The month of January brought us our unit about Community! What different kinds of communities there are, how people work together in communities, and what they see in their own community. Everyone has been having fun playing with our dollhouse, trains, cars, and houses to make their own communities!

We also were visited once again by our music teacher, Ms. Nora! We got to try playing tongue drums, egg shakers, and sang and danced to lots of songs! We even learnt a song about a snowman that goes like this, "I'm a little snowman, round and fat. Here is my carrot nose, here is my hat. When the sun comes out I cannot stay, slowly, slowly, I melt away."

The morning class this month was very interested in sensory activities. They spent a lot of time molding kinetic sand, listening to seashells, building with rocks, and playing with soapy water! It was great seeing them enjoy the different textures and materials, and expanding their vocabularies with new describing words from the experiences.

The afternoon class have started learning some games such as musical chairs, simon says, and red light green light! These games have been helping them learn a variety of skills such as following directions, taking turns, and being a good sport whether you win or lose. They have been having so much fun with these games and even want to play them amongst themselves on their own!

We ended the month of January by being visited by Snake Discovery for our winter field trip! We got to see and learn about lizards, turtles, and snakes. We also got to pet them and even hold some of them! Every one was so brave and looked so cool holding all those reptiles! Thank you to everyone who joined us for such a fun time!

What a month it’s been and oh my goodness, what a year! December wrapped our classroom in extra sparkle, laughter, and learning. From celebrating friends’ birthdays to spontaneous dance parties (our favorite kind!) and our much-anticipated end-of-the-year pajama party, the days were full of joy and cozy cheer. Both classes enjoyed learning about the month of December and the holidays celebrated during this time, and as the mornings grew frostier and the afternoons a little brighter, we even explored the winter solstice and how daylight changes with the season.

And then there was the snow… SNOOOOOOW!!! We painted snow, painted with snow, sang about snow, and of course, played in it. The excitement for the first snowfall was real and so was the chill! Together, we talked about winter gear and what our snowmen need to stay warm. With practice and patience, our little snow angels have settled into a suiting-up routine and are showing so much independence getting ready for outdoor play. Snow days might look like pure fun (and they are!), but they’re also packed with learning; balancing, navigating slippery ground, and tossing snowballs all build gross motor skills, coordination, and spatial awareness.

​With a new month came a new topic of interest community and it’s been wonderful to see how this learning has blossomed in both classes.

The morning class began their exploration by asking a big question: What is a community? From there, they learned about different types of communities and identified familiar buildings found in their own neighborhoods. Along the way, they picked up lots of new community vocabulary and proudly used it during conversations and play.

One of the most special outcomes of this unit has been social, children are taking turns more thoughtfully and engaging in more inclusive dramatic play with one another. It’s been heart-warming to watch their understanding of community show up in how they treat their friends.

They also strengthened their fine motor skills with a fun snow stamping art activity. Using a “snowball” dipped in white paint, the children stamped snowy patterns onto paper, building hand strength and coordination while creating beautiful winter art.

​The afternoon class dove into the question of "What makes a community? ". They explored different types of communities and expanded their geographical knowledge by looking at a world map and learning about the continents. Through thoughtful discussions, they shared places they go and see in their own community and talked about ways we can help our communities and the people in them.

During play, children practiced penmanship as curiosity and excitement grew around our letter of the week. We’ve seen wonderful teamwork, cooperative play, and thoughtful moments of respecting each other’s boundaries. Directional skills were strengthened through energetic freeze dance , and letter knowledge expanded with the always-popular Alphabet Fishing  game.

​​December truly brought out the magic of winter, of learning, and of growing together as a classroom community. We’re so proud of all the ways these preschoolers are learning, playing, and caring for one another every day. We cannot wait to see what the new year brings.

In the month of November the morning and afternoon classes transitioned from learning about friends and family to our jobs unit! The classroom was transformed from having kitchens and babies, to a Grocery Store, Doctor's Office, Vet Clinic, Dentist Office, and Beauty Salon. The students of both classes have had lots of fun taking care of animals, teeth, and each other with the different doctor and dentist tools. They also have been enjoying being cashiers for each other with the cash register, and doing their teachers and friends hair and makeup with the salon supplies.

