SEE's gone fishin'!

Week 2 of our summer program took us camping in the great outdoors! Well, sort of. We pitched a tent in the classroom, went fishing on the playground, went on a bear hunt, we kept our energy up with homemade trail mix and sang camp songs near the campfire! The children also welcomed a special visit from our friends at the Stone Zoo!

To start the week off, we had lots of conversation about the wildlife we would find on a camping trip.  We also studied animal footprints and how we can figure out which animal made which tracks by looking at the characteristics of each track.  

As the week progressed, the children studied trees and leaves.  While outside, the children explored and created leaf rubbings from the trees in our playground.  We compared the similarities and differences of the many types of leaves we found. 

The visit from the Stone Zoo was quite an educational experience! We all learned many new facts about animals that are found locally.  We got to see 2 different types of antlers, compare feathers from a bald eagle and barn owl, we got to see two types of turtles, quills from a porcupine - did you know each quill is over a foot long?, and we learned about the interesting lifestyle of a chinchilla! It was very interesting to hear the different sounds from the feathers of the bald eagle and the barn owl.  The children were asked if feathers make any noise.  The children quickly said no because feather are as light as air. Well sure enough, when waved through the air, the bald eagle feather made quite the flapping sound and that was just one feather! However, the barn owl feather was completely silent which helps the owl hear the mice scurrying around the barn during the dark night.  Before the zoo educators left, we got to meet Clyde the chinchilla from South America, Manny the Blanding's turtle and Phoenix the box turtle from Massachusetts.  

To wrap up the week, the children made trail mix, created nature bracelets outside and tried out some fly swatter painting!

Up Next:

Sports Week, aka SEE's Summer Olympics! The children will participate in a week's worth of olympic activities including an opening and closing ceremony, team sports and sports themed art! We will are also excited for a visit from the coaches at Hero Sports Kids!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

August 1: August tuition due

August 15: All updated paperwork is due for the 2016/2017 school year

August 26: Last day of the summer program

August 29-31: SEE closed to prepare for the new school year

September 1: First day of school! Tuition is also due!

September 5: SEE closed in observance of Labor Day

Pictures from the week:

Camping in the block area with books and flashlights

Fishing on the playground!

Mixing up some trail mix!

Quietly saying hi to Phoenix the box turtle

Clyde the chinchilla!

Nature bracelet power! Beautiful!

Fly swatter painting! It's not a camping trip without a few flies!

Learning about animal tracks

I hope every enjoyed this absolutely beautiful summer weekend!

See you all tomorrow!

Joanna

Squid vs. Octopus

This week kicked off the start of our summer program.  This year the teachers worked very hard to create a weekly themed summer program.  The themes include some of the teacher's all time favorite curriculum units as well the the children's most loved units from previous years. This week was Ocean Week and boy did we all have such a great time exploring the squid and octopus! 

We are so lucky to have local resources that provided us with a real octopus and a real squid... no longer alive, which the children were first to point out! Our school is all about hands on learning and it doesn't get more hands on than this! The children had a blast feeling the octopus' squishy skin and the suckers still had their suction.  Did you know that the octopus doesn't just use their suckers for movement and holding onto objects but also for tasting? So cool! The children also learned the vocabulary words "locomotion" and "jet propulsion" which is the word used to explain how an octopus can move out of the way of danger very quickly.  

In addition to touching an octopus and squid, the children made the most beautiful octopus prints using watercolors.  Some will be displayed on the bulletin board next week and the rest will be placed in the children's portfolios.  To wrap up Ocean Week, the children practiced their counting and cutting skills to create an octopus or squid.  These cute creatures will be finding their way to your home shortly!

AND the New England Aquarium's new exhibit is currently featuring the Giant Pacific Octopus! This exhibit looks amazing and would be a great extension activity for the kiddos.  This is definitely worth looking into! Here is the link for more info: Giant Pacific Octopus Exhibit

Also, the week before our summer break, the grandfather of one of our students volunteered to come to school and make ice cream for the class! Now, this wasn't just any ordinary ice cream, it was made with liquid nitrogen! So cool! And it was the best ice cream I have ever tasted! Thank you, Mr. Levine, for coming to our school to make ice cream with us and to show us an exploding banana! We hope to see you again soon!

Lastly, a huge THANK YOU to all of the families who voted for us this year in Wicked Local's Readers Choice Awards! Not only did we win #1 Preschool in Burlington, we also won silver place in our region of 8 other towns! We are so grateful for all of the wonderful teachers, families and kiddos that make our school #1.  

