In-service Closure
We are closed this Thursday and Friday (8/11 and 12) for in-service. We will re-open on Monday. Thank you for your continued support of in-service days.
Just Say "No" to Pouches
We are not anti-kangaroo...but we are however, anti-food pouch here at MVS. A friendly reminder of our pouch policy here at school: Please no pouches. Why? We work hard to create a mealtime culture that encourages the use of silverware, and allows us to eat at a comfortable pace, without the super quick consumption that comes naturally by eating from food pouches. Additionally, food pouches are difficult to clean, and must be shipped away for recycling. Thanks in advance for your attention to this!
Congrats Chase Kalisz!
We wanted to send a very special shout out Sarah's cousin, Olympian and now, silver medalist Chase Kalisz. Chase competed in the 400 Meter IM on Saturday, bringing home one of the first medals of the Rio games. Nice Chase, you have plenty of small fans here in Stowe, VT.
We are closed this Thursday and Friday (8/11 and 12) for in-service. We will re-open on Monday. Thank you for your continued support of in-service days.
Just Say "No" to Pouches
We are not anti-kangaroo...but we are however, anti-food pouch here at MVS. A friendly reminder of our pouch policy here at school: Please no pouches. Why? We work hard to create a mealtime culture that encourages the use of silverware, and allows us to eat at a comfortable pace, without the super quick consumption that comes naturally by eating from food pouches. Additionally, food pouches are difficult to clean, and must be shipped away for recycling. Thanks in advance for your attention to this!
Congrats Chase Kalisz!
 |
| Photo by Rob Schumaker, USA Today Sports |
We wanted to send a very special shout out Sarah's cousin, Olympian and now, silver medalist Chase Kalisz. Chase competed in the 400 Meter IM on Saturday, bringing home one of the first medals of the Rio games. Nice Chase, you have plenty of small fans here in Stowe, VT.
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: Once the babies have mastered crawling, we start introducing simple, direct instructions for them to follow; this helps foster independence. An example? When it is time to eat or have a bottle, we ask the babies to come to the "table" themselves instead of having an adult carry them. All of the children can do this and they react with excitement as they become more a part of what is happening. The next step is having the children follow teachers outdoors instead of adults carrying them. Again, these tasks build confidence, autonomy and prepare them for the Infant II classroom. Treating our babies as capable people gives them more opportunity to problem solve on their own, another way of promoting their healthy development.
Infant II: On Monday the children came to school and were welcomed by a classroom space that had been rearranged, this brought lots of exploration and excitement. The placement of the climbing structure brought on even more climbing, crawling and sliding than usual. It was interesting to see the children use the familiar structure in new ways. We also had a few new materials for the children to check out as well. Baby dolls have been great to hold, dress and try to put diapers on. The kitchen stove, pots and pans have led to lots of pretend play. We've also been making frequent "phone calls" during our morning time. Most of us seem to call Mom at work. "Mom's on the way!" Some of the older children have been constructing towers and feeling the pride of stacking blocks higher than their last attempt. Outdoors we played with some ribbon wands which have been fun to run with. It's also a good way for us to practice spacial awareness and safety around our peers. We watched carefully as a family of birds visited the tree in the front playground. We took time to observe them, and watch their motions as they flew.
Toddler Room: This week we made purple play dough, but added new ingredients to change the consistency and texture. We've been focusing a lot on a variety of sensory play, and the softer texture of the new dough enabled the children to work on their fine motor skills and coordination. We've been introducing more and more number concepts to the children and find ourselves counting throughout the day. When cleaning up, we count each toy we put away. The children had many positive social interactions with one another, using kind and respectful language to communicate. A reminder to parents to please check the white board daily for information about your child's day, or other information that needs to be passed along. Thanks!
Pallet House Painting
All upstairs classrooms worked together to paint our pallet house this week. AND, we also had some of the younger children from the Toddler Room help as well. We saw a lot of creativity and helpfulness as the older students patiently showed the toddlers how to hold and use the brushes on the vertical surface.
Preschool 1: All the children have been utilizing the phrase, "May I use that when you are finished?" without reminders! This is very exciting because quick arguments over materials have dramatically decreased by using clear and polite communication. In circle this week we added "free share," most of the children talk about what they ate for breakfast, what they did last night, their families/siblings/pets and grandparents. We continued working on identifying our feelings by adding more feeling books, having conversations around what we are feeling and thinking about how to be kind and gentle. At lunch we have been talking about different food groups. The children are trying to figure out what categories of food make up their lunches. Right now we are keeping it simple with vocabulary like protein, vegetable, fruit, dairy, grain. As we were talking the children noticed a pattern! We tend to eat proteins and vegetables first. We talked about why, and how these foods give our bodies good fuel for afternoon play.
