Acknowledgement

The words, "I hear you," are powerful. To stop and say that to a child in the moment, especially when there is a lot going on and we can't divide our attention in any more possible directions, is important. This is something I have even caught myself saying at home to my dogs when I am trying to take care of both children and the dogs are asking for my attention at the same time.

Acknowledging that you hear your child saying your name over and over while you are in the middle of a conversation with another adult and letting them know it will be just a couple of minutes and you would appreciate if they could wait patiently without interrupting, is not only respectful to children but very reassuring and powerful.

It is a simple thing to do but definitely takes practice. Verbally acknowledging children makes them feel heard. It makes them feel like they matter to you. Following up with getting down to their level, looking at them, and truly listening once you have a moment, can make a big impact.

There are endless opportunities to acknowledge what your child is doing. You can simply acknowledge that you hear them, even if you aren't able to get to them right away. You can also acknowledge their attempts at trying something new. When a child is crying because they want the purple marker but someone else decided to color their entire paper purple, is a great opportunity to say, "I hear how sad you are that he has the purple marker. You are really upset," that not only validates their feelings but teaches them about empathy.

Children loved to be heard, noticed, and included. By taking the time to let them that you see them, hear them, and are truly interested in what they are doing, you are building a foundation of love and respect.

Thanks for reading,
Sarah

News and Reminders
We are slowly starting to transition children into their new classrooms. Since the month of July is typically pretty quiet here at school it's a great time to allow children to spend time in their new classrooms getting used to the new routines. All of our classrooms transitions will be finished by the end of August. Please let your child's teacher know if you have any questions about transitions.

We have a new teacher, Dana, who has joined us. She has several years of experience working in early childhood and has her degree in Social Work from Champlain College. She is currently covering in the youngest infant classroom while Megan is on vacation.

We will be hosting a Parent Potluck on Wednesday, July 18th at 6:00 pm. The focus of this potluck with be on our Universal PreKindergarten Partnership for the upcoming school year. We will have all of the necessary paperwork and information to make sure your child is enrolled for 2018-19. For those of you who are not aware of UPK, otherwise known as Act 166, it is a program for all children who are 3 by September 1. We have a partnership with the local public schools to provide 10 hours of prekindergarten for all eligible children, which results in a reduction in tuition for the 35 weeks of the school year.

Kitchen Update
This week we had a delicious sweet potato curry soup. It was very popular, and even a little spicy. We also had edamame noodles which were a big hit among all of the children and teachers.

We will be highlighting some of the different things we did this week throughout MVS.

The toddlers spent a lot of time in the sensory table this week. They added bubbles, ice cubes, and animals.

We love Fruit Salad Friday! It is one of my most favorite rituals here at school. We have been making collaborative fruit salad every Friday since MVS opened in 2011. Below are photos of practicing cutting alongside the teacher in prep for eventually cutting real fruit with real knives.

The sprinkler was one of our main sources of relief this week. The cold water was incredibly refreshing for everyone. 

He is singing "My Favorite Things" and knows every word. 

This was a collaborative building effort that took almost an hour to make. 

As always, the climber is an endless opportunity for building gross motor skills. The older children are an inspiration with their "tricks". We have learned that you need to try over and over and over and over in order to master these moves.