Here at KCP, we have a tried and true play dough recipe that really is the best and we want to share it with you!
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 Tbsp any vegetable oil
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbsp cream of tarter
1 cup flour
food coloring (optional)
Directions:
Cook all ingredients EXCEPT the flour on the stove until warm.
Add the flour
Knead until smooth
Play and enjoy!
We’re hosting a Virtual Open House on April 21st beginning at 7 pm. Come meet the teacher and current parents in the KCP community.
If interested in learning more about KCP, please stop in. We’d love to meet you!
We’re hosting a Virtual Open House on February 20 beginning at 10am.
If interested in learning more about KCP, please stop in. We’d love to meet you!
Attitude of Gratitude
I want to share something with all of you. I was able to get my first dose of the vaccine last week. I have a lot of gratitude that as a teacher I am able to get vaccinated early. I am so grateful to our community for all of the decisions that have been made in the last year making safety a priority. Safety for kiddos, as well as for teachers.
I spent time with a couple families in the classroom last week as we worked on a video for our upcoming open house. I got to see kids doing the work of play. I am excited to be working toward this being our norm again.
Helping 20ish kids, your kids, back to connecting, and being together, making friends, learning to be social and to understand their emotions. Because this is when it happens. In the play interactions with one another. This is social emotional development, learning to play, be friends, learning to regulate emotions in these peer interactions.
Kiddos need to be together. We all do. And we are getting there.
– Teacher Allisen
This week, we’re working on Penguin Process Art. Remember process art is about the process not the end result!
Supplies:
Instructions:
First have kiddos rip up the black, white, and yellow paper. The tearing is part of the fun and good for fine motor skills!
Look at the penguin picture together and notice their coloring. Where there is black and white and yellow? How much of each color do you see?
Have your kiddo use their glue stick to make their own penguin with the torn paper.
Use the blue paper as the background. Add googly eyes at the end.
Last week I sent you all on a mission to find a space in nature to observe. The real lesson is in teaching kiddos to notice things. When we take the time to notice the small moments we are teaching our children awareness of the greater world.
Nature is a space where children step outside of themselves and their wants. The world as a whole is vast, but an individual plant or bird is tangible. Taking notice of these small things will help them to process and understand the interconnectivity of our world through their experiences. Similarly the idea of kindness is much larger than the definition of a single word. By breaking this down and highlighting small moments we are teaching meaning through action.
Once your kindness tree is up, encourage your child to look for kind acts that others do. As parents we can highlight our children’s kindness, and encourage them to notice others. The goal is not to fill the tree, but on occasion to add to it. The best lessons are ones that we can return to again and again. The Kindness Tree serves two goals in that we can encourage our children to be kind, as well as to see the kindness in the world.
– Teacher Allisen
I have been looking into forest schools and what makes them unique. One guiding principal of these schools is that children visit the same outdoor space in all weather, in all seasons, at least once a week. With this, they are able to learn the subtleties of nature as the seasons change. A concept of time settles in as growth can’t be rushed.
My family has a couple of places we like to walk to observe nature; Errol Heights and Tideman Johnson are favorites we can walk to, while Oaks Bottom offers a much larger space to explore and the Sellwood riverfront has a lovely little trail that is just right for little ones. When we walk to these places it is not a fast paced walk to burn energy, but a slow meandering as we take time to observe. Today for example, we spotted six different kinds of birds and examined some awesome fungus.
Arming kids with a magnifying glass gets them looking even closer at the mosses, leaves and insects. This is mindfulness as well, slowing down and noticing the small things with your child, a flower that was not there last week, that the browns of winter are giving way to the greens of spring. I encourage you go find this space for your family and take time to delight in your child’s wonder.
– Teacher Allisen
Here’s a fun, creative and easy activity for kids, perfect for those wet January days when you’re stuck inside.
Supplies:
Instructions:
Add water to ice cube trays or paper cups then add your choice of color (as many colors as you like) use enough colorant to make a rich color before placing a popsicle stick in each and freezing over night.
Set up a space for your kiddo to work with paper and towels.
The paint cubes will take a few minutes to thaw enough to move smoothly over the page and the texture will change with time.
Let you little one explore! Take a picture when you are done!
