A Note From Our Principal
Summer is here and we are teaching, learning, and growing together! Our students are jumping into action, playing games, exploring nature, being creative, and participating in other fun summer-themed activities. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds for us.
Sincerely,
Independence Day Activities
Our classrooms will be working on festive activities for July 4th all week long. Let’s wear our red, white, and blue on July 5 in honor of Independence Day!
Kids Helping Communities
Each summer, we participate in a service initiative to give back to communities in need. This summer, we will be collecting treats and cards for Law Enforcement appreciation. We will have a donation box in the front lobby if you would like to donate. We will make a basket of goodies to take to the local police departments for all law enforcement personnel to enjoy during their hard day at work. I have attached a flyer of items we would like to collect for them. Also I have printed coloring sheets for the children to color and had to our baskets. What a great way for us to show our appreciation and teach the children about giving back to our community. Thank you for all your love and support.
Cubby Refresh
As a reminder, please make sure to refresh the spare clothing in your child’s cubby. Take home anything that no longer fits and leave a spare set of well-fitting, weather-appropriate clothes. Also check expiration dates for sunscreens and meds.
Important Dates
July 1st and 4th – School closed
July 5-22 – Kids Helping Communities donation drive
New On Our Preschool Blog
What Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Looks Like in Our Classrooms
Children learn best, develop self-confidence, and thrive when they feel valued and supported. Because of this, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are hallmarks of our school community. Our teachers strive to cultivate learning environments that foster respect and acceptance and encourage students to learn from and with each other.
Our classrooms contain a range of materials to provoke children’s questions, ideas, and attitudes about their own identities and about differences and similarities among others. Items in our classrooms highlight each student’s culture in a positive way and include rich literature that holistically reflect the students in the classroom community and showcase diverse family structures, dolls with various skin tones, a variety of art and musical instruments from other countries, music in multiple genres and languages, and culturally diverse dramatic play props.
Below are some specific examples of what diversity, inclusion, and belonging looks like in each of our classrooms.
Infants (0-1 year)
A common activity in our Infant classroom is looking at similarities and differences in front of a mirror. For example, the teacher may say, “Liam, you have big brown eyes! Let’s look at Zoey’s reflection. Look! She has big green eyes!” Teachers may also adhere pictures of the children’s families to the mirror and talk about the photographs while viewing the reflections in the mirror.
Toddlers (1-2 years)
In our Toddler classrooms, we listen to songs that celebrate diversity, such as “Dance Tunes from Many Lands” by Ella Jenkins. Teachers provide multicultural instruments (maracas, drums, rain sticks, chimes), ribbons, and scarves, and encourage the children to dance along to the music while discussing the different rhythms, tempos, and lrics.
Beginners (2-3 years)
We ask our Beginner students to bring in props from home that relate to personal experiences, such as empty food containers they enjoy sharing with their family or pieces of clothing that represent their family’s heritage. Teachers place these props in the dramatic play center for students to use while sharing and interacting with their peers.
Intermediates (3-4 years)
Intermediate teachers encourage students to bring in family photos. Teachers cut the portraits into interconnecting pieces varying in size and amount, meeting the needs of the individual students. All the puzzles are placed in the manipulative center for independent student exploration. This activity incorporates diversity, inclusion, and belonging, while also reinforcing mathematical skills of problem-solving and reasoning.
Pre-K (4-5 years)
In our Pre-K classrooms, we ask students to bring in pictures of a special family celebration, meal, or tradition. Students glue their picture to a piece of paper and are encouraged to discuss the photo and write or draw about the photo underneath. Teachers collect all the pictures to create a classroom book titled, “Our Family Memories.”
July News 2022
A Note From Our Principal
Summer is here and we are teaching, learning, and growing together! Our students are jumping into action, playing games, exploring nature, being creative, and participating in other fun summer-themed activities. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds for us.
Sincerely,
Christy Lang
Independence Day Activities
Our classrooms will be working on festive activities for July 4th all week long. Let’s wear our red, white, and blue on July 5 in honor of Independence Day!
Kids Helping Communities
Each summer, we participate in a service initiative to give back to communities in need. This summer, we will be collecting treats and cards for Law Enforcement appreciation. We will have a donation box in the front lobby if you would like to donate. We will make a basket of goodies to take to the local police departments for all law enforcement personnel to enjoy during their hard day at work. I have attached a flyer of items we would like to collect for them. Also I have printed coloring sheets for the children to color and had to our baskets. What a great way for us to show our appreciation and teach the children about giving back to our community. Thank you for all your love and support.
Cubby Refresh
As a reminder, please make sure to refresh the spare clothing in your child’s cubby. Take home anything that no longer fits and leave a spare set of well-fitting, weather-appropriate clothes. Also check expiration dates for sunscreens and meds.
Important Dates
July 1st and 4th – School closed
July 5-22 – Kids Helping Communities donation drive
New On Our Preschool Blog
What Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Looks Like in Our Classrooms
Children learn best, develop self-confidence, and thrive when they feel valued and supported. Because of this, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are hallmarks of our school community. Our teachers strive to cultivate learning environments that foster respect and acceptance and encourage students to learn from and with each other.
Our classrooms contain a range of materials to provoke children’s questions, ideas, and attitudes about their own identities and about differences and similarities among others. Items in our classrooms highlight each student’s culture in a positive way and include rich literature that holistically reflect the students in the classroom community and showcase diverse family structures, dolls with various skin tones, a variety of art and musical instruments from other countries, music in multiple genres and languages, and culturally diverse dramatic play props.
Below are some specific examples of what diversity, inclusion, and belonging looks like in each of our classrooms.
Infants (0-1 year)
A common activity in our Infant classroom is looking at similarities and differences in front of a mirror. For example, the teacher may say, “Liam, you have big brown eyes! Let’s look at Zoey’s reflection. Look! She has big green eyes!” Teachers may also adhere pictures of the children’s families to the mirror and talk about the photographs while viewing the reflections in the mirror.
Toddlers (1-2 years)
In our Toddler classrooms, we listen to songs that celebrate diversity, such as “Dance Tunes from Many Lands” by Ella Jenkins. Teachers provide multicultural instruments (maracas, drums, rain sticks, chimes), ribbons, and scarves, and encourage the children to dance along to the music while discussing the different rhythms, tempos, and lrics.
Beginners (2-3 years)
We ask our Beginner students to bring in props from home that relate to personal experiences, such as empty food containers they enjoy sharing with their family or pieces of clothing that represent their family’s heritage. Teachers place these props in the dramatic play center for students to use while sharing and interacting with their peers.
Intermediates (3-4 years)
Intermediate teachers encourage students to bring in family photos. Teachers cut the portraits into interconnecting pieces varying in size and amount, meeting the needs of the individual students. All the puzzles are placed in the manipulative center for independent student exploration. This activity incorporates diversity, inclusion, and belonging, while also reinforcing mathematical skills of problem-solving and reasoning.
Pre-K (4-5 years)
In our Pre-K classrooms, we ask students to bring in pictures of a special family celebration, meal, or tradition. Students glue their picture to a piece of paper and are encouraged to discuss the photo and write or draw about the photo underneath. Teachers collect all the pictures to create a classroom book titled, “Our Family Memories.”