Warm Fall Days

What a beautiful few fall days we’ve had! This week we started a new routine of breaking into small group to do focused activities outside in the woods. The majority of our outside time is spent in self-directed play, an incredibly important part of our school day. However, we’re taking between 5 and 15 minutes (about the attention span of a four year old) to introduce new activities to the kids in small groups. This week we made the letter M out of sticks, collected and sorted leaves, and used tweezers to pick buckwheat seeds off their plants.

We’ve also been working on our kindness curriculum. This week we created a “Kindness Garden” on the wall in the classroom. Whenever we see a child being kind to a classmate we put a seed of kindness sticker onto the garden. Ask your child about it, and have them show you where it is in the classroom.

Finally, we want to let you know that the pre-k team is working with a teaching coach this year to implement practices from the Pyramid Model. See the handout in Thursday folders to learn more about the practices that help us support the social and emotional learning of your wonderful kiddos.

Self-Care Tip: Shoes!

Your child is capable of so much, and you can help support their independence by teaching them how to take care of themselves. In school we’re supporting children in putting on their own shoes. We remind kids to loosen up the laces and the tongue, use your hands, slide one finger behind your heel and push! Give your kiddos the time and space to practice this on their own, and before you step in to help ask yourself “Do they truly need my help?” Sometimes our well intentioned help actually hinders the learning and independence of our children!