The students are having a lot of fun working on the early childhood (EC) porch.  We practice crawling, balancing, climbing a ladder, and rolling a ball. One of the children made the observation, “Crawling is good practice for climbing the ladder.  It feels the same.”  If you would like to help your child practice crawling at home, you can have him/her try crawling on steps, playing animals, making tunnels to crawl through with chairs and tables, and crawling under the bed.  Changing the distance your child crawls and the height of the objects he/she is crawling under keeps crawling fun.   This month we start to practice jumping.  We will be jumping on, off, and over.  This is one of the children’s favorite lessons. Gross motor activities also aid in academic development.  All gross motor activities are designed to increase muscular function and improve eye tracking abilities.  Increased muscular function is helpful in all areas from carrying a tray across the room to holding a pen

One of the first aspects of art in Early Childhood is understanding and exploring color.  Below is a student learning the primary colors by painting them on a color wheel. Beginning skills used in creating art include cutting, painting with a brush, and gluing. Practicing these skills also strengthens the hand for writing. The students of EC took advantage of this beautiful fall weather by creating art outside with nature. LE continued their study of the elements of design. This week they focused on lines. Line art by Ruthie Upper school finished their recycled fish project for the Harpeth River Watershed fundraiser.  Below is a collaborative origami fish by UE made out of over 800 pieces of recycled National Geographic paper. Origami fish by UE    UE kicks off their study of Mayan Civilization by learning about their art and culture.  To create Mayan glyphs, they carved clay slabs and then finished them with a stone textured paint. Mayan glyph by UE studen

Art is integrated in many works EC practice daily.  For example, below  a student is working with the Light Box.  The Light Box helps friends work on tracing a picture, name, or shape.  The three finger grip is strengthened as well as the hand eye coordination while following the line with a pencil.   In LE, we are studying the elements of design: color, line, texture, shape, space, and form.   We focused on color and collage this week. The students created collages of primary colors and secondary colors they found in recycled magazines into a color wheel.  Color Wheel Collage by Arthur Upper School continue their recycled fish project for the Harpeth River Watershed fundraiser.  Be sure to stop by Friday night for the wine and cheese to see their creations! Recycle fish by Jonas

Sleep is one of the most important factors in ensuring a successful school experience for your child.  Getting enough sleep is crucial to healthy growth and development for every child.  Children who get the necessary amount of sleep at night arrive at school feeling relaxed, calm, happy, confident, and able to function to their fullest potential.  Having a good night of sleep enables better focus and concentration required to engage in daily tasks and activites.  It is important to have a routine that promotes quiet activities before bed time which help the child to feel calm and prepare the body for rest.  A routine chart that your child can use to take ownership of his/her bedtime rituals can be very helpful. How much sleep does your child need? 2 years:  11.5 – 15.5 hours total sleep (including daytime nap) 3 years:  1 -14 hours total sleep 4 years:  11 -14 hours total sleep 5 years:  10 -13 hours total sleep Studies show that increasing your child’s sleep by a

Upper School has been working on a recycled art project for the Harpeth River Watershed Association’s annual fund raiser on Oct. 27th.    Proceeds will go to supporting their mission: The Harpeth River Watershed Association in middle Tennessee is dedicated to preserving and restoring the ecological health of the Harpeth River and its Watershed.  Join us for wine and cheese next Friday to see all the beautiful fish the students have made out of recycled products! Photo by Oriana

Last week ME, UE, & MS had a docent guided tour of the Frist exhibition Creation Story: Gee’s Bend Quilts and the Art of Thornton Dial .  For information about this exhibit visit http://fristcenter.org/calendar-exhibitions/detail/creation-story-gees-bend-quilts-and-the-art-of-thornton-dial .