What a Party!

Tuesday's end-of-the-year party was such a fantastic event for parents, children, and staff at HLC! The obstacle course was a fun activity planned entirely by the children in Tom's class. The magic show was a hit, the dancing was full of happiness, and the resting area was a peaceful retreat. The food everyone brought to share was delicious, and we all agreed that it was a wonderful way to gather our community. Thank you for participating!

There are only two more days of school before our Documentation Day on Wednesday. In fact, I have been so busy preparing this last week that I took very few photos! My apologies. Thanks, Tom, for sharing a few from your camera roll.

Here are some highlights of the week:

On Tuesday night, the children loved dancing with their parents and each other!

There was dancing on the piazza, too.

The children enjoyed a picnic of delicious sandwiches. (Thanks, Jess!) 

There was plenty of imaginative play on the playground.

The children helped each other with daily tasks and new challenges.

And we ended each day with stretching and relaxation in Mayte's classroom.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be with your children here at HLC.

I look forward to seeing you on Documentation Day to celebrate the learning that has taken place in our classrooms these last few months.

This is the last blog post for 2017. Thank you all for reading! 

I wish you the happiest of holidays. :-) 

A Secret Project For Our Party

Thank you so much for attending our first parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday! It was an excellent opportunity to talk freely, answer questions, and share ideas about your child's activities and development at HLC and at home.

We had a good time introducing some new activities and focusing on a very exciting event coming up next week. In fact, the older children in Tom's class are taking full responsibility for the entertainment for our end-of-year party next Tuesday evening! It was all their idea from the beginning, and we are delighted by their initiative and perseverance. The events are a surprise, but here's a sneak peek at the process of writing invitations, practicing for a presentation, and plotting an activity.

In the atelier, there was a time-consuming art project by the older children for the upcoming party. If you look closely, you can see the early stage of it in the photo below, which features our three and four year olds creating dog sculptures out of clay. Can you guess what it is? 

Meanwhile, in the three/four classroom, the children made a happy discovery using chalk and water together.

The cool mornings inspired imaginary picnics on the beach.

Dinosaurs gathered in the sun on the risers near the construction area. 

There was a block tower-building activity with Tom on the risers, too.

Writers worked on messages and cards for family and friends. 

The children worked on activities to update the bulletin board in Tom's class.

In our outdoor movement sessions, Leonel entranced the children with imaginative stories about mountains and wild animals. 

Then, the children had to chase the runaway bear! 

We have been finishing our afternoons in Mayte's class with a story followed by stretching and relaxation. It's a perfect way to end a busy day!

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our end-of-year party on Tuesday! Let's be sure to congratulate the children on their wonderful ideas and hard work designing the entertainment. ;-)

A New Teacher AND A New Student

The most exciting news of the week was that we gained a new teacher AND a new student! 

Watch your email inbox in the next two days for the December newsletter welcoming Mayte as our new teacher for the two year olds. 

A lovely girl has joined Tom's all-boy class. She has brought a wonderful sense of calm joy to the classroom, and the children are learning a lot from her deep appreciation for nature. We don't use names of children on this blog, but we welcome our newest student warmly!

It was a fun week for her to join Tom's class, as the children had a chance to continue their sound project. They listened to different kinds of music, and then got up and danced! It was fun to see how the music inspired them to move.

Outside, in Lionel's class, the children had a great time doing different movements to drum beats. They played a fun game that was a bit like musical chairs--but with hoops!

We explored a new cloth tunnel in the grassy area, and the children were excited to see how many of their friends could fit inside at the same time.

Some of the younger children went outside to do some rubbings on our geometric tiles.

We had a sunny afternoon of water play in the fruit tree garden.

The two year olds walked with painted feet, creating art on the piazza with Paloma and Mayte.

Meanwhile, there was plenty going on indoors. The writing table in the 3/4 class was in constant use, with children drawing, writing, and creating secret messages.

There was serious music to be made.

As always, there were busy builders hard at work.

We explored rock salt and zigzag shapes on the light table.

The family of one of Tom's students came to school for a delightful storytime session. The children loved the story--and the twin baby girls!

We look forward to seeing all parents on Wednesday, December 6th for parent/teacher conferences! 

Have a great week. ;-) 

Fort Picnics and Pasta Painting

We had a short week due to the national holiday on Monday, but the children were excited to return to school on Tuesday. We had a busy four days of creative play, outdoor fun, number and letter games, and messy atelier projects. 

Our classes with Lionel always bring smiles. This week, the children chased after balls, kicked balls in the grass, and practiced spinning balls around a small plastic bowl that was also used as a convenient helmet.

In the three/four classroom, the children made a series of forts with blankets, ropes, and clothespins. Inside the fort, they had picnics, read books to each other, and created their own little worlds.

The activities in the atelier were new, exciting, and usually messy. Pasta painting (with paints made of flour, salt and water) gave the children a chance for exploratory play--including tasting their creations!

There were moments of contemplation as the children studied a flower and painted it, or explored the texture of home-made plastilina.  Also, plenty of little hands were busily creating shakers to be used later for music and rhythm activities.

In Tom's classroom, the older boys played exciting games using their knowledge of numbers and letters. There was a lot of bell ringing and laughter!

They continued to create word cards to add to their word boxes.

And on Friday, they had a great time setting up  a new marble track and testing different arrangements. There was a lot of collaboration and sharing going on, and plenty of trial and error.

Meanwhile, the younger children spent Friday afternoon exploring our new water tables. There were muddy dinosaurs to be scrubbed!

Last, but not least, the learning continued in the kitchen atelier, with the children continuing to help Jess prepare our delicious and nutritious meals. We have noticed that, since the children started working in the kitchen, they are trying more of the foods they (at first) didn't like, and eating more of everything. 

We love it when there are no leftovers of the spinach and roasted beet salad!

We are looking forward to more creative fun next week. Thank you for sharing your children with us!