The Year of the Pig!

Happy Chinese New Year! Our friends in Pre K loved reading the fortunes inside of their fortune cookies today!

Teacher of the Month!

We are pleased to announce our ITERS and ECERS Teacher of Month!

Our ITERS winner is Ms. Jennifer in Infant 2, and our ECERS winner is Ms. Shae in Preschool 4!

Congratulations, ladies!! 

Pre K Learning

The kiddos in Pre K is learning, playing, growing, and gettin' some hugs and cuddles from their teachers!

writing letters in sand!

hugs from Ms. Elizabeth!

outdoor exercises!

fun with building blocks!

100th Day of School!

Pre K celebrated their 100th Day of School today by dressing like they were 100 years old!

Toddler Fun!

Our Toddler 4 friends are working on their fine motor skills, exploring different art mediums, and having fun with their color for the week--yellow!

Valentine's Day Preparations

It's beginning to look a lot like Valentine's Day at AoSL!!

Making hearts!

What is love?--Rithvik's mommy is love!

What is love?--"Hugging you" is love according to Cole

What is love?--Aubrey says "family, friends, and teachers" are love

Prince and Princesses

This week, our friends in Pre K have explored traditional and modern rhymes; stories delivered through poetry, chants, and ballads; and stories from many cultures. They have sang and role-played the stories, making the characters come alive through their actions. They even changed familiar stories to create their own. Here's a look at their Prince and Princess dress up day!

Pre K Academics

The start of a new means the second half of the school year for our Pre K friends. They are busy at work, making sure they are well prepared for kindergarten this upcoming August.

Alphabet worksheet

Reading books with friends

Alphabet worksheet

Layne Ihde, Author

One of the most important things parents can do, beyond keeping kids healthy and safe, is to read with them. That means starting when they are newborns and not even able to talk, and continuing well beyond the years that they can read by themselves. Study after study shows that early reading with children helps them learn to speak, interact, bond with parents and read early themselves, and reading with kids who already know how to read helps them feel close to caretakers, understand the world around them and be empathetic citizens of the world.

Today we had local author Layne Ihde read his new book, Pippin No Lickin' and offered autographed copies to our families. In addition to being an author, Layne is also a musician and played his guitar and got us moving for Fitness Fanatics month. Thanks so much for visiting, Layne!

Heartbeat Counting

The heart is the most important muscle that gets exercised during physical activity. Regular exercise helps to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

A person's pulse, or heart rate, is the number of times the heart beats per minute.

There are several areas on the body to read a pulse, but in kids these are generally the easiest places:

• On the neck (carotid artery pulse). The carotid artery runs along either side of the throat (windpipe). Run your fingers about halfway down the neck and press gently to the left or right side of the windpipe (carefully avoiding the Adam's apple in teen boys). Press gently. You should feel the pulse. If not, try again or on the other side.
• On the wrist (radial pulse). This is the spot where most adults have their pulse taken. It can work well in kids, too. To find the right spot, place a finger at the base of your child's thumb and slide it straight down to the wrist. On the wrist, press gently to feel for the pulse. This works best if your child's hand is lying flat or bent slightly backward.
• In the armpit (axillary pulse). Press your fingertips into the armpit, feeling around for the arm bone. When you feel the arm bone beneath your fingers, you should also feel the pulse. This method works well for infants.
• In the crease of the elbow (brachial pulse). This location works best for infants. Place your infant on his or her back with one arm flat along the baby's side (elbow crease facing up). In the crease of the elbow, gently place your fingers on the inside of the arm (the pinky side). Feel around for a pulse.

Checking heart rate after exercising

Checking heart rate after exercising

Fitness Fanatics!

Every January at the Academy we celebrate "Fitness Fanatics," which simply means, we get moving! Be on the lookout for the many different ways we work out, eat healthy, and stay fit all month long!