A little magic at Bothell Family

Written by Chitra Kosusu

On Wednesday, the children were treated to a magical experience with a kids magic show put on by local magician, Sarah from Zero and Somebuddy.

The children were filled with excitement and anticipation and eagerly awaited the start of the show. Sarah made her grand entrance, dressed in a black and white outfit, complete with a top hat and wand.

The children were mesmerized as Sarah performed a variety of tricks, including her naughty magic wand Matilda, breakaway wands, turning the wheel of wonder from balloons and pulling an endless stream of colorful papers from her mouth.

The highlight of the show was when Sarah drew a face on a board and made the face talk and interact. The children were left wondering with curiosity and in awe. In another trick Sarah made the children magically fill in a coloring book by making them say the colors out loud, and then made the colors disappear, followed by making the drawings disappear too. Sarah's rabbit made a special appearance in the end and the children loved petting the rabbit.

Throughout the show, Sarah made sure to include interactive elements, encouraging the children to participate and ask questions. The children were delighted, laughing their hearts out throughout the show and many were left wondering and in awe of how the tricks were done.

The children were thoroughly entertained and engaged throughout the entire show. They laughed, clapped, and cheered along with Sarah, making it a truly magical experience for all involved. Overall, it was a fun and magical experience that the children will remember for a long time.

Winter activities fun ideas

Written by Chitra Sharma

Winter is a great time for kids to get outside and enjoy the snow. However, with shorter days and colder temperatures, it can be a bit trickier to find fun and engaging activities for kids to do. Here are a few ideas for winter activities to help make the most of the winter season.

Building Snowmen or snow fort: One of the most classic winter activities, building a snowman is a fun and easy way for kids to get outside and enjoy the winter weather. All you need is a big pile of snow and some basic supplies like buttons, a carrot for the nose, and a scarf

Ice Skating: There are indoor ice skating rinks that have public sessions to learn ice skating. Even if your child is too young to skate on their own, they can still enjoy.

Indoor Activities like Board games, puzzles, and Arts and Crafts: When the weather outside is not appropriate, it's a perfect time for indoor activities. Board games, puzzles, and arts and crafts are fun and educational activities that kids will love.

Go on a Winter Hike/ Snowshoeing: Winter hikes and snowshoeing can be a great way for kids to explore the outdoors and learn about nature. Whether you're walking on a nature trail or exploring the woods, a winter hike is a great way to spend time with the family

Winter Storytime: Share winter-themed books with your preschooler, to enhance their imagination, vocabulary and creativity. Most local libraries have stories online and in-person story time for children. It's a fun way to keep the children engaged.

Kitchen Fun: Make winter-themed snacks together like snowmen cookies, and hot cocoa is a must.

Sledding: Sledding is a favorite winter pastime for kids of all ages. Whether you have a traditional sled or a plastic saucer, sledding is a great way to get some exercise and have fun at the same time. Just be sure to dress warmly and supervise children while they're sledding.

Visiting children's museums: Museums are a great way to spend quality time with your child and learn new things together. Whether it is going to science museums, children's museums, art museums or history museums it is a fun and interactive experience for children of all ages.

Overall, the key to having fun during the winter months is to get creative and make the most of the season. No matter what winter activity you choose, the most important thing is that you're spending quality time with your kids and enjoying the winter season together.

Hopelink Food Bank drive and Soup-er Night

Written by Chitra Sharma

With the initiative of food donation, Preschool time had an added event every school day.  During preschool, teacher Beth would explain about Hopelink, food donations and their purpose.  Then she would add up the latest donations and declare an updated grand total.  When the time to drop off the donations arrived, the grand total reached a whopping 550 items.

Finally, the donation day arrived with some of the preschoolers and their families going to the Hopelink food bank. Visiting the food bank, a first time for some of us turned out to be a great learning experience.

After the donation, few families stayed back at the Juanita Beach park for some more fun. Children had a blast playing in the park. The sun was shining bright on this fall day which made the afternoon perfect. With great reluctance, the kids finally agreed to wrap up beach play time. All the families headed back home, eagerly looking forward to meeting everyone in a bit for the soup night.  

