What a nice week it was to be off and to catch up on things - and I only went into the school once - it's amazing how much I can get done at home! Anyway, as I was doing odds and ends for school this week I could not help but think that just about a year ago when they were just about to break ground and begin preparing for our new building to arrive in 26 pieces. NEVER did I imagine or dream that a year later we would be a bit more than half way through the school year. The building has been just perfect - no other words for it. We are all just so happy to be together and to have the many opportunities to bring children from various classes together for activities. More importantly, it has given our entire staff the opportunity to do the work needed to help all of your children. We have already seen such wonderful changes in so many children - it is not just the building, but instead it is the strong and dedicated staff that has been brought together to take your children from the developmental level in which they are at and on to the next level, whatever that may be. We all feel as though we finally have a permanent, safe home built just for us and we appreciate this more than anything every day we are there! What a difference a year makes!
The Life of an "Almost Kindergarten" Child....
Monday, 18 January 2010 08:49
I just noticed that my last blog never posted – I will try to work on getting these to post correctly – ugggh……sorry!
It’s just so hard for me to believe that we are half way through January of 2010 ! I think now at how quick the year has gone by and how much more we have to do before the end of the year. More importantly I think of how much the children have changed, even since before the holiday vacation. We are beginning to see more confidence in your children. It is becoming clearer which children are preparing for kindergarten in the fall at this time. Not only are their Pre-K skills becoming more consistent but they are getting BIGGER in size!The next few months to come are going to be big for our soon to be kindergarten children.We want them to be more independent in their self care skills. We also want them to be more independent in the classroom, even as far as asking for help. Those are all areas we will really focus on in the months to come. At home you can also work on having your children dress/undress themselves, even with all of this snow gear. You can also have them focus on cleaning up their play space when they are finished with one activity. We forget the simple practice of putting one activity away before taking out another – it really does work! Many of the pre-academic skills will also come but their self help and emotional growth is very important in these months to come. For all of our children, the best we can work on is having each one of them celebrate their own individual success, no matter what that actually is in their development – and we are the cheerleaders to be sure they reach for that “celebration”.
Finally....a blog entry - SORRY! :(
Sunday, 10 January 2010 16:28
Wow – I am so sorry it has taken me so long to blog….I promised myself our website would not be one of those websites that remains unchanged so now I have to fulfill that promise!! Things have been quite hectic at the preschool, but all in a good way. I do believe that it takes a few months to get up and rolling and in a good groove – I think we are just about there. The children are back from their first vacation. I swear it looks as though some of them grew a few inches- pretty funny! It was a week filled with family time and eating for me – it’s good to be back at work and away from the refrigerator! I love the next few months because the children start to change so much. They grow not only physically but developmentally. The children are becoming more comfortable in their classroom environment and are beginning to increase their skill development. I really have to take this time to give credit to our staff including our teachers, para-professionals, and therapists. They have worked so hard this fall and early winter to provide the children with the most enriching environment possible. The classrooms look really awesome. Our staff are monitoring your children’s skills in various areas and are implementing activities that will take them to the next level of their development. It is an exciting time for all of us because the children begin to look “older” to all of us and they really show off their new skills. We look forward to the months ahead and working with all of your little ones. I will make a real effort to now update all aspects of our website on a regular basis. Check in with our newsletters, photos, blogs, etc. As always, thanks for all of your support!
An Appropriate Thank You!!
Sunday, 15 November 2009 11:04
About two weeks ago two young gentlemen arrived in a truck and parked in front of our school. They proceeded to unload a very large, flat wooden "item" and then buzzed to come in - of course I thought to myself "What did I order now that looked like this big board". We checked them in after they stated they had a sign for us. After they unloaded this "sign" and we determined where it was going I began to think that people will probably never know the importance or what went behind this sign - so, what was the sign you ask???? It was the traditional sign that gets put up in a building upon completion stating all of those that brought this building from beginning to end! So, I looked tat the sign and at each person's name on the sign and began to think how special this sign really was. Over many, many Thursday nights and then work in between, the names on this plaque indicate the effort put forth by all of these people to be sure that all of your children have the best and safest environment possible so learning will be the priority. So, as you walk in to our building please take a minute to look at our plaque and the names on it - then if you see any of these individuals please thank them for making your children a main priority in all of their decisions and helping our dream come true - they continue to finalize this very special project and should be so proud of their accomplishments! This plaque means a lot to me and I hope to all of you also - it surely makes me pay more attention to the plaques in the other schools now that I know the true effort and dedication these individuals put forth - so thank you to each and every one of you - we promise to do you all proud in our new home!!!!
Special Moments.....
