El Cerrito Preschool Cooperative
Play, Learn and Grow at ECPC
Recently firefighters from the El Cerrito Fire Department visited ECPC to talk to our kids about fire safety and give them a tour of a real fire truck.
The children had fun and learned to recognize a firefighter in full gear and face mask as a friend, not a scary monster to hide from (“Don’t I seem like Darth Vader?” joked one firefighter, suited up and breathing noisily through an air tank).
Thanks El Cerrito firefighters!
ECPC kids enjoyed a super cool science and art project this week. Inspired by Bev Bos and our friends at the Roseville Preschool Cooperative, Teacher Kathy made gelatin molds for the children to poke, prod and just experience the way only kids can.
How to:
Mix gelatin powder with water, using more powder than package directions to create extra-firm gelatin. Pour in a mold — here, we used glass mixing bowls lightly oiled — and chill to firm. Then invert onto trays and put out sturdy drinking straws.
The kids can poke holes and pull out “worms” of gelatin before really getting hands-on. Once they demolish the molds, melt the pieces back down in a large pot and start over. Let the kids see the melting gelatin to understand about the transformation from solid to liquid.
*Bonus activity: Use pipettes to let kids inject streams of color into the gelatin.
Science learning: This activity brought out all kinds of natural curiosity in the students. They were fascinated to hear that gelatin can be heated to a liquid and then cooled into a new shape, just like ice melts to water when it gets warmer and water freezes to ice when it gets very cold.
From time to time, we have outside visitors bring special presentations to ECPC. Recently, the Bug Mobile brought a variety of creepy-crawlies to introduce our kids to the world of insects in a very hands-on way!
At ECPC, our kids spend most of their time following their interests wherever they lead — into our huge sand play area or onto the play structures, into the art area or any of the several indoor play spaces. At the end of each day, though, the teachers gather them for a brief group time, and twice a week that group time is replaced by enrichment classes taught by outside teachers.
Tuesdays the kids have music class and Thursdays they have a bilingual Spanish-English music and dance class. Below are pictures from the bilingual Thursday class taught by Kirah Caminos, who introduces the children to basic Spanish, as well as word music, musical instruments and choreography.
Our kids got to learn about veterinary medicine recently when ECPC parent Matt visited to talk about his work. Matt showed the kids x-rays of animals, including before and after pictures of a cat’s broken leg, along with model hearts, bones and joints.
Then, the kids got to practice a little medicine of their own when Matt showed them how to put bandages on stuffed animals. Thanks, Dr. Matt!
During a visit from the East Bay Vivarium last week, a presenter introduced the enthralled ECPC kids to a variety of reptiles and insects. At one point, he showed them a Whip Scorpion and explained that it produces vinegar in its tail for defense.
“You know vinegar — we put it on salad,” he told the kids. “We have it for making potions!” piped up a child.
The kids sat rapt for an hour as they learned about tarantulas, lizards and other Vivarium pets in a show that wove gentle wisdom in with fun and learning. The introduction of a harmless reptile that postures to scare off potential attackers became a lesson on bullying: “Let me let you in on a secret,” intoned the visitor, leaning closer. “Bullies act scary because they’re scared.”
And the whole presentation was a reminder to treat our world, and the animals who share it, with respect. “Wild animals have as much right to be here as we do,” said the presenter. “We are the caretakers of this whole planet, and it is our responsibility to give these animals good lives. You can start by leaving them alone. When you leave today, you might see a wild animal, a lizard or a tarantula. I hope you enjoy seeing a wild animal and I hope you show it respect.”
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