Nido Asilo - Cordignano, Italy

I thought I would do an update on A's school adventures. She started back this year in the middle of September. She goes Mon-Fri from 0900-1600. This is her first year going full time since last year she only did half a days. We decided to let her go full day this year's because she always begged to stay last year when I would go pick her up. She lays knew her friends she Tay I'm pleased and took a nap, so she wanted to do the same.

There schedule is really simple. Drop off is by 0900. They have a light snack to get the day started. They do music first thing in the mornings. They split to go to their own classrooms to do really daily activities. Right now, they are reading and learning parts of The Little Red Riding Hood. Of course, it's all in Italian. They do activities that work in with the story. They have lunch at 1130 and recess at 1230. They come back inside at 1300, which is when they do there nap time for the younger kids. The older kids do more structural learning. A does take a nap. They get an hour nap until around 1430. They gather for a snack time and then have free play until the end of the day.

Most days A is playing by herself. She is more tom boyish and prefers to do what the boys do, but most of the time they won't anything to do with her. She has accepted it and just does her own thing. I normally find she plays with Legos, play doh, and puzzles. She does have one really good friend, which is a girl. The teachers say they do everything together, including eat lunch.

They do also go on field trips. They don't always let the parents know in advance, but they do send pictures always danced work home that they did. That's how I generally learn of their trips. Recently, they went to a corn field and had roasted corn. Another day, they went to a forest area because some of the kids showed some anxiety because of the book they were reading (The little Red Riding Hood). They brought them out to the wooded area and showed them the the story was pretend to help ease some of their nervousness towards it.

They also do and a lot of art work. They collected things from nature for some art pueces. They had corn kernels, leaves, acorns, pine cones, twigs, etc. They made a mosaic using them. That was really fun to see when she brought it home. They paint a lot. We have to bring in family pictures for projects as well. A really seems to love it. She lives her teachers, too. She speaks so well jow. she sings yoo. She even tells us the stories she learns at school.

She also goes to the library on Tuesdays and gets to bring home a book. She does gymnastic on Wednesdays, and she has her music class on Thursdays. She is really doing well this year, and I can't wait to meet with her teacher at mid term to discuss how she is doing.

It's so hard to believe that next year E will join her at school. Time flies.

Meal Plan Monday - November 17

1. Cabbage and sausage over rice
2. Tuna Noodle Bake
3. Chicken and asparagus pasta
4. Chicken Pesto
5. Baked Tilapia
6. Chili with cornbread
7. Grilled chicken salad

Mr. Man is away for 4 days, so we are keeping it light and simple. With Thanksgiving next week, no need to stuff ourselves silly. :)

Lunch: chicken salad sandwiches, turkey and feta salad, peanut butter and honey on bread or crackers

Snacks: trail mix, fruit salad, fruit filled frosted mini wheats, cucumbers and tomatoes, and pretzels

A Modeling - 3.5 years

Teacher Tuesday {12/17/2013}

The Frugal Homeschool Family blog recently put out a 17 page Christmas fun pack for young children. It is absolutely free, downloadable, and printable.

The 17-page pack includes cutting practice, writing prompts, coloring pages, writing practice, and more!

I absolutely LOVE this blog for fun learning for the young kids in my life! She also put out a 20 page coloring page printable! You can check it out here. 

Teacher Tuesday: Week 3: Print, Color, Cut, and Build Snowman

December is such a fun month. One of my favorie things about the winter is building snowmen. One of my favorite websites to get things for A to do is printables4kids.com. Put them together and it's a match made in heaven.

It's easy! Just print the page from the website. Let your little one color each piece. Cut it out and piece it together to make a masterpiece!

Link: Build your own Snowman 

Want to join in on the fun? Check out how here!

Teacher Tuesday: Week 2: Christmas Books with Activities

Now that we are in December, I thought it would be fun and festive to feature something great to do with the children throughout the month and working up to Christmas. One of my favorite things to do with our girls are crafts. This feature is of 24 Christmas books with a coordinating craft or activity. It was published back in 2008, but the books are great books and the activities are great for all ages. That is what I love about this one. Is that I could host a party of children ranging from 1 to 12 years old, and they would all have something fun to do that suits their level.

