"Baby" It Feels Great Outside!

Outside time is one of our favorite parts of the day! We have had beautiful weather, and happy babies! It is so important for babies and all children to spend time outside everyday. It allows them to explore their environment, develop muscle strength and coordination, and gain self confidence. What a wonderful day!

Science Presentations!

When children engage in science activities amazing things happen! They develop their critical thinking and reasoning skills all while learning about the wonderful world around them! Public speaking is also a crucial skill to develop in children! Today our TASK class did a science presentation for the whole school! They did a wonderful job helping the younger children learn about the magical world of science while teaching them how to make clouds out of shaving cream, lava lamps, a baking soda volcano, moon sand, and slime! The TASK children loved being able to help their younger friends and the younger children loved it as well! 

"STARS" Lunch Time!

The day before our STAR assessment the parents of our families put together a really special lunch for our educators! We absolutely love being assessed so we can show off all of our hard work we put in all year! Thank you, wonderful families!

Read Across America!

Reading aloud to children benefits them in a number of ways! When you read aloud to children it allows children to form social skills, increase their vocabulary, increase empathy, develop advanced literacy skills, and so much more! To celebrate "Read Across America" we had a book fair and the teachers incorporated Dr. Seuss into their learning centers! The children have loved being able to develop a lifelong love of reading while they are at school!

Valentines Day!

Fun Facts About Valentine's Day

• Around 190 million cards are sent on this day making it the second most popular holiday to send cards after Christmas.
• If you include cards given at school and handmade cards, the number of Valentine's exchanged is estimated to be nearly 1 billion. Because so many students give cards, teachers receive the most cards of any profession.
• Around 85% of Valentine's cards are purchased by women. 73% of flowers are purchased by men.
• The oldest love poem is said to be written on a clay tablet by the Ancient Sumerians over 5,000 years ago.
• Around 36 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate will be given as gifts on Valentine's Day.
• Millions of pet owners buy gifts for their pets on this day.

Now This Is Dramatic Play!

Preschoolers are known for acting with impulse, so dramatic play is a great stepping stone for learning to self-regulate their emotions and actions.  When children accept roles in dramatic play they are motivated to stick to them, thinking of them as rules to follow. Having their own rules helps them develop the ability to coordinate and plan with others as well as control their imagination.

Both unstructured and structured dramatic play offer teachable moments about conflict resolution. Inevitably, disagreements will naturally arise during dramatic play, which offers children a chance to work through their differences and arrange a compromise. It also encourages children to consider alternate perspectives as they recognize various roles of people in their lives and communities.

Here at the Academy of Harpeth Village we put together two separate places for dramatic play in each room and let their imaginations fly.

Super Bowl!

In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, we voted on which team will win the super bowl! We had so much fun predicting the winner! The children picked the RAMS as the winner!