Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Cotton Candy Fantasies!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Blue Ribbon Blueberry Muffins
Oh my goodness! Guess what? We made blueberry muffins this morning and entered them in the Cherub County Fair Baking Contest...and they won! The competition was stiff and Cherub won with flying colors. Our Blueberry Muffins are the best in the county. Just look and see below!
Hugs,
Miss Sue
Hugs,
Miss Sue
Monday, August 29, 2011
Welcome to the Cherub County Fair!
Hello Fellow Cherub-ians,
Welcome to the Cherub County Fair where you win a prize each time you play a game! We had fun today with the Hula Hoop Toss, Drop the Clothespin in the Milk Bottle game and more! Our friends got their tickets at the ticket booth and took turns playing the game....and winning prizes, the best part!
We got to eat our snack in "popcorn bags" and learn about all the things you could see at a Fair like: pie eating contest, best quilt, livestock, games and all the fun it is!
Tomorrow: Pin the Nose on the Clown and making blueberrry muffins to enter in the "Best Muffin/Baked Good" contest! Ask you child about their guess for "How Many M & M's are in the Jar?" We had guesses between 3-134. They can enter as many times as they want and the winner gets the jar of M & Ms to take home to enjoy!
Enjoy the photos...we had FUN!
Miss Sue
Welcome to the Cherub County Fair where you win a prize each time you play a game! We had fun today with the Hula Hoop Toss, Drop the Clothespin in the Milk Bottle game and more! Our friends got their tickets at the ticket booth and took turns playing the game....and winning prizes, the best part!
We got to eat our snack in "popcorn bags" and learn about all the things you could see at a Fair like: pie eating contest, best quilt, livestock, games and all the fun it is!
Tomorrow: Pin the Nose on the Clown and making blueberrry muffins to enter in the "Best Muffin/Baked Good" contest! Ask you child about their guess for "How Many M & M's are in the Jar?" We had guesses between 3-134. They can enter as many times as they want and the winner gets the jar of M & Ms to take home to enjoy!
Enjoy the photos...we had FUN!
Miss Sue
Friday, August 26, 2011
Our Dental Visit
We had a great visit from a children's dental office, new in Pleasant Hill...Christen, Dr. Hayder's assistant came and showed the children how to brush their teeth, dental care and how the dentist gets rid of the "sugar bugs" in teeth.
Dr. Hayder and her sister, Dr. Hayder are new dentists and have been open 2 months. They practice both adult and children's dentistry. A good match up!
This week has been a busy one with all our visitors. We have had lots of fun talking about all of the community helpers in our world. Next week is the Cherub County Fair and have lots of fun "carnival" things planned for fun each day. Don't miss it.
Have a great weekend....do something fun and meaningful with your family....time passes so quickly! The days seem long sometimes, but the years are short. I can hardly believe that nearly 25 years have gone by with my own son. Where did the time go? Make a memory this weekend!
Smiles,
Miss Sue
Dr. Hayder and her sister, Dr. Hayder are new dentists and have been open 2 months. They practice both adult and children's dentistry. A good match up!
This week has been a busy one with all our visitors. We have had lots of fun talking about all of the community helpers in our world. Next week is the Cherub County Fair and have lots of fun "carnival" things planned for fun each day. Don't miss it.
Have a great weekend....do something fun and meaningful with your family....time passes so quickly! The days seem long sometimes, but the years are short. I can hardly believe that nearly 25 years have gone by with my own son. Where did the time go? Make a memory this weekend!
Smiles,
Miss Sue
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
ARF to the Rescue!
Back in 1991, a frightened cat ran across the field at a Oakland A's/NY Yankees game. After rescuing the cat, ball team manager, Tony LaRussa and his wife founded ARF, the Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek.
ARF has many programs for families and children and offers low cost adoptions, spay and neuter services and more. One of the many fantastic programs that ARF sponsors is the Pet Hug Pack. Trained dogs and their handlers visit hospitals, schools, rest homes, libraries helping people feel better. Studies show that people who come in contact with these dogs have lower blood pressure, less stress and feel calmer.
Today we had the honor of having one such of these therapy dogs come to visit us. We met Daisy, a 4 year old Leonberger, who is a therapy dog in the our area. She and her handler, Sue, participate in hospital visiting, hospice visits and to a special needs preschool where there are autistic children. Sue told us that some of the children who have never spoken before talk to Daisy.
We learned about how to approach a dog that we have never met before, what Daisy likes best (a belly rub) and how to take care of animals in our life. It was a wonderful experience! Enjoy the photos!
