Farewell

Hello Blog Followers,

It's been a busy couple of weeks here at Cherub. Packing, sorting, selling, dumping, donating and more! You never know how much stuff you have until you have to move it! That is soooo true here at Cherub. The four of us: Simin, Bette, Charlotte and myself have moved, packed, carried to our hearts content and more...or less :)

Once upon a time, a long time ago, 28 years to be exact there once was a little house here at the VA. I was employeed 2 months early to get the place set up. I hired my first employee, Bette, who I had worked with at two different schools prior to coming here. I hired several other folks and we were off to a great start with an almost full school with babies/toddlers and preschoolers. It was fun and a whole different world back in 1984. We had a board of 15 (!) at the time. Lots of interaction with us, fundraisers, parent work days and more to get our school off the ground.

Now, we are folding up our tent...the economy has been horrible and we just could not survive with a few children continuing on with us. I have enjoyed every moment here at Cherub since I came back in May 2011. I wish I could have been her longer...but alas...it was not to be, this time on the planet. I am looking forward to my new adventure. Thank you for being a part of this blog. If I find something else interesting, I will blog about that too and let you know.

Best wishes and enjoy the pages.

Kind Regards,
Miss Sue

Now,

Leonberger anyone?

Hello Everyone Around the Planet,

Have you ever met a Leonberger? We have had the good fortune of having Daisy, the Leonberger, come visit us 2 years in a row. She is a therapy dog from ARF who is a community helper by visiting people in nursing homes, hospitals, psychiatric units and more to bring cheer and good wishes and vibes to all. According the Sue, her therapy handler, she has helped children to speak who never spoke prior to meeting Daisy. We found out that community helpers come in any size, shape, two legs or four legs!

We got to brush her, pet her and take turns walking her around the yard on her leash. She was a sweetie who had the patience of a saint for all the admiration and love she received by our children.

Enjoy the photos!

Miss Sue

It's Fire Engine Day!

Hello Friends Around the Planet,

We had Contra Costa's finest here today....Firefighters from Station 13 who brought their fire engine to share with us! We got to see all the tools they use to fight fires from axes to chainsaws. We saw their "turn out gear"....boots already in the pants ready to go in case of a fire and their very long, heavy hoses.

Each friend got to sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive the fire engine and do a "walk through" where the jump seat is in the cab. This was soooo exciting. The firefighters explained that they keep all their equipment clean, neat and orderly and that things go back exactly where they found them so that the next shift of firefighters could find everything they need in case of a fire!

We had our usual BBQ today, hot dogs, beans, chips, watermelon and milk. This afternoon we have ice cream cups for snack and have chocolate and fudge sauce if you want! :) This is living at it's finest!

Enjoy the pics!

Miss Sue

News from Cherub!

Hello Friends!

Whew! We are having so much fun that I have not had much time to blog! This week is Community Helpers Week.

Today, we had Bay Medic Ambulance come and visit us to show us the inside of an ambulance and when to call for one. We had a wide variety of situations that you might (or might not) call an ambulance for; when spaghetti gets stuck on your toe, when you feel sad, when someone misses their mom, etc. Our EMT, Matt, stated that although those sound like emergencies, you would refrain from calling 9-1-1 for these types of situations. Matt left us some coloring books, crayons and tattoos to have to remind us that EMTs are our friends.

Another beautiful day here, not too hot, not too cold...we are enjoying being outside as well as our many activities inside.

Have a great day!

Miss Sue

Catch Up Blog Post!

Hello Cherub Friends,

Wow! Time keeps slipping into the future*! No truer words have been said. Last week was Music Week...we learned about instruments and sounds that they make...about orchestras, combos, rock bands, soloists, conductors, operas, country songs, first violinists and more. We listened to Arias, classical music, made our own guitars, rocked out to golden oldies and tie dyed shirts. It was busy!

This week is Art Appreciation week. We have talked about different styles of artwork by various artists and today we even experimented with watercolors....ohhhh....ahhh....when they blend together, how beautiful! Tomorrow we will talk about the Impressionists and how we can make our own impressionist painting.

We are operating at full tilt until the 31st when we say goodbye to our friends. Several families have made decisions on where they will be going after Cherub, some still in their process. Either way, it will be sad to see our friends leave us. I know they will all do great at their new homes away from home.

Enjoy the pics.
Miss Sue

* Steve Miller Band

Blimey! Pirate Treasure Abounds!

