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Hi friends welcome to a day at preschool! Today I’m sharing a glimpse of what an ordinary day in our little world looks like. It’s all about the moments of play, learning and discovery that make up a typical day at our preschool. A Day At Preschool The kids arrived with big smiles ready to jump into term 3 after the two-week winter break. Some of the parents made me laugh when they commented on how happy and relieved they were because preschool was open again. It must have felt like forever for them! A Busy Morning During Indoor Play It was pizza time in the home corner which we transformed into a pizza restaurant, complete with a pizza oven, felt bases and toppings. I made the pizza oven two years ago and I think it’s lasted quite well so far. This morning I had to repair the oven door with sticky tape. And it also needs a new light but overall it’s surviving quite well considering how often it gets used. This is what the pizza oven looked like when I first made it. It’s looking a bit more tired these days. After a busy morning filling so many orders, the pizza chefs made a big mess of their workstations. I had the pleasure of ‘tasting’ many of their creations. Some kids worked on tricky puzzles. Others practiced their cutting skills. Lots of rolling and squishing playdough. Some kids totally nailed their box construction game as they created impressive-looking robots. Morning snack time. Look at these delicious lunch boxes! The children from the other class made pancakes during their morning activities. Instead of maple syrup, they poured Blue Agave syrup on their pancakes and they loved it! Although I must say that anything sweet is usually a guaranteed winner! I tried some of the leftovers and they tasted great! Well done teachers and children!! This week we are celebrating NAIDOC week and we watched a video about traditional aboriginal dances. Then it was lunchtime for me and outdoor playtime for the kids. All the staff have to tag team lunch breaks to make sure that we meet our supervision ratios. We get a 50-minute break and this is when I also grab the opportunity to get some blogging done. After my break, it was time for music and movement followed by lunchtime for the children. After lunch, it was relaxation time. The kids each picked a fidget toy. Then settled down on pillows for about 30 minutes. Today no one fell asleep but sometimes we might have one or two children drift off for a little nap. When relaxation time was over the kids packed away their toys and pillows and it was time for more outdoor play until pick-up time. Afternoons are always a flurry of activity at preschool, with packing away and cleaning as well as getting things ready for the next day. Trust me, there’s never a dull moment! It’s like a built-in workout and who needs a gym membership when you’ve got this much physical activity? Getting my steps up is a breeze, and it’s definitely a great way to stay active. So, that’s a day at preschool- a mix of fun and hard work every single day. As an educator, I’m grateful to be part of these little ones’ lives as they learn and grow. I have to admit that keeping up with their endless energy can be tough on this not-so-young body. Not to mention all the setup and cleanup we do all day long. But it’s a very rewarding job and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Except maybe on rainy days when we are stuck inside. On those days I might let my mind wander and briefly daydream about switching careers hehe!

After the winter school holidays, we are back at preschool and kicking off by celebrating NAIDOC week. What is NAIDOC week? NAIDOC week is an annual event held in Australia and the acronym “NAIDOC” stands for “National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee”. During this week, Australians come together to honour and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC week is all about colourful festivities, cultural performances, and art exhibitions. As well as a variety of activities that showcase the contributions of indigenous Australians to our nation. NAIDOC week typically falls in the first full week of July each year. NAIDOC Week At Preschool Celebrating NAIDOC week at preschool is important as it’s a special time when the children can learn about the history and culture of Indigenous Australians. We get to hear stories, do arts and crafts and learn about their traditions. By doing all these activities we show respect and kindness to our First Nation friends. And it’s also a great way to learn and appreciate their heritage better. Today we had an Aboriginal performer come along to the preschool and she introduced us to her culture. She shared some songs and traditional dances. It was interesting to learn some words from her language and she even brought along some tools used by her ancestors for hunting, gathering and preparing meals. At the end of the performance, the children had the opportunity to get their hands painted with an emu symbol. And interestingly, the paint she used was made from a special rock called Ochre. Ochre is the natural pigment that has been used for thousands of years by indigenous Australians in their traditional art and ceremonies. The children were curious and attentive throughout the show, which was great to see because they can get easily distracted. After all, they’re only four and five years old! Their endless energy and eagerness to explore means that their focus can easily shift from one thing to another in a matter of seconds. So I thought they did a great job of sitting still and following along. I enjoy having incursions at preschool because apart from them being so much easier to organise than excursions. They are also a fantastic opportunity for our preschoolers to learn about different cultures and traditions. And each experience is valuable as it helps the kids to appreciate and understand how others live.  

