East Wing Back to School Night This Wednesday, September 22nd 6:30-8:45 pm Concerned about how your child will be prepared for kindergarten? “Back to School” night is a chance to “see” what goes on in the classroom in relation to goal setting and philosophy. The evening’s focus is about how the NSW curriculum supports what…
East Wing
Woodworking
Woodworking was introduced in the Front Yard! Woodworking was introduced in the Front Yard last week. Thanks to Sage’s Dad, Zed (Lavender WW), we have beautiful new furniture he built that we are using to create a new center for the children to experience all aspects of woodworking. Initially, this space was to be set up…
Communication without paper
During the month of August, the children explored the East Wing Communication Area and its array of materials to use to express ideas, as well as to explore and master the use of constructive tools. Habitually, the children used materials with adhesives to add decorations to their letters to friends and families. As the materials became…
Reflection on Flowers
Reflecting on the children’s long term investigation of flower’s, the teachers have wondered what effect this has had on the children’s observational tools, fine motor skills, and their ability to stay on task while exploring and representing flowers. A decision was made to revisit the flower curtain that was created to support the Fancy Flower…
“Listen to this!”
After the first few critiques of the volume during last week’s water jug sound exploration, the children moved beyond just exploring loud sounds and began to investigate sounds in all ranges of volume. “Listen to this!!” ~Felix Showcasing a sound became a focus among the children. But with so many sounds, and action occurring, how…
Wire
In the East Wing studio we have been working with wire. The teachers, with the help of some experienced children, have been introducing the wire and the tools: wire cutters and pliers. They know that they are real tools and need to be used with care. The children have practiced cutting with the wire cutters…
Tie-Dye
Tie-dye was a fun time this year. Who doesn’t enjoy coloring their own shirts? Tie-dye is a great way to get the children to use their fine motor skills (putting rubber bands on shirts) and exercise color mixing. It is also amazing to watch the more experienced children help other children and share their techniques with them. …
Building Relationships
Before the new school year the EW teachers wanted to make the relationships between the children more visible and show how the environment supported it. We came up with “Buddy Pics”, pictures of two or three children together in different spaces. There will be a new set of pictures every month and they will be…
East Wing Morning Routine
Routines are the best way to ensure a smooth morning. To help the new families, and remind the old ones, we would like to offer a sample of how the mornings work and what to do upon arrival. Also, please note some added tips at the end. 7:30- 8:15- All children, East and West, gather…
A Community of Ideas
Two great big boxes were donated to us by Gail Hallenberg (a speech pathologist who we refer to). Some children went on a walk to her house to bring them to school. A kind man saw them struggling and helped the rest of the way. “It was heavy. We did a lot of tugging.” –…