Farm to Family

News and Reminders:  We have moved our parent potluck and Parent Collaboration Committee meeting to May 25th at 6 pm.

We are closed for Memorial Day on May

Please take a minute to fill out our annual Family Survey: here's the link.

Kids Bike Safety Day at Stowe Rec, May 20th from 11 am - 1pm. There will be a Bike Safety Check and an Obstacle Course (for children 4 years and older). Make sure to check it out! 

A note on bug spray: if you have chosen to use an insect repellent that contains deet, please apply it outside before coming into school. If you are leaving it here at school, please inform your child's teacher that it contains deet so we can make sure to apply it outside away from others. 

Farm To Family 2017
These are family-friendly monthly workshops in Lamoille County. Please reserve a spot by calling Ruby Dale-Brown at 472-5940 or emailing at rubydalebrown@gmail.com. You will learn about growing your own food and enjoy a shared meal. All events are free!

May 6th: Worm Composting
June 3rd: All Natural Gardening
July 1st: Wild Edibles Gardening
September 9th: Preserving

There are also Farm to Family activities that you can attend, no need to sign up. You can earn $30 worth of fruits and veggies if you're one of the first to attend!

Friday, June 30th 3-5 pm at the Vermont Department of Health, 63 Professional Dr. Morrisville
Saturday, July 8th 10:30 am - 1 pm at the Morrisville Farmer's Market, Hannaford Parking Lot
Friday, July 14th 3-6 pm at the Hardwick Famer's Market on Granite Street near Rite Way Sports
Wednesday, July 19th 4:30-7 pm at the Jeffersonville Farmer's Market at the roundabout on Rt. 15
Saturday, July 29th from 10:30-1 pm at the Morrisville Farmer's Market

Classroom Updates

Infant I
This week we've been hearing lots of new words and word approximations from our older crew, including "diaper", "ball", "doll", "banana", and something that I don't know how to spell but means food or water. We are working on our translation. The heat has made us rather sleepy and is also something new to get used to for outside. Long, light layers are great for sun protection. Finally, we've witnessed several games of chase around and around the wooden stairs. It's pretty thrilling for children and teachers alike. 

We also said goodbye to Jasmine for the summer. She is on maternity leave and will be returning in early September. We already miss her! 

Infant II
It was great seeing the sun again. Our class spent lots of time outside this week. The new structure was a big interest for everyone. We spent time examining, climbing, and playing in it. We are excited to see the changes for next week. We discovered our class loves sunscreen and they have been working hard at rubbing it in themselves. They were very excited to see the hose out for the first time this week. The hot weather didn't seem to phase the children a bit. The loved splashing in the puddles after the storm. We spent some time doing art this week as well. We colored with crayons and painted with watercolors. We also worked on our fine motor skills by weaving ribbon and yarn in and out of the fence. 

Toddlers

We had a lovely week in our energetic and enthusiastic classroom. We are working so hard on our toileting routines and having much success with navigating the many steps involved. Everyone has been very focused and hard at work. As we mentioned last week, we are trying to get outside to (finally) enjoy this beautiful weather, so we really appreciate the children arriving before 8:30. This way we all sit down for our morning snack together and are present for our routines of getting ready to go outside together as well. It really builds our classroom community and starts our day off well. This week we have talked a lot about being kind and gentle with one another. We also are raising the bar on our verbal expression by prompting the children to use full sentences. They are also supporting one another with putting together the right words. There is so much new vocabulary being learned and practiced every day.  Lastly, please send in a water bottle, sunscreen, insect repellent, and a sun hat.  As always, please make sure it is all clearly labeled with your child's name. 

Preschool I
We revisited our "Little Seed" finger play as the children helped to start some bean seeds in a jar with wet paper towels. By Friday morning, the children were excited to discover that the beans had sprouted! Each child helped water the beans with a spray bottle to make a little shower for the beans to help them grow. We are wondering how much more growth we will see by Monday.

The younger children are working very hard on toilet training and the older children are learning to be very supportive during this endeavor. We want to thank the parents for being on board and prepared with lots of clothing and patience. All of the children are working on new warm weather self-care routines of sunscreen, sun hats, and filling and carrying water bottles.

Preschool II
Jane was away all week taking a class so Sarah was back in our classroom. We spent time at the baseball fields running the bases and getting to know the right direction to run. We also planted petunias and mixed a lot of soil. As always, we searched for worms and found many. We created small homes for them and spent a lot of time talking about how careful we need to be with their bodies. On the warmer days, we spent time in the small stream in between the hockey rink and the elementary school. We even took a walk to the Rec Path with the PreK class. Please remember to bring in sandals or waterproof shoes so we can wear them in the river. We do not go barefoot as we need to be careful of things we might not see in the small stream.

 PreK
We really enjoyed the warm weather this week especially playing in the SES stream and in the sprinkler here at school. We have observed the changes in the plants and trees. We love admiring the blooming flowers and leaves. The weather may be unpredictable for the next few weeks. Please check your child's extra clothes to be sure they are seasonally appropriate. If you have water shoes please be sure to send them. We keep shoes on at all times to keep from injuring our feet. Our trips this week included "Vicky's Hill" where we met a garter snake sunning itself near a stream; the Woof Trail; and the Rec Path. We are trying hard to begin our day on the playground where we can spend excess energy and/or have plenty of space to make the morning transition. Please remember to use the bathroom (and apply morning sunscreen) right before leaving home if you plan to drop off before visiting the classroom or here at school before joining us on the playground, thanks!