Toddler Circle Time

 

Toddler 4 was busy this morning learning about "ants" during circle time. They loved it so much in fact, they were hugging the photo card. Circle time at this age may look different day to day, however, staying consistent with how it is achieved is key! Part of this ages' circle time is not just about the curriculum they are learning, but also about the body control and practicing the daily routine. 

Life Cycle

 Our Pre K One class has some new friends in their room this morning. They are being joined by a few caterpillars who are getting ready to turn themselves into beautiful butterflies. They stay in this jar for up to a week before the process begins. The kids are excited to see the cycle they go through and hopefully watch it all happen! We will update you when they ready to be released!

Earth Day Planting

 

Our Preschool 4 class was busy planting wild flowers for our new green house. With it being Earth Day week, they are learning about the process of seed to flower. They were letting each friend either pack with dirt, plant the seed and then water. Allowing the class to partner up with each other allows for them to learn team building and good communication skills. Planning a garden and being responsible for it also promotes a sense of purpose for them. They are excited to watch their seedlings grow into beautiful flowers.

Friendships at AOSL

The majority of our students have been here since they were infants. They continue to make new friends along the way and build stronger relationships with the friends they have been with for multiple years. The importance of building friendships at a young age will help them with confidence and resolving conflict. We love to watch our friend grow together! 

 

Puzzling Pieces

 Preschool 4 was engaging their cognition skills! Having the kids make their own choice and use their own strategy to piece together an object is further helping them with their cognition and knowledge. There are many different levels of "puzzles" that can be used for different age groups. This particular age group, 4 years, are able to see what a picture looks like and then independently put it together in front of them. Way to go Preschool 4!

Building a Community

Pre K One is busy learning about the aspects of community this week. Building, signs, roads, vehicles, safety and more. They are using different textures and objects to create and make a community the way they perceive it. Play dough is a great way for them to use small motor skills to manipulate it into different things. Roads, bridges and houses are the examples shown here. 

 

 

 We had a fun Mardi Gras yesterday! All of our friends loved being in our parade to celebrate! All of our older kids had necklaces, masks and more. Our infants had a fun photo shoot backdrop! We love to do these small events and include the whole school to build a sense of community. It is not often we get our Pre K classes and infant classes together. Any chance we get to incorporate it, we do! 

Fitness Fun!

 January and February are focused on Fitness Fanatics here at the Academy! In recognition of that, we have had workouts set out for fun at pick-up, we have a 28 day challenge for the month of February that all of our classrooms are participating in, and today we had a special event that I know was enjoyed by all! Today's special guest was from Kido-Kinetics! In our enrichment room, he sat out a workout that required lots of hand and foot coordination. They even learned the techniques behind throwing a frisbee! The kids loved being active and having new challenges presented to them. I loved to witness the strong communities as they cheered each other on and coached their friends! 

Process Art in Preschool 4

 

Never be afraid to get messy! Today in Preschool 4 the kids worked on a really fun process art activity. Process art allows the children to learn through discovery and exploration. They use unusual tools and their own creative techniques for making art as they focus more on the process rather than the outcome. While doing this, children are developing skills like critical thinking and problem solving. Learning how things work by doing! We love this form of play and love getting messy!

Together in Peace

 In recognition of MLK day this week classes were encouraged to have conversations about topics like diversity, peace, inclusion, love, and dreams. As teachers, we have the power to influence our future citizens and decision makers. We have the responsibility to have the conversations and expose them to a world that isn't always nice. With that, comes our job to encourage their contribution to this world to be a good one. One that makes a difference and leaves a mark. One of kindness and love. This is what it looked like this week! I love the learning that happened this week. 

Building Houses for the 3 Little Pigs

 

Our Frog Street theme this week was The 3 Little Pigs! Preschool 2 worked very hard applying their knowledge from the story to their structures in real life! After hearing the story read aloud throughout the week, the children were given the opportunity to collect materials from nature that could be used to build a house that would keep the three little pigs safe. They collected materials like rocks, sticks, leaves, and classroom materials such as aluminum foil. Next they worked together to plan and construct a house for the pigs. When asked about their choices of materials, children were able to explain that leaves are too easy to blow down, but rocks are hard and tough. We love seeing the real life application that comes to fruition after a week of instruction. Children are using new vocabulary and are able to elaborate on their projects showing proof of their learning! How exciting is it to see the foundations of learning applied at such a young age! We are proud of the hard-work and intentionality of our teachers and students. 

Sound and Rhythm

 

Sound and Rhythm Drumming School came to visit us and we learned so much! This week in class we have been listening to music from around the world and learning how to move our bodies to the beat! Today we had a special visitor, Mr. Clifford, that demonstrated many different types of instruments for us. We saw drums from Africa, instruments that you shake, strike, scrape, and much more! We even had the chance to play a few of his drums! This experience is helpful to us because tomorrow we will be making our very own instruments to keep in our classroom! I wonder what we will come up with!