Hillary Steab 8/7/15 Hillary Steab 8/7/15

Living the Green Life

At Discovery Adventures Preschool, we make choices that are both healthy for our little ones and good for the environment! When you make choices to be eco-friendly, you get many great benefits including a healthier environment for us to learn and grow in. Some of the choices include:

All natural cleaners
No VOC paint
Natural materials used when possible
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Eco-friendly appliances

Hillary Steab 8/1/15 Hillary Steab 8/1/15

Classroom

I'm so excited to see the classroom coming along so well! Since our basement was unfinished, I've been able to have this room created specifically with the preschool in mind. We've worked with some wonderful professionals to help our dreams come true. Jim Mills did a great job with the framing and Brad Gill has been an amazing contractor! I am excited for it to get to the point that I get to add my own touches on it!

I am designing the room to be simple and neutral with lots of natural elements. I think it's so important to bring in nature! I also am a strong believer that the space should be a vessel for learning and be designed so that students learning and art is prominently and beautiful displayed. Teacher created and store bought posters are to be kept to a minimum and used only when it makes sense (calendar, birthday board, etc.) The real star of the room will be the kids and their work!

Keep checking back for more progress! I love sharing our adventure with you!

Hillary Steab 7/30/15 Hillary Steab 7/30/15

Parachute Play

Discovery Adventures Preschool was at the Syracuse Farmers Market yesterday as a part of their entertainment schedule. They wanted me to do some games with kids, so I brought my fabulous new parachute! Parachute play can help kids improve in many areas including: listening and following directions, cooperation and social skills, physical activity and exercise, and can be used to build skills such as colors, numbers, left and right, etc. Thanks to all who participated! We'll be at the Farmers Market again next Wednesday at around 6:30. Stop by to play with us!

Hillary Steab 7/23/15 Hillary Steab 7/23/15

Music, Music, Music!

Music is an important part of Discovery Adventures Preschool. We sing every day! We jam with instruments! We dance and use our bodies to explore music. There is so much to be said about the benefits of music; this info graphic shares a few:

Hillary Steab 7/14/15 Hillary Steab 7/14/15

New Class Added!

Summer is half-way over and we hope you've been enjoying it! To make going back to school easier on your family, we are excited to announce that we added an afternoon class that runs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12:30 to 3:00 pm! You now can choose between three classes to meet your family's needs. Go to the Tuition page for more details on class times and prices.

Hillary Steab 7/7/15 Hillary Steab 7/7/15

Bubbles, Bubbles!

Does your preschooler love bubbles? Come join us tomorrow at 6 pm at the Syracuse Farmers Market! Discovery Adventures Preschool will be doing a mini class, 30 min, open to all. We'll be exploring important questions like: What letter does 'bubble' start with? How can I move like a bubble? Does the shape of the wand effect the shape of the bubble? Come read, dance, experiment, and laugh with us tomorrow! For ideas of how to extend the learning and fun with bubbles at home go to our "Bubble" Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/hillarysteab/bubble-bubble/

Hillary Steab 6/26/15 Hillary Steab 6/26/15

Promotion Offer to End Soon

Enroll your child on or before June 30th and waive the $40 deposit! Only a few more days left, so act now and join the adventure at Discovery Adventures Preschool!

Hillary Steab 6/19/15 Hillary Steab 6/19/15

ART

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." - Albert Einstein

I love doing art with kids! Especially at a young age, art should be about exploring, experimenting, and having fun. We will enjoy adventures in art that expand knowledge and creativity. I've adopted the motto: Process over Product! What that means for you is that the art your student creates will be uniquely their own. For example, if we are doing art in connection to the letter B, instead of gluing paper down to look like a basket, your student may create an art piece with buttons or experiment with different shades of blue. I strive to create artistic experiences that are rich, rather than a specific outcome of what I think the art should look like.

I look forward to creating with my little artists this fall at Discovery Adventures Preschool!

Hillary Steab 6/12/15 Hillary Steab 6/12/15

Props for Dramatic Play

Dramatic play is an important part of preschool as it helps develop children's social and emotional skills, language and thinking skills, and nurtures the imagination! I have a minor in theatre and I currently teach summer theatre camps at Utah Children's Theatre. I have found great success using drama in the classroom! I'm excited to use the props I've collected, including over 20 puppets, more than 30 plush animal (with several adorable sets of mother/baby animals), lots of costumes including masks, hats, and more! Dramatic play is valuable in and of itself but at Discovery Adventures Preschool, we step it up a notch by incorporating the academic topics and skills we've been studying. Plus, using our imagination is just plain fun! (You can find links to great dramatic play printables on our Pinterest account.)

Hillary Steab 5/12/15 Hillary Steab 5/12/15

Chloe Sunshine Playground

Discovery Adventures Preschool is so excited and honored to have the new Chloe Sunshine Playground right in our neighborhood! Before or after preschool class, you simply must let your little cutie play here! It's big, beautiful, fenced, and accessible to kids of all abilities with it's many great wheelchair-friendly features! So many fun memories to be made!

Hillary Steab 5/4/15 Hillary Steab 5/4/15

New Promotional Offer!

Searching for a good deal? You've discovered an amazing one! Keeping a small teacher to student ratio is important at Discovery Adventures Preschool, as it's a major factor in high-quality education. Early registration allows me to know in advance if we'll need an additional teacher. So, here's the exciting news for you: if you enroll before June 30th, we'll waive the deposit! This great discount will be for this year only, so be sure to spread the word!

Hillary Steab 4/24/15 Hillary Steab 4/24/15

Learning in Fun Places

I was able to take some time with my kids to go to two museums in the last week. We went to Utah Museum of Fine Arts for their "Third Saturday For Families" event. Did you know every third Saturday of the month you can take your kids (for FREE!) to do a different art activity each month? I love it! This month, we perused their collection that included some protest posters. Then we created our own posters to explore this art form. My little girl seemed to be protesting forced obedience. He he he. My son's poster reads: Less School! (Says the teachers son. Sheesh!) The museum also had Club Cultural Quetzalcoatl perform and my son got to learn the dances with them. I love taking advantage of educational opportunities in the community.

The Leonardo Museum hosts excellent Educator Workshops that I love to get great ideas from. My son came with me and we had a great time playing in their STEAM labs together!

I'm getting some more inspiration for Discovery Adventures Preschool this coming fall!

Hillary Steab 4/13/15 Hillary Steab 4/13/15

The Adventure Begins

Starting a preschool... wow! I am so excited! I am looking forward getting to meet my little learners and their families. I LOVE teaching and can't wait to do it right at home with adorable preschoolers. Although my kids are not the right ages to attend preschool this year, they love the idea.

Thank you for visiting my site and taking the time to learn about Discovery Adventures Preschool! Thank you for choosing to be part of the adventure!