Weekly Update October 10, 2025

In a preschool environment, safety and independence go hand-in-hand. One of the ways we support both is through intentional color coding in our classrooms! At our school, you'll notice something unique - our doors are painted blue and purple. The blue color indicates that students may touch, and purple indicates that only teachers or grown-ups may touch. At the preschool age, many children are still developing literacy skills. Reading signs or labels might not come naturally, but recognizing colors usually does. This is where our color-coded design comes in - providing students with an easy, visual way to navigate their environment independently and safely!

To reinforce our safety colors, we incorporate fun activities that help children remember and understand what these colors mean. These activities include painting with blue and purple paint at the easel, sorting blue and purple markers, and playing with both blue and purple playdough. When sorting the markers, we discuss what markers are for and that we only use them on paper. We also practice taking the caps on and off, waiting for the click to show that the marker is closed. This provides us with a chance to build classroom responsibility and work together to solve a problem.

In addition to learning new routines inside our classroom, we have been discovering all the exciting things to do outside! Our new mud kitchen has provided us with new ways to play. In this kitchen, children can mix mud, water, sand, and other natural materials and engage in imaginative play. It might just look like messy fun, but mud kitchens offer benefits across every area of early childhood learning. Children can receive sensory input from the mud and other materials. Mud kitchens inspire open-ended play that can help strengthen their language, storytelling, and problem-solving. We offer many tools that help build their fine motor skills, and by collaborating with other children, they are building teamwork and fostering relationships! Mud kitchens are a great way to help children feel comfortable playing outdoors and helps to build a connection to the natural world. It's more than just a playground feature, it's a hands-on learning lab!

Reminders:

• October 13 - NO SCHOOL - Indigenous People's Day

• October 14 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher Professional Day

• October 15 - Fall Family Fun Event @ Fox Hill 6pm (sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054BAFA62F4-59314273-fall#/)

• October 30 & 31 - Halloween Spooktacular Celebrations - Kids can wear costumes (not required) and go trick-or-treating at school. Please see ChildPilot calendar for details!