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Reminder, Closed for Labor Day
We'll be closed on Monday and hope you enjoy the long weekend. We will reopen on Tuesday, 9/6.

In Case You Missed It...
An interesting conversation on kids and added sugar and some equally interesting debates on artificial sweeteners this week, on Vermont Edition. Thought we'd pass it along for a listen. And if you don't want to listen, let me sum up. The less sugar for children, the better, and it's really, truly, everywhere. 

Classroom Highlights
Infant I: This week we have been working on physical and spacial awareness with the older children, especially as they explore around the younger ones. With new movers and stationary students, we, the teachers simply act as mediators, guiding movers and reminding them to move in a different direction as we sometimes stumble and trip over and on top of each other. Before we intervene, we alert the children to what we notice: "You body is close to his, try going around him." We are trying to demonstrate gentleness and bring an awareness to cause and effect. "If you fall on him, it might hurt and make him sad." We are extending the same language and approach to being gentle with our hands in interactions with peers. 


Infant II: We spent more time outside, just slowing down, relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. We have been watching clouds change shape as they move above us. And while watching the sky, we often see birds or planes overhead as well. We have been doing a fair bit of dancing this week, holding hands and moving in circle together. This has been a child initiated activity, with teachers adding a little singing to the play. We have been working on using our words with peers and letting them know what we need instead of hitting or shouting. Our transition to cots has gone very well. We are no longer using the cribs, and everyone is sleeping really nicely on their new cots. 

Toddler Room: Great weather, great week. Our new students continue to learn the daily routines, with our old pros eager to show them the ropes. Areas we are working on include using language to express ourselves and our needs, especially during moments of frustration, additionally we continue to work on being kind and gentle with one another. One way we saw this work happenings was having a larger class share and take turns with the classroom materials. We introduced watercolor paints and brushes to the children and they loved the vibrancy of the colors as well as dipping the brushes in both the water and paint. 





Preschool I: Did you know Eric Carle has a cat named Annie? We do! And he is 87...which of course is the age of a grandparent or great-grandparent. We have been very interested in our author study of Eric Carle. We read his books all week and listened to different recordings of his work as well. We carefully examined his work and talked about the process of collage Carle uses. We tried it out this week in a multi day process: Monday we painted tissues paper singular colors. Tuesday and Wednesday we cut the paper into small shapes and sorted them by color. Thursday and Friday we used glue to attach the colored shapes to paper to make our our art, most of which turned out pretty animal centric, like Eric Carle. Outside of Carle-land, we have been really working on our circle manners, and are keeping pretty strict regarding expected and unexpected behaviors during this special time of day. Maps have been another area of exploration, and we are noticing playground wildlife, such as chipmunks and crows, which we may start to study next week. A note to parents: Please be sure your child has at least one veggie choice and a protein in their lunch every day. Thanks!




Preschool 2: This week the class welcomed Jacob, a new teacher who has recently relocated to VT from Wyoming. Jacob will be in the center classroom, so please take the time to introduce yourself. The children have been showing Jacob all about the ins and outs of their class, and learning about him as well. In this last week of August, the group has been talking about keeping helpful hands, and making choices for the good of others. On the playground, that teamwork has shown itself through building projects as the children work together to move, build and create. Books of interest this week have been Elmer the Elephant and Caps for Sale. Both were read and re-read multiple times, with Caps for Sale being the real favorite. We even practiced walking, slowly, carefully like the Peddler balancing objects on our own heads. 


Pre-K: We are looking forward to next week when our new teacher Kate is due to begin!
This week we have been enjoying quiet but busy mornings with puzzles, shape recognition games, and careful observations of our Black Swallowtail Caterpillars. Since switching some furniture around we are much better able to utilize our science/nature table and enjoy looking at objects through our magnifying glasses. There maybe one or two more changes returning from the long weekend as our interest in trains has resurfaced. We've spent much of our outdoor time down the hill in campfire forest. We talk a lot about living vs. dead, and notice the changes that are happening as the seasons begin to change. The play themes that evolve in the forest are always entertaining and our social skills are at their best! Children offer to help each other climb the hill, find each other fishing poles and marshmallow sticks, and work together contentedly on full scale construction projects. You may have noticed a bit more dirt embedded in our clothes this week! It's a good thing. Using their bodies as logging trucks, excavators, backhoes and more, children haul dirt and logs down the big hill while singing "Can we build it? Yes we can!" Fishing off the "fire boat" has also been popular as well as "camping in the big tent."

As Seen At MVS
Here are a few photos from Pre-K adventures at "Campfire Forest." Check back soon for more photos from our week!









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