Up Next:

Camping week! Breakout the tent, flashlights and fishing poles! SEE is going camping! The classroom is ready for a week full of camping explorations and a special visit from our friends at the Stone Zoo and their animals!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

August 1: August tuition due

August 15: All updated paperwork is due for the 2016/2017 school year

August 26: Last day of the summer program

August 29-31: SEE closed to prepare for the new school year

September 1: First day of school! Tuition is also due!

September 5: SEE closed in observance of Labor Day

Pictures from the week:

Liquid nitrogen ice cream in the making! The children loved watching the liquid turn to a gas.

The final product! I think it was the first time in 5 years the classroom was silent! Everyone gobbled it down and, of course, asked for more!

Mr. Levine, aka Pop, getting ready to make a banana explode! 

Similar to boiling, the liquid nitrogen was so cold that it mimicked how water would boil at a high temperatures, however, the water was extremely cold, not hot! 

Loving water play! Nothing beats summer in New England!

The octopus! Lot's of hands on learning this week!

The children were invited to draw what they observed.  The bulletin board will be filled with drawings and octopus prints next week! Come check it out!

Octopus printing!

The watercolors worked perfectly and made such a beautiful print.

To wrap up the week, the children practiced their cutting,
fine motor and counting skills making an octopus or squid.

I hope everyone enjoyed ocean week! We sure did!
Camping week is up next! Have a great weekend!

Joanna

The End of the School Year - A time to reflect and a time to celebrate!

This post comes after so much time away from the blog! We have all been very busy preparing for the end of another wonderful school and also gearing up for our new and improved summer program.  The summer program is well underway at this point and man is it nice to step outside and feel the warm sun on our skin! This, in my opinion, is the best time of year!

Just like in the title of this post, the end of the school year is a time to reflect on all of the growth, learning, friendships, triumphs and fun this school year has brought us.  We made so many new friends and this will be a year we will remember for a very long time!

As we reflect, we also celebrate every child who was with us this year.  I am so proud of each child's accomplishments, not only academically, but also their life accomplishments. Learning respect  and compassion for others, overcoming challenges and obstacles, never letting the tough time get you down, learning to go with the flow and always remembering to have fun! 

It just so happened that as we said goodbye and good luck to the pre-k children, our butterflies were also released.  What a perfect time to acknowledge the great unknown that lies ahead of all of us! Although the unknown can be scary for some, we all hope your preschool experiences have prepared you to take risks, be strong and always be confident.  

Our end of the year performance was also a huge success! The children performed one of their favorite classroom stories, "Click, Clack, Moo...Cows That Type" By Doreen Cronin and Illustrated by Betsy Lewin.  The show went off without a hitch and the children were amazing performers! Good job everyone! 

Please remember to add your pictures to our Shutterfly account and send me your video clips via Google Drive.  We have a few families looking for a video of the performance. 

On to the summer!

There is still time to sign up for our summer program! The following are our weekly themes:

Week #2: Camping Week with a special visit from the Stone Zoo and their animals!

Week #3: Sports Week with a special visit from the coaches at Hero Sports Kids

Week #4: Science Week with a special visit from the scientists at Mad Science of Greater Boston

Week #5: Farm Week with a special visit from the farmers at Wright Locke farm and their farm animals

Week #6: Dino Week with lots of explorations including a paleontologist dino rock dig  

Week #7: Ocean Adventures Week including a pirate/princess theme and lots of imaginative sea adventures!

Don't forget to sign up for Fun Lunch Fridays! Email us for more info!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

August 1: August tuition due

August 15: All paperwork is due for the 2016/2017 school year

August 26: Last day of the summer program

August 29-31: SEE closed to prepare for the new school year

September 1: First day of School! And tuition is due

September 5: SEE closed in observance of Labor Day

Pictures from the last few weeks:

The beginning of the set design for the children's performance Click, Clack, Moo performance

The portfolios ready for the pre-k children's families.  These books hold lots of memories from the past 2-3 years!

Costumes ready for the performance!

No party is complete without a Photo Booth!

The hand sign for "Butterfly"

Observing the butterflies!
(Do you see Molly off to the left also observing the butterflies??) 

Taking our butterflies out for a "walk"

Be free butterflies! We wish you well on your journey!

We also wish our pre-k kiddos the best of luck on their journey! Congratulations to the class of 2029!

Stay tuned for a summer blog post coming soon!
Joanna