ArGHHHH! We have had a blast today with pirate tattoos, finding buried treasure, sharing day and more!

We have so much fun every day...full of laughs all the time!

Things heard 'round the yard: I was explaining to our friends (and demonstrating also) what a pantomime is. I pretended that I was opening up my lunch box and eating my lunch. I finished and asked each of them to do a pantomime also....at the end, one of our friends asked, "Miss Sue, when are you going to take your pants off?" ROFLOL*(*rolling on the floor laughing out loud!)

When sharing what everyone's favorite movie is I was told this: "Miss Sue, my favorite movie is 'Booty and the Beast". While I understood what they really meant, I was thinking...I'm sure somewhere there is a "version" called that, but it's not the one we plan to discuss. Again, we had another friend share that they liked "Sleeping Booty". Again, I'm sure there is that version of the movie out there, but we will not be discussing or viewing it. LOL big time!

We were like "L.A. Ink" around here today, people waiting in line to get their tattoos....just call me Kat Von D with my skills as a tattoo artist....because can you be a real pirate if you don't have tattoos? Come on...we are as authentic as we can be around here. We even watched bits of "Peter Pan" to get into the mood.

Have a great weekend!
Miss Sue

Yo Ho Yo Ho...a Pirate's Life for Me!

Well Swoggle Me Eyes,

Ahoy Mateys! We've had a busy week getting into our alter egos...pirates and pirate princesses. We have been making all kind of pirate art, playing games, finding buried treasure and more! We have had a lot of fun doing it too! Check out all the pics, as I have been too busy to blog!

Now for some serious news: With a heavy heart, our Board of Directors has decided to close our school after 28 wonderful years as of 8/31/2012. With declining enrollment and the uncertain economy, we just can't continue and operate in the red! It's been 28 wonderful years as of July 24, 2012. It came as a blow to all of us and we have already shared many tears together during the last day!

We will continue to provide our same high quality/low ratio service and see it through the end of August. Next week is Music Week and we have many fun things planned in the meantime. I will continue to blog and keep all our friends updated on the latest travails until the very end. I have loved writing and photographing the blog since the beginning.

Have a great evening and I'll be back soon!
Miss Sue

Octopus' Garden with YOU!

Hello Seafarers!

We have had an adventuresome week here at Cherub! We have been busy with tall tales of the ocean, learning all we can about kelp and seaweed forests, plus fish, whales, keeping our ocean clean and more!

Today we worked on our octopi...check out these beautiful and gorgeous friends in the sea! They are just waiting to go home with our friends! They are so simple to make. Take a toilet paper or paper towel roll, color, paint, collage as you wish...cut slits up vertically in the bottom as far as you would like them. Curl "tentacles" up by using a marker to roll them with. Decorate to your hearts content! Presto! Instant octopi!

Yumm-o this afternoon...homemade chocolate and vanilla pudding pops. Ohhh! Ahhh! We can't wait! Have a great weekend and looking forward to next week when it will be "Pirate" week! More nautical tales from the sea to tell!

Be well,
Miss Sue

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish or more!

Hello Sea Friends,

We have had so much fun with learning all about the sea...today we saw all kinds of sea shells and talked about what kinds of animals live in them. We made paper bag fish...stuffed with newspapers and put stickers, colored and collaged them. This morning for our early arrival friends we had foam stamps and paint out to make a sea collage. They loved it!

The weather has been perfect to enjoy our time outside...we really enjoy our sand box and all the pails, shovels, scoops, molds and more. I have children begging to stay outside longer, even when it is lunch time. We have enjoyed time on patio too, when it was too hot to go up into the yard.

Fish sticks, watermelon, blue jello, carrots and crackers was the lunch du jour to coincide with our sea discovery. Lots of fans of these! This afternoon, we will have homemade orange juice popscicles and more watermelon for snack. Life is good!

Smiles to you,
Miss Sue

You can have your aquarium....and eat it too!

Hello Sea Loving Friends,

We have been busy today...first up this morning was playdoh and cookie cutters! What's better in life than this? Squish, smash, pound, excersize those fine motor muscles to develop eye hand coordination and fine motor development to someday use a pencil.

