Fine Motor Skills 👐🏼

​Did you know that our kids, even our toddlers and infants, are working on their fine motor skills and preparing for writing every day? 

Fine motor skills are skills that require the precise movement of the small muscles in your hands, including your thumbs, fingers, hands, and wrists. 

We are intentional about encouraging our children in all our classrooms to work on fine-tuning their fine motor skills in different ways. This includes every time our infants pick up a toy or when they start holding something with one hand, rather than using two. Our toddlers draw with chalk on the playground or crayon on paper. Our preschoolers start gluing and drawing shapes. Our Pre-Kers cut with scissors and even start tracing letters. 

Here are some examples of our kids working on their fine motor skills! 

A pre-ker cutting along a line with scissors! 

A couple of preschoolers using their fine motor skills to put together a tower! 

Here we have an infant holding up a cylinder toy! 

Here we have an even NEWER baby reaching up to grab the mobile toys! 

There really is no shortage of activities for your child to do to be strengthening those hand muscles. You’ll be presently surprised at how naturally these activities occur! Our kids are learning every second of every day! 

Blog Buzzer Pt 2: Last week Veronica found 50 of 300 Easter eggs. This week, Jesse found 80 more! How many eggs are left to find? 

Stay tuned for more in next weeks blog! 

Mother Goose Visit!

​Today our older classrooms had a special guest; Mother Goose! 

Mother Goose frequents all The Academies because we LOVE it when she visits! She comes with so many different finger and hand puppets, stuffed animals, and pictures to tell different stories. 

This time, Mother Goose told spring themed stories through songs with hand motions. The preschoolers and pre-kers were so involved and they participated in all the songs she sang! As one of their teachers, I am so so proud for how well they used their listening ears and how respectful they were of our guest. 

We always look forward to seeing Mother Goose again. She loves us just as much as we love her!

Blog Buzzer Question Part 1: The Easter bunny dropped off 300 eggs at our school, 203 Powell Place in Brentwood, TN! Veronica found 50 of them. How many were left? 

Hold on to your answer! There’s more to come! 

Skittle Rainbows

 Skittle Rainbows

This week we did an experiment in each classroom (Toddler 1 and up) to see if we could SEE the rainbow rather than taste the rainbow.

We lined a bowl with skittles and sprinkled some warm water over them to watch the colors bleed into the center of the bowl.

It made so many beautiful colors!

Our kids were really impressed with the results of the experiment. The only downside was that we didn’t get to eat the skittles! 

In March, We Recycle

 Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE!

It’s Recycling Week at AOPP and we’re Going Green! Every March we take out time to practice recycling and making on things new. 

On Monday our friends too old magazines and all types of scraps from class and created free art to go on their walls. 

Our PreK One friends were really creative. Not only did they paste things to paper but they watered down old paint, added water and painted stamps on their papers too! The art work was so amazing! 

Leprechaun Trap Contest!

 Leprechaun Trap Contest!

This week, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re holding a contest to see who can lure in and catch a leprechaun. We’ve opened this contest to classrooms as well as families who want to try it at home.

Hm, I wonder what sorts of things would lure in a leprechaun? Our families are using rainbows, bridges, ladders, clovers, and gold coins on their traps!

Our students and families have been so creative in their trap-making. From using paper and cotton balls for rainbows to using Legos and popsicle sticks for bridges and ladders! They are sure to catch an unsuspecting leprechaun!

Don’t forget to stop by the table in the Enrichment room and vote for your favorite! 

I Am Lucky Because…

​​On Tuesday this week, we put up a big pot of gold as well as some gold pieces in our Foyer for our AOPP family to write on. We gave our parents, kids, and staff the chance to think about what makes them lucky and to share it with others. 

When we think of what makes us so lucky, it helps us have thankful hearts and positive attitudes. Putting them up in the foyer helps each and every parent, child, and staff start and end their day positively! 

We have had so many good ones! 

The pot of gold is still up there so you still have a chance to reflect and write down something that you’re makes you feel lucky! We look forward to seeing many more! 

March Teacher of the Month!

 March Teacher of the Month!

Our Teach of the Month for March is Ms. Mara in Infant 2!

Ms. Mara started with us in August of 2021 and has proven her love for her classroom and her babies ever since! We love her passion, leadership, and calm spirit.

She says her favorite part of her job is watching the little ones develop as they grow and see their personalities sprout! She loves to see them learn something new every day.

Ms Mara’s co-teacher, Ms. Leah (our Teacher of the Month for February), says that Ms. Mara has taught her so much and that she respects her amazing work ethic as she runs Infant 2 even with a Toddler at home! She really is amazing!