The teachers started things off in the jobs unit by simply talking about "what is a job?," and learned how a job is something someone does for work and jobs are all a part of our community. (they will learn a lot more about communities later ;))

From there, the students learned about different kinds of jobs and what kinds of things people need to do those jobs! Both classes did that by reading a variety of books about jobs such as "Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do" by Deborah Hembrook & Kathryn Heling and multiple books in the "Community Helpers" series by Tami Deedrick. The children got to learn about mail carriers, chefs, artists, carpenters, firefighters, farmers, astronauts, etc.

The students also got to talk about what job they want to do when they grow up! They even got to color and make hats for their future dream jobs. The future certainly looks bright with our next generation of carpenters, veterinarians, trash collectors, firefighters, construction workers, astronauts, race car drivers, painters, teachers, dentists, and bakers!

The afternoon class also had some fun opportunities to get to play outside in the nice fall weather! The children observed all the leaves that had fallen off the trees and felt the texture of them as well as listened to the sounds they made under their feet. They also really enjoyed finding and looking at all the ladybugs that were on the playground.

Finally, the month of November was finished off by having the first Parent Child Class of the year! The topic talked about was on Screen Time and Internet Safety for Young Children. In the class, families discussed and learned about ideal screen time guidelines for 3-5 year-olds, what is "quality" screen time, co-watching, and practicing and modeling healthy technology habits.

There also were some interactive activities going over different screen time scenarios. Families also got to build their own tech plan, put together a kit of screen-free activities to do, and got a bundle of different resources to help monitor their child's screen time.

Everyone had a fun time learning together about this important topic and a big thank you to all the families who attended! And always remember the 3 Steps of Screen Time: 1. Ask a grown-up first 2. Stick to what you know 3. If it feels scary of you're not sure, tell someone!

This year has been such a joyful journey for our Way to Grow Preschool Pals, filled with new experiences, big transitions, and plenty of laughter. Spring brought a season of discovery as we kicked things off with a fun and memorable field trip to the Minnesota Children’s Museum, where the children explored, played, and followed their curiosity through every exhibit. We also celebrated some meaningful staff changes. Miss Gwen moved on to continue her journey in education, and while we miss her, we’re so proud of her. Miss Olivia completed her CDA program and stepped confidently into her role as a lead teacher, and we were thrilled to welcome Miss Ramona to our team this spring. Our staff even participated in Literacy Day at the Capitol in Saint Paul, celebrating early learning and advocating for young readers. One of the highlights of the season was our gardening unit, where the children learned about seeds, soil, and nature’s magic. Their hard work paid off with a vibrant garden and an impressive harvest (especially all that zucchini!!)

Summer was filled with sunshine, learning, and lots of outdoor fun. Our Dinosaur Unit sparked huge excitement as we explored fossils and learned about the fascinating reptiles that once roamed the Earth. The warm weather gave us endless opportunities for summer fun days outside, complete with water play, sandcastles, and sensory-rich adventures. One of the standout moments of the season was our amazing field trip to Como Zoo, where the children were soooo hype to be seeing animals up close and asking curious questions. We ended the summer with a heartfelt celebration as we congratulated our Preschool Pals who graduated and are now off to kindergarten!! We couldn’t be prouder of their growth.

Fall arrived with crisp air and colorful leaves, bringing fresh starts and lots of cozy learning moments. The first day of the new school year was filled with excitement and transitions as our preschoolers settled into new routines with bravery and joy. This season, we focused on learning about Friends and Families and building a warm, connected classroom community. We were so happy to welcome back Jam Sessions with Miss Nora, whose music and movement activities brought rhythm and smiles to our days. Outdoor play was especially magical as the children noticed the fall colors and explored the changing environment. Our adorable field trip to the Fall Harvest Orchard gave everyone a dose of autumn charm, with wagon rides, apple-themed fun, and farm exploration. We wrapped up the season with our festive Fall Costume Party, complete with pumpkin painting, sensory pumpkin exploration, dancing, and lots of family fun.
As we look back on all these moments, we are filled with gratitude for our wonderful children, supportive families, and dedicated staff who make each season brighter than the last. Every adventure reminds us how lucky we are to learn and grow together. And with so many exciting things already blossoming behind the scenes, we can’t wait to share even more memories in our next blog post. Stay tuned.... the best is yet to come!!

