Kindergarten Boot Camp

Isn't it crazy how fast our kiddos grow up? Our PreK 2 class just wrapped up Kindergarten Boot Camp to prepare our friends for their next journey in life... Kindergarten!! This program is so helpful to our friends who aren't sure what to expect. They experience so many new things in Kindergarten so we try to prepare them for everything! From lunches to libraries to the big yellow bus, our friends got a first hand look at all that is to come. The first neat thing our friends experienced was a cafeteria style lunch. Their lunch was set up in the Enrichment Room along with milk cartons. They were served their plate and then took their seat at the table. This is a cool way to introduce the idea of having lunch time outside of the classroom. The PreK2 class also learned about checking books in and out of the library. They would all venture out to the reading nook and pick out books that they wanted to sign out and read for the week. At the end of the week they would have to sign the books back into the library. This is one way they were given a little bit more responsibility. Ms. Carolyn, the PreK2 teacher, assigned every student a composition journal in which the kids would take home in their back packs and bring back to school everyday. The kiddos got to practice writing in their journals during the school week. Our friends were always really excited to sign in to Kindergarten Boot Camp. They would sign their name saying that they were there that day. The students also practiced their addresses and phone numbers. During this program we had a few special visitors. Ms. Kim, the bus driver, came with her big, yellow bus! She taught the kids all about bus safety and even let them take a tour of the bus! The next friend that came to visit was a real, live kindergartener!! She was able to tell the kids about the routine in her class and the homework she does. The PreK kids had so many funny questions for her. Along the way through this program, the kiddos mastered new skills to be ready for the next step; Tying their shoes, cutting straight on the lines, practicing sight words and even beginning to read! Around the last week of Kindergarten Boot Camp the class had some extra fun with a project. Ms. Carolyn challenged the kiddos to make their own life size car out of cardboard boxes. Once the cars were completed they hosted a drive in movie in the Enrichment Room. This was so fun for the kids. They were able to kick back and chill out for the day! The program wrapped up with a super fun graduation ceremony where all the kids dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up. Parents got to come watch their not so little ones receive a certificate and then everyone enjoyed a yummy lunch! Kindergarten Boot Camp is full of fun and challenging activities the get the kids ready for whats just around the corner! 

Lunch Time in the "cafeteria" The kiddos LOVE when they get to come out here to eat! They are always excited to pick up their milk cartons and practice opening them. 

Signing in to KBC!! Our friends love getting to write out their name. 

Awesome job cutting on the lines, friends! I bet they can name all of those shapes, too! 

Journal time! Let's practice writing all the words we know! 

I can tie my shoe!! (in the background you can see where they started their drive in car project!) 

An actual Kindergartener!!! She was so helpful with explaining how things work in Kindergarten. She was able to answer all sorts of fun questions. She even talked about what the rules are in her class.

Brave Pk2 friends hoping on the bus! They were all so excited to pick their seat and chit chat with their friends on the bus. 

School bus rider of the day! Everyone got cool stickers for being such good bus riders. The bus didn't actually go anywhere but these kiddos sure are ready for it to! 

Sitting with your best pal on the bus makes it so much more fun! 

This friend loved getting to show off his new skill. He is actually reading this book to his friends! 

Welcome to the drive in! The kids thought it was so fun to watch Cars while sitting in their cars! 

Look at how creative all of these cars are! The kids really got to think outside of the box (HAHA!) on this one! 

Summer Swag bags for our new graduates! These were filled with all things summer; Silly straws, beach balls, bubbles, play doh, even giant suckers! 

Yummy food for the parents and grads to enjoy! 

Parents are anxiously waiting to see their little ones come out. Such a bittersweet time! 

The grads showing off their aspirations! Police officers, doctors, singers, actresses, and more! Even spider man and a scuba diver! 

All the graduates love their teachers Ms. Carolyn and Mr. Ian. They are both so proud of their students but are so so sad to see them go. 

For more tips and tricks to prepare your kiddo for kindergarten please click HERE

For more info on AoFC and the programs we offer please click HERE

Mother Goose: Ocean Commotion!

We recently had a really neat special guest come visit AoFC- Mother Goose! She put on such a fun interactive show for the kids to teach them about the ocean, who lives there, what they do, and how we can protect the sea! The kids got to sing and learn about whales, dolphins, crabs, penguins, lobsters, turtles, and so much more! Our friends loved getting to dive into this learning experience and help Mother Goose with her show along the way. Our friends got to count sea creatures, hear a story about two funny pelicans, and some special volunteers got to help put on a puppet show at the end! This was a really fun and interactive way to learn about sea creatures and how to protect our oceans!

Counting Starfish with Mother goose! How many starfish do you see? 

Listening to a story about two funny pelicans. We also learned how pelicans eat their food! 

Look at all of Mother Goose's animals! We got to learn about all of them! We are full of fun sea creature facts now! 

Mother Goose introducing her own goose. Her goose also had a little goose of its own! They got to help with the show too! 

Singing an under water days of the week song! In this song we learned about jellyfish, penguins, whales, starfish, turtles, a walrus, and an octopus! 

Mother Goose sang songs about what everyone does at the beach. She sang about how we make sand castles, put up an umbrella, and go surfing! 

The ending of the show- A puppet show!! Our friends were so excited to help Mother Goose with her show! 

