News and Reminders
We all seem to be a bit healthier here at school. Between the wet and cold weather and a strange combination of illnesses on Friday, we had a rather unusual day of varied sicknesses. We will always try and give you all a warning when things like this are happening so you can be prepared. We spent a good deal of time cleaning over the weekend so hopefully we were able to get rid of as many germs as possible. Once the sun comes out and warms things up a bit it should really help us out! Thank you all for understanding.
Our first annual Clothing Swap happened last weekend! Thank you to the Parent Collaboration Committee for putting this wonderful event together. It was incredible to see how many donations we received and how much effort was put in by the parents to organize such a great event. The children all had a wonderful time bouncing, running, and scooting around the gym. Many families were able to get a lot of wonderful clothing too.
A little state news...
Farm to School Bill Passes the Legislature, Onto the Governor
On Tuesday, the Vermont House of Representatives passed S.33, expanding the Vermont Farm to School program to early care and education programs, and providing grants and technical assistance to schools working to provide universal school meals or otherwise improve participation in their nutrition programs. The Senate has already passed the bill, therefore it goes to the Governor, who has said he would sign into law.
The Farm to School bill does not allocate any additional funding to the program. The Governor recommended level-funding the program at $131,250 for FY2018. However, the Senate is recommending an additional $75,000 for the program to begin to address the additional need.The budget conference committee is finalizing the budget this week.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for the additional funding! This would greatly increase our access to more resources for our own food program here at MVS.
Classroom Updates
Infant I
Our children seem to be getting more mobile by the minute! This week we have witnessed some really impressive climbing, balancing, and other daring physical feats. We are working hard to enforce certain limits (no climbing on the tables, chairs, and other surfaces deemed unsafe) while providing opportunities for them to rake reasonable risks. Learning to fall, collect oneself (including comfort from a teacher when needed), and get back up to try again is an important piece of resilience. We are also enjoying new physical challenges now that we are free from restrictive snowsuits.
Infant II
We had a really nice and emllow start to our week on Monday. Everyone was happy to be back at school and interacting with their peers. This week we have been working hard to use our voices at appropriate levels when playing inside as well as balancing the needs of ourselves and others. This includes: waiting and taking turns, listening to our peers, and being aware of others and the space around us so that we don't crowd each other. Outside we have enjoyed ALL of the MUD. We like splashing, stomping, scooping it with spoons and shovels, and pouring the muddy water into different containers all around the playground. We've also spent some time work hard to blow bubbles ourselves. This has been a big excitement for us and gives us plenty of opportunities to take turns and balance the needs of one another.
Toddlers
We have had a wonderful week! The classroom is hard at work on fostering independence and self-help skills, specifically toilet training and it is going beautifully. The children are working on being independent with certain tasks and are taking things very seriously. This week we have also really concentrated in putting on shoes on by ourselves. Working through the process of getting shoes on and off takes focus and concentration. For some children they have mastered all of the steps while others are still working on the specifics of moving the tongue, undoing the velcro, and wiggling toes in. There are many skills we work on through this task! With the summer (maybe) approaching, we are moving into our warm weather schedule and being outside a lot in the morning. We are really encouraging everyone to be at school by 8:30 am so we can start our day. We love to get outside right after our morning snack.
Preschool I
This week has been all about sunshine and rain. We are learning some finger plays about rain and sun at circle time. We have also been spending lots of time counting - fingers, stripes on shirts, blocks in towers, and scoops of yogurt. The children also did an excellent job learning about how to properly use a magnifying glass at circle time. They passed them around and practiced holding them correctly by the handles. The children then used the magnifying glasses to explore both the playground and Campfire Forest. We got up close to the "little baby plants" including fiddlehead ferns, and trees. Next week the children are hoping to find worms!
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| The children were using pine needles to give one another hair cuts and to brush their hair. |
This week has been all about getting outside and playing hard. We have spent a lot of time at the Woof Trail and have established specific areas where we have created our own play spaces. Our dramatic and imaginative play has overlapped from one day to the next. The children have created houses and role played as different family members. We continue to work on being kind and understanding with one another, especially during conflicts. Talking to one another and negotiating are skills we are constantly practicing. We also are having conversations about being kind and gentle to the natural world. However tempted we are, we choose to look at plants that are growing instead of picking them all to keep. Many conversations about what is growing and being respectful of the process have come up.
PreK
We continued working on our coin recognition this week. We scrubbed pennies with baking soda each morning to make them nice and shiny. Outside we are noticing even more signs of spring, including all of the rain days. We have also been interested in the fiddlehead ferns that have started coming up, noticing that they unroll themselves as they grow. As always, worms and other bugs underneath rocks are a great opportunity to share with each what we find outside. A few children also spent time cleaning out our raised beds. We are hoping for some warmer weather soon so we can actually put some seeds in the ground!
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