It was a lovely morning in both wings today. The East Wing children all greeted each other and explored what was new and the same while the West Wing children explored friendships, environments and systems. The teachers learned a lot about what we had set up and how to tweak it for this group. The…
April (Mehana’s mom, WW) offered to host a family tradition of lei making to commemorate special events. The families loved the idea and added several bouquets to the project and made leis for each graduating child. These will ceremoniously be given on graduation day to each child with great love and sweet wishes. Roleen commented…
Last week at our afternoon meeting in the West Wing, Jen introduced our “Next Steps” board. The plan for introducing the board was to inform the children of upcoming transitions in classrooms and to process that Indie‘s next step will be Beethoven Elementary. Jen asked the group if they wanted to share with Indie. …
We had cooking with Jessica (Hayes, EW) Snacks and menu-making: Kirby, Sawyer, and Agnes The last Farmer’s Market run was today with Katie (Poppy’s mom, EW)
Among the teachers, discussions have taken place about prospective changes to the environment that included the children’s wishes for the new year. We’ve ‘tried on’ a lot of what the East Wing has to offer and started to see ourselves as a group in a new space together. Both wings have reflected on our…
As we close out the year, we think of next year’s possibilities. We begin to consider everyone’s experience and interests and how they relate to the new spaces in the East Wing and new children in the West Wing. We’re envisioning a gorgeous future together. We’re seeing new relationships on the horizon and solidifying good,…
The teachers in the West Wing noticed, at the beginning of this year, that emotional expression was an effective strategy to use for creating a tight-knit community. At first, they identified some emotions in what then became the “Emotion Legend” that has been expanded and referred to throughout the year. The intention was set in…
With all the interest in the textures of the things we see on neighborhood walks (things like the spiky cactus, and the rocky soil), Cindy offered explorations with acrylic mediums that offer different sensory representations within the paint. The West Wing children began with one collaborative, warm-toned painting and one cool-toned with additives made for…
A very special ‘THANK YOU’ goes out to Mike Bonin (Jacob, EW) for hooking us into the Councilman’s office education fund and the possibility of reserving a school bus for trips! This particular school bus was very special because it was driven by Duran – an alumni’s nanny! Our trip to Docweiler Beach was a…
“I so appreciate your generosity and plan to use the money to spend some time with my family over a vacation in San Diego. It is a true joy to work with your children and see them develop. I am thankful for the trust you put in us and hope your summer is restful and…