Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What I'm Learning in Preschool: August 2011

On August 8, I started a new preschool school year! Hooray! Now that I have a wonderful and experienced teacher, Ms. Leslie, we have a set curriculum for each month. Pretty cool, huh? From here on out Mommy will be sharing what I am learning each month along with the artwork I made. That way I will always remember the fun I had in preschool.


So for August, all of our classwork involved the theme "All About Me." Ms. Leslie addressed skills and concepts that are important in growing up. We talked about who we are and that everyone is unique. We made a picture of our family that week. I'm the little guy on the right.

We also talked a lot about our emotions. We made these cute little stick figures so we could work on recognizing when we are happy and unhappy. I've gotten really good at telling Mommy and Daddy when I am happy, sad or mad.
We also talked about our five senses and made artwork for each one. Here is a picture I made out of macaroni of an "E" for eyes. It's also tactile so it helped us learn about our sense of touch at the same time.

We also made this collage about our sense of sight. I circled the eyes on the kids in the picture.

The next week, we talked about personal hygiene. Ms. Leslie says that it is important to take a bath (we gave baths to a few baby dolls...guess I might need that skill when my little sister arrives), go to the potty in the potty (even my friend Gregory tried it) and brush our teeth (we even got to take home our very own tooth brush). I made this tooth puppet and pretended to brush him in class. It was fun!

And finally, we spent lots of time recognizing and learning our names. I learned that "N" is for Noah and made a picture all about it.

We also attempted to write our names. Mommy thinks this picture is pretty cute. Ms. Leslie says it's the recognition that counts. All in good time, right?


So I guess I learned all there is to know about me this month. And I think Ms. Leslie learned a lot about us kids, too. I love my new teacher and I can't wait to see what we'll learn in September...

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sizzling Zoo Adventure

Yesterday, Mommy and I invited Mimi, Tutu and Ella to join us for member appreciation morning at the L.A. Zoo. The men of the family were at our house helping Daddy clean out the spare bedroom for Peanut. Since it was set to be quite a scorcher out there, it was awesome that we got to enter at 8:30 a.m. Ella and I got in our strollers and were ready for an adventure with our grandmas. There was a lot to see but we decided to stick with our favorite exhibits since we would only last a few hours. So we stopped by the koalas to see if the baby was out and about.

We didn't see the baby but we did see this lovely koala up close. She was eating her breakfast. Yummy!

Mimi explained all about the koalas. She is so smart.

We went in search of the elephants but they were not out yet (still sleeping, I think) so we headed next door to check out the chimps. Notice that Ella is still riding in her stroller. Ordinarily she does not ride for long but I think Tutu has super magical powers so she rode all day. Amazing, right?

Anyways, back to the chimps. We got a good look at this guy. He was enjoying a hammock in the shade. Good thinking, buddy. It is sure getting hot.

I love pointing out the animals. Will you look at those chimps...they are the best!

Then we went by the giraffes. They were eating breakfast, too. The baby sure is getting big, huh?

What else is there to see, Mimi? Let's keep rolling!

We attempted to see the tigers, bears and snow leopards but they were still "sleeping." If I look through this telescope maybe I will see some tigers. No such luck.

We did get a great look at this awesome hippo. He had the right idea spending the morning in the pool.

Boy, Mommy and I sure do love the hippos!

He would dive under water and then wiggle his ears when he came up. It was cool!

Ella and Tutu loved the hippos, too.

Stay cool, hippo dude!

Then I tried to climb into the tortoise exhibit but good thing Mimi was there to stop me.

Gotta love those tortoises!

Then it was getting a bit too hot for our tastes so we decided to take a seat in the shade to wait for the elephants to come out. According to the zoo volunteer, the girls (Tina and Jade) were on their way out any minute. It was a perfect time for a snack.

Despite the heat, Ella and I were having a pretty good time. It sure is nice to have a beautiful little cousin to enjoy the zoo with.

Did I mention that I wore my favorite zoo shirt for the occasion? I sure am a "Zooper Star!"

OK, so we waited and the elephants never came out so we thought it best to move on. On the way down the hill, we caught a glimpse of the new carousel. It's almost ready and should be in operation this fall. Oh, boy!

On the way out, we stopped by the flamingos (they were sleeping when we passed by on the way in). I had to tell everyone that they are stinky, which they all agreed they were. P-U! Hey, what is THAT in the left corner of the photo?

Did I mention it was Star Wars day at the Zoo? These guys were walking all over the place taking photos and talking with the guests.

I decided it was probably safe to take a photo myself, as long as Mommy was with me. Say cheese, Star Wars guy!

Tutu and Ella took a photo, too. Cute!

By about 11, it was officially too hot to stay at the Zoo. So we headed over to Mimi's Cafe for lunch. Ella and I were all smiles. It was great being in the air conditioning!

Soon it was time to say goodbye. Thanks, Tutu, Ella and Mimi for joining us for a sizzling morning at the Zoo. I had a blast!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Sip N See for Everett!

On July 31, Mimi, Pop-Pop, Mommy and I went down south for a special event for our newest friend, Everett. As you know, he is my friend Emily's little brother and their Mommy and Daddy had a little party called a sip n see so everyone could meet him. He's getting pretty big and was almost three-months-old on the day of his party. He's super cute, huh?
So sip n see's are a bit boring for three-year-olds so Emily and I took the opportunity to have a total blast playing together in her playroom. We started off the afternoon playing Connect Four. In our version of the "game" both players get as many of the pieces in the grid as they can. It was fun!

Then Cousin Jack arrived. Now we really had a party!

I had lots of fun playing with Emily's magnet board. It was cool!

And Jack had fun spying on people with Emily's binoculars.

Since it was such a nice day, we moved our fun outside. Paul, Emily's Daddy, helped us blow bubbles. Emily was really good at it.

I took a turn, too.

Then Emily and I played "catch."

I also discovered Emily's sidewalk chalk so I had to draw a bit.

And Jack invented a car lawnmower contraption. Pop-Pop thought he had a future as a golf range ball picker upper. Silly!

While Jack was inventing, I checked out Emily's sandbox. I gotta get one of these!

Back inside, everyone was loving on Everett. Mimi thought he was amazing and so handsome.

She even had a conversation or two with him with our friend Dorla's help.

Even Mommy got in a few Everett snuggles.

Emily and I got in on the act, too. Cute!

Soon it was time for the fun to end. Awww! So I said good-bye to my beautiful friend, Emily, until next time!


Thanks, Allison and Paul, for having us all down to your house to spend time with Everett. We had a grand time!