Cottonwood Creek

Hello from Cottonwood Creek!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family and friends!  Here at Cottonwood Creek we had a disappearing month of November! This month was full of fun activities to decorate the room!  We started with decorating our front windows with cute, little colorful turkeys!  I made a banner out of leaves which I printed out and cut to write "Happy Thanksgiving day" on.  (I know the picture is not that clear sorry!)  Next week we got to work on our longest project making a scarecrow and forming a little pumpkin/corn patch.  I started off with a simple idea of just giving a little background for all the scarecrows to have and it snowball into a full on little display for my wall; its awesome!  Each child put their name next to their scarecrow as well as on the leaves which they then colored for the tree I made!  I simply love the way it turned out!  And I think its a nice idea for a Christmas display as well.  The kids also had time to color and write a story for my story land wall.

Lastly, we put together a feast of our own here at the computer lab!  I figured since the kids have been on their best behavior for the last few months, that was plenty to be thankful for!  So I got a couple of pizzas and a pumpkin pie and the rest of the snacks the parents sent over to share with all of the little ones!  It was a nice time and a good time to show that thankfulness is the best!  We went around the table before we ate and shared something each one of us was thankful for!  It is truly an awesome holiday!  Here is hoping that all had as good a time as we did here at Cottonwood Creek!

 

 

Parksdale II

Today we're out enjoying the Sun by playing dodge ball.  We made two different teams of 4 children on each team.  Once the ball gets you, that means you have to sit out and wait until everyone from your team gets out. Hope everyone enjoys the Sun just like we did.  The 7 day forecast says there's rain coming this week with temperatures dipping to freezing.  We may be saying farewell to this beautiful spring like weather we've been having this fall.  Time to get those coats out folks, till next time.

 

 

Cottonwood Creek

Hello Everyone!  As I write this we are working hard to get our room decorated for Thanksgiving but I must apologize as this post is about our halloween treats/party last month.  As I have done in the past I challenged the children to get our room as spirited looking and decorated for this past Halloween as possible...if they held up their end I promised I would treat them to something fun at the end of the month for our party. Well easy to say they sure held up their end so I had to deliver on my end.  I purchased goodie bags and put a few fun treats as well such as candy!  I found a good deal on the glow in the dark bracelets at the 99 cents store!  Can't go wrong there!  The pencils were cute too and useful so those went in as well. Also at the 99 cents store, I found some "vampire fangs" that the kids got a kick out of and it was fun to see all of them wearing them around the computer lab.  Since they all did such a teriffic job I had a halloween themed cake for us all to enjoy as well as treats the kids brought to share with the rest of their little computer lab buddies!  We watched Monsters Inc. and enjoyed our treats and had a wonderful time!  Now time to get ready for Thanksgiving, gobble, gobble...

 

 

Cottonwood Creek

Hello to all!!!

Since I was not counting on me being at the computer lab today or tomorrow, I really did not have anything planned but I came up with something fun and easy to finish sprucing up the classroom! (I was so exited I had to share right away!) Yesterday and today, the children and I have been working on making banners to make the room look even more festive!  It is but the simplest of projects, only needing color construction paper and markers.  I also had halloween stamps, stickers and foam stickers that I had left over from the last couple of projects so I let the children use those as well so they could make the pennants look as fun and decorative as possible.

The rest was up to the children to decorate with as much creativity as they wished.  Like usual they did not disappoint!  They really ran with it and ended up making some very creative and thoughtfully decorated banners!  I am in love with the way the room looks!  It is so festive and the banners look so good...I am already thinking of saving them to use next year!  Today we finished the last of the pennants and I gave them free play on the computer for half hour, the rest of the time we used to play bingo as a reward for them doing such a terrific job!  I hope you enjoy the pictures of this fun little project as much as I did!

 

 

Joke of the Day

Time to laugh kids!

A fisherman was trying to learn the alphabet, He got lost at C.


How does NASA organize a party?  They planet!


What's the only part of the house that doesn't blink?  The stairs!

Biola Village

Hello Everyone,

The children were super excited to make our new poster for the community room and they are learning that nothing is impossible when you “Reach for the Stars.”  We added a few encouraging quotes so they know that they are all an important part of this community.  School is starting for many and I want the children to have high goals this school year and let their hearts desire guide them.  Enjoy!

 

 

Lincoln Plaza

Hello fellow coordinators,

School is right around the corner and for some of our children here at Lincoln Plaza, some have already returned back to school.  So to end out the perfect summer vacation the children thought it would be neat to make their own puzzles.  They also talked about how it would be nice to have a really cool cup or vase for their pens and pencils.  Nice idea right!  So I took the idea from my make up brush tins I have and put a little twist on things.  Some of the children went nuts over the idea because one, it's a really nice pencil holder and two, it only makes it that much more special when you make your own personalized one.

I did all the spray painting and they did the decorating.  If that's a craft you guys are wanting to do please and I repeat please do the spray painting overnight and outdoors to make sure the fumes are completely away from the children and they have time to dry.  I took the jars home and made a mess on my lawn but it was totally worth it to see the smiles on their faces the next day.  Final thought/tip...acrylic or some sort of paint sealer (use non smelling glitter sealer) works better than modge podge, I just used the modge podge to have the children glue on the glitter.  Hope everyone enjoys the pictures below and have fun making your own.

 

 

 

Parksdale Village II

Hello everyone!