Starting preschool is an exciting new adventure for both you and your child and it marks the next step in your child’s development. Here are a few tips and strategies for how to prepare your child for preschool so that it will be a seamless transition as well as a positive experience for both of you. How To Prepare Your Child For Preschool 1. Talk About Preschool A great way to begin is by getting your child used to the idea of going to preschool. You can do this by having positive conversations and talking about all the fun activities they will be doing. If you can why not walk or take a drive past the preschool about two or three weeks before your child is due to start. That way they will be able to get a clear picture of what the preschool building actually looks like. It’s easier to talk to your child about preschool when they have at least some idea of what it looks like. Of course, if your child is not interested in talking about preschool then it’s best not to push the subject. Try and keep any conversations about preschool short and casual. The last thing you want to do is make your child anxious by making it into a big deal. 2. Prepare Your Child By Visiting Preschool Preschools usually offer orientation days or visits. These are a great way to prepare your child for preschool. Children can spend some time meeting the educators and experiencing some of the activities. Unfortunately due to COVID, this might not be currently possible. Some preschools do however send home orientation packs. Inside these packs, you will find things like photos of the preschool and the educators. You may also receive information about the preschool routine and maybe some songs your children will be learning. So even if you are unable to visit the preschool you can still use these resources to familiarise your child with what preschool is all about. 3. Read Books About Preschool There are many books all about starting preschool and you can spend time reading them with your child. This is a wonderful opportunity to answer any questions that may come up. Books will show them positive experiences about going to preschool and give them some idea of what their day may look like. Here is a list of some books about starting preschool Maisie Goes To Preschool by Lucy Cousins Spot Goes To School by Eric Hill I’m Ready For Preschool by Jedda Robaard The Night Before Preschool by Natasha King and Amy Wummer The Berenstain Bears Go To School by Stan and Jan Bernstain 4. Practice Some Self Help Skills to Prepare Your Child For Preschool When children have good self-help skills it increases their confidence, reduces any stress or anxiety, and very importantly it boosts their self-esteem. So it is essential to give your child plenty of opportunities to practice their self-help skills so they may be able to manage the following things Putting on their shoes and socks Unzipping their backpack Manage their own toileting Be able to open their lunchboxes, drink bottles and unwrap their sandwiches Of course, the educators are always more than happy to assist your child with all of those things. But practicing self-help skills is important to promote children’s independence. 5. Purchase Preschool Essentials With Your Child Another useful thing to do to prepare your child for preschool is to take them with you when you buy things like backpacks, lunch boxes, and drink bottles. Many lunch boxes are way too difficult for small fingers and this also applies to drink bottles as well. So consider taking the time to make sure you buy the right lunchbox and drink bottle so that your child can open them easily. Their preschool day will be so much happier if they are able to open and close their own things! 6. Label Everything There are so many labelling options from fancy-designed labels to good old permanent markers. Whichever one you choose is fine as long as you remember to write your child’s name on everything they will be bringing to preschool. Things like backpacks, hats, lunch boxes, drink bottles, spare clothes, and sheets and blankets. It’s also a good idea to show your child where their name is. It will make them familiar with their name as well as avoid confusion in case there is another child at preschool who owns the same or similar item. 7. Have A Good Bedtime Schedule Another important way to prepare your child for preschool is by making sure they are well-rested. Those first few weeks of preschool can be so exhausting for them so it is essential that they have a good bedtime routine so they get sufficient sleep. You really want to avoid a tired cranky child who will find it a struggle to get through the day. How To Prepare Your Child For The First Day Of Preschool Try and make sure you and your child wake up early enough so that the morning isn’t a stressful rush. Prepare your child some breakfast and encourage them to eat. Sometimes nerves may get in the way of appetite but try and make sure they have the opportunity to enjoy a healthy breakfast. Pack a simple lunch your child is familiar with and keep the choice of food to a minimum. Young children will become very easily stressed if they are faced with too many choices. Pack your child’s backpack together so they know exactly what they are taking to preschool and they know where their things are inside their backpack. Saying Good-Bye Stay For A Short Period Of Time On the first day, you may want to stay for a little while. Try and make sure it is no longer than 10 to 15 minutes. Perhaps you could do one activity with your child and then say goodbye. Ask the educators to support your child if you see that