You should check it out! You can find it here: 24 Christmas books with activities

A list of the books:
Snowflake Bentley
Winter's Tale
Petunia's Christmas
The Trees of the Dancing Goats
Santa's Toy Shop
The Baker's Dozen
Santa's Snow Cats
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Night Tree
Santa Mouse
I Like Winter
Frosty The Snowman
Lights of Winter
The Gingerbread Man
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
A Pussycat's Christmas
The Christmas Hat
The Polar Express
The Christmas Humbugs
Carl's Christmas
The Shortest Day
Ollie's Ski Trip
Buying Mittens
The Night Before Christmas

If you would like to be featured for Teacher Tuesday, you can read more information here! I will also continue to update the weeks so they will be easily accessible.

Prepare for Preschool Supply List

For us, grade school started today but Preschool doesn't start for another 4-5 weeks. A won't be going to Preschool this year, but I have been preparing for when her time comes. As a teacher, I have also been in many different classrooms, including a variety of preschool ones.

I thought I would share a list of a basic supply list for a child who is about to begin their first day of Preschool. The list is simple and basic. I will also share with you what I, as a teacher, do with most of the supplies for the classroom.

Preschool is a very basic introduction to school. Before you go wild on buying your child items for it, you should talk to the child's teacher or wait for a list from the school.

A great way to ease and excite a child about starting Preschool is to take them school supply shopping and allowing them the opportunity to help pick out their new gear and supplies.

1. The child will need a backpack to take things to and from school. At this age, they do not need anything large. I think the Skip Hop back packs are super adorable and perfectly sized. In fact, A already has one and uses it to carry her toys and craft store when we go on trips. She will put a book with some crayons, stickers, coloring book, small toys, DVDs, and snacks. AND she will carry it herself.

2. To go along with their adorably cute  backpack, you may want to pack them their very own lunch and snacks. At some Preschool's, this is only an option if the child has allergies or is a picky eater and completely refuses to eat. But there are also some that completely leave it up to the parents. We also like the Skip Hop lunch bags. 

3. The next few items on the list are for crafting and allowing your child to be creative in the classroom. The first one is washable glue. Most teachers will request Elmer's. Some will be even more specific in saying stick, gel, or the original. They serve basically the same purpose, but some teachers feel the stick may be less of a hassle and mess for young children. And some teachers find the children have more fun with the messier stuff and enjoy it more. It is all about preference. 

4. Next is washable markers. Crayola is known for the variety of children craft products for coloring and doodling. They have a kind that is called Kid's First Washable Markers. They come in a pack of 8. 

5. Of course, children between the ages of 2-4 love crayons. Again, some teachers have preference on this item. Some prefer the jumbo crayons because they do not break as easily.

6. Another top item is child safe scissors. Fiscars is a popular brand that makes scissors that are small enough for young children and have the rounded edges so they aren't so sharp. 

7. Most classrooms have an opportunity for the children to sit quietly in their areas and play. Many teachers will encourage Playdough because it builds their imagination and they can become little artists without having to drag out too many other materials. 

8. This next one is extremely important for germs. Classrooms go through these super quickly, so don't be surprised if a teacher requests 2-3 boxes per student. Germs are constantly being passed around among the many children. There is always runny noses and so forth that need attention. 

9. These last two are optional things for convenience. Mostly for pround parents. The first is labels. Even though the students won't need to label their items, they may need to label anything that goes to school with them, like medicines, cups, jackets, shoes, and so on. 

10. The last one is a planner/recorder for all of your child's memories through the school year. From events, to growth, to their first artwork of the year! I plan to make homemade ones from binders for the girls. 

Here is my basic list for starting preschool. Some classrooms may ask for additional things depending on the development and academic level of the school and classroom. However, I found these to be the most common. Also, these are the ones that I would request for sure as a teacher. 

Do you have a child that attends preschool? Or has attended preschool in the past? Or will be soon attending preschool? 

What is on your must-have list for that child?