New and Exciting Changes are ahead for Adventure Preschool!

Adventure Preschool has been awarded a 4 star rating by the Parent Aware Program! This is the highest star rating that they give! Because of this, there was money available for us to apply for to help enhance our 3's programming! After much discussion, we proposed a slightly longer school week. Right now, we are offering 3 days/week for 3 hours.  Currently it would be offered Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday and you could choose one of 2 classes; either the morning (8-11am) or the afteroon (12-3pm).  

Transportation would remain the same as it is now. Students may ride the school bus to school in the morning or can be dropped off by parent or other adult. Midday (either after morning session or before the afternoon session) parents can opt to use the Otter bus for a fee or transport their child personally. Those attending the pm session, can have their child ride the school bus home or parents/guardians can choose to pick up.

Why do we want three days? We have found that if a child can come even 3 consecutive days a week, they are able to retain and practice their skills more proficiently. There are less gaps in their learning time. 

A scholarship is available to all qualifying families. These are all income based. You will be receiving an application from the school early next week. You do not have to qualify for a scholarship to enroll in Adventure Preschool. 

If you have any questions regarding this change, feel free to email me at hplasek@pp.k12.mn.us

If you have already registered for Adventure Preschool for the 2016-2017 school year, all you will need to do is indicate if you would like morning or afternoon. Slots fill very fast so the sooner you register the more likely it is that you will get your first choice. 

Last Day of Preschool (T/Th group)

We started out our day with some Popsicle painting! Frozen paint makes a fun and new way to paint!

Then we visited all of the fish and turtles and birds (and eggs) in the courtyard! 

Boy am I going to miss this group of kiddos!! That are so amazing and smart and funny and kind!  

We had a robin make her next really low in the courtyard. The kiddos LOVED seeing the nest and the eggs! They were so quiet!

We had to say goodbye to the eggs, birds, fish and turtles! So much to do on the last day of school!

We did a color mixing experiment with melting popsicles.  We were so busy that we forgot to take pictures!

Then we got to EAT some popsicles! 

Then PLAY, PLAY, PLAY! They had so much fun! I LOVE all of those smiles!!

MONKEY!

This has been an amazing year! I love them all and wish them all the best! 

Exploring Nature in the court yard!

There are lots of Koi and Turtles in the pond! Sometimes you had to look really closely to see the turtles!

There was so much to look at! There were too many fish to count!

Such a fun group of kiddos! I'm going to miss them tons but, I know that they are going to do a great job!

Look what we found! A robin's nest with 4 eggs! The kiddos were very quiet and careful not to disturb the nest or the mamma robin!

Frustration in children

When adults see children frustrated, their first move is to help them. Get rid of that uncomfortable feeling we all feel when a young child is getting frustrated. They will whine a little (or a lot), they will cry, get angry and then...they will try it again! In preschool our goal is to help young children work through their frustration so they can learn to be independent. We want them to push themselves to try a little harder. Climb a little higher, try putting that coat on one more time, get that learning bag in the backpack. It is part of typical development to be frustrated! Even though children show frustration, they aren't telling you that they want to give up.  When I am asked why I don't just put his/her coat on for him/her, I respond with, "Because he/she is ABLE to do it." Children are smart and we need to allow them time to problem solve these simple problems and learn when to ask for help so when the bigger problems of life come up,  they will be better prepared!

Click here to read the full article!

Exciting Morning!

With all of the excitement of the end of the year, the most exciting things still come in the form of BIG machines!!  Road work is always fun to watch!!

Then we had a cool airplane sighting! The kids were so excited they were waving and pointing like crazy! The pilot turned around and flew around us again! The kiddos absolutely LOVED it! (Okay, so did the adults! )

If anyone knows what this plane is, we'd love to find out! 

Where did the year go?

I can't believe that we have reached the end of the year already! We only have 2 more days of Tuesday/Thursday and 2 more days of Monday/Wednesday! We will be celebrating the last day of preschool with Popsicle day! There will be science experiments with popsicles, Art projects with popsicles and book making...oh and of course we will EAT popsicles!!

Watch for pictures of all the fun and learning will will be having these last few days of school!!

Happy Mother's Day!

The kiddos worked hard to make a sweet gift for their mom!  Of course you'll have to wait for pictures! I don't want to ruin the surprise! :) They were very proud of what they get to bring home! 

From all the moms at Adventure Preschool to all of you wonderful moms, we wish you the Happiest of Mother's Days!!  Enjoy the best gift you were ever given! Those special little people that make it possible for you to celebrate!  

Preschool at the Petting Zoo!!

Parkers Prairie FFA brought in several animals to the elementary school for a petting zoo! The kids had SO much fun petting the animals and learning about them! After we visited the animals, a lot of the kiddos wanted to draw the animals they saw! I did some guided drawing and writing with anyone who wanted to draw!  WOW, did they do an awesome job!!

Why should I consider sending my child to preschool?

1. 

This is an excellent article that gives information based on developmentally appropriate programs.

Click here to read this article.

If you have any questions regarding early childhood programming at PPES, please contact me!

hplasek@pp.k12.mn.us

Major Construction = Major Excitement!

                       

Today we went out to watch the big diggers working on the road by the school! It was so great listening to the excitement of their conversations with each other! These kiddos are growing so much this year! This is truly one of the most magical ages! Everything is so exciting! It is hard not to join in their excitement!

We also learned that when you take your time, you will notice a lot of things...like this bolt sticking out of a tree on the playground!

Cooperative Art!

Cooperative Artwork by Adventure Preschool Classes!