Preschoolers need to paint! They are drawn to this activity, they love it and the wonderful thing is that painting actually helps their brains to develop. Yes, it’s messy and requires time and effort but the benefits are just astounding. Who would have thought that such a simple fun activity could hold the key to so many benefits for young children? Here Are 6 Reasons Why Preschoolers Need To Paint 1. Exercises Children’s Creativity Indeed painting encourages young children to freely explore and this builds confidence. So when children are given a  variety of paints and a blank piece of paper, they have the wonderful opportunity to freely make choices of how they want to interact with these materials. In addition, they can choose to mix colors, create patterns, be original, discover, and create. 2. Painting Helps Fine Motor Skills When children are engaged in painting and art activities, the muscles in their fingers, hands, and wrists are being exercised and strengthened. Children learn to control their finger grip and movement. All this will help them learn to hold a pencil and write later on when they go to big school. 3. Great For Cognitive Development Art and painting can help children with skills such as learning about cause and effect. Children can mix colors together to find new combinations. They can create patterns and develop implied memory with the repetition of movement such as loading a paintbrush and making brushstrokes. 4. Builds Self-esteem When children paint they can freely explore without any fear of being right or wrong. It’s all about the process and not the product. Therefore all children will feel successful regardless of age, skill, or ability. 5. Learn About Color Painting gives children the opportunity to learn about color in a fun practical way. Plus they can also experiment with messy color mixing. 6. It’s Relaxing Painting is a stress-relieving and soothing activity! The whole process of putting paint onto paper is a very therapeutic experience. Painting Activities for Preschoolers Printing At preschool, we have a variety of stampers that children can use for printing. We have animals, vehicles, insects, dinosaurs, etc. You name it we are sure to have it. To make things interesting sometimes we also use things you might find around the house, such as forks, spatulas, cotton reels, bottle tops. There are endless things that can be used for printing activities. And then of course there is good old hand and foot printing!   Stencil Painting Painting with stencils helps children create fun and interesting patterns and designs. You can use a brush for this activity or even a sponge. Marble painting I think that this activity is a real favorite. You need a tray or box, some paint in small cups or bowls and marbles. Simply plop the marble into the paint and then scoop it out with a spoon and place it on the paper you have placed in the box or tray. Children then have to use side to side motion to make the marble run forming interesting lines or patterns across their paper. The challenge is to keep that marble contained! Painting Using Permanent Black Markers And Watercolors I think this activity is my favorite. The children first use a black marker to draw and then they paint what they have drawn. You will get the best results if you use vibrant watercolors. Using Cotton Buds At preschool, we sometimes use cotton buds instead of regular paintbrushes. This is a great activity because the children practice their pencil grip by using the small cotton buds. You can use tempera paint or watercolors for this painting activity. String Painting This is a fun way to develop kids’ fine motor skills, strengthen grip and control. All you need is a string, a peg, and tempera paint. You clip the string into the peg then dip it into the paint. Next, you drag the string around the paper to make patterns. It sounds simple enough but it can be tricky to control that string. It will give kids a good hand muscle workout! Bubble Printing For this activity, you need a straw plus a container of water mixed with detergent and food coloring. The children need to blow bubbles then take a print of their bubbles using a piece of paper.   Painting has so many benefits for children and their development but I think the best thing about painting is that it is just so much fun!! Looking for reasons why playdough is so beneficial for children plus a great recipe for playdough. Click here        

