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April 11, 2016 by Admin Leave a Comment

Spring at Discoveries

Discoveries is Looking Forward to Spring

At Discoveries we are looking forward to spring! Lots of fun crafts and outdoor activities. We will try our hand at gardening. Starting with flowers to watch them grow from seeds to beautiful blooms in our back playground flower box. We are planting a potato patch in the front raised bed. We will learn about how to grow plants from seeds, rooting from parts of plants and established plants. We will discover what it takes to make a plant grow water, sunshine and lots of encouragement. We plan on having a fenced in garden for other crops and have a wonderful tasting party after a harvest. We may even have pumpkins from our own patch for the fall.
Earth Day will be a big part of our month as we learn about caring for our fragile planet. A trip to the University of Nevada Planetarium helped to spark our interest during spring break. We will make paper from recycled ingredients. We will conduct many science experiments and share our results.
We hope to have some visitors to help us learn about the Reno, Sparks, Spanish Springs and Washoe County area we live in.

The weather is getting warmer and the longer days of sunlight are welcome sight after the long weather.
We are planning a graduation celebration for those moving up to Kindergarten at local elementary schools. Before we know it, school will be out and the summer fun will begin.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Discoveries Preschool, Discoveries Preschool Sparks, Discoveries Sparks, Spring

April 10, 2016 by Admin Leave a Comment

Dinosaur Eggs at Discoveries

Dinosaur Week at Discoveries

The end of February brought Dinosaur week to the Alligator Class.  They were Archaeologists looking for the Alphabet in the sand, fossil hunters and of course dinosaur detectives themselves. They even did a dinosaur egg hunt; they went out searching to the archaeology site on the playground for dinosaur eggs. The eggs were made of baking soda by Miss Jessica’s special recipe.  A surprise was inside. We even invited the Monkeys and Mustangs to join in our science fun. Before the hunt, the Mustangs invited the other classes for a story about dinosaurs.

After finding the eggs each child got to discover what was inside.  To help with fine motor skills and have some science fun, the students used spray bottles to experiment with the different reactions between water and vinegar on the baking soda eggs. We also tried droppers to uncover the hidden secret inside.

The excitement grew as the eggs fizzed and dissolved before our very eyes. Inside was a baby dinosaur. We discovered that the vinegar and water melted the baking soda faster than just plain water.

An amazing time was shared by all.

Filed Under: Events, News Tagged With: Child Care Sparks, Discoveries childcare, Discoveries Preschool, Discoveries Preschool Sparks, Discoveries Sparks, Discovery Preschool Sparks

January 19, 2016 by Admin Leave a Comment

Discoveries Preschool Visits Discovery Museum

Museum Fun

As part of the fun of winter holiday break, the Mustang class went to the Discovery Museum on Dec. 31st. It was a great way to end the year. We were joined by friends, parents and grandparents to help chaperone. Thanks to all the adults who made this possible.

The main exhibit was Monster Fish. The large life size models of the fish were amazing. There was a movie to explain about the life of the giant fish and how they are being threatened by the pollution made by humans.

There were other exhibits to participate in as well. The Inside Out Anatomy Experience exhibit contained different aspects of our body. We learned how parts of our body work, how we age and how our bodies heal. We looked through a type of microscope to see our blood veins in our hands. We could move the bones of a person, hear our heart beat and listen to sounds of our body.

One of our favorites was the Cloud Climber. Cloud climber stretches 3 stories, to the top of the museum. Its many levels, challenging visitors to reach and climb, take risks, create their own adventures, blaze a trail, and are brave, feel competent, have fun, and learn about the environment.

Below the cloud was the Truckee River Connection. This is a great water feature with damns to divert the water, floating objects, a water fall and even a pretend floating inner tube so we could imagine floating down the river. Of course kids got wet, but that is the fun of it. In the next room there was a fishing game, a tent for camping and other hands on activities.

We took time to build with blocks, jump up and down to make an earthquake and sit in a glider airplane. We took part in a musical science experience of making music by never touching an instrument but by moving our hands.

Lunch at the Museum

We brought our lunch boxes and enjoyed time to sit and relax while we ate in the museums lunch room. After a relaxing lunch, well as relaxing as possible as lunch with 20 plus active students, we returned an experience the great adventures at the museum.

The Nevada Stories room had a mine and a campfire. We could ride a horse look inside a wagon that went on the wagon train across Nevada. There were fossils to do rubbing and artifacts to dig up. The old fashion food stand gave us a chance to sort and count the fruits and vegetables.

A wonderful time was had by all we agreed this is a marvelous place to visit.