A beautiful sunset greeted everyone making their way towards the preschool that evening. As we entered the preschool teacher Beth greeted everyone with a warm smile. Wafting through the air, was a mix of a rich, intense aroma, an aroma of cuisines from around the globe weaved together through multiple cultures, evolving with families and finally landing upon the preschool tables, ready to be consumed by the kids, the parents.

Although one parent would typically be at the school once a week, having the bigger family in one room was a rare moment that brought our preK families together.  It was a great opportunity for connecting with other families, strengthening the community and of course, tasting multiple cuisines from the BFCP family. Once supper was wrapped up, the parents and kids came together to quickly clean up and set the school back to how it was an hour earlier.

Finally, the customary circle time took place with teacher Beth introducing every family to everyone else. And then, it was time to go. With heavy hearts and full stomachs, slowly each family strode back into their vehicles to end the beautiful soup-er night!

Oh! What it means to rhyme, all the time

The Gruffalo

Sometimes I get up with the rising sun,
always happy when the day has begun,
soon it is going to be bright,
will all the hullabaloo that comes with daylight,
I am ever-ready to have some fun!

I hear a word,
a song from a bird,
my brain tries to rhyme,
form a perfect chime,
two words to rhyme,
a bonus is a third!

Children's early language skills are about listening and speaking rather than reading and writing. Rhyming is important for learning because it teaches children about language.
Rhyme helps children learn about word families such as bug/rug/hug/slug/jug or Cat/mat/hat/bat/pat

Phonological Awareness
Phonemes are the smallest units comprising spoken language. Phonemes combine to form words and sounds. Rhyme helps children develop phonological awareness, the ability to work with sounds in a language. Developing phonological awareness provides the link between written letters and spoken language. Rhyming helps children expand their vocabulary by providing ample fun with word play.
For example,
Good night sun,
hello moon,
I am sleepy,
see you soon.

The Gruffalo

In almost every culture rhymes have successfully been a part of storytelling. Julia Donaldson's, "The Gruffalo", an epic bedtime favorite, is a delightful rhyming story of a mouse and a monster. Beautiful rhyming verses with little modifications flow through seamlessly to depict a story loved by children and adults alike.
”’A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood.
A fox saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good.
’Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come and have lunch in my underground house.’”

Rhyming in storytelling provides a memorable and engaging experience. Rhymes often incorporate patterns and sequences which help children develop memorization and strong recollection capabilities. It helps them memorize parts of a story or an entire story effortlessly! Rhymes stick in the brain much more easily than other spoken languages. It is not surprising to see that because of the impact of rhyming, many adults can remember songs or poems they had heard in their childhood.

Rhyming is a powerful learning tool that can be used anywhere to make learning a lot more engaging and fun. With fall season around, here is something that comes to my mind,

Fall has arrived in town,
The trees are changing to Red, orange, yellow, brown,
I walk on the ground,
Making that crackling sound,
Watching the leaves slowly fall down.

Some rhymes stay with us forever. Every time I hear, "Jack in the box" or "I am special" song it reminds me of Teacher Beth's everyday ritual at BFCP. Hoping to see every kid and their parents rhyme at least sometime.

A Summer Playdate at BFCP

Summer playdates are great especially when children get to meet their friends during the long break. The playdate being organised at BFCP meant a trip back to school and reopening the associated memories. The playdate gave an opportunity to meet parents and children from across the different classes at preschool and being part of the bigger BFCP community.

There was palpable excitement in the air which turned to glee as kids spotted the bubbles. Inside, it was like opening a surprise box, so much to play with, so much to explore. Bubble wands, water tubs, buckets, paint brushes, sand and balls. The custom multi tap water station was a perfect addition for a hot sunny day. What could be more fun and cooling than playing with water! Creative play was a treat to witness with children making strawberry cupcakes, ice cream, pizza and more using the sand. Some kids had fun finding earthworms and beetles under the logs. It took teamwork to lift the big stumps, finding the worms and putting them back in place. After asking for help a few times the kids decided to do the challenging task on their own. A sense of achievement reflected on their faces as they completed the task. The shade of the trees provided respite from the heat though the heat didn't seem to bother the kids. Eating cool fruit freezies given by Teacher Beth was a treat.

