Kindergarten Graduation

It's official.  My son starts first grade and public school next year. 

This week was bitter-sweet for all of us.  Of course, I'm proud that Lewie is growing up and that he had such a wonderful kindergarten experience at Surreybrook.   Still, I'm sad that he's getting "older" right before my eyes, and that when he enters a classroom of 17 children next year instead of just 6, he will be a little less sheltered and a little more savvy to the ways of the world.

The Surreybrook Kindergarten Graduation for Lewie was everything we would expect from a very non-conventional school.  (I wrote about the curriculum in "School Days in a Nature Based Classroom.")  The graduation party was held outside under some shaded trees in the back yard of the school.  Everyone was dressed very casually and comfortably (no graduation gowns or caps), and the children played with each other while the parents lined up to say goodbye to the kindergarten teacher, who was so wonderfully nurturing to all of the kids this year.  (I was happy to find out that she tutors children in her house during the summer, so Lewie will still be seeing her every Monday for an hour-long reading and writing session.)

Other teachers, such as Lewie's art, Spanish, music, and science teacher, also came out to say goodbye to the parents and children.  We took pictures of the children with their teachers, the children with their parents, and then one last group photo.  Lewie's kindergarten teacher surprised them all with a parting gift bag of goodies, and she, of course, was showered with flowers and gifts from the parents too. 

Lewie and Grammy

So proud of my little boy!

All six kindergarten graduates with their most favorite teacher in the world!

Special "goody bags" for all the children--written in their favorite colors.

One final group lesson outside in Nature's Classroom.

Lewie and his most favorite teacher.

Enjoying an orange popsicle before leaving...

Overall, it was a very nice and relaxing party to celebrate our children's transition from kindergarten to first grade.  One other little girl in Lewie's class will be moving on to Laurel Ledge School in Beacon Falls, but the other children are moving on to schools in their own towns of Bethany, Cheshire, and Hamden.  I am hoping to invite them to Lewie's birthday party in the summer, but after that, it's curious as to whether the friendships will last...

I'm sorry to see this year go.  Lewie will be remaining at Surreybrook for their summer camp session of 6 through 12 year-olds, but after that, he moves on to a "big school."  We went for a tour last week, and I could see that he was nervous.  He wanted to see the "classroom and the kitchen."  He didn't expect that they would show him 18 classrooms (three for every grade) and a huge cafeteria filled with tables and chairs--not to mention the library, the gym, the nurse's station, etc. etc.

I plan on taking him back there multiple times during the summer, so he can get used to the buildings and the play ground, but other than that, the goal is just to enjoy the summer as much as possible before September comes.  Does anyone have suggestions on how to help a child feel more excited and less afraid about starting school?  I'll take any advice!

The Maple Syrup Project

It's hard to believe it's March in Connecticut when our yard still looks like this:

We had yet another snow day on Thursday, March 5th with five more inches of fresh snow...

Still, the snow hasn't stopped Lewie's kindergarten from going outside and exploring nature; their latest project is collecting sap for maple syrup.  Here is the latest note from his kindergarten teacher:

"I'm sure your child has told you about our maple syrup project.  My neighbor, Christopher, now 19, has been tapping trees since he was just 11 years old.  He started out with an idea and tapped a few trees.  Over time, he had dozens and drove his parents' lawn mower from house to house collecting sap every day, and now he and his partner Joey have turned this hobby and passion into a great business.  They've built a sugar shack, outfitted it with equipment, and do everything from tapping and tubing to collecting to boiling to packaging and selling.  Such wonderful, inspirational boys."

She continues, "Christopher was kind enough to come to school last week and talk to the children about the process.  He and the children went on a maple tree hunt.  They then all helped in the drilling, tapping (hammering), and hanging of the buckets.  Our job now is to check on our buckets daily and collect sap.  This exciting project lends itself to rich and meaningful learning opportunities.  We have been reading non fiction books and articles about maple trees and the sugaring process.  We are writing in our journals and drawing and tracking our discoveries in our nature notebooks.  We will be collecting, measuring, weighing, and graphing our totals.  The children are checking the daily temperature and determining if it's a good sap day or if it's too cold."

The best part is that Christopher and Joey will be holding an Open House on March 14th where they serve a pancake breakfast and sell their yummy maple syrup.   The entire class (and families) are going so we can enjoy the syrup that was made from the sap that the children have been collecting in their buckets...  We are really looking forward to this breakfast!