Lastly, I wanted to express the gratitude I have for all the parents and kids that are a part of the preschool program. It has been absolutely amazing watching our kids grow and develop these last couple of years. You are all wonderful parents! I wish you all nothing but the best! Cheers to the next chapter; the kids will be greatly missed. They all have a bright future ahead of them!
​
- Ms. Gwen ​

We started off the month of November continuing to talk about family. The first week we talked about "what makes our families special". We specifically focused on diversity and background. This could look like celebrating traditions, or taking a special family trip. The second week of November we talked about "how families work together". More specifically we read books and talked about what kind of chores or actions we do at home to help our family and how people in our family help us. The PM class did a wonderful job discussing actions they do at home. One student said "I help my family my organizing my family’s shoes". Talking about jobs was a perfect segue into our upcoming unit on jobs! The PM class ended the unit drawing pictures of their families and telling the teacher why they loved their family. 

The third week of November the PM class started a unit on jobs. The teachers reorganized the classroom. We created a salon, grocery store, and vet clinic. Many of the kids dressed up as doctors and took care of the animals by putting bandaids on them and giving them medicine. Some learned how a grocery story worked by using a cash register to check food items and using money to pay for food. A few kids were hair stylist and helped the teachers and friends brush and blow dry their hair. The first week of our unit focused on "community helpers" . We read books about community helpers, showed pictures and acted out in play what they look like (dressing up) and what they do to help their community. The book we read was "Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling". The second week of our jobs unit we focused on "what a job is" and "why people have jobs". We read "A Job For Wittilda by Caralyn Buehner". We recalled the problem and solution in the story to help the kids understand why people have jobs and what they may look like. For the PM class we managed to squeeze in a science project about items that “float or sink” and why. The kids had an opportunity to be scientist and make predictions about whether an item would float or sink!

The month of December came quickly. We continued our jobs unit discussing what kind of jobs kids wanted to have when they got older. Many said they wanted to be a firefighter, vet or a teacher. The PM class continued to point out jobs in everyday life, like noticing that Mr. Willie’s job is to drive the bus. And our front desk person helps greet people at the door. And Ms. Gwen and Ms. Olivia are teachers! 

With Winter Break quickly approaching we began to decorate our classroom. We worked with all sorts of mediums. We created stain glass snowflakes using paint markers and a spray bottle, we painted using marbles, we made our own paper, and we decorated gingerbread, and snow people! The kids enjoyed getting messy and hanging up their a masterpieces all around the classroom. 

​​We ended the month of December by having a pajama party! The kids and teachers came to school dressed in pajamas and decorated cookies. It seemed the AM class enjoyed licking the frosting off the cookies most. The PM class enjoyed playing in the mounds of snow, building snow forts, and watching “A Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats.
​
We will see the kids in two weeks! Enjoy Winter Break and Happy New Year everyone!

The first week of October we finished up our unit on friends. We welcomed the Fall by pulling out our plants some of us grew over the summer to get ready for winter. While cleaning out our garden we found a caterpillar! We made a home for it and watched transform into a cocoon. The students decide to name the caterpillar “Butterfly”.

During the first week of October the afternoon class was hard at work, learning our schedule and mastering new skills like hand writing, rhyming, alliteration, and counting to 20!

Our second week we started our unit on family! We learned what a family is and who is in each of our families. We sang songs and played instruments with Ms. Nora like "Finger Family". 

