A Word from Our Director
Weekly Goal
Throughout the year we will be asking the entire membership to focus on particular aspects of the curriculum. Our ultimate goal, or our key goal, is to concisely communicate the school’s philosophy to each family. This week our goal is to support you as you support your Spring Time child!
Here is an excerpt from the book Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, a great resource for your parenting:
Learning From Your Mistakes
Becoming an effective parent entails making a series of educated guesses and seeing what works. In doing so, we inevitably make mistakes. There will be times we’re rigid when we should be loose, loose when we should be firm; times we’re inconsistent or unfair. All of us will make judgments based on the best knowledge we have at the time, only to find out later that we were wrong. We will say and do things that hurt our children because we were too tired, frustrated, or mad to stop ourselves. At times, we will repeat mistakes that were made by our parents because we haven’t come to terms with those particular pockets of history. We all hope that none of the mistakes we make will damage our children by compromising their safety, squashing their self-esteem or crushing their spirit. Yet whenever we do something we haven’t done before, we inevitably make mistakes. It’s part of the learning curve.
The Value of Mistakes
“Wrong” answers are at the heart of the scientific discovery process. By discovering what’s “wrong,” through exploring and examining what doesn’t work, we eventually figure out what does work. Mistakes are critical building blocks in the problem-solving process. When a child is learning to walk, falling down is as important as getting up.
Many of us haven’t had an opportunity to learn to appreciate mistakes as opportunities for growth. When we make a mistake, we judge ourselves harshly. Mistakes don’t fit in with our vision of ourselves as perfect parents. But perfection — even if it was achievable — is not what kids need from us. It’s better for kids to have parents who demonstrate how to keep growing despite human frailties.
SPRING BEES
Hard to believe it but some of these sweet youngsters will be headed off to Kindergarten next year. Laurel Hill has a series of traditions to send them off in style. One of the traditions is Spring Bees and it starts this week.
What is the Spring Bees Program?
Our Spring Bees Program is a pullout program for children moving on to Kindergarten in the fall. Following the science exploration based curriculum used in PreK, the Spring Bees will be invited to delve more deeply into our investigations. We still stick closely to our belief that children learn best through play, and we offer more complex opportunities. No child is forced to participate. A child refusing to join is signaling that he/she needs more time for self-directed play.
Spring Bees Enrollment FAQ:
· Who gets to participate? In December we asked each family to let us know their intentions for next year. Families indicating that they would be moving on to Kindergarten next year were placed on the Spring Bees list. Families indicating that they wanted a spot held in PreK were not placed on the Spring Bees list.
· Last Call for Spring Bees: If you indicated that you will be graduating to Kindergarten you are automatically placed into the Spring Bees Program. Now that Kindergarten Assignments have come out, you may want to change your mind. The official roster will be set on Tuesday. After that point we will not be adding more children to the Spring Bees.
· Where and when will Spring Bees Meet? Spring Bees will meet in the Blue Room at Noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. After a short meeting, we will head to Lower Slope for some lunch and exploration.
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