What Is A Lightbox? A lightbox or light table is an illuminated surface. They are commonly used in drafting, and for viewing x-rays or artwork. Lightboxes come in many shapes and sizes and they are very popular in early childhood classrooms. Using them in preschool settings will provide a wonderful teaching and learning tool. They are a calming influence in the playroom and will spark the children’s interest to explore colour mixing, shape and pattern. Providing a lightbox with inviting resources will encourage children to think critically and creatively in many areas of learning. What Do Children Learn with A Light Box Lightboxes provide the perfect opportunity to develop problem-solving skills, pattern and colour recognition, as well as language development. Lightbox activities are also great for hand-eye coordination and even pre-writing skills.  The lovely soft and captivating glow means that children spend longer amounts of time engaged with the activity that is provided. This is a fantastic opportunity to stretch their developing attention spans. Using a lightbox encourages children to be better observers. This is because the subtle details of the presented materials are clearly visible on a lightbox than on a non-lit surface. The lightbox improves children’s learning experience as they learn through visual images. The colours of the materials used on the lightbox are enhanced. This will provoke the child’s imagination. Lightboxes are a very adaptable teaching tool and you can use them for many open-ended play experiences. They also create a very inviting learning space. They are interesting and will captivate and hold children’s attention. The warm glow from the lightbox creates an aesthetic appeal for the whole playroom too. What Things Can You Use On A lightbox? I have found that there is just a huge variety of equipment designed especially for lightboxes. You can see these in almost any preschool toy catalogue or good toy shop. When I look around my own preschool environment I have found that you can use almost anything. The possibilities really are endless. At our preschool, we have a perspex cover over the lightbox. This means we can add messy things like shaving cream. The children love using their little fingers to smoosh and swirl the shaving cream around. They form patterns, write their names or draw faces. It’s such a fantastic sensory experience for them. In addition, we have also placed leaves, insects in resin and x-rays on the lightbox with magnifying glasses. The children love exploring detail and their eyes light up at new discoveries. Another popular way we use our lightbox is for general construction activities. This is where those colourful magnetic tiles and coloured blocks have come in so handy. I love these coloured splats and look at the colourful cubes. They are a recent addition to our lightbox resources. The magnetic tiles are also great and the children love building with them and looking at the light shine through their creations. These wooden blocks with colourful windows are always available on our block shelf. Here the children can use them to create objects and patterns. These colour paddles are just the best! A fantastic colour mixing activity without the mess!! Colourful stones can be used to place on the lines and make patterns. Look at the variety of colours and shapes. The children have such a wonderful time creating beautiful things like flowers, houses, and people. They can let their imaginations run wild!! Adding mirrors is also another fun idea. Look how pretty it looks. Such an inviting play area. I just love the lightbox in our preschool room as it makes the room so warm and inviting. Over the years it’s been so great to watch how the children have learnt and benefited from such a fantastic teaching tool.

Earlier in Term two of preschool, we looked at World Earth Day and World Ocean Day. So I thought it would be fun to show you a few of the creative classroom setups we had going. Fun Playdough Activity~ First, up for our playdough table, our lovely classroom teacher provided two playdough colours instead of the usual one. We had blue and green dough, this inspired the children to copy the little world globe that was also part of the setup. If you look closely you can see how they are using the green playdough to add pieces of green land to their blue playdough. Watching the children use their own initiative and imaginations without being prompted was such a huge bonus. Aren’t they smart little friends using the dough to make their own world globes! We supplied some Earth coloured stones too for the kids to press into the dough and make patterns. There were some lovely different shades of blues and greens as well as natural stones. Classroom setups just look so visually pleasing when you use things like baskets and wooden trays for the tools and materials. Looks so much nicer than plastic trays, don’t you agree? I printed some sky images and laminated them to be used as placemats. The children really enjoyed this activity and my colleague and I were really pleased with how well the children played. Sensory and Sorting Activity~ We usually have a sensory table for the children every week with either rice or shaving cream. For Earth Day my colleague had the brilliant idea of adding little bits of pretend rubbish into the rice tubs. The children then had to sort the ‘rubbish’ into two mini bins. One was a recycling bin and the other a rubbish bin. This was not only a great sensory activity, but it was also a fantastic sorting activity too. And to top