May 2022: Concluding a Year The SimpleLife Way
Every child deserves a childhood full of wonder, laughter, joy, excitement, exploration, safety, and love.
And that’s a wrap for the 2021-2022 SimpleLife school year! This month we dived deep into what has been happening in the garden spaces. The school yard has blossomed into a nature wonderland. A haven for bugs, birds, plants, and children!
It takes a lot of maturity to play games with rules and steps. Over the months the children have worked hard to learn how to take turns, follow rules, focus, enhance language skills, work as a team, and manage feelings of disappointment.
Dress up and pretend play, also known as dramatic play, builds problem-solving skills and enhances self-regulation abilities. When children dress up they use their imagination skills and communication skills when playing with others. We have a variety of dress up costumes where the children can take on a new perspective and try out a new identity. Pretend is fun!
Many days of preschool we would share a daily nature poem from the book I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree. It is challenging to listen to poems but it was amazing what the children noticed in the poems.
Understanding how others feel:
Children do not develop the ability of taking another person’s perspective until ages 3-5
Empathy is woven into every lesson, interaction, and experience at SimpleLife. Young children simply do not have the developmental ability to “step into another person’s shoes”. When a toddler or child steals a toy from another it is not because they are trying to hurt that other person, they cannot even think about how actions make that other person feel, only what they are feeling. We can teach empathy to young children by asking, “How do you feel when…” It is also important that the adults model kindness, compassion, respect, responsibility, and warm responses.
We encouraged the children to notice what happens to a person’s face and body when they feel sad, mad, happy, etc. When a problem is being solved we have the children look at each other and notice how they think they feel.
Books read to enhance learning experiences:
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
BUGS!!!!
Life cycles, benefits, and more!
Watching the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies is fascinating at any age! We observed 6 caterpillars create a chrysalis, become pupas, and hatch out as butterflies. Releasing the butterflies was a magical moment. The children got to observe the butterfly drinking nectar from a flower they got to hold.
Some bugs hop, some bugs, flutter, some bugs crawl, and some bugs help us! We explored beneficial bugs. Pollinators, earthworms, and pest eaters. Children are very capable of understanding the cycle of our ecosystems. Bugs are neither bad nor good, they each have a purpose.
Books read to enhance learning experiences:
Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
Beehive by Jorey Hurley
The Icky Bugs Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello
Seeds, Plants, and Compost:
Big things have small beginnings
Since the school year starts at harvest season, this children experience the garden cycle starting with collecting our produce and prepping the garden for winter. When spring comes around and they get to see the growth in the school yard; it is eye-opening knowing that when it is autumn there will be an abundant stock of healthy foods. The children make cognitive connections and predictions to better understand the world around them.
We germinated bean sprouts, learned the life cycle of a sun flower, collected seeds, planted mammoth sunflower seeds, tomato seeds, basil, kale, and more!
Books read to enhance learning experiences:
Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
My First Green Book by Angela Wilkes
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Ashley Wolff
Art Explorations:
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
~ Pablo Picasso
The children used recycled egg cartons to paint and make their very own caterpillar. It was fun to see the different colors the children chose and the cute caterpillar face they drew on. Of course a butterfly is needed too! With liquid water colors the children created a beautiful tie dye pollinator.
Over the school year we have collected many different types of seeds. The children used these seeds to make an artistic creation. Before they started glueing the seeds on, each child made a plan of what they wanted to make, vocalized their plan, used a pencil to draw it out, and then started the glueing! Not only did the children get to experience seeds sprouting and providing us with plants, but they got to hold them, examine them, and expand their imagination by making something unique.
Splatter paint! We are never afraid to get a little messy at SimpleLife, but when we told the children they could SPLATTER the paint all over, their faces lit with joy! Every person learns differently and has different interest. Many of the children who don’t usually engage in art for long periods of time were memorized by this activity. The paintings turned out beautifully one of a kind, colorful, and spontaneous.
A message from the teachers:
”They may forget what you said, but they will not forget how you made them feel.”
~ Carl Buechner
What really makes SimpleLife Preschool a place of love, nurture, creativity, and authenticity is the children that attend. We love each child just the way they are. We would like to thank and show our love for all of the parents of these wonderful small humans. Thank you for caring about your child’s learning and development. Thank you for supporting SimpleLife’s philosophy and mission. The amount of parental support we got this school year was abundant. Every one of you have gone above and beyond to provide your child with a high quality and safe learning environment. We are your supporters as you are ours, it really does take a village! A big thank you to ALL the grown ups that help out!
Trials and tribulations are apart of life and it can be challenging to accept them. You hope that the very serious situations don’t happen to you. This school year one of our own faced the scariest of situations. Thank you for the support, love, and donations you have provided for the ones we love dearly.
Thank you for the wonderful school year! We are all so passionate about early childhood education and have experienced so much joy having the honor to be your child’s teacher. We look forward to see your child continue to grow into a confident and compassionate person.
With much love, from our hearts to yours,
Miss Jenny, Miss Demi, Miss Lacey, and Miss Maisie
