No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. -Hal Borland

News and Reminders:

MVS Clothing Swap April 29 9:00 am - noon at Stowe Elementary School Gym. Please drop off any clothing items in the MVS lobby in a well-marked bag or box. This is a FREE swap to recycle clothing back into the MVS community. There will also be open gym time for the children with bounce houses and snacks. Please contact the Parent Collaboration Committee mvsparents@gmail.com with any questions.

Helen Day Art Center is having the 2nd Art Play Saturday tomorrow. It is for children ages 2-5 years with an adult. There is a $5.00 drop-in fee. Make sure that your child is dressed in clothing that you don't mind getting dirty. The class is being held at the Helen Day Art Center.

Parent Teacher Conferences are being held on April 21st. Each classroom has a sign-up list. Please sign up for a 30-minute block if you are interested in meeting with your child's teacher. We ask that children do not attend these conferences so that we are able to focus on having a productive conversation with parents. If you are unable to make it for this specific date please talk with your child's teacher about setting up an alternate time.

This week has been challenging in terms of weather for us. We keep discussing the upcoming season of spring with the children. We all understand that the rain and mud have not been easy. We are working hard to make sure that the children are all properly dressed before heading out. Thank you to everyone for sending in lots of layers and for taking home the collection of muddy clothing at the end of the day.

Even though we are challenged by the amount of precipitation, the children don't seem too phased. They have really enjoyed the rich sensory experiences that the natural world has presented us. If you have an extra minute or two before picking up your child, you really should watch out a classroom window. There is a lot of cooking, science, exploration, and dramatic play happening. It truly is incredible how developed and involved their play has become.

Classroom Updates

Infant I

We got to spend a lot of time in the infant II classroom as well as outside this week. Our mobile infants love exploring the big climber at their own pace. Things like going down the big slide offer opportunities to challenge themselves and take measured risks. They were also mesmerized by the fish! Outside we have been getting muddy, as expected, and our slightly light layers of clothing have made moving around a bit easier and more enjoyable. Bubbles have been a highlight - we love to watch the older children running around after them and also get caught up in their excitement. Finally, the teachers have been reading an article about infant signing and are hoping to incorporate more signs into our daily routines. Ask us about the sign for "gentle".

Infant II

We tried something new this week, we have been so used to painting on the floor or table, we tried painting standing up. We taped the paper to the wall that we had previously colored on. We took turns in groups of four. They were pretty amazed when they put the blue paint over the crayon marks and it made the crayon more defined. They were very surprised by the results! The children made long strokes and were working and talking about reaching up high and low with their paint brushes. We also taped a piece of fabric down the side of the table while all of the children stood around. We handed them each a marker and allowed them to explore drawing on the fabric with the marker. We then had them pass the markers to the left. They would color for a while and then they would pass their marker along. They listened and followed directions very well.

We have been working on allowing the children more independence while get dressed and undressed which has made a big impact during transitions. Most of the children take their own mittens and hats off. There are even a few that can take off their own boots and most can unzip and zip their zippers. We are continuing to increase opportunities for the children to be independent.

Toddlers
This week we have really concentrated our classroom focus on doing things for ourselves that are developmentally appropriate. We are hard at work on dressing and undressing for both outdoor play and toileting. We are working hard on focusing on the task at hand, unzipping zippers, taking off our muddy boots and hanging up our wet clothes. We are also hard at work on toilet training. The children have learned how to help during this routine and be actively involved. They have also become more aware of the need to use the toilet. We are encouraging the children to let us know when they need to use the bathroom.

The children are loving the increase in opportunities for independence. You can often hear "I DID IT!" and "All by myself," said in our classroom with much enthusiasm. They are so proud of their new skills and love being given the time to figure tasks out on their own. Of course, there is a healthy level of frustration for some that goes along with learning a new task. As teachers, we encourage and support their success by verbally giving directions and guidance. We always let children know that we believe in their skills and are empathetic by letting them know that sometimes it takes several tries before we are successful. When they do work through the struggle the level of pride they have is great!

Preschool I
Another exciting week for us. We have been very excited for walks and adventures off campus. Shannon created an exciting obstacle course for a storm morning in the yoga hallway where we had to practice balance, speed and skill, and negotiation tactics. With the snow quickly melting, we have been creating rivers down the sledding hill with the water they carefully collect in buckets and pans. They have been working with the prek students to create dams and ponds for the water and channels and diversions to watch the water make its' way down the slope. With the melting snow does come mud season. We have been very into digging and collecting rocks. We will continue the rock investigations next week with more comparisons, descriptions, and digging. If you find some at home please feel free to bring them in and share them with the class!

Preschool II

This week Jane joined us for two days. The children are working hard on following directions and routines with our new teacher. They are also excited to explore the outdoors and spend more time showing her our many outdoor classrooms. Jane will be joining us full-time at the end of April.

We put a new set of city blocks on our light table. We have been building houses, towers, towns, and roads. There are trees and animals involved as well. There has been collaboration among the children to discuss what to build and how.

We took a very long walk this week to the Rec Path with the PreK class. We worked hard on safety while walking on the sidewalk and crossing the street. We have focused a lot on being aware of traffic, looking where we are going, and being quiet and calm. The Rec Path had changed a lot since the last time we were there. We observed the river was very high and full. We discussed what animals might be there and had a long talk about whether or not the amphibians have come out of hibernation. We are definitely on the look out. Please let us know if you happen to notice anything.

Due to high demand, we read "The Lorax". It is a very important book to several children and it brought up discussions about being wasteful and always wanting more. We also talked about how important the trees are to our world and how we must treat our environment kindly.

Our amaryllis bloomed! There are now 3 flowers.

PreK

This week we dug for dinosaurs and their bones in our sand table. We also took our dinosaurs out to "stomp in the swamp" just like in one of our poems. A new cash register in our classroom has been very popular and we have decided to create a department store in our dramatic play area.

Outdoor treks this week have included taking the trails to Sylvan Park where we love to sled and were able to enter (for the first time ever) the super scary spider tunnel. We probably won't be going back in there for a long time, but it was fun to check out the inside while it was all ice. We also explored trails near campfire forest and joined the preschool class for a long walk on the Rec Path.

This week we began working with paper maché. We started with bracelets but are interested in exploring some other 3d art as well!