Happy, Happy (Fri) Day to YOU!

Hello Friends Far and Near,

Sometimes I complain about the cost of living here in California or especially the Bay Area...but...here's what you can't complain about...the beautiful weather! Today is a perfect day for playing outside...not too hot, not too cold...just perfect for shirt sleeves for fun! That's why it costs a lot to live here..to be able to enjoy terrific weather almost year round.

We have had a blast here today. Our friends really enjoy coloring and coloring pages...especially "Cars". So why not take the artistic projects outside to enjoy the weather and have fun too? We colored, made a Paddington Bear from a toilet tissue roll. Anyway they made it was alright by us! Using creativity, fine motor skills, eye/hand coordination and more is more than worth the "cookie cutter" project.

This afternoon, we'll be out in the grass yard and enjoy some playdoh at our picnic tables, blowing bubbles and hearing some stories. Life is good when you are out in the sun, can listen to the birds and play with your friends. We love it.

Have a GREAT weekend...our staff is headed to an Early Childhood Education Conference nearby tomorrow. We are always looking for new and innovative ideas to teach to your children...plus being in the company of others who share our passion for children is always a boost! Make your time with your children memorable!

TGIF to YOU,
Miss Sue

Pancake Thursday and how to get the fire department to join in the fun!

Hello Friends!

Oh the places and things we will do! You never know what can happen here at Cherub. Just when you thought you knew about everything that could happen....we had something new, exciting, unique and hopefully a once in a great while adventure!

It all started when I had sprayed some non-stick spray on the griddle and turned it on! Poof! A puff of smoke started rising and then...and then...and then...the smoke alarm went off with the automated voice saying, "The fire alarm has been activated...please evacuate the building." Our children are well trained, they stood up from watching me make pancake batter and lined up at the door. I was so proud of them! No one panicked, everyone except me was calm....I was more mad at myself then anything else....I called the VA Police who called VA Engineering who had called the Contra Costa Fire Department. They arrived within 1-2 minutes in full fire fighting gear! So we really got a two-fer. A cooking lesson and a visit from the fire department all in one. Our children were most impressed! And...by the way, the pancakes turned out great according to the children!

We also are still working on our ocean project. Today we made fish to go into the ocean. Oh so cute and fun! They are certainly fish of a different color. I used some old magazines and scrapbook paper to cut out the fish shapes and our friends decorated them any way they wanted.

Make it a great day!

Miss Sue

Pizza and other interesting things!

Hello Friends,

It's overcast and could be interpreted as depressing outside, but oh...never on the inside of our school!

Things heard here at Cherub:

"Miss Sue, do you live here at Cherub or do you have a home?" (Most assume I live here and sleep in the baby room!)

"Why did your son grow up, Miss Sue?" (He's 25!)

"You were a little girl?" (!)

"Will you come to my fill in the blank and play with me?"

Each one endearing and sweet...our days are full of belly laughs, random statements, thought provoking retorical questions...and it is all good...very good. Life is good when you are a preschooler and have lots of things to do, experiences to explore in the safe, nuturing environment here that is both good for the soul and for the brain!

We made pizzas today to go along with our P week words....Everyone took a turn to make their own pizza. We measured, poured, sprinkled and watched while the pizzas baked in the oven. Yummmm-o for afternoon snack.

Also, we read an old school book called, "Little Toot". It was the first time everyone had heard the book and I can tell it we will have a "redux" of it soon. It was written in 1939 and was made into a Disney movie too, although no one had seen it.

We have super summer plans coming up....I will unveil more by next week...be on the look out for "Camp Cherub" info!

Have a fantastic day,
Smiles to YOU!

Miss Sue

O and P Week

Hello Friends,

So many things to talk and learn about....so little time! We are learning about oceans, paintings, painters, pizza, pancakes, Paddington Bear and so many other things......today we painted our ocean. We used a mix of blue, green and purple paint to make our collage. Check out our pictures....on Thursday we will add our ocean creatures.

We also are finishing up our puppets, check out how cute they are! Charlotte saw the idea in a book and each of our friends chose their colors, painted, glued and more! Today is our opening of our puppet show....we have a great puppet theater to enjoy and put on a show with.

We have soooo much fun, playing outside, sand play table, climbing on our structure in the grass yard, blowing bubbles, coloring, singing and more. Please join us for all the fun!

Hugs all around,

Miss Sue

Starry Night

Hello Friends Around the Planet,

Whew! A busy week when we are learning so many new things! It's been a busy M and N week...today we learned about phases of the moon: crescent moons, waxing and waning moons, stars, new moons and more.

