we’ve got a lot of activities in the archives (search “martin” and you’ll find them).

here are a couple of new printables for this year:

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as classes we’ll be painting big pieces of paper red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white and brown. those will dry for a day and then cut apart into shapes, glued on to another paper and used as backgrounds for these words:

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we’ve had black and white paint at our easel and will use those completed paintings as backgrounds for sparkly foam star stickers and a photo/quote of dr. king.

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dear 2019-2020 families, here are the forms! what you will find:

ALL PRESCHOOLERS:
snack (optional)
play dough (optional)
emergency medical care release including insurance information
tuition agreement (will come to you in a separate email)

NEW PRESCHOOLERS:
all of the above plus
medical record/immunization history/health assessment*
internet release

*you may bring a copy if you have them on file at another facility

RETURNING PRESCHOOLERS:
you will have opportunity to review forms on file at the Parent Meeting/Open House to make any changes necessary.

ALL PRESCHOOLERS-SNACK SIGN UP:

ALL PRESCHOOLERS-PLAY DOUGH SIGN UP:

(recipes following sign up form)

1970s Play Dough

2 c flour

4 t cream of tartar

1 c salt

2 T oil

2 c water

food coloring

boil water.  add salt and oil and stir til dissolved.  add remaining ingredients and stir/knead/mix in mixer.  can add additional flour as needed.  can also add essential oils or extracts for scent.

ALL PRESCHOOLERS-EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE RELEASE:

click here to access form

NEW PRESCHOOLERS-MEDICAL RECORD/IMMUNIZATION HISTORY/HEALTH ASSESSMENT:

click here to access forms

NEW PRESCHOOLERS-PHOTO RELEASE:

i fell in instant love with this product i came across online.

i loved the concept of children taking time to pause and experience the passing of time.

what didn’t work for me is the text included on the product:

“A fairy’s magic changes red to green, gone are your worries never to be seen.”

in the past i might have welcomed this notion, after all it fits the same notion that if i just pray enough, hard enough, right enough, i’ll be saved. a message like this would have translated into my child self that i’m wrong, it didn’t work, the fairies didn’t take my worry away and the quiet fear and shame would fester.

but i’ve grown from  my childhood experiences and i see things another way.  i feel the truth that even when we feel fear and shame, we aren’t alone. feeling angry doesn’t warrant punishment.  sadness isn’t equated with loneliness.

and preschoolers feel all of these things, often in one day, maybe even in one preschool session.

so i renovated the board. keeping the same principle of watching time pass with the handprint turning red to green, i made a new slogan:

“feel your feelings with your hand on the ring, watch the light turn from red to green.”

the difference is that they are staying with their feelings. breathing and feeling while they watch the color change. often they’re interrupting the pattern of distress, never abandoning themselves without having someone else save them.

feelings matter, no feelings are wrong, feelings are meant to be felt.

i’ve watched two little friends who were in significant distres: shaking in anger, tense muscles, red faces, tears in eyes, growling and moaning, add the magic ring to their practice.

it’s okay to be angry. it’s okay to be mad. feel that.

click to watch it in action on you tube:

within a few rounds of watching the light change, they seemed regulated. they carried on conversations and landed back in play. the magic is within.

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in addition to special things related to the week’s themes, we do all of these things at circle time every day. 

the helper of the day has many opportunities and by this point in the year, the preschoolers know what comes next!