Yesterday we had a minion party.  YEA!!! We made our own minions out of Twinkies.  It totally makes sense if you think about it!  We also made a banana split as well.  Seeing the children have so much fun just makes my day...to see their smile's is priceless!  Everyone made two minions out of one twinkie and decorated them themselves. Once they were done decorating the minions (Twinkies) they placed them on top of a cup cake, WOW!!!  As you can see from the pictures below they came out great!  Hope you all get to try this at home, its so much fun to make and super easy.  Enjoy!

 

 

Casitas Del Sol

Hello Everyone,

4TH OF JULY PROJECTS
Materials used:
-Brown lunch bag
-Uncle Sam pattern
-4th of July bird pattern
-Scissors
-Glue
-Large white paper
-Markers

Directions for implementing projects:
Children had previous knowledge of this holiday.Children gathered around a table in the room to discuss projects while making them and asking questions as well.

Discussion helped children improve their persuasive thinking skills. It helped them engage with others and feel more confident about themselves.
The best was that they enjoyed it!

 

 

Rolling Hills

Hello everyone!!!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July with family and friends.  Here at the Rolling Hills apartments we had an amazing time with our neighbors and friends celebrating the 4th with a pinic and a talent show.  We all have different talents and we had the opportunity to share it among our friends. We also had the opportunity to have a bbq.  Everyone was excited to see their hamburgers cooking on the grill.  Our summer has been great!  We also had ice cream, cookies and a root beer float party that turned out nice...along with all the food we had a water ballon toss...the children enjoyed the game and wanted to play again and again and again.  Well from all of us  at the Rolling Hills Apartments we wish you all a good summer, be safe and make sure you wear sunblock when going outdoors.

Joke of the Day

Hey Kids, it's time to Laugh!


Why did the shark cross the ocean?

 

 

To get to the other tide.

 

 

Cottonwood Creek

Hello All!

This past month was a fun one!  We had Father's day to celebrate and prepare for and we also had quite a few birthdays in the month of June!  Including my own!  YEA!!!  So first we started to prepare for father's day...we made cards and since the boys and girls in my little lab are so into soccer I figured they caught soccer fever from their homes!  I was right!  The dads from our complex are real soccer fans so we decided to go for a soccer themed card!  It was so cute and appropriate, I heard they were a big success!

Also to go with the card we made a dream catcher to go on the rearview mirror in the dads cars!  It was an easy enough project using pipecleaners, yarn, beads and feathers!  It was easy to make so the kids made two, one for dad and one for themselves!  I actually have seen a few of the parents cars with the dream catchers in their cars!  How cool is that!  It's awesome to see the gifts actually being enjoyed!  Aside from that we are on our regular routine of doing summer activities and trying to stay out of this heat as much as possible!

Trying to remind all the children to stay hydrated and in the shade and just stay cool!  As I mentioned before we had a few birthdays this June including my own :-) so I decided to buy a cake towards the end of the month and do one big celebration for all the birthdays!  We surely did enjoy ourselves!  I hope the rest of the summer is as fun as this past month has been!  I hope everyone is enjoying themselves this awesome time of year! Enjoy summertime!

 

 

Lincoln Plaza

Hello Everyone,

Hoping everyone is doing well during the first few official days of summer.  The children and I are staying busy at the Plaza working on arts and crafts activities keeping our brains active.  Remember to stay cool and please be sure to do your part to conserve water especially during the summer as we are still in this bitter drought.

 

 

 

Sunrise Villa

Hello everyone,

Ever since I came to Sunrise Villa, all the children have been super excited because they are now able to use the computers.  They love having access to our awesome computers.  I try and find a balance each and everyday to provide fun, educational activities for them even though they are more interested in the computer lab i.e. computers.  Here's a quick snapshot about what we have been doing as of recent.  During the month of March some of us made four leaf clovers with tissue paper and Easter baskets out of construction paper.  During April I had a movie day and we all watched 'Big Hero 6," I highly recommend it.   We also drew and colored eggs and flowers.  In May, I gave the children little wooden boxes so they could paint and decorate them for Mother's Day.  I also took out the watercolors....their creativity shined through as they would paint anything and everything that would come to their minds.  Even though it's summertime, let's stay active and keep those brains sharp!

Lincoln Plaza

Hello Everyone,

Please enjoy our most recent arts and crafts projects...a little creativity can go a long way!  One last thing...stay cool and hydrated this summer.

Enjoy!

 

 

Cottonwood Creek

Hello wonderful coordinators!

The past few weeks has been all about trying to play outdoors and also trying to incorporate writing and reading in a fun way!  I have found a bunch of old vhs cassetts in one of our local thrift shops for a very cheap price so of course I picked them up!  Can't pass up a bargain.  I've also discovered an activity to go along with the movie.  Yea!!!  For instance, about three weeks ago we watched the movie Jumanji...before we watched it I went online to find an activity to follow up the movie.  I found a movie guide that I broke up to play as a game.  It was all comprehension questions but I presented it as a trivia game so the kids really got into it.  While watching the movie I brought cherries for them to enjoy as a healthy treat.  The children really enjoyed playing the game and I knew it was a win win because they were learning to comprehend while watching and taking notes. Since it was a big hit, I tried it again this past week, this time with the movie Monsters inc.  We colored and wrote stories for the storyland wall.  Its been a pretty productive few weeks and its only the begining of summer!  Can't wait for all the awesome summer fun to roll on!