2013 School Year in Action

Greetings Primary Stars Families,


Toni Here! How exciting is it to post the first blog of the new school year! This was such and anticipated day and I am proud to report it exceeded all our hopes! 


Welcome back for another great year here at the Sprout. Change and transition is among us and we have dedicated our first week of this school year to introducing the new friends, teachers, routines, materials, and schedule.  


Some of the major changes for the Primary Stars included having Dom Dom and Toni as teachers. The Sprouts definitely approved having us move in :) In fact, the group was eager to turn their listening ears on for each of our announcements and directions. 
Another was the design and layout of the classroom. We moved the big table outside for an opportunity at outdoor art work and family style picnics. We also moved out the fridge into the teacher break room and now have a wide open work space! This newly created space is where you will find our circle time rug and wall with our calendar and "All About Today" chart. This side of the classroom is where you will also find the vast majority of our Montessori works. We wanted there to be a slight division in the philosophies and which side of the room it is most reflected on. Next week the Primary teachers will be sending out a classroom orientation form explaining the new design of our classroom and the terminology that will go along with our changes. Green Sprout is currently awaiting the delivery of our new Montessori Materials and we are glad to be spending this time preparing for this addition. 
 It is very important that parents are knowledgeable of the functions behind the design and the terminologies that the children will be using to describe the works they will be engaged with each morning. 


Another change in the class is that we have moved little dragon into our welcome center as he now is a highlighted member of our community. Little Dragon in loved by all the classes and it only seemed fair to have him live in a space where all friends could visit him and be a part of his care. 


Another change is that we will be having full length standing cubbies installed in the coming next week and so please continue to put your Sprouts belongings in the crates on the floor. 

As you all have all ready noticed by now, the Parent's board is now located outside of the classroom where will start having drop offs next week. The Stars and other Primary Co-teachers have been discussing and practicing our soon to be new drop-off routine. Our practice consists of us walking, hands behind back, to the welcome center and all taking a seat to watch each of our friends get a turn acting our "Mommy or Daddy" taking "Sprout" to school. So, two friends would start outside on front porch (most of the class knew the door code to let themselves in) and then would walk with their Sprout who was carrying their nap mat and lunch box through the welcome center and up to our new "drop off area" ( space in front of classroom entrance door where sign in sheets are located) and Sprout will sign in while mom/dad signs in as well. After signing in, good bye hugs and kisses were given and then Sprout walks into classroom independently and without parent. Once inside the classroom, they practiced putting their lunchbox and other belongings away in their cubby and then are free to explore their classroom!  We will remind you guys over the weekend of this drop off change starting this coming Monday. 

This was not only a special day because it was the first day of the new school year but was also the day we got to celebrate Leina and Maya as they have graduated from the Sprout and will be starting Kindergarten this month! Yayyy! The ceremony was absolutely precious in that we had the graduation march tune playing the background and had the other classes/teachers sitting at the big table. Each of the girls took their turn walking up the ramp to receive their diploma then waved it over the play scape to their friends sitting below. They then went down the slide where we all waited for them to touch the ground to applaud in celebration!!! The girls then threw their hats in the air! We had a dance party soon after followed by a lunch picnic at the big table! 


Post nap, we warmed up for Yoga by playing a game of Freeze Dance! Amelia then joined us for a fun class of yoga! Having yoga in the space where the big table once lived was ever so great in that there was plenty of room for everyone! 


We ended our day with some Mr. Nick outdoor play :)