Jello Playdough

This is a recipe we used to make play dough for the kids to use this week.

1 cup white all-purpose flour
2 T salt
2 T cream of tartar
2 T cooking oil
1 cup warm water
1 3oz. box of Jello

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until consistent.  Pour mixture into a large sauce pan.  Cook on low heat stirring constantly.  Once it forms a large ball remove it from the pan and place it on a piece of wax paper.  Allow to cool.  Once cool knead it with a little flour.  Depending on the flavor of jello, you may need to add quite a bit of extra flour.  You can add more food coloring or glitter if you'd like! Store in an airtight container to preserve it for future play!

Crock Pot Applesauce!

Here is the recipe we used to make applesauce in preschool this week.  A Melody Lane favorite!  No measuring required

Apples (any kind, shape or size works)
Water
Cinnamon (optional)
Nutmeg (optional)

Peel and quarter apples, removing the core.  Place in crock pot.  Fill crock pot with water until apples are almost covered.  Add desired spices and sugar.  We usually start out with 1/2 cup of sugar.  You will need to add more depending on how sour your apples are and how much you are making.  Let cook on low 6-9 hours or on high 4-5, stirring every hour or so.  Cook to desired consistency.  We like ours chunky!  Add more sugar if needed.  Enjoy!

Mother's Get Together

Don't forget our Mother's Get Together this week!  It will be Thursday for 3 year olds and Friday for 4 year olds.  Come the last 30 minutes of your child's class to get to know the other mothers better and let your child show you around!  We will be sending home reminders tomorrow and Wednesday but mark your calendars now!

Glueing, mixing colors, snacking and sharing!

Olivia pours her own drink

Olivia practices important small motor skills!  She's so proud of her accomplishment!

Play is a child's work

In the tradition of master child psychologist Jean Piaget, we at Melody Lane believe that 'play is a child's work.' Through exploring their world they learn about relationships, getting along with others, and naturally discover principles of science, math, biology, language and much much more!  We provide a rich environment, carefully planned with the best Early Childhood elements, to encourage your child to learn and grow.  From time to time, we will post photos of your wonderful children at "work".  We are LOVING working with them.   Enjoy!

September Newsletter

September

Dear Parents,

   We had fun getting to know our new students and welcoming back our returning students last week!

 We are so excited to start school and have lots of fun things planned for the upcoming year.  Each month you will receive a newsletter with all the information you’ll need for that month. Be sure to read it each month and if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to ask. 

 September 12-16 we will be learning all about RAINBOWS,  following directions and recognizing our own name.  We will be working on cutting with scissors, starting our Journals and doing lots of painting & gluing. We will be getting messy at preschool, so please send your child dressed appropriately.  Thursday/Friday is Sharing Day at Melody Lane.  Your child will bring home a sack explaining what they need to bring this week.  

 September 19-23 we will learn about APPLES, the letter “A” and name recognition. RED is the color of the week, so remember to wear something RED! We will be making applesauce, painting, singing and exploring different types of apples. On Thursday/Friday this week we invite all our Mothers to join us for picnic the last half an hour of class. Please bring a blanket and a small snack. This is great time to get to know your child’s classmates and their Mothers. 

The week of September 26-29 we will learn about YELLOW and the letter “S” and begin to work on learning our phone numbers.. Remember to wear something yellow this week.  The evening of September 29^th is BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. The children are invited to bring their parents to school that evening to meet their child’s teachers and to discover what their children do while they are at preschool.  The three-year-olds are invited between 6-7pm and the four-year-olds 7-8pm.  We look forward to seeing you all that evening. Please note that Friday, September 30^th is a Teacher Prep Day.  There will be NO SCHOOL on that day.   

  Just a reminder, Book Orders are due Friday, September 16^th.  We are working to get our scholastic account online. We'll let you know as soon as it is up and running.  Until then, just return your order forms to your child's teacher. 

   Melody Lane now has a blog!  melodylanepreschool.blogspot.com/  We will try and keep it updated so that you can see what we are doing at preschool. 

   If anyone is interested in some fun theater classes for their children we would highly recommend the Utah Festival Conservatory of the Performing Arts.  Contact your child's teacher for flyers and registration information.

MELODY LANE TEACHERS,

Laurie, Valerie, Olivia and Christy

The Very First Day!

The 2011-2012 school year started today!  We were so excited to meet all of our new students and spend a fun day touring the school, playing with toys, creating masterpieces with play dough, blocks and paint.  We already love the new students and are excited to get to know each one of them better throughout the year.  It was fun to see some familiar faces and make some brand-new friends!  We are excited for a fun, eventful year of creativity, learning and friendship!