Hugs to all,
Miss Sue
ARF has many programs for families and children and offers low cost adoptions, spay and neuter services and more. One of the many fantastic programs that ARF sponsors is the Pet Hug Pack. Trained dogs and their handlers visit hospitals, schools, rest homes, libraries helping people feel better. Studies show that people who come in contact with these dogs have lower blood pressure, less stress and feel calmer.
We learned about how to approach a dog that we have never met before, what Daisy likes best (a belly rub) and how to take care of animals in our life. It was a wonderful experience! Enjoy the photos!
Hugs to all,
Miss Sue
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Neither Rain nor Snow nor Gloom of Night....
Hello to All Cherub Followers,
Today we learned about the U.S. Post Office. No one knew who or what the Post Office was. It was the perfect opportunity to learn about what the Post Office is and how our mail gets to our house. First we talked about types of mail, stamps, how the mail is sorted and gets to our houses.
Each child decorated a postcard and we put them in our mailbox with the flag up. Our mail carrier will pick them up and deliver them to your homes tomorrow! Please be sure to show them to your children and discuss how they got to your home.
This afternoon, we'll pretend we are mail carriers and deliver mail to each other. It'll be great fun! Hope I get a letter, too!
Hugs,
Miss Sue
Today we learned about the U.S. Post Office. No one knew who or what the Post Office was. It was the perfect opportunity to learn about what the Post Office is and how our mail gets to our house. First we talked about types of mail, stamps, how the mail is sorted and gets to our houses.
Each child decorated a postcard and we put them in our mailbox with the flag up. Our mail carrier will pick them up and deliver them to your homes tomorrow! Please be sure to show them to your children and discuss how they got to your home.
This afternoon, we'll pretend we are mail carriers and deliver mail to each other. It'll be great fun! Hope I get a letter, too!
Hugs,
Monday, August 22, 2011
Our Firefighter Visit
It's Community Helper week! We have so many fun things lined up for the week; today the fire engine, tomorrow the post office, Wed., a visit from a helper dog from ARF, Thursday a visit from the ambulance and Friday a visit from a pediadontist, Dr. Mae Hayder.
Wowweee! We had a great visit from Contra Costa Fire District. It was fabulous! Wonderful! Over the top! Best ever! The children loved it! We got to use the hose, see what their fire protection gear looked like, how they keep their equipment in good working order and fire safety information. Check out the photos!
Hugs,
Miss Sue
Wowweee! We had a great visit from Contra Costa Fire District. It was fabulous! Wonderful! Over the top! Best ever! The children loved it! We got to use the hose, see what their fire protection gear looked like, how they keep their equipment in good working order and fire safety information. Check out the photos!
Miss Sue
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Always on the Prowl
Happy Sunday to everyone,
I just got back from a great weekend in Calaveras County, Mother Lode area. Of course, I could not pass up the chance to go to thrift stores to look for books or other toys/games for Cherub. My husband, John, says maybe I should just sign over my paycheck to Cherub, since I am always on the prowl for something good for free or cheap! I am thrilled to do it! I found about a dozen or so books for .69 each, so I think that's a good bargain. I also purchased some new books too at a very reasonable price. Enjoy the rest of your weekend....more tomorrow from Community Helpers Week.
Ciao,
Miss Sue
I just got back from a great weekend in Calaveras County, Mother Lode area. Of course, I could not pass up the chance to go to thrift stores to look for books or other toys/games for Cherub. My husband, John, says maybe I should just sign over my paycheck to Cherub, since I am always on the prowl for something good for free or cheap! I am thrilled to do it! I found about a dozen or so books for .69 each, so I think that's a good bargain. I also purchased some new books too at a very reasonable price. Enjoy the rest of your weekend....more tomorrow from Community Helpers Week.
Ciao,
Friday, August 19, 2011
So Much Fun, So Little Time
Wowee! The days go by so fast, sometimes without even time to blog! But here it is: Thursday we learned about all sorts of transportation, the children added lots of ideas of their own...skateboards, hot air balloons, donkeys, horses etc.
It was hard to wrap our brains around that there actually was a time before cars or anything motorized, but we talked about oxen, carts, chariots, covered wagons, horses etc. We even made a cake that was rolled up and looked like a wheel when sliced. It actually turned about looking like a flat time, but still tasted great!
Lots more art talk, I am reading "Art Dog" about 3-5 times per day. I highly recommend it! Also, ask your children about the art in the book and which painting that is their favorite.
Have a great weekend, make it a memorable one with those you love.
Smiles,
Miss Sue
It was hard to wrap our brains around that there actually was a time before cars or anything motorized, but we talked about oxen, carts, chariots, covered wagons, horses etc. We even made a cake that was rolled up and looked like a wheel when sliced. It actually turned about looking like a flat time, but still tasted great!
Lots more art talk, I am reading "Art Dog" about 3-5 times per day. I highly recommend it! Also, ask your children about the art in the book and which painting that is their favorite.