Both of our classes took a trip to the Fall Harvest Apple Orchard. There, we went on a hayride, fed animals, walked through the pumpkin patch, and enjoyed many of the activities for kids, like a giant jumping pad, a big slide, a race track, and a train ride, 

 The third week of October we made more fall art projects to decorate our classroom. We spent a few days walking over to the park and enjoying the unusually warm weather. We continued learning about family by reading books like "Who is In My Family?" by Robie H. Harris and "Tell Me What You Did Today" by Rick Kupchella. We talked about activities we do with our families, how we help our families, what families look like, and what types of foods we eat with our families. We introduced more to our curriculum like vocab words to help students recognize sight words and we added science projects. 

We ended the month of October by having a Fall party! Our kids dressed up, we dissected a pumpkin, decorated bags for candy, painted pumpkins, made corn on the cob, and played pumpkin tik-tak toe. 

We started our school year with some bright minds! Students quickly made friends and learned our classroom routines and expectations. Our first week of class the students explored the classroom and met new friends. It was a hard transition for some kids to leave their parents but they quickly warmed up to coming to school. Now most morning are met with smiling faces and the kids running into school!

Our second week we talked about red and green choices. These choice help our kids to understand classroom expectations in a positive light. We read several social stories about rules and choices that make friends and teachers happy. We also learned what it met to be a good friend. ​

In between all the skills we  learned we also decorated our classroom with fall decorations. And were visited by our music teacher Ms. Nora to sing, and learn to play different instruments. What a fun couple weeks it has been! A bright start to our school year! ​

This summer our two classes participated in a whole lot of fun! We started our summer planting seeds, watering and watching our plants grow. By the end of the summer we had lots of dill, basil, sage, cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes, swiss chard, beets, carrots and broccoli. Our students took the time to wash and cut some vegetables for snack. We got creative and decided to make lip stick with our beets. It made eating vegetables so much more fun!

Our classes stayed cool several ways this summer. We learned to make sandcastles, had water balloon fights and enjoyed some time at the pool. 

We had the opportunity to continue partnering with McPhail Music School through the summer. The music teacher brought in several different instruments for the kids to learn about and practice playing. 

On top of learning about new instruments the children also focused on learning about animals and the biomes they live in. They created their own biomes to learn more about the characteristics that make up some animals environment. We also learned all about author and illustrator Eric Carle as many of his book have animals as characters. 

Our families took a trip to the Children Museum! Everyone had the opportunity to climb ladders, wash cars, make mud, create monsters, dance and experiment with gravity. ​

We ended the summer saying our goodbyes before sending our students off to kindergarten. And, welcomed our new aide, Olive!

​Congrats to our smart, independent, and kind graduates! What a fun year it was!

At the beginning of April our classes started a unit on color theory. The students mixed lots of colors, made sidewalk chalk, created rainbow crayons and worked together to make a classroom mural! Our class read the book “White Rabbit’s Color Book” by Alan Baker to learn more about mixing primary colors. Through hands-on activities like mixing colored water and making side walk chalk, the kids learned what colors make purple, green, orange and brown. The kids favorite activity was making crayons and having a glow in the dark dance party!

This spring we introduced two new music teachers from MacPhail Center for Music to come once a week to sing with our kids, teach them new instruments and engage in fun musical activities. 

Some of the students also took a field trip to the Minnesota State Capital for Child Advocacy Day. There they participated in a treasure hunt and read books with government staff. 

Our class took time at the beginning of May to celebrate May Day. We had a picnic in the park, played games, made flower bracelets and decorated vases for our flower bouquets.

Our preschool held a parent-child class on gardening. Families worked together to plant their own seeds and the kids helped plant in the outdoor garden. 
Our unit for the month of May is on plants and gardening. The kids helped teachers put together the new garden bed. They worked to spread out the dirt and water our herb garden. The kids were fascinated with the different shapes, sizes and textures of each seed. They are most looking forward to the fruits and vegetables that our garden with produce this summer!

HIGHLIGHT: After spending three months working hard to master the monkey bars. Two of our kiddos finally learned last week! They put in so much work and determination! 😁