French Valley University

Our new “University Cafe”, yes it’s pretend

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:19:37 +0000

So, in an effort to continuously appeal to the children we created the “University Cafe” in Let’s Pretend. This cafe is in lieu of the kitchen center. They were so excited to have a new area, even though it was just a re-arranging of an old area, they were busy placing food orders, waiting on each other, cooking, etc. The best part was when I walked in to the classroom I was handed my “to go” order by Evan. He told me that he cooked and packed up my lunch because I looked hungry. It was even in a white bag!!! Good thing the pretend food is low calorie! Gotta love these guys! They make me laugh every day…

New school year!

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:07:56 +0000

Gosh, I looked at the blog and realized that I haven’t posted for a while! Do you remember being a kid and it being the first day of school? Having your parents drop you off in your brand new school clothes and your crispy backpack, butterflies in your stomach waiting to see all the friends you have missed all summer! I sure miss “having it easy” by going to school! Well, for our preschoolers it is not much different. They are also nervous to go to a new school! Make it special for them, get a new lunch box, a new outfit or two. Talk to them about preschool in a positive manner, remember they know if you are having anxiety. Always remind them that you will return! The good thing about preschoolers is, they make friends in 5 minutes. They are not judgemental, they do not care what brand clothes the other kid is wearing, and they definetly don’t try to steal lunch money!

Believe me moms and dads, it gets even harder! One of my middle sons starts 6th grade next week and I am a nervous wreck. Oh, I know he will be okay and in a few years when he graduates I will remember back to the day he started preschool, elementry, middle, then high school and wish I could do it all over again!

A unique tour of the center

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:06:51 +0000

The other day I was getting ready to give a tour, when one of my prek children was getting ready to leave with his nana. It happened that the family touring knew the child leaving! Joey, my prek child, was so excited that his friend was visiting “his” school. I asked Joey if he wanted to do the tour for me. He was so excited! He showed his friend every class with the enthusiasm that I love to see in children. Each class being his “favorite”. One of the last classrooms we visited was the Mad Lab, our cooking and science room, as we walked in he told his friend “Now this is really my favorite room” as I exclaimed “mine too”! I am so happy to see after almost 3 years at FVU Joey is still excited about every classroom.

More than just playing in the water…

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:49:52 +0000

So, the other day I decided to get out some tubs of water to play in our beautiful courtyard. As we were walking out one of the children grabbed a teapot and said “I want to have a tea party”. What a great idea! We went to the kitchen and retrieved some tea bags to take to our tea party. We wore big hats and mixed our tea in to the water. They made me so many cups of tea! It was great.

They used their imaginations to play tea party, they watched the water change colors (science), they wear measuring and pouring (math, fine motor), they were saying please and thank you (using manners). Wow so many things to learn by just having a tea party!

Kids and their imagination

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:44:27 +0000

I began 21 years ago as a preschool teacher. I had no intention of ever becoming a director or even an owner of a center. Yet, here I am! There are times that I miss being with the kids, I tell my friends and co-workers that I didn’t sign up 21 years ago to be stuck in an office all day. I enjoy and miss watching and playing with the kids.

They have the best imaginations! The other day I was outside with the kids just quietly watching. They are so creative and so funny at the same time. I recently put a kitchen outside. They have turned this kitchen area in to what I call the “Mud Pie Kitchen”. I watched as they went from the kitchen area all the way over to the sand area (which is pretty far) and back to make their “cookies”. They made me chocolate chip cookies on trays! Yummy I told them, my favorite! Then as I sat back and ate my “cookies” I watched another group of children attach a milk crate with wheels to the back of a tricycle. They would take turns riding the bike with the “trailer”, they would find things along their journey to put in the trailer, it was just so funny to watch.

As I left the playground I told myself, the next time I am having a not so good day, just go watch the kids. They always put my mind at ease!

Info for fall enrollment

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:29:29 +0000

On June 1st at 9 AM we will begin to hold spaces for fall enrollment. Spaces are based on availability only. On or after June 1st you may visit the center and hold a space for your child with the non-refundable $75.00 registration fee. You must start at the center no later than August 30th ie. we will only hold your space until August 30th. We look forward to meeting you soon!

Summer Camps for ages 2.5 to 6!

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:10:49 +0000

Summer boredom got your preschooler down? Try one of our Summer Camps! You do not have to be registered to take advantage of one of these fun camps!

Present… University Kid Kamps

Fun for ages 2 (potty trained) to age 6

The following camps will be offered:

June 28^th-July 2nd Mad Lab (Science)

July 12^th-July 16^th Icky Sticky (Sensory)

July 19^th-July 23^rd Mad Lab (Science)

July 26^th-30^th Let’s Create (Art)

August 2^nd-August 6^th PreK refresher (for children attending kindergarten)

Time: 9AM to Noon

When: Monday-Friday

Cost: $100.00 per week

$25.00 non refundable deposit to hold your space

(deposit goes towards first week)

NO registration or materials fee! Snack included!

Only 12 spaces per camp available, register soon.

French Valley Easter Egg Hunt a blast!

admin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:20:52 +0000

Thank you to all of the children who made the “candy” hunt so much fun! We appreciate all the support! It was so nice to see all of my prior students and how big they have all gotten through the last 3 years. Look for us next year!

All my child does at preschool is play!

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:04:30 +0000

On a weekly basis we have several prospective parents come and tour our center. I am very proud of both Murrieta and French Valley University’s staff and curriculum. However, I sometimes feel as if I am defending the way we do “things” around here. I often hear “there is just not enough structure” or “it looks like all they are doing is playing” or even “there is just not enough academics for my child”. What does all that mean exactly? Maybe I have been in this industry for so long that I lost focus… I thought children were supposed to play, I thought children were supposed to have fun! Most people as adults, don’t have that much “fun” anymore. Maybe an occasional night out with friends or even a vacation once a year. I am lucky because I have fun at work. I enjoy watching how much fun the children have at our centers. I see smiles all day long. I see children that aren’t ready to go home there having so much fun. But guess what? They are learning, every minute of the day. How, do you ask? Because they are only 2, 3, 4 and 5 they haven’t been in this world all that long. So wouldn’t every day, every new thing they see, touch or explore be a new experience to them? The children at Murrieta and French Valley University learn new things every day! We just don’t make them sit down and do dittos or look at flash cards to do it!

Freestyle Friday

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:09:58 +0000

So, this past Friday we did what we are calling “freestyle Friday”. Instead of having the children follow a schedule, we had the teachers each stay in a designated classroom and let the kids “roam and choose” which class they wanted to visit! Wow, what a day! We painted with flavored syrup in the Let’s Create room (yes, we did taste it), we did ice and food coloring in the courtyard, bubbles and chalk outside, building with lots of open ended stuff in the Let’s Build room, French Valley Idol in the Let’s Pretend, and lots of “mad” creations in the Mad Lab. Most of the children had no problem with the change, some of them were partial to stay with their teacher. Surprisingly the twos were great about moving around! Miss Julie was exhausted trying to keep count and keep up with all of them. But, what did I notice the most about the day? They all wanted to be outside! We actually had a wait list for the children who wanted to do all of the outdoor things! Parents; remember when you are trying to think of something fun to do with your child, play outside. We have soooo many parks in our community.

The bottom line is the children love to be outside. That doesn’t cost a thing!