

Where do the puppies sleep? All together in their crate. There are fresh pine chips in there.

Before we went inside we sang thank you to the 4 humans with all our limbs and then to all the puppies in a barking voice.

Rebecca, Jason, Otha and Moe…we thank you very much!

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What was the very first thing you did after going inside? Washed hands! We were getting ready for Snack Time and doing what Ms Rebecca said was important to do after handling the puppies.

For Snack Time today, we ate the moon (insert giggling). Grandma Bonnie bought us Half Moon Cookies which were a big hit, and Ms Kristin brought apples that Mr Petr cut into full, half, quarter, crescent pieces. Grandma Vicki refilled our water cups with as much cold water as we could drink!

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When we were done eating we had the quietest play time of the summer. I credit the regulating puppy time and the incredible teacher friends we have.

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What did you do with paintbrushes today? After finishing our moon snack, we used paintbrushes to cover a white circle paper plate with glue and glitter. The sneaky thing is that until the glue dries the glitter is hidden and looks grey.

It seemed like a joke when it was suddenly time to go home. Our Play Days go by so quickly.

No.

We believe that the way we communicate about food can help prevent children from having food hang-ups or dysfunctional issues with body image. Knowing that Snack Time can be a vulnerable time for children who are sensitive (often referred to by the world as “picky”) eaters, we use this as a time to relax, visit and try new foods in a safe way (children are allowed to touch, smell, lick, taste and even spit out things they don’t like). We will listen with genuine curiosity to what they have to say about what they like or don’t like about the food. By doing this in the preschool setting, we can help instill confidence in the child that perhaps one day they will like the taste (children’s taste buds are constantly changing!).

Knowing that children are intuitive eaters and that preschool is a unique setting, we will not tell children to finish food or insist they try something they don’t want to. There is no disappointment or shaming in a child’s choices on what order they eat their food, what to eat or not to eat nor is there praise for finishing all of their food. 

In the same vein, we will not provide judgment on foods or restaurants. Unless it causes food poisoning, no food is inherently good or bad. We take the opportunity to explain what different foods can give us in terms of nutrients and energy rather than healthy or unhealthy. Staff and volunteers will strictly avoid commentary on their own food choices (ex: I’m going to be bad and eat another cookie or This is going to put on some pounds or I’ll have to work out after this snack.).

According to K.A.R. 28-4-439 (g), staff sits at the table with the child and socialization is encouraged. We make connections to the themes of the week (“These cheerios are like the wheels from our book! We’re eating rabbit food -carrots and lettuce! The crackers are the same shape as our book! Everything is the Color of the Month! Everything starts with the Letter of the Week!…”). Families are invited to sign up to bring snacks for their child’s class. There is a schedule in the Teacher Corner. 

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SNACK FOOD: 

According to K.A.R. 28-4-439 (c)(3), mid-morning snacks include at least two of the following: 

Milk, milk product or food made with milk; 

Fruit, vegetable or full-strength fruit or vegetable juice; 

Meat or meat alternate; 

or Bread, bread product or cereal. 

According to K.A.R. 28-4-439 (d), a sufficient quantity of food is available to allow children second portions. We

do this by having “Snack Stores” for children to get more food.

According to K.A.R. 28-4-439 (r), home canned food, food from dented, rusted, bulging or leaking cans or food from cans without labels is not used.

Kristin and Brenda will monitor back up snacks so we always have food to supplement what families bring.

Kristin will replenish snack supplies as needed.

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SNACK STORAGE: When families bring food for Snack Time or Birthday Celebration, it should be taken to the kitchen and placed on the counter or refrigerator/freezer per the following guidelines: 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (k)(2) Perishables and potentially hazardous foods are continuously maintained at 45 degrees or lower in the refrigerator or 10 degrees or lower in the freezer with 0 degrees recommended. Each cold storage facility is provided with a clearly visible thermometer. 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (k)(3) All foods stored in the refrigerator are covered. 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (k)(4) Foods not requiring refrigeration are stored at least 6″ above the floor in clean, dry, well-ventilated storerooms or other areas. 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (k)(5) Dry, bulk foods not in their original, unopened containers are stored in metal, glass, or food-grade plastic containers with tight fitting covers and are labeled. 

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SAFE SNACKS FOR FOOD ALLERGIES/SENSITIVITIES: K.A.R. 28-4-439 (e) Food allergies or special dietary needs of children are known to all staff and volunteers. Individual trays are labeled with allergy information and posted on the kitchen cabinet. If a child has food allergies/sensitivities, families provide non-perishable safe snacks that we can keep on hand for them. Safe Snacks are labeled with the child’s name, stored on top of the refrigerator and served only to them. Brenda and Kristin monitor quantities and alert families when Safe Snack supplies are low. 

SERVING SNACKS:  We serve snack according to the following regulations:

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (n) Tables are washed before and after meals and floors are swept after meals. 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (m) Individual trays and cups maintaining smooth, hard-glazed surfaces and free from cracks or chips 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (h) Food is not placed on a bare table. Napkins and utensils are provided as needed. 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (l)(1): Table service can be maintained in sanitary condition by using disposable plates and cups, plastic utensils of food grade, medium weight.

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SNACK TIME CLEANING PROCEDURES: A volunteer will assist in getting all trays/cups to the kitchen, disposing of uneaten food/garbage and washing trays/cups according to the following regulations:

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (s): Garbage is placed in covered containers inaccessible to children and removed from the kitchen daily.

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (l)(2) Table service is maintained in sanitary condition using a three compartment sink supplied with hot and cold running water and drain board for washing, rinsing, sanitizing and air drying. 

K.A.R. 28-4-439 (n) Tables are washed before and after meals and floors are swept after meals.