A New Tree!

Thank you to our friends at Leave No Child Inside for their generous donation of a new tree for our play yard.  We are looking forward to all of the shade we will get from this tree in a few months.  Thank you, LNCI!

Cincinnati Museum Center -- Stuffee, the anatomy doll

Earlier this week we enjoyed a visit from the Cincinnati Museum Center. They brought "Stuffee," an anatomy doll, to help teach the children about how the body works.

The kids were able to put "food" in Stuffee's mouth and feed him! Then they unzipped him to see where the food goes and talked about how healthy food helps our bodies.  Stuffee's organs were removed from his body and the children learned all about what the organs are and what they do.  Very neat!

Putting food in Stuffee's mouth

Proudly holding up one of Stuffee's organs

Using real stethoscopes to listen for their heartbeats

Ohio Pre-Kindergarten Content Standard:

• Science: Life Science
• Observations of Living Things
• Similarities and differences exist among individuals of the same kinds of plants and animals. 
• Science: Observations of the Environment
• Science Inquiry and Application
• Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.

To view more pictures from the Cincinnati Museum Center's recent visit go to:

Endeavor Learning Center's facebook photo album

Cincinnati Golf Center

Some pictures from the last field trip of the summer...

Apples & Johnny Appleseed

Jane Gonzales, of Mother's Nature 2, Inc., was recently at our school for a second visit. She brings nature programs to schools for young children. The topic for this visit was all about "Apples & Johnny Appleseed."  

This fun program combined costumes, storytelling, and hands-on activities.  The kids loved it...especially when they were pretending to be trees! They talked about different kinds/colors of apples, how apple trees grow from seeds, and of course -- Johnny Appleseed.  One of the children even dressed up like Johnny Appleseed.  

Placing blossoms and leaves on the apple tree.

Adding red apples to the tree. 

We are tiny apple seeds!

We sprouted! Now we are growing into big apple trees...

Look at our branches spreading out!

Dressing up like Johnny Appleseed and examining the
various types of gear he would have needed for his travels. 

The kids enjoyed hearing about how Johnny Appleseed carried
his tin pot on his head. What a silly hat! 

Would Johnny Appleseed take this on his voyage?

Maybe he would take this?  

 

Ohio Pre-Kindergarten Content Standards:

• Science
• Science Inquiry and Application
• Observe and ask questions about the natural environment.
• Life Science -- Observations of Living Things
• There are many distinct environments in Ohio that support different kinds of organisms. 
• English Language Arts
• Speaking and Listening Standards
• Comprehension and Collaboration
• Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. 

Ice Cream Social

Once a year we celebrate the end of a fun summer with a cold sweet treat.  The summer campers take over and plan the entire thing.  This year they worked with Ms. Deb to plan the menu and make a list of items that they would need to open their own ice cream shop and invite the whole school to their ice cream social. Some of the items on the list were tablecloths, ice cream, chocolate syrup, and Cool Whip.

The kids walked to Kroger with Ms. Allison and Ms. Deb to purchase the items on their list. Everyone got to push one of the child-sized carts and the cashier gave them lots of stickers at the check-out :)  The summer campers invited the classes in one at a time, seated them, took their orders, and served them.  It was a true cooperative effort and the kids worked so well together. We are hoping to make this an end-of-summer annual tradition!

The toddlers are placing their orders with their "waiter."  

The sign that the kids decorated for their ice cream shop.

The summer camp crew is hard at work,
scooping ice cream and adding toppings.

Here is your ice cream!

Taking turns scooping the ice cream...

...and taking turns at the toppings station.  

One happy customer!

She is trying to get individual sprinkles on her spoon.
Who knew eating ice cream involved so many fine motor skills?  :) 

Serving the preschool class.



Want to see more pictures from the ice cream social?
View the photo album on our  Facebook page!  

Field Trip to Mason Sports Park

Earlier this week the summer campers went to Mason Sports Park.  They had a great time exploring this little gem in Mason...particularly the creek!  Thanks to a good rain a few days ago the creek level was perfect for hopping in with our rain boots.  We love any excuse to put our rain boots on and get messy!  Our little campers found all sorts of fun stuff in the creek area (see pictures below). After stomping around in the water they went for a walk on the trail, rolled down a huge hill, ate lunch in the picnic shelter, and had a blast playing on the playground equipment.  They even found some time to pick up some litter!

Having fun walking on the rocks in the creek.

The kids found all sorts of neat things in the creek. He called this his "clam shell."

The summer campers noticed this hibiscus while on a nature walk. 

The kids found a little enclosed area in the trees. They called it their campsite. 

Walking in the creek.

Throwing rocks in the creek.  

Listening to the different sounds the rocks make as they splash.

More rock tossing.

A heart-shaped rock!  "I'm taking this and painting it red for my mom and dad."  

Fun in the woods!

Heading back on the path to the picnic shelter.
Everyone was hungry after playing in the creek!

A little environmentalist at work...collecting litter in the park.

This field trip was a smashing success! Water to splash in, mud, treasures in the creek, a nature trail, a picnic in the shade, a huge hill to roll on, and a playground? Perfect day :)  

Raptor, Inc.

Every year the children at Endeavor vote on an animal to adopt and sponsor. In the past we have adopted animals from the Cincinnati Zoo but this year the kids voted on sponsoring a raptor from Raptor, Inc.  Raptor, Inc. in Cincinnati has been out to our center a couple of times. They are a great local non-profit organization that helps rehabilitate birds of prey and educates the public about them.  

The majority of votes this year went to the American Kestrel. We just received our adoption certificate and photo of our raptor...isn't it beautiful?  

Raptor, Inc. will return to Endeavor Learning Center on August 7th.  We're looking forward to seeing more raptors!

The Greenhouse Project

Greg Phillips, a LEED accredited project manager/project architect, is going to be helping us with our hay bale greenhouse project. A few weeks ago he stopped by to talk to the children about greenhouses. He explained what they are, what they do, how they work, and why we use them.  We'll be breaking ground soon and getting the flooring down for the foundation.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Examples of types of greenhouses.

What do we need to make plants grow?

Looking for the perfect spot for our greenhouse.

  

Using masking tape to make a giant blueprint of the greenhouse.

Drawing a greenhouse.

Sketching ideas for the greenhouse design.

Recording design ideas for our greenhouse.  

Collecting designs and ideas.
The greenhouse will have a door for the kids and a bug door  too!

Various greenhouse designs.

Blueprint for the greenhouse (actual size).