May 2023: New Beginnings
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”
— Chinese Proverb
Mindful Focus: How can you tell what others are feeling?
Explorations: Bugs, butterflies, seeds, flower life cycle, compost
What a fantastic year at SimpleLife School. How has it come to an end already? Thank you families for your support, we couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be part of our village. Each child and their grown-ups have brought so much love and joy to this place of belonging and learning. You have helped the whole SimpleLife team grow! We are excited for the future and continued growth!
Books read to enhance learning experiences:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfield
Because of an Acorn by Adam Schaefer and Lola Schaefer
My Mother is So Smart! by Tomie dePaula
Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi
Behive by Jorey Hurley
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals
Seeds Get Around by Nancy White
New songs we sang this month:
The Ants Go Marching
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Butterflies & Beneficial Bugs Exploration:
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
— Maya Angelou
It’s always super neat to witness the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly, it’s even more magical to watch the children’s face of wonder while they witness it.
Bugs have a purpose, and many bugs we find are beneficial bugs! That means they provide for our livelihood. Pollinators, pest eaters, and compost creators! Bugs do so much work for us! Let’s teach the children that taking care of these bugs is a way to take care of Earth, animals, people, and ourselves.
We took care of the caterpillars, freed the butterflies, learned about bee keeping, dug for worms, pretended to fly and grow, and made caterpillar and butterfly crafts!
Seeds and Plant Cycle:
What does a plant need to grow?
The children got lots of experience observing flowers, planting, weeding, sprouting beans, and using seeds to make an art design. We use the environment around us to enhance children’s learning experiences. We let them use their hands and child sized tools to tend to the garden. We discussed the parts of a flower and the life cycle of a flower. The time for flowers come to an end, but new beginnings will come. Each child planted a mammoth flower seed, a meaningful symbol of SimpleLife! For Mother’s Day the children were so focused to paint some tulips for their mom! They had the funnest things to say about all of the great SimpleLife mothers!
End of School Festivities:
Lots of fun!
Bubbles, dancing, water play, messy paint, and yummy treats! The last week of school is always such a great time. We focused on spending time with our friends and having as much fun as we can! The children have learned so much this year. Not only have they explored the changing environment they have had practiced to make friends, communicate, work together, show kindness, and manage difficult situations. Learning ABC’s and 123’s is important, but children cannot learn academics until they learn to regulate their emotions. We integrate academics into our learning explorations, but strive to build resilient, confident, whole-hearted children!
The end of year parties were a success even with a bit of weather! We had so much fun socializing and spending time together. These family connections are a vital dynamic to our philosophy. We love each family and their uniqueness!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! With love, Miss Jenny, Miss Demi, Miss Maisie, and Miss Sushi
How do you know how others feel?:
What do you see or hear to know how your friend is feeling?
We’ve spent a lot of time recognizing how our own body feels, it can be tricky for children at this age to read cues on how others may feel. We talked about body language, facial expression, and tone of voice to understand how someone else is feeling. We read a book that showed how people might want different things from their friend depending on their feelings. It’s okay to ask, “what can I do to help you?”
Let’s continue this acceptance to all feelings and teach children how to manage these feelings rather than suppressing them! It’s okay to feel any type of way! Everybody gets sad, scared, mad, and jealous. No one is alone.
