Children were asked to bring a Valentine Gram to “deliver” to each of their peers during rug circle time while recipients were taught the importance of saying thank you and being appreciative of the kind gesture. Preschool Administrator Lenora “Ponie” Mojado said parents brought treats for their students to share with classmates.

The youngest preschoolers were given a family project to decorate a box they could bring to school to use to collect all the grams from their classmates. The boxes clearly reflected the children’s interests, from Spiderman to princesses and Pet Patrol characters.

Nakasha’ Way Tohee loves trains, cars and anything that moves according to his mom Celena Morillo. He had fun making a “friendship train” and she enjoyed helping him see his idea come to fruition. His “grams” were dinosaur cards that had candy connected to them.

“He loves stickers, too, so he put them all over the top of his train,” she said. “I like how the teachers here are so interactive with the kids.” She recalled a past project where they were asked to create a cultural doll and explain the meaning behind it all. “It really helps them with understanding where they come from.”

The class’s friendship party started with the kids decorating their own heart-shaped cookie at their place at the table. That was followed by instructional aide Jess Thompson and teacher Julissa Garcia taking around the goodies brought in for the day. Each one was announced with the student whose family supplied it asking them to thank that student, which they did in unison.

Pre-K teacher Ana Garcia took full advantage of the holiday and spent the week teaching her students meaningful lessons. Their letter of the week was V for valentines, their shape was a heart and their color was pink, which they also learned how to say in the Luiseño language. They also sang a song with the phrase “I love you” in Luiseño. Garcia incorporates language into all of her daily lessons and activities.

“We shared lots of books and stories about valentines and friends, too,” Garcia said. She was joined this week by a new instructional aide, Amanda Juarez, who has 20 years of experience in early childhood education. Her knowledge was evident when she engaged the children in talking about their treats; asking them the names and colors of their fruits and having them count them.

Alaina Adkins kept her kindergarten students busy with a science lesson before they distributed their grams and enjoyed the treats that were donated by staff and families. With the help of instructional aide Jasmine Basquez, students were given a tray filled with baking soda and a bowl of colorful candy conversation hearts. Then each one received a small cup filled with purple or red vinegar and an eyedropper. They were instructed to place the candy hearts onto the baking soda (and not to eat them) and then fill the dropper with some vinegar to release on each of the hearts.

The fizzy and bubbly reaction caused lots of oohs and ahhs from the kids, with Mav Vega exclaiming, “This is the best day ever!” and getting agreement from classmates at his table. This STEM activity was a lesson in cause and effect as mixing baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) demonstrates a chemical reaction producing carbon dioxide gas. It also served as a reinforcement of fine motor skills by having them use the eyedropper unassisted. Most kids covered the entire tray with drops of vinegar to watch it fizz over and over again while others made shapes from the new pasty material they had created.

After washing their hands, they were excused to sit down at the rug area. Each student was called to take their grams around the circle and make sure that everyone received one to put inside the shopping bag they had decorated with hearts. Marcie Brane was the first one to begin handing out her items and she got a “Thank you, bestie” reply and other heartfelt thanks from her classmates.

Next up for the Soboba Tribal Preschool is their Bingo Night fundraiser on March 6 at the Soboba Sports Complex. Tickets are selling fast with all proceeds benefiting the children’s annual end-of-school year trip. For $20, the ticket holder receives four Bingo game play slips, dinner and a raffle ticket. Extra game slips and raffle tickets can be purchased at the event. For more information, 951-487-8732.

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