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Lifelong Learning

The Power of Play Workshop: Location Change
Last week we mentioned the Power of Play workshop that is coming up on April 29th. The workshop has had a location change and will now be held at the Johnson United Church on Main Street in Johnson. The time is 6-8pm. Additionally, there will be another training in nearby Waterbury on May 16th, stay tuned for more info on that as the date approaches. 

Lifelong Learning: MVS Teachers Spend Weekend as Students
Friday and Saturday the teachers of MVS attended early child childhood conferences in both Burlington and St. Johnsbury. In Burlington, the conference was hosted by UVM, and the theme was, "Creating Early Childhood Environments that are Ready for all Children: The Role of Observation, Reflection and Courage." In addition to this theme, the conference also celebrated the anniversary of the UVM Campus Children's Center, a preschool with deep roots in the Reggio Emilia philosophy of early childhood education. 

Presentations included speakers from UVM professors, the co-chair of the North American Reggio Alliance, Teachers from the Campus Children's Center, and experts in STEAM curriculum (Science/Technology/Engineering/Arts/Mathematics. You may be familiar with "STEM," note the addition of the "A" to reflect the integration of the arts). 

Some of the key takeaways from the conference included the following:
1. The importance of the period of early childhood, and how it's unique place in our lives requires our careful attention.
2. Examining the ways in which young children learn. We can study through coursework, texts, and professional development, but it is truly through our observations, reflections and intentionally designed curriculum that we are able to know and understand the children in our care and who they are as learners. 
3. Overall focus on the creation and reevaluation of environments that foster new learning. As teachers, we have to be perpetually aware of the environment we create and how it is or is not meeting the needs of the children. When something does not work, we must make thoughtful changes. 

This conference was a an enlightening one to say the least, and one we will be thinking about in the coming weeks and months. 

Over in St. Johnsbury, teachers spent the day at Springfield College, where the agenda was: "Getting Outside" (how appropriate!). This full day conference offered a variety of different workshops, all with the main focus of bringing children closer to the natural world to explore, imagine and play. 

Teachers attended workshops on specific topics such as: movement games, yoga instruction, field and stream investigations, human play instincts, nature based lesson plan development, playground design, sensory learning and more. To be sure, we left with some new additions to our "bag of tricks" as well as research based strategies to improve our commitment to nature/play based education. Additionally, our very own Danielle won the door prize; a set of child binoculars for all of our outdoor exploration at MVS!

These opportunities are exceptionally valuable for us as educators. While it is not always easy to carve out the time or obtain the necessary funding for vital professional development, it's essential to our growth as teachers and as a school. Our hope is to be able to attend more conferences, courses and professional development workshops throughout the state and region to continue to bring the best practices in early childhood education to your children. We appreciate your support in our quest to be lifelong learners! 

Classroom Happenings
Infant I: Mirror, mirror on the wall, you are the most interesting one of all. The babies have been very fascinated with mirrors. This week, the teachers observed the babies watching their own faces, kicking their feet and seeing the motion in the mirror, and most recently, watching the activity behind them in the mirror. Another interesting development in the room has been the advent of babies "talking" to themselves, making a variety of sounds and noises when playing alone. 

Infant II: The kids were thrilled to have Sarah in the classroom this week. Overall it was a calm and peaceful week. The children mixed up a batch of bubbles with a new recipe, and really enjoyed watching them float outside. The making of the bubbles itself was a really joyful science lesson as the children added and mixed the ingredients. Time outside this week was great, despite a day with a little hail...which no one seemed to appreciate!

Toddler I: The class was very excited to have the bunnies make their move to their outdoor hutch, they have been observing them as they hop, dig and munch on their food. The class has also been noticing a lot of noise from landscaping equipment. They were interested in listening to the different sounds of leaf blowers, power brooms, and mowers. The teachers in Toddler I ask that if you do not currently have a family photo up in the class that you please bring one along next week.

Toddler II: The kids have enjoyed celebrating a few birthdays over the past week. Any reason to sing, is one that the kids are happy to embrace. One game the children worked on this week was the classic, "Red Light, Green Light" where children stop and go at the call of the red or green light. The kids have been trying to take in the concept of starting and stopping on words other than start/go and stop. 

Pre-K: The class continues to be very interested in birds. On their trip to the library, they picked up some new bird books, including one called The Boy Who Drew Birds about John James Audubon. In their time in the woods, the kids have been listening to the variety of bird calls. And this week they also spent time on the "deer playground," a new play area they discovered in the forest.

As Seen at MVS












Thanks for Reading
-Sam 

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