Have a great weekend, make it a memorable one with those you love.
Smiles,
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Martinez's Finest...Officer Dark
One of our visitors this morning was from the Czech Republic, is bilingual in German and English and had sleek black hair. He has worked for the Martinez Police Department for two years and is one of the most popular officers on the force. Children love him, but criminals fear him....his name is Dark and he is a 3 year old black German Shepard, Officer Muncher's right hand man!
Dark was born and trained to be a police dog in the Czech Republic. He was hand picked by the Martinez Police Department to be Officer Muncher's partner. He has been trained to search and rescue, apprehend people not following the rules and sniff out substances that are not legal.
Office Muncher told the children that Dark lives with him and is just a regular dog at home with his other dogs. But when he gets in the police car and wears his collar with his police badge, he knows he is working. Office Muncher speaks commands to him in German, so that criminals do not know what he is asking Dark to do and cannot confuse him. He demonstrated several commands and Dark responded the first time, right away when Officer Muncher asked him to do something. (Hmmmmm....how can we get our children to do the same thing?)
We got to see the inside of the police car, turn on the siren, lights, look at the computer and let children take turns "driving" the car as well as sitting in the back seat.
Although this was a little out of order for Transportation week, it was worth it...Next week is Community Helpers, but Officer Muncher and Dark were not available.
Additionally, at our big book pick up on Monday, we gathered all sorts of books. One that is a favorite already is a book called "Art Dog". It's about a dog named Arthur who is a guard at the museum and how he turns into "Art Dog" in his off time. It's a great story how he solves an art heist, beautiful painter and a great community member. The interesting thing about the book is that it shows all sorts of famous paintings in the background, the "Mutta Lisa", "Blue Dog", paintings by Pablo Poodle and Leonardo Dog Vinci. The children started asking about the paintings and what the really looked like as well as who painted them. What a great learning experience....I printed out all of the paintings from the web, discussed the artist and the painting and how they painted it. They were thrilled and asked all kinds of questions about artwork. Ask your children about Vincent Van Gogh or The Starry Night or Sunday Afternoon in the Park by Seurat or The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer.....we've got some patrons of the arts in our midst.
Enjoy the photos!
Miss Sue
Dark was born and trained to be a police dog in the Czech Republic. He was hand picked by the Martinez Police Department to be Officer Muncher's partner. He has been trained to search and rescue, apprehend people not following the rules and sniff out substances that are not legal.
Office Muncher told the children that Dark lives with him and is just a regular dog at home with his other dogs. But when he gets in the police car and wears his collar with his police badge, he knows he is working. Office Muncher speaks commands to him in German, so that criminals do not know what he is asking Dark to do and cannot confuse him. He demonstrated several commands and Dark responded the first time, right away when Officer Muncher asked him to do something. (Hmmmmm....how can we get our children to do the same thing?)
We got to see the inside of the police car, turn on the siren, lights, look at the computer and let children take turns "driving" the car as well as sitting in the back seat.
Although this was a little out of order for Transportation week, it was worth it...Next week is Community Helpers, but Officer Muncher and Dark were not available.
Additionally, at our big book pick up on Monday, we gathered all sorts of books. One that is a favorite already is a book called "Art Dog". It's about a dog named Arthur who is a guard at the museum and how he turns into "Art Dog" in his off time. It's a great story how he solves an art heist, beautiful painter and a great community member. The interesting thing about the book is that it shows all sorts of famous paintings in the background, the "Mutta Lisa", "Blue Dog", paintings by Pablo Poodle and Leonardo Dog Vinci. The children started asking about the paintings and what the really looked like as well as who painted them. What a great learning experience....I printed out all of the paintings from the web, discussed the artist and the painting and how they painted it. They were thrilled and asked all kinds of questions about artwork. Ask your children about Vincent Van Gogh or The Starry Night or Sunday Afternoon in the Park by Seurat or The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer.....we've got some patrons of the arts in our midst.
Miss Sue
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
We're Off for a Roaring Start
Hello Cherub-ians,
Today, in keeping with our transportation theme, we painted with our cars...yes, it's actually possible to paint with your car. Well, toy car that is.....We used the wheels to paint on our paper...we'll use the paper for a background on our bulletin board. Fun, fun and messy too.
This afternoon, hop aboard the "Magic Bus" for our journey to our imagination....we've got our tickets, our bus will materialize after nap and everyone will join in on the journey. We'll cover bus rules, bus routes and how you can even take a bus across the country! Just ask Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters or Ralph Kramden of the Gotham Bus Company. Maybe another day for those....I'm dating myself....