it off it gave the children a chance to really think about what household waste should actually be recycled and not just put into the general rubbish bin! How good was that? World Ocean Day~ For world Ocean Day we set up a cool book display complete with plastic sea animals and magnifying glasses. It was great to see the children browsing through the books and talking about all the different sea creatures. There are a couple of cute but very active little kids in our class. I just love them and it was so great to see them looking at all the pages of the books quite engrossed in what they were discovering. They revisited these books over and over too. Another part of the book display was this ‘Ocean’ display. Again I went through our preschool cupboards trying to find interesting things to use and came up with this. We recently bought a few of these round mirrors and they have really come in so handy. We use them for heaps of different displays and craft activities. I scrunched some cellophane and arranged it around the tray and mirror to represent the ocean, added more stones, and of course small sea creatures! Even though it was a big rush to get it all set up, I was happy with the end result. We are always short of one thing at preschool and that is time! Craft Table~ Finally, for our craft table, we added some images representing the environment. The children cut these out and used them for their collages adding other materials available to them too. I hope you enjoyed a little peek into our classroom for Earth Day and World Ocean Day. I think it’s great to cover topics such as these. It’s so important that our next generation know how amazing our planet is. And it is vital that they not only appreciate our planet but that they also grow up being active participants in protecting and looking after our world so it is a happier and healthier place to live!    

Pizza Restaurant For Dramatic Play- The other day I blogged about our Bakery set up for preschool dramatic play. You can find that post here. Today I wanted to quickly share about our Pizza Restaurant for dramatic play. I work with the most amazing teacher who I am lucky enough to call my friend. She comes up with fantastic ideas and I am constantly inspired by her enthusiasm and dedication. A while ago motivated by the children’s interest in using the home corner as a restaurant. She thought it would be great to turn the home corner into a pizza restaurant. We both made a trip to Ikea to buy the cutest little pizza set made of fabric. To make the pizza oven we used a cardboard box, wrapping paper with a brick pattern, aluminium foil, and a realistic-looking fire image, oh yes, and a portable light switch. I had an idea in my head as to how I wanted it to look and I think it turned out amazingly well. The kids really loved playing with it and were in awe of how realistic it looked. This activity was so popular that it quickly turned into a turn-taking lesson too! Ha! don’t worry it’s not hot. All I did was stick a portable light switch to the top of the oven and the aluminum foil reflected the light around the inside of the oven. Then I just printed off a realistic-looking fire and glued it to the back. Look at all those toppings! See this pizza set from Ikea. Isn’t it cute? I totally love it. Ikea has such fun things for all ages. And there it is, another dramatic play setup idea for preschool. Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a truly wonderful day!

Preschool Dramatic Play-A Bakery Hi All! For this week’s Preschool dramatic play, we set up a cool Bakery. Welcome to our Bakery I love setting up interesting dramatic play for the children. The Teacher in the classroom and I will collaborate to plan activities and experiences for the children based on their interests. During Term Two some of the children were interested in having a Bakery set up in dramatic play. I got the fun job of setting it all up! To me, it’s a great challenge to find resources to make the play area as inviting as possible. Our preschool is not purpose-built at all. Originally the building was used as council chambers and over sixty years ago it became a preschool. Granted the building is full of beautiful heritage charm but unfortunately, the playrooms are still slightly awkward. As a team, we all try our very best to make it work. Cupcakes for the win! See those cupcakes. I made them by scrunching up crepe paper and dipping it in glue mixed with some water. Like paper mache. After placing them in patty pans I let them dry for several days! We are always pressed for time however, it was lucky that I was able to make them super fast with the help of some of my little friends. The children have played with these cupcakes over and over, yet they remained intact! It’s impressive how durable they have turned out to be. Don’t you think? Thanks for stopping by. It’s always great to see some new ideas for playroom setups. Hope you enjoyed a peek into my preschool. If you would like to see my small Dinosaur world for some ideas click here That’s it friends. Preschool dramatic play-A Bakery! Please comment and tell me what you think. You should see the Pizza Shop we did! I’ll show you that next time.