A little before noon it was time to clean up, bid goodbye and the time to wait, wait to come back as the vacation ends. The playdate confirmed that there is much to look forward to when the preschool reopens. Plenty of opportunities to grow, learn, play, explore and make friends.

Bringing Our Community Together (Socially Distantly) Through Fundraising and Outreach

By Annie Carl

Happy November to all of our BFCP families and friends! The first full month of outdoor preschool is joyfully completed and we’re excited for the coming months. 

Our wonderful preschool has been doing some really fun fundraisers recently. While fundraising is important, this year it’s about so much more! “This year is a little different with COVID and all the precautions the preschool is taking, we really want to use fundraising as a way to help bring our teams together in a fun yet safe and socially distant way,” said Danielle Jude, Fundraising Chair.

The Deck the Halls Wreath Fundraiser through Stadium Flowers is again providing wreaths, poinsettias, evergreen boughs, and other wonderfully festive decorations for the winter holidays. Items will be ready for pickup at preschool the week before Thanksgiving. If you have any questions, feel free to email fundraising@bothellfamilycoop.org.

We also held the first ever BFCP tee shirt campaign which was resounding success! We interviewed BFCP’s fundraising chair Danielle about the tee shirt sale, which went superbly well. “A huge thank you to everyone who participated,” Danielle said in her email. “We sold 59 items and raised $600 for the preschool.” This money will be used for scholarships, future field trips, circle time speakers, and other programming needs around the school. This was the first year the fundraising committee put the tee shirt fundraiser together, and it went better than expected.

BFCP always places a high priority on giving back to the community. This year’s October Food and Funds Drive brought in much needed food and money for Food Lifeline. We collected $75 in funds and over 300 food items which will help feed over 500 families. These drives are so important for the forthcoming colder months! The Food and Funds Drive ran the entire month of October, and all food and money collected will be delivered to Food Lifeline.

Food Lifeline’s work to end hunger is vital to our communities, more so than ever. Last year they sourced 58,00,000 pounds of food and had almost 18,000 volunteers working with them, according to their website. Thank you to everyone who helped out this year by donating food and money!

The Clothing Swap on October 10th was very successful. Many families and parents found new clothes for the cooler months approaching. Thank you to everyone who participated for donating and picking up clothes!

Our Little Free Pantry also continues. If you are in need or know someone who is, non-perishable food items, baby supplies, and clothing items are available in the cabinet on the preschool’s front porch. If you are able, please consider sharing what you can to keep this resource available!

Thanks to our amazing community for phenomenal participation in fundraising and community outreach endeavors during this challenging year! Together, we can do so much!

Playing with Your Food

By Amanda Johnson

One of the things that sold me on Bothell Family Cooperative Preschool when I visited last year was the creative play station. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and could instantly imagine students having a ball playing shoe store and post office.

It is well documented how important creative play is for preschool age children. Through play, kids learn how to share responsibility, take turns and problem solve. When a child engages in creative play, they build imagination and cognitive skills. It can also serve as a way for young children to work through their emotions and act out the grown up stuff they see their parents do on a daily basis. Because we all know being an adult is a non-stop blast. ;)

Creative play also is a great tool for relationship building and learning about inclusion. Children pick up the concepts of inclusion and exclusion from adults easily. It can be difficult to navigate when a child experiences exclusion and we tend to celebrate when they exercise inclusion. Especially if their particular brand of play aligns with our values. I read about this lately on Teacher Tom’s blog. Tom Hobson, of Woodland Park Cooperative Preschool, is the speaker for our all school parent meeting on November 15. Teacher Tom is an advocate of play based curriculum as a way to teach kids to learn and grow in a healthy way. I love what he has to say regarding inclusion and teaching our children how to navigate the often scary world of making friends. You can read more about his post here.