Smiles to all,
Miss Sue
Today, in keeping with our transportation theme, we painted with our cars...yes, it's actually possible to paint with your car. Well, toy car that is.....We used the wheels to paint on our paper...we'll use the paper for a background on our bulletin board. Fun, fun and messy too.
This afternoon, hop aboard the "Magic Bus" for our journey to our imagination....we've got our tickets, our bus will materialize after nap and everyone will join in on the journey. We'll cover bus rules, bus routes and how you can even take a bus across the country! Just ask Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters or Ralph Kramden of the Gotham Bus Company. Maybe another day for those....I'm dating myself....
Smiles to all,
Miss Sue
Monday, August 15, 2011
Our Literary Leap
Shhhhhh! Don't let this great secret get out! Every year the Contra Costa Library culls through their damaged, torn or otherwise not needed anymore books. And...they give them away free, gratis, no charge, etc. Otherwise, the wind up in the county landfill. :( The Annual Book Giveaway was this morning....Bette, my husband John and I lined up early in our cars to be the first to be in line to get in to get books...Literally, there was an ACRE of books in boxes to be given away...adult books, board books, encyclopedias, map books, county publications, comic books and just about any other genre of books you can think of.
We got there at 8 a.m., first ones in line! :) Then when the gates opened, it was like the Running of the Bulls at Pamplona....people everywhere, running up and down aisles to see what was available. We had our boxes, 2 wagons, Bette's pick up truck and my little Toyota. We piled as much as we could in the boxes and wagons and filled up both cars. We were soooo happy in the haul we were able to get for our school. Probably close to 100 books for free. Some need some TLC, but we don't care, we'll fix them up and they will be perfect for all our friends here. Cherub was sorely in need of more books; we have had a few generous parents who have donated books, but now our library is really starting to grow. I will be on the look out for more "Friends of the Library" sales where you can get books for .50 to $1.00. If you are interested, you could help us out too at garage sales, flea markets etc.
Smiles to everyone!
Miss Sue
We got there at 8 a.m., first ones in line! :) Then when the gates opened, it was like the Running of the Bulls at Pamplona....people everywhere, running up and down aisles to see what was available. We had our boxes, 2 wagons, Bette's pick up truck and my little Toyota. We piled as much as we could in the boxes and wagons and filled up both cars. We were soooo happy in the haul we were able to get for our school. Probably close to 100 books for free. Some need some TLC, but we don't care, we'll fix them up and they will be perfect for all our friends here. Cherub was sorely in need of more books; we have had a few generous parents who have donated books, but now our library is really starting to grow. I will be on the look out for more "Friends of the Library" sales where you can get books for .50 to $1.00. If you are interested, you could help us out too at garage sales, flea markets etc.
Smiles to everyone!
Miss Sue
Friday, August 12, 2011
Bouncing Along with Blue's Clues
Hello Cherub Followers,
What a spectacular, fabulous day it was today...we had a bounce house and snowcone machine to celebrate the end of summer. We had a lovely graduation and farewell for each of the 5 children who are departing Cherub. It was great to have so much fun and see grandmas, grandpas and other FOC (Friends of Cherub) here to see our send off!
A generous benefactor underwrote the cost of the bounce house/snowcone machine...a big shout out, props and generous THANKS to the family who helped us out!
Enjoy the photos and your weekend....Yahoo! It's Friday! Make it great with YOUR family!
Smiles to everyone,
Miss Sue
What a spectacular, fabulous day it was today...we had a bounce house and snowcone machine to celebrate the end of summer. We had a lovely graduation and farewell for each of the 5 children who are departing Cherub. It was great to have so much fun and see grandmas, grandpas and other FOC (Friends of Cherub) here to see our send off!
A generous benefactor underwrote the cost of the bounce house/snowcone machine...a big shout out, props and generous THANKS to the family who helped us out!
Enjoy the photos and your weekend....Yahoo! It's Friday! Make it great with YOUR family!
Smiles to everyone,
Miss Sue
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Don't Miss the Cherub Express...Departing from a station near you!
Today has been soooo fun! We made the Cherub Express Train, everyone made their own car to join up with the others. Children were able to decide what orientation their car was, colors used and what was on the train.
This afternoon, we are making paper hats like Max wore in "Where the Wild Things Are" when sailed off over a year and a day as we talk about boats.
And...this funny tee shirt came in this morning...with a child in it!
Don't forget graduation tomorrow at 4 p.m. Cake and punch, a short ceremony and fun! See you there!
Smiles,
Miss Sue
This afternoon, we are making paper hats like Max wore in "Where the Wild Things Are" when sailed off over a year and a day as we talk about boats.
Don't forget graduation tomorrow at 4 p.m. Cake and punch, a short ceremony and fun! See you there!
Smiles,
Miss Sue
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