Next up was a continuation of our "Under the Sea" talk. It was amazing to hear that some people like fish so much that they set up a mini-"ocean" in their home or offices called an aquarium. They can be big or little, have a few fish or all different kinds. Today we made our own version of an aquarium by making blue jello, letting it set up a bit and then adding goldfish crackers to sink into it. Wow! Magic! This afternoon we'll begin our paper bag fish project...so cute with so many varieties...just wait until you see the pictures!

Have a swimmingly lovely day,
Miss Sue

Under the Sea Week

Ahoy! We are taking our adventure to a new place on the planet....under the sea. Today we read about deep sea divers, scuba divers and snorklers. We also talked about plant life in the ocean. Lots of coral, seaweed forests and more. Some people even eat something called "sea vegetables"!

We worked on mermaids and mermen, seahorses and will be learning about where different fish live in the ocean; either warm water or cold water. Then when we went outside and were running around on the blue top, everyone pretended that they were fish swimming in the ocean!

Oh the nice weather! At least we are not roasting as we were last week....that means perfect weather for apple juice popcicles, water play and more. Come join us soon!

Smiles and Summer Fun to YOU!
Miss Sue

Whoa! What a great two weeks it's been!

Howdy Cowboys and Cowgirls,

What a great 2 weeks it has been....lots of riding, roping, galloping, eating at the chuckwagon, hitting the hay and more! We have had lots of fun making all sorts of things, eating different kinds of things and best of all learning all about the wild, wild west.

We are making our way into "Under the Sea" week next week...lots of fun activities and projects planned for this fun adventure! We can't wait to make our own aquarium and be able to eat it too!

Have a great weekend and enjoy your family!

Miss Sue

Momma, Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys!

Howdy!

We're learning all about cowboy life! Riding, roping, branding, food, songs and more! We made our own steers and cowboys/cowgirls today and yesterday. This week we are going to pan for gold and make biscuits. Then on Friday, we'll have the Cherub Rodeo to finish up our two weeks! It's been fun!

Enjoy the pictures!

Welcome to the Cherub Saloon!

Hello Friends,

I hear the tinkling of the piano keys as someone bangs out a tune on the out of tune piano. We've got cattle rustlers, dance hall girls, cowboys, cowgirls, cowpokes, tenderfeet and a whole bunch of others here at the Cherub Saloon. We serve our drinks strong, well, the root beer is anyway. The pretzels are the freshest and crunchiest this side of Sierra Nevada. You can come to sing or dance here after a hard week of riding the range. You might be dusty and tired, but when you can sing "Buffalo Gals" or "Home on the Range" or dance to "Skip to My Lou" or the "Hokey Pokey" you know you have had a good time, whether it is Saturday night or not.

We had a great time this week, today was much more comfortable for us outside....it is sharing day and it everyone chomps at the bit to play with sharing toys in the afternoon. We get a wide variety of things and it is always exciting to play with someone else's toys.

Western Week Part II will be next week with all sorts of surprises. We can't wait!

Adios partners,
Miss Sue

Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing....

Howdy Amigos Around the Planet!

Today was really fun...we have a bounce house here for the better part of the day...from 9 until about 4 p.m. We bounced from about 9:30 until 11:15, taking turns going in and out of the bounce house so we did not have too many people in there at once....our friend literally bounced all the energy out of themselves! When it was chuckwagon time, everyone was starved and several friends said, "Miss Sue, when can we go to bed?" That's a first for around here! And it turned out to be true! Everyone slept the entire 2 hours; even our "anti-sleepers" looked like they were visited by Morpheus, the Greek God of Dreams! Zzzzz!

We have had so much fun so far with Western Week...tomorrow we are making corn bread with honey butter. We had beanie weenie today, carrots, string cheese, watermelon and milk or juice. Then this afternoon we had apple juice popscicles and otter pops and ice cold water, lots of it!

Check out our pictures....have a great day!

Miss Sue

Gitty Up Little Doggies!

Howdy Partners, Cowpokes, Buckaroos, Tenderfeets and More,

Yippy Yeah Yeah! We have had so much fun today....lots more cowboys sayings and talk. We worked on our stick horses and cowboy personas...

Today we learned more about the cowboy culture....hung out at the "Cherub Saloon" where we had pretzels and drinks. Everyone was tired and dusty after "riding the range" in the back yard...or otherwise known as riding tricycles, playing in the sand box, running wild everywhere.

Tomorrow, our stick horses will be ready to "ride". Each one is different and unique! We love it! We have lots of plans...including a horse bounce house!

Better hit the hay early tonight!

Miss Sue