tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2960868102614640322024-03-07T01:06:36.202-05:00art and soul preschoolArt and Soul is an art focused preschool drawing inspiration from The Reggio Emilia Approach, Emergent Curriculum, and striving towards nurturing a child's love of life and learning.Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-25631590393150935192016-07-18T22:02:00.000-04:002016-07-18T22:27:56.243-04:00Metamorpheline
For the past three years we have had the opportunity to participate in Cat'n Around Catskill.
Originally when our design was submitted our idea was to do Ten Little Caterpillar, inspired by the book and the ten year anniversary of the Cats on Main Street.
As we worked on the cat, our idea began to change. We had many discussions about butterflies and
the children were Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-72526270365728294772016-03-09T21:02:00.000-05:002016-03-09T21:25:30.443-05:00Watching a Process Evolve
Since January my 3 1/2- 5 year olds have been learning about the human form.
Our learning began when we set up a new Doctors office at school to expand upon their play. With the new doctors office came conversations about our bodies, and many conversations about the skeletal structure. This conversation developed from the new x-ray films we have at school. The Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-34697035911231380072016-03-09T20:58:00.002-05:002016-03-09T20:58:55.831-05:00Dinosaurs are Alive and Thriving at Art and Soul
I am always interested to see where an idea at school will go. The wonderful thing about an Emergent Curriculum is being open to what the children are interested in and building our lessons around that.
When we opened the Doctors Office back in January, a common idea was presented to both age groups we work with at school, and that was the bodies' skeletal structure.
The childrenArt and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-19394090276750787042015-12-30T15:13:00.000-05:002015-12-30T15:14:19.971-05:00A Joyful Conclusion to our Fall Semester
(Our fall nature table with gifts of bird's nests, feathers and leaves brought in by the children)
As the first snow falls outside and the year draws to an end, I am sitting here thinking back to our Fall Semester.
It was a wonderful start of our school year. It is hard to believe that I have not done a post since November! With that being said this is a rather long post Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-77109702339793608972015-11-08T18:24:00.000-05:002015-11-08T18:24:58.486-05:00Art and Soul Card Sale Fundraiser
Art and Soul Preschool is excited to present our first fundraiser to go towards art materials, beautiful stainless steel cups for snack time, and possibly a camera for the school.
We are selling lovely card sets featuring the artwork of the students at
Art and Soul.
The cards, which are blank inside, are sold in packets of 5 for $7.00 dollars.
They would make lovely holiday Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-70504917019580392592015-11-04T13:34:00.000-05:002015-11-04T13:34:02.408-05:00Halloween Happenings
Halloween is always a cute and magical adventure at school,
here is a quick post on how our celebrations went.
Our Halloween House
Our Witches Stew Station
Potions Lab.
Friends excited to show off their costumes on the
Halloween Runway.
Our Fabulous Halloween Cuties!
The children each had the opportunity to take a turn down the Halloween Runway to Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-57567619774829878162015-10-24T22:18:00.002-04:002015-10-24T22:19:51.059-04:00Exploring Our Community Part 2: A Visit from the Fire Department
This week we had an exciting visit from out local Fire Company.
As it is Fire Safety Month, we took the time this week and last week to talk with our students about the importance of knowing what to do in a fire.
Of course adding the element of play helped the children process the information.
Our local Lowe's saved a refrigerator box that the children transformed into a very fun Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-73981968489986654112015-10-15T21:34:00.000-04:002015-10-24T22:20:07.514-04:00Exploring Our Community: A Visit to the Local Urban Farm
We had a wonderful opportunity last week to take a walking field trip and explore our community.
A family at the school has been working hard at cultivating an Urban Farm in our neighborhood. You can find out more about their project at Spring Side Organics
Our school was invited to take a tour of the farm, do observational drawings, harvest seeds, and of course taste some Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-43144411901025113252015-10-12T21:54:00.003-04:002015-10-13T13:04:11.747-04:00A Time of New Exploration
It has been a wonderful first month of school. The children have been meeting new friends and getting to know the school and our daily routine. It is a lot in this first month to just have the children feel secure and comfortable in the school. Every child has their own way in the environment and we try to offer them many ways in which they can explore and feel at home.
Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-14091826393762877492015-09-13T21:35:00.000-04:002015-09-13T21:35:12.512-04:00The Story of Art and Soul Preschool
Our School year starts tomorrow and as I was getting the space ready
for our students, I was reflecting on how much the school has changed in 4 1/2 years.
I thought it would be fun to start the new year off with the story of how Art and Soul Preschool
became the school it is today.
I had been a public school art teacher for 10 years, but when I took maternity leave to Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-30125767289252339902015-05-25T20:57:00.002-04:002015-05-26T13:51:26.214-04:00Walk Like and Egyptian
Cleocatra has arrived on Main Street!
We are grateful for another opportunity to participate in the Cat'n Around Catskill
community art project and fundraiser.
Special thanks to The Town of Catskill for sponsoring the school and
The Heart of Catskill Association for all their efforts.
Last year the Kindergarten Class loved creating Crystal Rainbow Cat, which Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-83109682706393926942015-05-10T14:25:00.001-04:002015-05-10T14:28:37.463-04:00Building Identity through Play and Art
How do we support children with their sense of identity? Preschool may seem too young to bring up such a big lifelong journey, however around three, children start to recognize their individual identity, as well as begin their journey navigating through social and group dynamics. It is an ideal time in their lives to help them feel safe, build up their self-esteem, and help them Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-87401048351268289402015-03-18T19:05:00.000-04:002015-03-18T19:05:51.198-04:00Birds of a Feather
We have been studying birds for the past month at Art and Soul Preschool, and we plan to continue
with more bird exploration, especially as winter comes to an end and spring begins.