Sunday, 25 October 2009 15:53
First let me apologize for getting behind in my blogging - as you can imagine things have been so busy just getting up and running. Time has really flown by - I can't believe it is almost November. Anyway, things are going GREAT!!! I am really so thankful that I have this opportunity to get a brand new school up and running. It is a gift that I promise never to take for granted. Our preschool building is looking just so beautiful no matter where you walk. I think it is just so special because each staff person has taken her space and personalized it - that is what makes it so special. I just LOVE to tour people through our bldg. Each time I tour I see things that just amaze me or just make me smile. I have had many moments during the past two months that have brought up so many different emotions. The strongest emotion is feeling the loss of my father and thinking how proud he would be of the building and all of what went into the building. He was so excited the night I came home and told him that the building was approved at town meeting. From there the plans came out and the excitement grew and he began to be the "project manager" from his home. His support for our program and for what is daughter did every day was always there - he loved hearing about what was up at school. Once the bldg. started his excitement grew as more details became available. My dad suffered with cancer and as the cancer progressed, his excitement about our new bldg. never stopped. Even though cancer took my dad away from us, his enthusiasm, support and love continues to be with me every day of my life and especially when I go off to work. I think of him so often with various things that we have done with our bldg. I often think of how proud he would be and also how far we have all come in the Preschool CUBS program. I often tell peopel that my biggest regret about the bldg. (and honestly my only regret!) is that my dad never did get to see the finished building. He would be so amazed and would just love the fact that our littlest gifts to this world, our children of course, have a safe and enriching environment where their most difficult tasks that we all take for granted, can be addressed in this loving building. Now if someone asked me what my proudest moment with this new building was right now I would have to say it was raising the American flag ! Why you ask??? First, my dad fought very hard for our freedom as many others did - and he just loved the American flag and all that it stood by - he would have just LOVED watching us raise the flag and would have loved to watch the flag waving in front of our school. Secondly, having our flag raised and now waving freely in front of the school is an absolute beautiful site that we all should treasure since so many young men and women fight for this - we are a beautiful school and now that our American flag is flying our school looks complete! I hope you are proud dad - you continue to be an inspiration to me in all that I do and I'm sure you will watch over all of our children in this beautiful new building!
Dreams really do come true!!!
Sunday, 20 September 2009 06:40
Wow - where do I even begin with this blog.....these past few weeks have truly been a dream ! All summer I got in a routine of going to the new building and working with the various contractors (thanks so much to all of them!) and preparing for the big day when our little friends arrive. All of a sudden before I even had time to fully realize it - our building was filled with staff setting up rooms and then soon after - little happy voices in the hallways.....and I then realized that yes, dreams really do come true! We now have a beautiful building where children can come and get a wonderful start to their education in the North Andover Public Schools. It's not about just having a beautiful building with lots of new things....but we are so lucky because not only do we have that beautiful new building but we have the staff to bring it all together to make a wonderful educational environment for our youngest children. It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks and many long hours - but how often does one in the educational field get the opportunity to be the Director of a brand new building with incredible staff and families to work with - it's all worth it and then some.....I say to people I drive to work and I can't wait to get there and see what the day brings - but in a good way! I take my position very seriously and will try every day to be the best that I can be with this wonderful opportunity that has been given to me. It's going to be a wonderful year for our staff, families and most importantly our children!
Celebrate the small successes!!!
Thursday, 11 June 2009 06:55
Wow as I sit here today I cannot believe that in just a matter of a little over two weeks we will be packing the preschool up and getting ready to move. It is getting bittersweet but I won't blog about that just yet. I do know that our anxiety is growing of the big move and how we will get it all done and such. However, things like this always come together. For the next week we are not going to focus on that. We are focusing on just enjoying the children and getting them ready for a great summer. Our children have grown so much. As I have said in recent posts, it is amazing to look back at my 6395 pictures I have taken this year of the children and just see the growth in photo form. Our children have become different little learners in a very short period of time. This has not been easy in some cases - it is due to the hard work from our wonderful staff and families working together. The children that arrived in September (or later in the year in some cases) have grown in so many ways during this school year. I want everyone in the next week to just take a step back and enjoy their children and appreciate every bit of growth that has come about and celebrate! It's all about celebrating the small successes and not looking for the giant steps - after all - I think we are all so busy these days in our adult world that we never have a chance to just take a step back and enjoy and celebrate - so, that's what we will be doing until next Thursday - wanna join us!!!!
Wow - Mid May already!!!!
