Summer Nature Sun Catchers

I have been lucky enough to get into cahoots with a brilliant preschool teacher and friend from my neighborhood this summer.  Amy and I have decided to do "Crafts on Wednesdays" at our community-run park.  We meet for an hour each Wednesday and do activities with neighborhood kids.  Not only does it give moms & little ones something to do, but it also draws our close knit community even closer.

This week we came up with a fantastic idea that I just had to share.  We made nature sun catchers to celebrate the first day of summer.  I always try to keep the gals in tune with the colors of our natural environment and the seasons.  Today we noticed how the pretty pastels of spring give way to the deep, saturated colors of summer.

First we cut sheets of Contact paper.  We measured roughly about a 12x12 piece. Each child gets 2 pieces. We peeled the backing off of one piece and placed it on the table, sticky side up. If the paper keeps rolling back up, try to bend back the 4 corners to stick them to the table.  That will create a flat work space.

Next we sent the kids out into the park to find pieces of "nature"- blades of grass, flower petals, clovers, dandelions, leaves, etc.

After collecting their goods, they arranged them to the sticky side of the paper.

After everything is arranged just so, take the other piece of Contact paper and place the sticky side down on top of the arrangement.  Smooth it over and press out any air bubbles.  Cut your project into any shape you wish, punch a hole through it, and string it with yarn.

We hung some on our deck and of course the gals thought a few would look lovely hanging on the shutters on our front window.

We will also try this for fall and collect different color leaves, pine needles, etc.  It would be fun to compare the two and see how the colors of our mountain world change with the seasons.

Father's Day

A moment I hope the gals will remember forever.  What a great dad.

Photo Scavenger Hunt!

We hit the jackpot with an activity that we all enjoyed.  A photo nature scavenger hunt.
I found this list on Pinterest and felt it was age appropriate for the gals.

I armed them with 2 digital cameras at our community park and away they went.  They worked independent of me since Marlee can read the list.  When we got home, we uploaded the photos on the computer and talked about why they chose that particular item.  We also got a lesson in uploading photos and creating folders, then how to locate them again in our hard drive.


The gals enjoyed the scavenger hunt and found it not too easy, not too difficult, but just challenging enough.  My challenge will be to create a different list each time we do this activity OR use the same list and find a different location.

...and I think to myself: What a wonderful world

Preschool.  It is bittersweet to close this chapter. Happy, since I am not shuttling children everywhere several times a day and we are saving a few bucks a month in tuition and gas.  Sad, since my kids are growing up and we are leaving behind one of the best experiences of our lives.

I was very excited about all the choices our community has to offer with schools. There are Montessori, Waldorf, playschool, religious based, academic based, daycare based, the list goes on and on. Although the gals are very close, they have different personalities.  Marlee being extroverted, calm, a leader, but yet a rule follower is contrasted with Mya who is introverted, dramatic, and fearful of change. I had the feeling their needs would have to be met in different ways.

Marlee spent 2 years at Montessori.  We both loved it.  She did the Montessori works at her own pace and had free choice of how she got to learn.  With being 1 of 5 kids in her 3-year-old class and 1 of 8 kids in her 4- year-old class, she got individualized attention and was able to develop fantastic social skills. Ms. Tonya will forever be her hero.  She reached Marlee in ways that I never could academically...I am thinking I was too pushy in her early years with forcing her to learn letters and numbers at the age of 2 so she would be "smart". Ah, well, hindsight is 20/20. Marlee happily graduated from Montessori school and was a superstar heading to kindergarten. By the way, her favorite imaginative play is office and school.

Marlee on her 1st day of preschool.



Marlee on her last day of school.  She still keeps in touch with Ms. Tonya. **dates on my camera are incorrect. This should be 2010.


Mya is a different story.  I decided not to do anything academic with her at all...not saying I tried and her response was "This is a lot like learning and I don't like it." (insert crinkled nose) Since she was so introverted and had a hard time socially, I decided to take Mya to a playschool co-op, which is play-based, experiential learning. At first, I thought it was a huge mistake.  Seeing all these kids interacting with organized chaos just freaked Mya out!  She cried for most of the drop offs, had no friends, and stalked the teachers. Little by little the crying eased, she made a few friends, and even had a few play dates. Her days were filled with curiosity and thinking outside the box.  What impressed me most was the ability she had to connect what she learned in school with the outside world.  My reluctant learner suddenly became a scientist, mathematician, and a colorful writer.  Her teachers Louise, Melissa, and Donna were so patient and nurturing, allowing her to be her authentic self and letting her grow.  I am so impressed with what they do with these children.  I am sure Mya will be fine in kindergarten even though she did not attend a traditional academic preschool.

1st day of school.  Mya was not very excited about going somewhere to "learn".

Last day of school.  Mya has come a long way. Her teachers are incredible!




 
As we sat in the yard of Mya's school for her graduation and her class sang "What a Wonderful World" with props and all, I thought about our preschool years and how lucky we were to have these teachers who helped both girls grow and teach them skills to be successful in life. I even had a little tear come to my eye, realizing that at the moment our world was really wonderful.