In our journey so far, we have talked a lot about the noticeable features of birds; beaks, wings, feathers, shapes of the body, different species of birds.
Shortly before we began our study, I hung up Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-11997903189065420452015-02-23T21:53:00.005-05:002015-02-23T21:53:51.973-05:00Hearts Full of Love
Though Valentine's Day has come and gone, the love still remains at Art and Soul Preschool.
This year we were inspired by the book Monday Hearts by Page Hodel.
This book is a photo gallery of hearts that are made everyday for Page Hodel's partner Madalene. Every Monday Page would leave a heart created out of various materials, anything from flower pedals to hardware for Madalene Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-24467187441186535562015-02-09T10:41:00.002-05:002015-02-09T10:41:43.444-05:00Crystal Inquiries
Though the cold can be very brutal this time of year, a magical thing happens that captures the imagination of the children, crystal begin to grow outside!
From icicles and beautiful shinny snowflakes, to the patterns found in frozen water.
Last year we tried out a great water color recipe that "grows" crystals, and I thought it would be a wonderful thing to do again at this time of year. &Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-79630392076437836482015-02-02T15:05:00.000-05:002015-02-02T15:05:44.855-05:00Winter Wonderland Indoors!
Winter in all it's glory is here! As an adult I sometimes have a hard time embracing
this time of year; the cold, the winter driving, dealing with snow days and delays, ice!
However, when I am at the school the excitement and love that the children have for this season seems to melt away all my adult grumblings and I am excited to explore the season along with the Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-44000989981825356922015-01-13T14:03:00.002-05:002015-01-13T17:44:04.718-05:00Creating with Clay
Back in December we started working with clay at school. The children made wonderful holiday gifts to give to their families. Each time I write about the children working with clay I probably say the same thing, it is a magical medium. The kids are filled with excitement and their focus during their time with the clay is amazing. We are very fortunate to have the Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-40677165662908692392014-12-10T14:33:00.005-05:002014-12-10T14:33:56.541-05:00What's Cooking?
It is hard to believe it has been three weeks since we began our cooking exploration at school, but time has a way of flying this time of year.
On the Thursday before Thanksgiving the children worked together to create "Stone Soup."
This idea comes from a wonderful book Ms. Tricia brought in, and is about sharing and bringing a village together when they partake in the making of Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-74462743792469200622014-11-29T17:47:00.000-05:002014-11-29T17:47:07.177-05:00A Tale of Two Conversations
The conversations that are shared among the children in their play and work at school
often exhibit their growth in social and experienced driven school learning the most.
Below are two examples of how the children are constantly thinking out loud and learning to communicate these thoughts to their friends and teachers. What I love about these two examples is the sharing thatArt and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-45038138662670727902014-11-09T21:02:00.000-05:002014-11-09T21:02:02.824-05:00Building a Tooth Fairy House
I have expressed my thought many times about the power of block play, and how it encourages Creative Thinking by the planning that it involves. As the children build together, they work on their communication skills, problem solving skills, early math concepts, and symbolic thinking skills as well. It is also great fun!
I have a group of children that gravitate to the Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-51943145504402700262014-10-26T21:39:00.000-04:002014-10-26T21:39:18.147-04:00Outside In, Inside Out!
Once a month I have the opportunity to meet with a group of lovely local educators and at our last meeting one of these educators was sharing how she loves how Reggio Schools "Bring the outside environment in and the inside environment out." It made me reflect on ways I can do that for the children at Art and Soul. We love exploring nature, and are outside each day. We alsoArt and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-55532698369959167292014-10-16T20:55:00.000-04:002014-10-16T20:55:39.284-04:00Leaf Rubbings
This was a great project that we did a couple weeks ago. I actually never had much luck doing leaf rubbings with my preschoolers, the paper would often rip and the students would get frustrated with the process. These rubbings were another story, the children enjoyed the process and experienced the reveal of the leaf several times.
Before starting we went for a little Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-14769305031748530712014-10-11T12:23:00.000-04:002014-10-11T12:23:26.742-04:00"Red is like spicy sauce."
"Red is like spicy sauce" is what I titled this post, a wonderful description by one of the children during a discussion about the color red.
This post gives examples of the different ways we explore a concept at school, in this case studying about the color red.
Conversations with the children are an important part of exploring and discovering what children Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-53075201339889210292014-10-05T00:11:00.000-04:002014-10-05T00:11:07.317-04:00An Apple A Day...
It is apple season and we are thoroughly enjoying this time of year at school.
We literally have an apple each day at school for the whole year, so it is wonderful that we spend some time getting to know this wonderful fruit.
During small group time, the children experienced an apple tasting.
I gathered 6 varieties from Story Farms. They also had a wonderful brochure&Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296086810261464032.post-83667582911314426382014-09-21T18:32:00.001-04:002014-09-21T18:35:19.291-04:00New Beginnings
Well, our school year is off to a wonderful start.
We just finished up our second week of school and
the children have been quickly adjusting to being back at school
or starting school for the first time.
As they adjust, our job is to try and help them on their journey. Each child is different and has their own unique way of processing change and Art and Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116216186908860758noreply@blogger.com0