Circle Time for Infants!

These infants have been busy lately! While an infant's basic needs are our top priority, we value the focused time that we get to learn and develop new skills with them. As the babies grow, our circle time sessions are becoming more and more exciting. The children are strengthening their muscles and preparing their bodies for the motion of crawling. Here they are also developing small motor skills by shaking rattles, twisting and pushing parts of toys, and experiencing the cause and effect relationship between their actions and the toys. Other circle time activities that the babies enjoy include looking at themselves in mirrors, feeling new textures, and listening to their teachers read stories to them! It is such a treat to witness their growth and development at this young age. 

Mixing It Up!

Today we celebrate the Week of The Young Child with Tasty Tuesday! 

Our Toddler Two classroom has been busy mixing it up in the classroom!  They used their fine motor skills to use the spoon for mixing and stirring. Then, they added some yummy toppings to create a fun and pancake bread! It was a great way to practice our fine motor skills all while making something delicious!

 

Superhero Dress Up Day!

One of the most popular school-wide events is our Superhero Dress Up Day! Dress up days are so fun and a great way to bring the school together. The children voted for Superhero Day in our school election. For President's Day we discussed what a President is, how do we get a President, and how important our voices are. To make this concept applicable to their lives, we held an election! We set up a voting booth in our lobby and throughout the day parents, teachers, and students, cast the vote on Superhero Dress Up Day or Rainbow Dress Up Day for the month of March. This was a simple way to promote engagement with our activities calendar, help to solidify the concept of voting, and it gave children something to look forward to! 

 

The children had so much fun planting seeds and digging in the dirt! In a world where connecting with nature is becoming increasingly more difficult, we strive to nurture their curiosity and wonder.  As they dig their hands into the dirt, they are connecting, not only to our Earth, but to their sense as well. Children will continue to learn empathy and compassion as they care for their sprouting plants. While it was too early in the season to provide children with blooming plants, children are still able to learn about the changing seasons and cycles of growth and decay. Simply digging, feeling the sun and the breeze, and smelling the scents of spring brought a sense of calm and focused attention to the children.

  

Kindness Tree Celebration!

Congratulations to our Pre K class for completing their Kindness Tree. Upon completion, the class gets to choose how to celebrate and this time they chose a picnic party! Kindness Trees can be implemented at home or at school! Check out the Conscious Discipline website for more tips! 

"Use the Kindness Tree to recognize and celebrate acts of kindness in your School Family or home. Each time a kind act occurs, simply attach a heart to the Kindness Tree to represent the kindnesses occurring in your classroom or home."

I Can Build!

 Pre K 2 has been talking a lot about building and creating this month! This week they focused on building. Topics of discussion included tools used for building, building with boxes, and features of boxes. They also built things like their names and sentences. They used their new knowledge of building and applied to art and nature, as well. They built letters out of sticks and some even created their names, too! Applying new knowledge across many different domains is a skill that children will continue to strengthen throughout their learning journey. We are so proud to witness them getting off to a good start here at AoCS!

 Students built an obstacle course and used problem solving skill to make changes as needed. 

Children expressed their creativity by using art materials. Diving deeper into the topic of building and creating, they were asked to make something with the supplies they were given. Children created spinners, airplanes, kites, and more! 

 Friends building sentences together! 

 Practicing building my name! 

Helping Our Community Feel Loved

 Every gesture - no matter how small - has the ability to make a world of difference! Our school created valentines for a local nursing home to share a smile! We hope that we played a small part in making this Valentine's Day memorable for them and filling their hearts with happiness.