You know the feeling when you are out for a walk with your kiddo and you run into a friend and you get that 5 minutes or 10 minutes to talk, the kids sheepishly watch one another or run off and play? It’s hard to make plans right now. It’s hard to know how folks are feeling about the pandemic on any given day. It’s hard to know what the right thing to do is in every situation from holidays with the family to going to the grocery store. We also know that pandemic fatigue is real and sometimes we need other people.
So I have a suggestion; Let’s throw out more “I’m heading to the park” messages. I’m not talking about a play date, I’m talking about those outdoor moments, that are short and so important to our livelihood right now. The sun comes out for a moment and we sometimes drop everything to take a walk and get our kids out side. What if in that 10-20 minutes before you walk out the door you send a text to our community, “Suns out, walking at Kenilworth Park” (or any park). It’s not a plan, no need for a reply, it’s a shout out. It’s reaching out for a happy accident.
Science around Covid is showing us that outdoors with masks and space is the safest way to see people. It is also showing us that duration maters. Short meet ups are better. Kids are learning to wear masks and the rules of giving space. These kinds of short interactions give a chance to teach and practice. If kids are getting too close, it’s time to go. It’s cold, the amount of time we want to spend out there is short. Maybe your family is in a place that seeing a friendly face for a few minutes, with masks, and ample space, would feel right. Some families are ready for this, others are not, I have put off this message again and again wondering when the time would be right. But right and wrong are moving targets in this. No one is wrong, we are all doing the best we can, making the best choices for our families. I also know that this pandemic and isolation has been hard on families.
So if you in that parenting place where you need a friendly face reach out! If you are ready in a week, a month, March or September, we all support you in that space too. It’s community folks. When you are ready, make a little space for a happy happy accident.
– Teacher Allisen
I hope everyone is well and finding ways to navigate the world with all of these rapid changes. Frozen 2 is now a staple both as a movie and soundtrack in our house. I find solace in Anna’s “Do The Next Right Thing”, and frustration with Olof’s “This Will All Make Sense When I Am Older”. Live in the small moments with your kids, it’s a nice break from the chaos of the world and the most supportive thing you can do for them.
I encourage you to find a routine that works for your family. It doesn’t have to be a color coded schedule, but predictability in the day helps sooth children’s anxiety. I made a detailed schedule for my kids, and it was too much. We opted for a checklist instead so that they have a little more control of when things happen. (It also allows for moments like this when everyone is happily reading, to continue). I am using screen time in the afternoon as an incentive. There are many resources including Scholastic. PPS put out a book about COVID-19 for kids to understand and ease fears COVIBOOK it is simple enough for preschoolers and takes a look at their emotions on the topic. Mo Williams, author of the wildly popular Elephant and Piggie books, is offering daily doodles with kids here. This list came from my son’s teacher and has wonderful ideas that are more nature and activity based. Many items would be challenging for preschoolers alone but with help are all great learning activities.
My biggest advice is, to snuggle up and read. Think of classics from your own childhood that they would enjoy. A few early chapter books with full color pictures on every page that I love are Mercy Watson, and The Princess in Black. Ebooks are available from the library, (not a bad time to get a hold list going) or other ebook sources. Coloring books are great at this age! Encourage holding crayons and pencils with a tripod finger grip. I highly recommend some adult coloring pages. It’s a great way to be with them and also have a little space.
Don’t underestimate the power of cardboard and a hot glue gun! Work with your kids to create something. Make some playdoh, take the water colors outside. Sprout seeds and plant a garden. Find time to move, walking, biking, yoga, dance party (this may be the stress reliever we all need). Facetime with grandparents, and friends, it will take some time for kids to warm up to this but they will get there, and it might just give parents those few moments they need.
On a wider community note the fruit stand down on 28th between Steel and Woodstock is well stocked with necessities, as is the Franz bread outlet on 45th near Johnson Creek. Several PPS schools including Grout are providing meals for all children 1-18. They can be picked up outside of the school from 11am-1pm this week. For more information from PPS and services they are making available to the community please visit Portland Public Schools Information / Coronavirus Resources.
Stay healthy friends, I sure do miss seeing all of your faces every day. Give your littles a hug from me.
Stay healthy.
Kindly,
Teacher Allisen