
Firefighters teach kids fire safety
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…

Science learning with gelatin art
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…

We get touchy-feely with creepy-crawlies
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!

Enrichment classes: Spanish & music
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,…

Kids learn about veterinary medicine
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…

Reptiles, insects and a lesson in respecting our planet
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…

Playing preschool pictionary
Lately, teacher Par has been playing pictionary with our kids. They sit in a line and take turns drawing while the others guess. It’s sweet and surprising to see how detailed some of the pictures are — and how quickly the kids can guess them. Check out the drawings below. Any guesses what the first one was? The…