This month the creative play station will be a restaurant and pie shop. I can’t think of a more perfect choice for the season of thanksgiving and pumpkin pie. But in all preschool seriousness, what Teachers Beth and Kathy have done here is pretty brilliant. Weaving the month’s themes of food and tradition into the creative play station enriches our tiny students’ minds in ways they won’t even realize.

While casually serving a platter of turkey and mashed potatoes they may meet a friend for a lifetime. Slaving over an apple pie in the make believe oven may spark a love of baking that turns into a career as a pastry chef. Purchasing a meal at the restaurant can teach kids how we use math in our everyday lives. Sitting down to a meal with your class ‘family’ at the restaurant can help enforce the traditional importance of Thanksgiving.

Or not. Maybe (most likely) none of that will happen. And that’s okay too. In fact, that’s the beauty of creative play. It doesn’t have to be all that serious. Chances are your child will never remember selling a pecan pie to a cash strapped three year old when he was in PreK.

What they may remember is they had a lot of fun at preschool. The details will most likely be fuzzy.

Trick or Treat: A Brief History of Halloween

By Amanda Johnson

One of my favorite things about writing a blog is that I get to research subjects I find interesting but know little about. One of my favorite things about writing a blog for the preschool is that I get to relate my findings back to our children in a really fun way. Today I’m going to take a closer look at Halloween since it’s just right around the corner.

Halloween is a big deal. 600 billion pounds of candy are bought each year. ‘What are you going to be for Halloween?’ is often a question people ask as early as August. Serious thought and creativity goes into Halloween costumes. It can be overwhelming. But can we all agree there is nothing more adorable than a gaggle of mini Supermans and Moanas shouting ‘Trick or Treat’ on your doorstep?

Yet a lot of kids grow up thinking Halloween is all about dressing up, trick or treating, eating candy and carving pumpkins with no understanding of where the tradition came from. I know I did. And I had a blast. But as a parent, I find myself wondering what the meaning behind All Hallows Eve is, in part so I can give my son more context about the celebration as he grows up. I recognize two years old is a little young to start a history lesson, but it’s never too early to educate myself.

In brief:

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival nearly 2000 years ago during which people felt especially close to spirits of their ancestors. Usually celebrated at the end of October when the prosperous summer months turned dark and cold as they entered winter. The Celts left food at their door to welcome good spirits and wore masks to scare off the bad ones.

Halloween was slow to start in America. By the end of the nineteenth century new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing the Potato Famine, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween in America. Borrowing from these traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition.

It’s pretty interesting to learn how Halloween has shifted over time to become more of a children’s celebration of costumes and candy. Sure, it can still be a dark and mysterious occasion, but for the most part it’s a lot of fun!

We can’t talk about Halloween without mentioning pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. The preschoolers learned about pumpkins earlier this month with their visits to Oxbow Farm and at the Fall Family Fun Event. There are many stories pertaining to the origins of jack-o-lanterns, but the most popular one comes from Ireland. The Irish used to carve radishes and light a candle in them to ward off bad spirits. Can you imagine trying to carve a radish? Dad would have a hard time with that one!

At BFCP, each class will have its own Halloween celebration, starting with the Toddler PM class on Wednesday. Check your October schedule to find out when your preschooler gets to join in on the fun.

Just like in ancient times, children – and parents too! - are encouraged to wear their costumes. Remember to bring a change of close for outdoor time. And please nothing scary and no weapons!

Here’s a quick rundown of the Halloween Party dates:

Wednesday, 10/24: Toddler PM

Thursday, 10/25: Toddler AM

Friday, 10/26: Parent and Baby and 2/3’s

Wednesday, 10/31: ¾’s and PreK

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Happy Harvest!

By Amanda Johnson

October is an exciting month at the preschool! We’re getting the hang of the school year, leaves are falling, and pumpkins are popping up on doorsteps. And at BFCP, we’re gearing up for our first excursion for the older classes and Fun Family Party for the younger classes.

If you’re anything like me, and this is your first year with a preschool aged child, you may be wondering what the kids do at Oxbow Farms. I reached out to our Excursions Coordinator to find out more.