 

Filed Under: Parent Tips Tagged With: Discoveries Preschool, Discoveries Preschool Sparks, learning, Museum, Museum Reno, Preshoocl

October 30, 2015 by Admin Leave a Comment

Firefighters Vist Our Younger Students

Firefighters visiting our school.
Firefighters visiting our school.

The children’s eyes lit up when they saw that big red fire engine sitting in our parking lot. On Friday Oct.2nd firefighters from Washoe County Fire Department, Station #17 on La Posada Dr. came to visit. The firefighters told the students all about being safe and what to do if there is a fire in their home.

The firefighters made learning fun.

They were very aware of the children’s attention span and spoke on the children’s level. One of the important aspects of fighting fires is wearing the special safe clothing during a fire. As the firefighter put on all of his protective gear, i.e. hat, coat, gloves, face mask, the fire captain spoke about safety and the children watched. The fire captain explained why they wear each item and that it can look very scary. The sound of the oxygen mask was the scariest.

They stressed the importance of the children touching the bedroom door and to stay in their bedroom until the firefighters come to get them. They gave each child a chance to hug the dressed firefighter and see that they are there to help even if their appearance is frightening.

After the hugging experience the fire fighter removed the protective gear and returned to his plain uniform. Then we had a chance to climb into the fire truck. It was so big; some children chose not to get in. The fire chief gave everyone a fire hat, a fire fighter sticker badge and a pencil.

They said good bye and drive off with just the lights flashing. No siren to scare the children. Later that day the children made a big thank you card for all the fire fighters. A few days later Miss Dawn and some of the students took it to the station and gave the card to the fire fighters. I’m sure everyone including the firefighters had an awesome time.

We found the event to be very informative. The children said they learned a lot about what to do when a fire erupts near them or in their homes. We would like to thank the firefighters of  #17 fire station one more time for taking the time to help keep our children safe.

Discover your child’s early learning success story. Click here.

Filed Under: Parent Tips Tagged With: Discoveries childcare, Discoveries Preschool, fire safety, firefighters, firefighters visit, protective gear, Washoe County Fire Department

October 27, 2015 by Admin Leave a Comment

Our Preschool’s Xylophone

During the summer program our preschool incorporated a wood working center for the elementary school students. We wanted them to experience drafting a plan, thinking the plan through to achievement, and just how much time and labor go into creating their vision.

Instant gratification is part of our society. Many societal projects are done in a no time. For our wood projects we took our time. We started outside by sanding all the edges. We learned that different colors of sand paper had different textures. We also learned which grain of sand paper to use.

It was a great way to release whatever tension the children needed to let go of. The older children helped the younger children when they got tired of  pounding blocks of wood together. Each child chose the pieces of wood to use, how many nails, and what was  the best way to attach the wood pieces together. Some made buildings, others made boats or cars. They painted the wooden projects and proudly took them  home.

After watching this process  the pandas and monkeys wanted a chance to sand,  build and hammer. That’s when I discovered the outdoor  xylophone on Pintrest. The children always like to smack and pound things. Why not let them build something they can pound on. So, I went to the hardware store and bought the wood cut at different lengths and a wooden dowel cut into 4 pieces for the mallets.

The 3yr  and 4 yr olds started to sand the boards. They were so proud of the work they did. They would take turns holding the boards for each other. We worked for days to get all of the boards sanded. The children really got to experience a long term project. The wood pieces were painted and our handy guy Rob drilled the holes and strung up our new music maker.

A preschool  with many children can be very hard on toys and equipment. I hoped that the students would take pride in all the work and team effort and take good care of the instrument. The first few days it was in constant use. Everyone needed a turn. We talked about the colors of the boards and the length of the boards. Even though some boards were the same colors they did not sound the same.

We sing songs while  other students play the instrument  and everyone anxiously waits their turn. Some children prefer just one mallet at a time to play. Of course some want to bang on anything with the sticks. We  remind them that the music was made by the sticks on the boards. Sometimes I take speakers out and we play with the music. We hold band concerts and everyone joins in the fun.

Thanks for reading. If you would like to discover your child’s early learning success story click here.

Filed Under: Parent Tips Tagged With: Discoveries childcare, Discoveries Preschool, monkeys, pandas, Pinterest, sand paper, wood working, wooden boats, xylophone, younger children

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Discoveries Preschool and Childcare

(775) 425-2273

253 Egyptian Dr
Sparks, Nevada 89441

Mon-Fri 6:30AM - 6PM

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My husband and I live by the airport and and work in the same area and south Reno. We drive a 30 each way to take our kiddos to the best preschool! Th… Read more
Katie Thomason
I absolutely love Discoveries!!!! The staff is very friendly and very loving when it comes to the children that are in their care!
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I have my three children that go here. My oldest is in the before and after school program. My middle child is in the 2yr old cub room. My newest addi… Read more
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