That's my boy hammering away!

Check out the snowshoes the boys and girls have been wearing on their adventures!

I have to admit that up until now, I didn't know very much about the maple sugaring process, but I'm now learning a lot from my six year-old.  I'm so excited Little Lewie is getting this type of exposure.  He's learning much more than how to collect sap or even how to see the perfect beauty of the great outdoors; he's learning that dreams, such as starting your own maple syrup business, can start with a simple childhood passion.  (I just love Christopher's story.)
 

School Days in a Nature Based Classroom

Lewie's first day of kindergarten was emotional for me.  I was worried about all the usual stuff:  Will he like his new school?  Will he make new friends?  Will he love learning?  Will his teacher be patient, gentle, and understanding?

Although those worries were very real last month, I'm happy to say I'm over them!  After the first day of school, Lewie couldn't wait to tell us how much he loved kindergarten.  He loved everything--his teacher, his classroom, the morning meeting, the outside play area, and his little 'friends.'  Then we started getting wonderful letters from his teacher like these:

Dear Families,

We are having a wonderful second week of school! The children are adjusting nicely and enjoying the program very much. 

Our theme this week was friendship. We spent time getting to know each other better and talking about how to be a good friend. We read, Rainbow Fish, The Kissing Hand, Elmer, Chrysanthemum and Corduroy, which all lend themselves beautifully to friendship based discussions and activities. The children wrote a response to each story- wait til you see this great work coming home!

The children spent a great deal of time outdoors. We started our gardening curriculum and our Discovery journals. These are where we track our gardening and nature studies. They were very excited about these journals. We gave ourselves garden names: Evelyn Eggplant, Payton Pumpkin, Audrey Apple, Lewie Lavendar, Nicolas Nut and Andrew Apple Pie. What fun! We learned the parts of a plant and also planted some fall harvest seeds in our garden bed. We have a nature table set up in our classroom. It may have seasonal produce on it, rocks, soil and seeds, items the children collect and bring in from nature's classroom or home. Next week, we will be studying apples. Our table will have different types of apples for us to explore, cut open, draw, write about and paint with. If you have any apples to contribute to our study, please feel free to send them in.

We also started our handwriting program, Handwriting Without Tears. The children will begin with proper pencil grip, straight and slant lines and build to proper letter and number formation. Any additional fine motor practice at home is super. Writing with pencil, chalk and chalkboard, white board marker, in the sand,cutting, tracing, etc. 

This week we began our letter instruction. We are studying the letter Mm. We sing songs and read poems. We study the letter and the sound it makes, we learn how to print it, we search for it and highlight it in books and we generate words that begin with that sound. The children will be bringing small books home that they have made in class. Please keep them and have your child read it and reread it to you. This repetition builds fluency and reading confidence. 

Please keep in mind that much of our day is spent outdoors. We have unstructured time to explore outside but also we read, write, solve math problems and even have meals out there. Please remember to apply sunscreen and bug repellent in the mornings. Also, as the weather is up and down this time of year, please send your child in with a light jacket or feel free to leave one in school.

Folders are going home in backpacks today. Please take out your child's work and enjoy. Please return the empty folder to school tomorrow. 

Tomorrow is wear your favorite team jersey to school day.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend,

Every Friday, we get a very special email sent to us about our child's progress and their curriculum at school where we learn about the stories they're reading, the letters they're practicing, and the games they're playing.

Since Lewie's school is nature based, he spends his mornings inside practicing reading and writing, and then has opportunities throughout the day to run around, explore, play, and learn outside.  They have an outside classroom where they continue to read stories, sing songs (in English and in Spanish), make art projects, plant seeds, and write in their 'nature journals.'  Every twenty minute lesson is followed by ten to fifteen minutes of play, so the children never get bored, and they never lose their focus.  Instead, they are fully emersed and engaged in their lessons.

Last Friday, I had the joy of visiting Lewie's class as a guest, and I brought in books from our local library about farms.  Before coming to his class, I really had no idea how the curriculum or the outside classroom worked, but once I had the chance to experience it for myself (and had a chance to read stories and play games both inside and outside), I realized how 1) quickly the time goes by for children, 2) how engaged they are, and 3) how the entire experience feels more like play and less like 'traditional learning.'   By the end of my two hour visit, the children had already listened to and discussed three books, practiced their letter sounds, numbers, sight words, days of the week, and months of the year, and they had already had a healthy dose of stretching, sun, and exercise.

