October at Marlowe

We've had an incredibly eventful month! A petting zoo came for a visit, we had some creepy-crawlers brought in for show-and-tell, two sweet Secret Chefs helped us cook some delicious treats, Ms. Mary has come by for several Music Hours, and we had lots of fun dressing up for Halloween!

September at Marlowe

Our most exciting news of the month just might be that we FINALLY got a good tomato harvest! The little ones have been eyeing the growing tomatoes since June, and they have finally ripened. On another happy note, our beloved guinea pig is getting highly educated and has gotten lots of lessons over the past few weeks. See if you can spot him in the pictures below.

We look forward to bragging about your brilliant children at parent-teacher conferences next week!

Back to School!!

The "big kids" got off to a great start last week! All the fours, fives, and sixes started school and jumped right in with two feet!! I had a week planned with lots of art projects and back-to-school activities, and I was shocked when (on the very first day), several of the children brushed off my light-hearted plans and pulled out big math and language activities instead. Some surprising work choices have included addition math drill sheets, golden bead material, stamp game, map drawing, cursive handwriting practice, LOTS of animal diagrams, and reading. The twos and threes started this week, and I am absolutely tickled by how much the children remember from this past spring and summer, and by how much it feels like the the school year is well underway. 

One of the most exciting aspects of this school year has been the addition of a new classroom, and our welcoming of some fabulous new teachers. We have loved having the twos in our class in the past, but we are delighted to now have a tranquil space for them to explore outside our main Primary Class for two hours each day.

For those of you who couldn't make the Twos Open House, we can't wait to show off our new classroom in miniature, and I have listed our Twos class schedule below. The schedule changes as the year progresses to include much less group time and much more individual work time; however, with our littlest ones, the beginning of school is filled with lots of small group (3-6 children) activities as we introduce the children to their new environment and help them connect with new friends. At the moment, our Twos' schedule is as follows:

8:25-8:45 -- Morning Carpool/Morning Greeting, Story, & Songs
8:45-9:00 -- Potty Breaks & Circle Time
9:00-9:15 -- Group Snack Time
9:15-10:15 -- Small Group Lessons in Language, Art, Math, and Geography/ Independent Work Time
10:15-10:30 -- Potty Breaks & Circle Time
10:30-11:00 -- Playtime
11:00-11:30 -- Lunch
11:30-12:00 -- Work Time in the Primary Class
12:00-12:15 -- Music & Movement in the Primary Class

12:15-12:30 -- Story and Dismissal 

coloring

beginning sound games

color matching; guinea pig cuddles; insect matching/naming

stencils

ball games/free play

music and movement

We are so glad your family is with us at Marlowe this year, and we look to forward many fun-filled months ahead!!

Detective Time!

Marlowe's secret agents had a blast this week! Campers received a spy kit that included a code ring, disguises, a CIA badge, a passport, and a Top Secret message. We learned famous landmarks, European flags, and Morse Code. The campers even created their own code!! Special Ops. teams were given secret missions with a strict 3 minute deadline. All in all, the last week of camp was a resounding success, and we look forward to seeing you all in a couple weeks when school starts!!