Last week I had the privilege of attending Bernheim Forest's "Children At Play" conference, and presenting our Preschool's journey toward a natural playground concept. Currently, we are the only early childhood program in this area committed to a project like this.  I was thrilled to hear about a community play group in the Portland area (in Louisville) that has introduced nature into their outdoor play areas.  As well as projects created by the children, Jefferson Memorial Forest has also created their first certified outdoor classroom, which is now open to the public.   

The presenter that I most enjoyed meeting was Rusty Keeler, author of Natural Playscapes: Creating Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul.  He wrote the book that inspired some of the conceptual ideas for our playground.  It was very inspiring to hear about his work around the world, designing natural play spaces for children.  The phrase that he used to describe what playgrounds can be really struck me: "Introductions to the planet." This is a beautiful way of looking at outdoor play for children, and exactly how we feel about the environment we want for our preschoolers.  Rusty challenged us to reflect on our own experiences of playing outdoors as children, and to use these experiences to guide the planning of their play spaces.

Another powerful moment for me was watching clips from the documentary Play Again that followed six children over the course of a year. The children in the film discuss how they spend their days, and it was astonishing to me to learn that they, in keeping with the national average, spend 90%of their time indoors.  I couldn't believe the physical transformation these children made after a year in a free-play study.  You can view the video here.   

The event concluded with a visit to Bernheim's Children Play Garden led by Claude Stephens, Facilitator of Outreach and Regenerative Design.  If you haven't had a chance to visit the play garden, please do so this fall.  They are doing great work out there and I know our Preschoolers and older siblings will love it!

If you are interested in reading more about the "Children At Play" conference, please check out the Bernheim website and search for the Children At Play Initiative.   

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On another note, conference time is right around the corner for us.  There is a slight change in the format for the conference forms this year.  We have aligned the skills of each developmental area (physical, social, emotional, cognitive) on a continuum.  This will allow you to look at each developmental area's short- and long-range goals for each area of learning.  The goals are on a continuum, so the younger children are not expected to achieve the goals to the far right of the list until they are at least 4 or 5 years old.  Your child's teacher will mark the date next to the area that she has observed a particular milestone.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  We will have a link to sign up for conferences online in the newsletter next week.

I hope to see many of you on Saturday evening for the "Our Good Earth" gala!    

If you need to reach us here at the Preschool, you can call our main line at 694-9370. You can also call 228-0165 and press #8 to reach Renee directly.

Conference Day (Friday, November 1st) will be here soon!  This year parents can sign up for a 15-minute conference online.  We will post the link in next week's Preschool Weekly.

Conference Day Childcare

We will not be having classes or the normal extended care on Conference Day.  However we will be offering 15 minutes of childcare during your child's conference.

We are happy to offer the option of half-day (8:00 a.m. - noon), and full-day (8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) childcare to families who may need it.  The minimum number of children that need to sign up is 10, and there will be a fee.

Sign-up forms will come home next week, and the deadline to register for childcare is Friday, October 25th.  We will announce on that day whether the childcare is a go.

Thanks!  

East End Blasting 

For the week of October 14 - 19  

(Times Approximate)

Tuesday: 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday: 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. &  

7:00 p.m. 

Thursday: 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Friday: 10:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.   

Saturday: 12:30 p.m.  

At around these times each day, traffic will be stopped on U.S. 42 and the entrance/exit to the Snyder Freeway for anywhere from five to 20 minutes.  

2013 - 14 Calendar  

The Snack Calendar for the month of October is now available  for viewing on the St. Francis School website, and you can also view it here!

The Lost & Found is conveniently located in the entrance foyer -- underneath the Sign-In Table (should you ever need it).