For more information about AoFC and the programs we offer please click HERE

For more fun ways to learn about the ocean with your kiddos please click HERE

Jake The Music Man

We just wrapped up the Power of Music week here at AoFC and boy did we have a BLAST! So many fun activities and projects. Our favorite part about this week was when Jake the Music Man came to visit with all of his fun instruments. He had a trumpet, a guitar, a giant bass and so much more! Our friends were able to shake their sillies out , go on a music hike, and even sing songs about a tree that grows old stinky shoes! How crazy! Jake the Music Man was kind enough to let our friends play his bass at the end of the show. What a treat that was! Music is so much fun and allows children to be creative and use their imagination. We are so glad Jake the Music Man came to visit and we cannot wait to see what special guest we will have next! 

Jake the Music Man making a silly balloon snake. The snake sung for us before slithering away! 

Shaking our sillies out, clapping our crazies out, and yawning our yawnies out! 

Jake the Music Man drew some funny scenes. We met his turtle friend that tried to balance WAY too many things on his head! 

The kiddos were so excited to play the big bass! He showed our friends how to strum the strings and helped them play different notes. 

Little music prodigies in the making! Music is such a fun was to get those creative juices flowing and those imaginations turning!  

Silly magic tricks done by Jake the Music Man! The kids had so much fun learning how to do some simple tricks. They love when the shows are interactive! 

Another super fun and simple magic trick. Jake the Music Man has many talents!! 

Here's the big bass!! The kiddos played Name That Tune where they guessed songs like Jingle Bells, Under the Sea, and the Paw Patrol theme song! 

The kids were excited to here Jake play his silly trumpet! He played us a few short tunes and they got to watch this instrument come to life! 

For ideas on fun music activities you can do at home with your kiddo click HERE

For more info about AoFC and the programs we offer click HERE

Summertime Fun!

We have so many outrageously fun activities planned here at The Academy of Forrest Crossing this Summer! Whether its a musical special guest, a fun grab n' go activity, or everyone's favorite, water day, we are constantly having a blast here! Summer allows us to use so many other elements for activities that we may otherwise not be able to take advantage of. Kiddos are able to engage in lots of fun water and outdoor play. They also get to observe the change in weather and this makes for really fun science experiments!! While we are all so excited to get outside for Summer, there are some days that might be too hot or too wet to play. Rain and heat will NEVER take away our fun though! There are so many super fun indoor activities you can do with your kiddos during Summer in order to keep them engaged. They will soon forget all about that sidewalk chalk activity you had planned, because they will be having so much fun indoors! Check out a list of crazy fun indoor and outdoor activities you can do with your kiddo this Summer!

Water play is a great way to beat the Summer heat and while keeping kids engaged and getting them moving!! For some fun water play activities for kids please click HERE

Summer brings many different weather experiences. Why not experiment with the different elements of Summer weather. You can click HERE to check out some neat science projects involving clouds, rain, sun, wind, and so much more! 

Kids love to play outside but sometimes the weather just doesn't allow it. Click HERE to check out some fun boredom busters. Indoor activities can be just as fun! 

There are so many fun things you can do during Summer. Water play, science experiments, and even old school yard games! Click HERE to check out some awesome games you can play with your kiddo right in the back yard! 

With all this Summer fun, I bet your kiddos have worked up an appetite! For more yummy, fun, and healthy Summer time snacks, please click HERE

For more information on the Academy of Forrest Crossing and the programs we offer, please click HERE

Power of Art

We love watching our kiddos create masterpieces everyday. Giving a child an abundance of materials and letting them shape, color, draw, and mold whatever they want is such a fun way to watch their imaginations come to life. Through free art, children are able to express themselves in their truest forms. This week we are celebrating the Power of Art. We have so many fun activities lined up that are centered around creating masterpieces. Our friends have been so excited to create some fun teacher-guided themed art as well as dive into the crayon box to create free art projects. With this weeks theme, it has allowed us to celebrate how wonderful and wildly imaginative our kids are with a marker and a piece of paper. Check out some of the amazing projects our kiddos have been working on this week. 

One of our littlest friends is ready to get his hands messy for this Fourth of July themed art project! 

Our teachers were so excited to display some adorable Summer themed art! How cute are these strawberry footprints?!

These ice cream cones and footprint popsicles look good enough to eat! These friends felt inspired, after our recent ice cream social, to make the delicious masterpieces! 

Mixed media popsicles are a great way to get those imaginations flowing! These kiddos also had a lot of fun using the dot painters to decorate beach balls! 

We love free art! Isn't art more fun when you don't have to stay inside the lines??

This class is ready for the Fourth of July! They shredded up red and white paper to make flags! 

Free art is such a fun way to express yourself. How do you like to create your free art? Paint, marker, crayon, pencil?

Boom! Bang! Look at these awesome fireworks! This teacher got creative by cutting up the cardboard piece from a toilet paper roll and letting the kiddos dip it in paint to create fireworks! 

What do you think he will create? Using play-doh is a great way to explore 3-D art. Kids are able to create any shape of any size they can think of! 

Using body parts like our hands and feet are great examples of how we can think outside of the box to get different results when creating art. 

Art is way more fun when it's messy!! This allows kiddos to touch and feel and explore what they're using. This also allows kids to use different tools, such as their hands rather than a paint brush, to create art. 

 For more information about AoFC And the programs we offer please click HERE

For more fun art projects to do with your kiddos please click HERE