Preschool progress report

I've decided to do one of these preschool (daycare) updates every few months. The older kids at preschool have portfolios and the younger kids have daily record books. They write about things that the kids have been doing, and they stick photos in as well. Tyler's record book comes home with him every day for us to look at, but we only get to see Ethan's portfolio every few months. So here is an update of what the boys have been learning at preschool over the few months.
I know this post is very long, but hopefully you'll find some of it entertaining!

Anecdotes from Ethan's preschool portfolio:

Devon and Ethan were playing aeroplanes today. They built an aeroplane out of our climbing frame and a plank of wood, then with their arms stretched out, away they flew. They talked about the pilot that was in charge of the plane.
Devon was tipping his wings so he could turn the corner. Ethan was looking down at all the houses and people below him. He wanted to fly all the way to space and back again so he was going to speed up. Devon wanted to fly all day long.

Devon and Ethan were playing remote control vehicles today.
Devon was a Big Blue Motorbike that could go really fast. He was going to speed to the Library to get one of his favourite books. It was about a dragon. Ethan was a Green Sports Car that only felt like going slow today. Ethan was going to drive to the Dairy and buy a raspberry chocolate bar, which he was going to open when he got back to preschool.
[There is a photo of Ethan and Devon, sitting at the table together]

Ethan and Devon were playing with the plastic animals. Ethan picked up a zebra. "Marty can fly", he said.
"Yeah, Marty can fly because that's his name, Marty", said Devon.
"I have the Madagascar movie at home", said Ethan. "Me too", said Devon.
They both laughed and flew their animals around the room, they were singing "we like to move it, move it" (a song from the movie).
They flew across the room and met Ollie who had an ice cream truck.
"How do you do?" asked Ethan, putting on a voice. Ollie described all the different types of ice cream flavours he had. They bought an ice cream each and they flew off - "to fight crime."
[There is a photo of Ethan and Devon, sitting on the mat, playing with the toy animals]

Ethan was sitting outside under the climbing frame. He was holding a twig which he had threaded dry leaves onto.
"One, two, three" he said. He began singing, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me."
He blew on the twig cake.
[There is a photo of Ethan, sitting under the climbing frame, holding his twig cake]

Teacher comments:
- Ethan and Devon play well together, with good communication skills.
- Ethan and Devon both express their ideas in their play.
- Ethan is always looking at what is going on around him.
- Ethan enjoys playing with his friends.
- Ethan expresses himself and his ideas well.
- What an imagination and a fantastic way of expressing it!

Excerpts from Tyler's preschool daily record book:

23.01.06
Tyler helped me put all the toys away today, great help little man!
Tyler loves to join in with everyone when we put the music on. He especially loves shaking the shakers.

9.02.06
Tyler enjoyed painting this morning, mixing both the blue and white paints together.
Tyler fell asleep during lunch and ate the rest when he woke up!

28.02.06
Today we made a big tent inside. Tyler thought this was so much fun. He kept running in and out with a great big smile on his face!
Today we did face painting. Tyler was very patient while we did a cat face. When he looked in the mirror he got a bit of a fright!

21.03.06
Today we went for a walk to the beach and park. Tyler had a great time playing in the sand and on the swings. Tyler was also very confident on the playground. He would walk cautiously across the bridge, then smile when he got to the other side.

30.03.06
Tyler likes to sit on the chairs in the lounge and read stories with Olivia. They show the pictures to each other.
Today Tyler had fun playing with a bunch of carpet samples. He would line them up in a row.

11.04.06
Today we got a new grocery set with a cutlery set. Tyler especially liked the cake. He would pretend to lick the icing off!
Tyler enjoys building towers with Jake, using blocks.

18.04.06
Tyler always enjoys reading books, especially while sitting in the teacher's chair!
Tyler likes to put the dog masks on and pretend walking on all fours like a dog. So cute!
Today we playing cooking with flour and our tea set. Tyler enjoyed this and pretended to cook the flour in the toy microwave.

20.04.06
Tyler played downstairs with Ethan today. Tyler gave Ethan lots of lovely cuddles.
Tyler enjoyed the new bikes, he zoomed around with Jake and pushed them up and down the deck.

04.05.06
Today Tyler sat with Lily and helped her put the shapes into the shape dispenser. They worked very well together.
Tyler gets very excited when we blow bubbles outside. He'll chase them and stamp on them yelling out "bubbles" as they fly around and land on the ground.
Tyler always gets excited if he sees Ethan through the fence. Sometimes they give each other a big hug then go off and play with their friends.

25.05.06
Today we put a Spiderman cape on Tyler and straight away he said "Ethan".
Tyler likes to do pretend water painting on the fence outside. This keeps him very busy.

20.06.06
Tyler plays dress-ups with Raquel, and waves and says "goodbye" as they pretend to go shopping.
Tyler enjoys playing in the family area, with the pretend food, dolls and highchairs.