Through the Looking Glass

Your child arrives at 7:30, they are greeted by Ms. Katie and are welcomed into their community classroom and our home. They wash their hands and then have the autonomy to make a choice at one of the free play areas. They may choose from a variety of choices such as; art exploration (paint, colored marbles, hammers and flowers on paper, etc.), dramatic play (kitchen, doctors office, post office, etc.), science and nature exploration station (pinecones, dissecting a sunflower, exploring with primary and secondary color viewers, etc.), block and construction area (building the pyramids, making a car ramp, constructing a marble run, etc.) and any manipulatives and small activity bins that are available as table top activities (Reggio design with marble pieces on mirrors, number recognition and quantity with numbered tree cookies and acorns, building a birds nest with playdough, moss, twigs, string, etc.). Maybe your child needs some extra support to start their morning and so they decided to read a book with their teacher or dive their hands into the blueberry muffin mix to help prepare breakfast. After all of our friends have arrived, we all join each other for a family style breakfast at the table. We talk about our morning, how we are feeling, what our goals are for the day. After a home cooked breakfast, we join each other for a short circle time. We sing songs about blue birds in trees, we share our calendar cards and we talk about our objectives and plans for the day. Then we explore. We jump into our bodies' natural, innate and unique learning processes. Your child builds a love of learning through hands-on play and activities. We measure worms with rulers, we paint pictures with pine needles, and we bake the most delicious mud birthday cake for someone special. We play- The heart of learning. We explore the world around us, we count the number of steps from the roots of the fallen down tree to its branches by balancing our way across its mighty trunk. We build a dam in the trickling stream located in our backyard. We investigate and observe the fresh animal footprints in the newly fallen snow. We make our way back inside with happy hearts, invigorated minds and hungry bellies- it’s lunch time. We sit around the lunch table together in a family style meal, passing food between us and talking about our morning. We revisit important learning topics, and we make a plan for tomorrow. Then we rest, read books, and play with quiet activity items. When we wake, we touch base on our literacy development, number recognition and in-depth learning skills through print enriched text, Fountas and Pinnell, Foundations and Second Step’s Social and Emotional Development. We then have a nourishing snack and transition into free play and learning as we wrap up our day.