Preschool 2: In addition to all of our outdoor painting this week, we have been working hard on our new Montessori puzzles. They are challenging for the children. At first these puzzles required guidance from a teacher, then a little peer support, but now they are completing the puzzles independently. This activity was tremendous evidence of their perseverance as a group. Here you'll find some of the children's feedback about their problem solving and the process of putting these tricky pieces together:
"Look for the matching pattern."
"Keep on trying and you'll get it."
"I know you are capable."
"Sometimes it takes a lot of trying before you can do it."
The group has also been venturing more and more off campus, and continually practice holding hands, following directions and making safe choices. One trip this week was to Sunset Rock. The rainy weather did not deter us!
Pre-K: Taking the younger preschoolers on walks this week has been a real highlight. The older children are eager to share all of what they have learned when it comes to how to behave and all that's around to see and do. In addition to the Sunset Rock trip, we also headed to the stream for a sunny splash. We have been enjoying some quiet mornings inside with play dough, dress up and dinosaurs (who knew they had extended families and needed extravagant block structure homes?!?). A reminder, Jen will be out next week on vacation.
Infant II: On Monday the children came to school and were welcomed by a classroom space that had been rearranged, this brought lots of exploration and excitement. The placement of the climbing structure brought on even more climbing, crawling and sliding than usual. It was interesting to see the children use the familiar structure in new ways. We also had a few new materials for the children to check out as well. Baby dolls have been great to hold, dress and try to put diapers on. The kitchen stove, pots and pans have led to lots of pretend play. We've also been making frequent "phone calls" during our morning time. Most of us seem to call Mom at work. "Mom's on the way!" Some of the older children have been constructing towers and feeling the pride of stacking blocks higher than their last attempt. Outdoors we played with some ribbon wands which have been fun to run with. It's also a good way for us to practice spacial awareness and safety around our peers. We watched carefully as a family of birds visited the tree in the front playground. We took time to observe them, and watch their motions as they flew.
Toddler Room: This week we made purple play dough, but added new ingredients to change the consistency and texture. We've been focusing a lot on a variety of sensory play, and the softer texture of the new dough enabled the children to work on their fine motor skills and coordination. We've been introducing more and more number concepts to the children and find ourselves counting throughout the day. When cleaning up, we count each toy we put away. The children had many positive social interactions with one another, using kind and respectful language to communicate. A reminder to parents to please check the white board daily for information about your child's day, or other information that needs to be passed along. Thanks!
Pallet House Painting
All upstairs classrooms worked together to paint our pallet house this week. AND, we also had some of the younger children from the Toddler Room help as well. We saw a lot of creativity and helpfulness as the older students patiently showed the toddlers how to hold and use the brushes on the vertical surface.
 |
| Trim work, the scourge of many a painter... |
Preschool 1: All the children have been utilizing the phrase, "May I use that when you are finished?" without reminders! This is very exciting because quick arguments over materials have dramatically decreased by using clear and polite communication. In circle this week we added "free share," most of the children talk about what they ate for breakfast, what they did last night, their families/siblings/pets and grandparents. We continued working on identifying our feelings by adding more feeling books, having conversations around what we are feeling and thinking about how to be kind and gentle. At lunch we have been talking about different food groups. The children are trying to figure out what categories of food make up their lunches. Right now we are keeping it simple with vocabulary like protein, vegetable, fruit, dairy, grain. As we were talking the children noticed a pattern! We tend to eat proteins and vegetables first. We talked about why, and how these foods give our bodies good fuel for afternoon play.
Preschool 2: In addition to all of our outdoor painting this week, we have been working hard on our new Montessori puzzles. They are challenging for the children. At first these puzzles required guidance from a teacher, then a little peer support, but now they are completing the puzzles independently. This activity was tremendous evidence of their perseverance as a group. Here you'll find some of the children's feedback about their problem solving and the process of putting these tricky pieces together:
"Look for the matching pattern."
"Keep on trying and you'll get it."
"I know you are capable."
"Sometimes it takes a lot of trying before you can do it."
 |
| Incredible adventure and poor photo quality thanks to a rather sizable downpour. |
Also Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
-Sam
-Sam
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