Sunday, 17 May 2009 06:59
Sorry it has been a month since my last posting - wow time has flown by....this is the time that many parents are getting very anxious about summer months coming and the kids will have nothing to do...It is a time that yes, your children's schedules will change for sure - however, it is also a time when even the simplest of activities can be fun for a young child. I think sometimes parents feel as though they have to have a "grand plan" for each day and want to be sure they entertain their children. However, we would say to feel free and take the pressure off of yourselves!! Summer is a great time to just enjoy yourselves, enjoy your children and enjoy the fact that you do not have to maintain a schedule. Even letting your children play with sidewalk chalk, paint your fence with water, water the plants, look at storybooks under a tree, etc. are wonderful summer experiences. Do not feel guilty if you are not sending your children to a camp or a summer program. Being home and just enriching your children with the most simplest of things is beneficial.....think of the days when we were younger and we all played outside every day of the week - and sometimes with nothing except our imaginations - it is perfectly fine and you are still wonderful parents for doing so! If you feel as though you would like ideas of what you can do for your children, please check back on our site. I am going to generate a list of ideas from our staff and I will then post it online. In the mean time PLEASE do not feel guilty as parents if you do not have a plan or a camp to send your children to !!
Spring has sprung - THANK GOODNESS !!!!!
Sunday, 19 April 2009 10:06
I don't think this bear is the only one happy to see spring! It has certainly been a long winter and we are all very happy to see spring come along. The nice thing about spring is all of a sudden we see the growth of your children, both physically but also developmentally. I was looking at pictures all day yesterday and today to update the photo galleries and I really can't belive the difference in the children. It is fun to go in to each of the classrooms and see how much more confident the children are - and of course how much bigger they are - my goodness! We are heading into a busy time for our teachers and our families. Parents are getting anxious given the transitions to kindergarten, new preschool classrooms but most especially for summer vacation. It is normal for this anxiety but again, try not to show it in front of your children. As far as kindergarten and preschool for next year, the good news is you will have orientations that will make you feel better. For some very strange reason, parents are more anxious than teachers for the upcoming summer vacation - hmmmm - I wonder why!!! In all seriousness, it is often a time to just enjoy typical activities such as going to the swimming pond with other families, spending time at the library, going to the playground, etc. We can help with recommendations if needed. Overall you may feel as though you are on a roller coaster during the months to come but we are all here to support you if needed. Take just one day at a time and enjoy the spring with your children. We have a very exciting few months coming with our new building but also seeing your children mature and show us that they are ready for their next step - whether it is kindergarten or returning to our CUBS. It is good to be reminded to "take time to smell the flowers".
Oh what a difference "months" make.....
Sunday, 08 February 2009 09:17
Oh what a difference “months” make…..
I have the very unique perspective of “visiting” our preschool classrooms on a regular basis and making my own observations. It truly is a great opportunity for me to be able to be in the classrooms and visit your children – and honestly it is one of my favorite aspects to my job! Anyway……what I really wanted to blog about this week was the wonderful difference I see in all of your children at this point in the school year. The child that slowly entered our preschool program in September and cautiously observed the other children playing is now in the middle of the rug playing with vehicles, surrounded by other children! The child that watched with a look of “you are kidding – you think I am going to stick my hands in that!!!!” is now covered in fingerpaint from head to toe! In September I would walk into the classrooms during circle and it would be teacher led but a bit more quiet on the children’s end – all looking a bit nervous and quiet. Now I walk into rooms and “WOW!” the children’s voices are heard! The children confidently count, make choices, rhyme words, sing songs and share stories (and oh my do preschool children tell stories!). It just amazes me how preschool children grow in so many areas in such a short period of time, especially our three year old children. I think that is why all of the staff that work in our program do what they do…every day is different and the incredible work that our staff do makes such a difference to all of your little ones. We do a lot of trial and error because our children are young and sometimes unpredictable – we never say never with our children. There is ALWAYS possibility with all children! The gift I have, and I just can’t find the appropriate words to express, is to be able to observe your children and the changes in their development each week. I treasure the job I do and the honor I have to work in such a wonderful program with an UNBELIEVABLE staff and great families! I hope I never take this for granted because it truly is a gift and I am a lucky person….every day is different with your children and their development blossoms like a beautiful flower!
"Kindergarten" worrying is for big people!!
Friday, 23 January 2009 13:04
Yes, it is that time of year again when parents hear the words “Kindergarten Registration” and fear sets in! I’m not quite sure why because our kindergarten programs are wonderful and the staff are so caring, but I think it is just the big transition into the public school that worries many. Transitions are typically difficult for not just the young but also the old (well I don’t mean that you are all old but you are older than 5 years old). However, it is important as these kindergarten events come up and discussions begin at home, you do not show this anxiety or fear in front of your children. Children are very in tune to their parents’ emotions and once you begin to show any emotion that may have fear or anxiety toward the big “K” word, your children will begin to fear this word, even though they really cannot yet identify what it is. The word kindergarten is abstract to our children and won’t make too much sense until they experience it. The best advice I can provide is be very careful what you say in front of your children. Any decisions regarding kindergarten should not be discussed in front of your anxious children and when you do speak of kindergarten, try to build it up as a positive and fun transition. Remember….everything you ever learned you learned in kindergarten!!!!