And we got to paint a "Starry Night" painting...so cool! We colored with crayons, hard on white paper and did a black wash paint over it to make the color crayon colors pop! Awesome was the refrain heard from all our 3s and 4s. Our 2s did a color treasure hunt...then marble arted with blue paint! Wahoo for them!

It is super duper fantastic to be outside and we made full use of the sun and shade in the side yard. Woowee! Playing on a big blanket, reading books, playing games and painting. Plus having afternoon snack outside. Does it get any better?

Have a good evening....check out the cool photos below!
Miss Sue

Muffins, the Moon and More!

Hello Friends Around the Planet,

Today was another great day to explore the outdoors, learn all we can about "M" words including more about Monet, his paintings and museums. Did you know that there are all kinds of museums? Some have dinosaur bones in them, some have statues, some have trains, some have bugs and some are just artwork. We are creating art to be hung in the Cherub Museum of Art. Lots of different mixed media things....lots to explore.

We are enjoying our "new to us" climbing structure on the lawn area. It is fun to slide, climb, crawl and hide in and out of the structure. This has been a big boost to our yard....while the renovation continues. Many thanks to the very generous family that donated it to us! Merci beaucoup to you! XX00 :)

I have heard that it will be a few weeks more and then we will actually be back on the big yard! Yahoo! We have a few children who have joined us since we only had the patio and lawn to play on and are just itching to get up and play on our big climbing structure.

Today we made blueberry muffins...blue because it is the color of the week in the 2s room and muffins because it is M week. We all took turns stirring, placing the muffin papers in the cupcake pan and checking it out before it went in the oven.....and oooooh ahhhh does it smell great while it is baking!

We are rocking and rolling our way into great spring days to play outside...enjoy the photos!

Smiles to you,

Miss Sue

M and N Week

Hello All!

Wow! We have so much to tell! We have had a fun morning....brainstorming about the letters M & N all the words we can think of that start with those letters. We talked about Monet and artwork and museums and will be painting our own version this afternoon. We will be setting up the Cherub Museum of Art to visit and learn all about what it's like to go to a museum.

We played outside on the patio this morning and made our version of petroglyphs on the sidewalk. Check those out, plus some of our lollipops from last week and our rainbows, too. Check out the bulletin boards for a view of cool stuff that we are doing.

We have so much fun. Come join us soon!

Hugs all around,
Miss Sue

Spring Has Sprung...a Leak?

Hello All!

Whew! It has been so busy around here for us! We had a rockin' Easter Egg Hunt and party both in the A.M. and P.M. So much fun! The hunt went great....almost 300 eggs scattered around the big room, due to rain being outside! That Easter Bunny! He is so tricky, he hid them while the children were listening to stories in the 2s room...and he left his footprints all over!

It's K and L week....We made kites today and Miss Charlotte is making lady bugs later this afternoon with the class. Have you ever painted with plastic eggs? Check this picture out....making cool circles on the paper with paint and the half of the egg...make your own pattern, color combination and more.

We played inside this morning due to the sky leaking! We played with the Firehouse, always a hit and the duplos. Magic! Large legos that are just meant to built with. We had castles, boats, forts and more. Yahoo for all!

Check out are great listeners in the picture below...I am so proud of them!

Hugs to all,
Miss Sue

Easter Tidings to You!

Hello Friends!

We are getting ready for our Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday. This week, we made our bags to put all our eggs in...today we baked cookies and made Easter shaped Jello Jigglers...always a favorite!

Today brought us more WET lawn. Fiddle Sticks! This means we cannot go out on the lawn because it is the world's largest mud bowl! So, the Easter Bunny will be hiding eggs inside tomorrow morning. Party on!

Lots of fun and funny things happen here every...I belly laugh everyday!

Hugs all around,
Miss Sue

Welcome to Easter Week

Hello Friends Far and Near,

It's a gorgeous Monday outside today! A perfect day to ride bikes, scooters, draw with chalk, play with our sand tray table or paint at an easel. And a great day for artistic persuits too!

We have had a fun day with both our indoor and outdoor activities. Check out the cute bunny faces and the beautiful foam stamped Easter Eggs we made today. We are learning some bunny/Easter songs, talking all about the big Easter Egg Hunt and if the Easter Bunny will stop by our school...things for our party and more. We have all kinds of ideas for decorations and for our celebration!

Don't forget! The Easter Egg Hunt takes place Thursday, 4/5 at 9 a.m. SHARP! Be here to go on a hunt for almost 300 eggs!

Have a great day, enjoy the photos and make a memory with your child!

Hugs to you,

Miss Sue