Spring Time at Mi Escuelita

It’s spring time at Mi Escuelita, and though we may have lost an hour, the teachers haven’t lost a step!  Each of the five classes has just started a three-week unit on a different friend from nature.  In Mrs. Espinoza’s class, the students are learning about caterpillars and their metamorphosis into butterflies.  On Monday morning, I read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the kids to kick off their studies.  What a throwback!  I remember that book from my preschool days (only 17 years ago!).  Aside from being a cute story with even cuter illustrations, the book teaches the days of the week, counting, and nutrition.  The youngsters were keen to learn more about the fuzzy critters, so Mrs. Espinoza presented a beautifully drawn life cycle of the butterfly to engage scientific thinking skills.  Other fun activities in the unit include rainbow caterpillar paintings and butterfly masks.  It’s great to see the students ‘buggy’ about biology.  The ‘butterfly effect’ has definitely hit Mi Escuelita!

This post was written by Sarah Stinnett, a Mi Escuelita volunteer from Southern Methodist University.

Passport to Mexico - A Summer Camp for Preschoolers

This summer children will take an imaginative trip to Mexico and be exposed to the language, customs and traditions of the Mexican culture. Mi Escuelita Preschool and The Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico are joining forces to bring more than sixty years of combined teaching experience to preschool aged children at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church and lead them on an exciting educational journey south of the border. The program is open to all children in the community.

Four days a week for three weeks in July, children ages 4 through 6 will participate in a fun-filled, educational half-day preschool program that will allow children to appreciate the diverse culture in which we live. The exciting program will expose children to:

· Language introduction focusing on beginner vocabulary and conversational Spanish taught by the accredited Mi Escuelita Preschool teachers
· An introduction to Mexican folk dance, music and theatre provided by the renowned artists of the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico
· An introduction to the cultural arts and crafts of Mexico

The program will culminate in a grand performance for family, friends and the entire community. Space is limited so enroll your child now at http://www.miescuelita.org/summer_program.php.