Reading to Lewie in his kindergarten classroom...



Reading to Lewie in the outside gathering area...  I wish I could show all of Lewie's friends sitting on their tree stumps,
but I'm not allowed to post their pictures for obvious privacy reasons...

I can't say that all of my decisions in life have been perfect, but what I can say is that I couldn't be more excited and happy about choosing to send Lewie to this kindergarten.  I now love it just as much as he does and I'm looking forward to coming back at least once per month, so I can share some more wonderful mornings with my little boy and his class 'friends.'  I didn't know what a nature based curriculum looked like, and now I wish more schools around the country would adopt this idea.

We're Moving Up to Kindergarten

Today was Lewie's first day of Kindergarten...  It was tough bringing him to a new school and starting a new routine.  Still, after all my anxiety, his first day was a SUCCESS.  He reported that his first day was "GREAT."  He likes his teacher, he likes his classmates, and he loves being able to warm his food in the microwave.  (Oh, it's the little things in life...)

He didn't have any homework for his first day, but I'm sure that will change as we progress further into the school year.  For now, I'm just happy that both of us made it through this milestone...

Dear God, I pray that you take care of Little Lewie on his first day of kindergarten.

I pray that his teachers show him empathy, patience, and grace...

I pray that he acquire a love of learning and a desire to try his very best...

I pray that he makes new friends and always has the confidence to be himself.

And I pray that he is loved, nurtured, warm, and safe in his new environment.  Amen.

It's hard to let go.... It's times like these when I'm thankful for the quiet comfort that comes from answered prayers.  Here's to wishing everyone a very happy, healthy, positive, engaging, and fun new school year!

The Business of Private Kindergarten

Our little town only offers half-day kindergarten, and with my husband, my mom, and I working full-time, it doesn't make sense to put Lewie into a 2.5 hour kindergarten program and then a non-enriching after care program for 4 hours!  Plus, it doesn't seem fair that children in surrounding towns will be benefiting from a full-day curriculum.  (Won't my son get behind?)

So, I made a decision early on that we would place my son in a private, full-day kindergarten, so he would benefit from a full-day curriculum while having plenty of activities and experiences to keep him entertained during the day.  The only problem, however, is the price tag... 

The cheapest program we've found is $1000 per month or $10,000 for 10 months.  They go up from there with some costing $22,000 for 10 months!!  OUCH!

As it turns out, visiting kindergarten programs are not much different from visiting colleges.  We either set-up a school tour or go to an "open house," and we get all sorts of pamplets and literature about the curriculum, the classes, the tuition, and even the financial aid.  (By the way, these schools are only generous with families that have more than one kid.)

Over a month ago, we visited our second private kindergarten called Alphabet Academy.  Here they're known for this amazing garden where they grow seasonal fruits and vegetables all year round and then create culinary masterpieces in their kitchen.  That's right...there's no packing lunches or snacks here; instead, all children and teachers are given the same food to eat--a certified home made, locally grown meal without growth hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides. 

Some other interesting features of this kindergarten is their Yoga program, their art classes (that only use recycled materials), and their very elaborate activities including Obstacle Olympics, map making, Venn diagrams, etc. etc.

A second school we just visited last week boasts about its outside Nature's Classroom (yes, lots of classes are conducted outside), and its foreign language curriculum in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese!

At first, I was a little swept away by the hype.  Of course my son needs to go to a kindergarten with a professional chef to feed him daily.

Then I gave myself a reality check.  I don't even have the time to prepare fresh, wholesome, organic meals.  Even more, my son will be going to public school in first grade--home to chicken nuggets and Ellio's pizza.  Won't this school make adapting to public school even that much harder?

Call me old fashioned, but at the end of the day, I just want my son to have a kind, supportive kindergarten teacher that will help him with his reading, writing, and math skills and then give him a chance to play.  He doesn't need to learn Mandarin Chinese--send him outside to get some fresh air, sun, and a chance to play on the swings or get dirty in a sandbox.  

I'm not preparing my five year-old son to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company; I just want my five year-old to learn, play, and have a chance to socialize with other kids.

So, right now I'm in a quandary.  Where will he go to kindergarten?  How much money will be spending?  Will he enjoy his new school?  And, will his new school still allow him to be a kid?  There are a few more open houses on the horizon... 

Please keep your fingers crossed for us.