The Fall Farm Adventure at Oxbow Farm is a 75-minute program where students experience the beauty of the autumn harvest – in terms preschoolers understand. An Oxbow farmer introduces the students to their favorite fruits and veggies and explains how they are made up of six different plant parts each with a special job to do. The kids are then led on a scavenger hunt to find those six plant parts. As they find each part, they get to harvest and eat them in the process! How delicious does that sound? Kiddos get to take home a sugar pie pumpkin.

For more information on the program, click here.

Directions should be arriving in your inbox soon, if they haven’t already so keep a look out. The schedule for the older classes is as follows:

* 2-3's will meet at 9:30, Thursday, Oct 11 at Oxbow Farm

* 3-4's will meet at 11:00, Tues, Oct 9 at Oxbow Farm

* Pre-K will meet at 12:30 Tues, Oct 9 Oxbow Farm

That covers the older kid classes, but what about the toddlers who may be too young for the pumpkin patch just yet? The answer: a Fun Family Day hosted at the preschool! Teacher Beth has a lot of fun things in store.

The Family Fun Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 13th from 10-11:45 am. It will be a combined day for both the Toddler AM and PM classes. It is an alternative class date for missing the AM October 11 class while Teacher Beth is at Oxbow Farm with the 2-3’s and the canceled PM October 31 class because of Halloween. I have to say, the Family Fun Day sounds excellent so I don’t think our toddlers are going to be too upset over the canceled classes.

At the party there will be lots of pumpkins and harvest themed activities in the giant outdoor space at the preschool. Possible activities may include a mini-maze made from bales of hay, pumpkin rolling on big paper and pumpkin painting. Yes, please! I’m all for hay mazes and fall themed events. Coming together for circle time to sing some favorite songs is also part of the plan. We will also have a potluck lunch.

Welcome Back

By Amanda Johnson

View fullsize

Hi there. Welcome to the beginning of the preschool year! My name is Amanda and I’ll be joining you this year as your blog writer. This is my first year with the school and I’m very excited about what the year has in store.

I was recently asked if I was nervous about my son starting preschool. I answered truthfully that I am looking forward to it! I know that he is in excellent hands with Bothell Family Cooperative Preschool.

Last week was Slow Start for our kiddos at BFCP. Before Preschool Orientation, I had no idea what that meant. This is my first experience as a parent of a preschool aged child and there are a lot of new things for me to learn. I know some of you parents might be feeling the same way. At least, I hope I’m not the only one! I found comfort in talking to our teachers and board members – our local experts leading the way to a successful year. Orientation Night was a great learning experience. We got loads of information about the school, found out September’s class schedule, met other parents in our class and my personal favorite: we were treated to a spirited enactment of what a day in the life at the school looks like.

So, what is Slow Start? It is a brilliant concept where our kids are eased into the routine of school with an unstructured first day. A day to explore the school’s environs, meet the teacher and play with new classmates. I think this is important when your child is used to being at home and suddenly is thrust into an unfamiliar environment where he’s expected to finger paint on command. While parents know that BFCP is stock full of fun, imaginative activities, try telling that to an anxious two year old who’s never worn a smock in his entire little life.

Anxieties aside, I’d say the Slow Start week was a success if my toddler’s smile is any proof. Sure, he was unsure at the beginning of the day as he often is in new experiences. So were a few of his classmates. But by the end of outdoor play he was rocking the sand pit.

View fullsize

Speaking of outdoors, this past weekend was the Fall Work Party. Neil Devlin, the preschool’s Facilities Chair, organized the event. They pruned. They painted. They fixed up. I can’t wait to see how good the school looks! There are two work parties throughout the year so if you didn’t get a chance to go on Saturday, we’ll see you in the spring! Each family is expected to take part in one work party per school year as part of the cooperative curriculum. Part of being a member driven preschool is that the members, us parents over here, take part in maintaining, beautifying and running the preschool. It’s a pretty cool way of getting involved. Not to mention a great way to meet other parents in your community.

There are some pretty fun things coming up in October. The older classes will visit Oxbow Farm to learn about pumpkins. The younger classes will have a Fun Family Event at the preschool. I plan to talk more about those more in my next blog post. I’d say we’re off to a great start!