The Cascade Children’s Festival

We had an amazing time!

I have to admit, when we first got to the festival and set up our tiny little "The Village Preschool" tent, with our home made activities and hand outs, and then looked around us at all of the amazing activities that other organizations were putting on…well, we were a little worried.

We decided to think of ourselves as “The Little Tent That Could”.

For the whole hour before the festival started I imagined spending the next 6 hours watching children run by our tent straight for the bouncy house or face painting but amazingly enough, within minutes of opening, our play-dough table and water table were both filled with kids happily playing. Most of the children stayed and played for at least 10 minutes at a time and there were only two 5 minute periods of time when both tables were empty giving me a chance to recharge. Fortunately, the event gave me the opportunity to meet lots of really cool parents living here in bend, and our booth’s popularity reassured me that I still know what little ones love to do.

Several of the families came back to our tent more than once through out the day. It was so much fun! It was great to find out more about what our local parents are looking for in a preschool. Everyone was eager to contribute their thoughts and ideas and I will definitely remember the conversations I had with both mothers and fathers that day as I plan future activities and the weekly curriculum.

We will absolutely be heading back to the festival next year.

For now, we are turning our attention to our opening day, August 1st. We are so excited and thankful for all of the support we have received from local families as well as some wonderful providers in the area. We already have some really cool families and children enrolled and feel extra optimistic about the upcoming months.

Playskool Sippy Cups Pose Choking Hazard To Young Children

Check out the link below for more info.

Playskool choking hazard

Mice at the Old Mill Cinemas????

I love going to the movies!!! No really… I love the movies. So I was pretty freaked out when I received the famous “mouse feces in popcorn” e-mail. First I freaked out because my husband and I had literally gone to the movies the day before and had, of course, eaten gobs of popcorn. Then I freaked out because “holy !#*! what will we do if they shut the theatre down!” After all, it is just down the road from us.

Well, I have to admit after I took a few deep breaths and gave it some thought I found myself a little skeptical about the e-mail. It sounded like there was some truth to it… but like there was also a bit of exaggeration. My gut told me that some in house gossip and an unhappy employee might have mixed and created a tangent that was at least a little over done. Thus I decided to wait and find out what the Bulletin Reporter (who jumped right on the story) uncovered. Here is the link to what she wrote: “mice in the popcorn”.

I have to admit. I’m still a little grossed out. I’m disappointed that there is as much truth to it as there is, however, I do believe the now infamous e-mail was a bit over dramatic. The bottom line is that I’m still going to go to the movies at the Old Mill…but I won’t be eating the popcorn (it’s never been that good anyways).

I hope you will all take the time to read this report and then make your own decisions. Maybe we’ll all save a bit of money on our nights out to the movie now that we will think twice about buying the overpriced popcorn. Not much of a loss in my opinion.

The Village Preschool joins COBRA'S 19th Annual Cascade Children’s Festival

Saturday the 21st from 9 AM until 4 PM the Cascade Children’s Festival will get underway down town in Drake Park. This is an annual event put on by COBRA (Central Oregon Battering & Rape Alliance). “The Festival is one of the primary fundraising activities of COBRA, which provides comprehensive domestic violence and sexual assault services and promotes the value of living life free from violence. The organization has a 24-bed emergency shelter in Bend and counseling offices in Redmond, Madras, Prineville and Sisters, with administrative offices in Bend.”
The festival includes many fun events for children including the stuffed animal corral and fishing booth, face painting, hat making, beanbag toss, dancing, soccer, frog pond, coloring contest, food, music, and entertainment.

And this year just as we are on the brink of opening our doors for the first time, The Village Preschool will be joining in the festivities. We are so excited to be part of this festival and knowing that all of the proceeds go to such a wonderful organization fills our hearts with joy. Our booth that will include water and play dough tables along with information on our program.

For the next two days James, the girls, and I will be working hard making tons of play dough for kids to play with as well as take home. We are all excited to have this opportunity to contribute to and take part in such and important community activity and we hope that you will all come down to join in the fun and get to know us personally.

Building it up.

Turning my house into a preschool has been a fantastic experience so far. My husband and I spent the last week turning the lower level of our house into The Village Preschool. We moved all of our home furniture up to the second floor of the house, went shopping for supplies, and attacked the task of making our very own preschool furniture. That’s right! We spent hours side by side sawing, hammering, sanding, and painting to create our own cubbies and child sized table and benches. In my entire life, I had never used a power tool, and now I’m addicted! Who would have known that I could become a carpenter?

How satisfying to sit down at the end of the week and see the houses amazing transformation from an adult home into a child’s playing and learning center. I am so excited to share my home with little ones and their families. We started tours today and they have gone wonderfully so far. I can tell already that we have made the right choice for our family as well as our community. I can’t wait to see what happens next!