A Post Holiday "Warm Fuzzy"
Friday, 02 January 2009 08:17
Well I really did mean to write this on our last day of school before we left on the holiday break but....yes, time got away from me and now all of a sudden we are going back on Monday - so, better late than never right!!! As you all know the preschool staff put a new policy into effect for this holiday season that we would prefer parents not purchase/send in holiday gifts for the staff (this was done for many reasons as specified in our letter to parents). First, we would all like to thank parents for honoring our request. We did ask that if parents would like, they could have their children make a picture or a homeade craft for their teaching staff. First, let me say that we just loved our specially made cards, projects, etc. What many of us experienced over a period of a couple of days was just PRICELESS and it is what makes us really love what we do!!! As you may or may not know, when children bring in gifts they are excited to give them to the staff but are just as surprised as to what is in them. That is fine because we all do this with our own children, nieces, nephews, etc. However, for a few days we had children that were coming in and so anxious to dive into their little backpacks and unpack that very special gift that they created. As they had it halfway out of their backback they were already calling staff members over to give them their special little gift. I literally saw one teacher getting ready for circle and she must have had 6 children all yelling with excitement, "Miss ____, Miss _____ I have a picture for you" or some other special project. They were each pushing forward to be the first to present their masterpiece. The teacher just looked at me with such excitement and a warm feeling and said "this is what it is all about". I then entered two more classrooms that same day and saw the same gathering of children. Parents clearly sat with their children with markers, crayons, glue, etc. in front of them. Many just let the children take the lead and then others had a project in mind that they helped their children through. The final projects/creations that we received are priceless gifts that we as staff members will treasure because they are clearly from the parents and childrens' hearts. We all thank you so much for granting our best holiday wish - the best thing is many of these special gifts that you helped your children with will keep on giving and making everyone smile, including your children. We can put these special gifts on our desks, walls, etc. and always think of the love that went into them. So, as I do realize this was an uncomfortable "policy" or "request" that was made by our staff, we are all so grateful that you respected it and gave us the most special gift one could ask for and that is the gift of your children, your trust in allowing us to teach your children and most especially the gift of your children's creativity!!!! Thank you from all of us!
An Unplanned blog....
Saturday, 20 December 2008 08:48
Check back for this one - it timed out and I lost the blog...teaches me a lesson to type faster!!!!!
I felt the pain......
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 19:15
What pain you are probably wondering - well, I have been in this field of special education for a long time and I have worked with many children that have had surgery of some kind. I didn't realize until last week the pain parents must endure when they pass their child on to doctors....so let me explain how this came to reality for me! Many of you know that I have a younger sister with Down Syndrome. She is the pride and joy of my life and my family's life. This past week Joanne (her name of course) had eye surgery. Yes, the special education teacher in me came out and I made her a social story about what was going to happen (although honestly, I think the story was more for me to deal with the surgery and not Joanne!). We sat waiting for the surgery and Joanne was just fine, no anxiety whatsoever! Me on the other hand.....good grief what a nervous wreck I was. I then took Joanne into the OR and looked at her as she was put to sleep. The medical staff then smiled at me and escorted me out the door - yes, I was a mess! Once I composed myself (no, I am not going to tell you how long it took!) I immediately thought of how difficult it must be for all of you parents to leave your children in the care of the doctors in a room where you know few! However, I realized that you really have no choice but to trust - but wow, what a difficult thing this must be for all of you. But, as I sat in the waiting room, anxiously waiting for the doctor to reappear, I also thought of how difficult it must be for parents to drop their children off even in preschool to a room filled with people that you often times do not know all that well. I realized that trust comes into play whether it is with a room filled with doctors or a room filled with preschool staff. You are so often asked to trust adults in so many situations with your young children, whether or not they have special needs. I think I speak for our whole staff when I say that we are so honored that you entrust your children with us in the Preschool CUBS Program. We take that trust very seriously, no matter what our job is in the preschool. We thank you for trusting your children with us, even if it is not surgery, it still involves trust and we appreciate that and consider it a gift !!!!
Oh, by the way, Joanne is fine - and yes, I'm sure I will recover sometime in the near future!
Remember to always press save!!!
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 07:57
OK, so yes I was did a big blog (actually with a bit of humor as well!) on that dreary Sunday morning and then I went to view it and yes, I did forget to press the save button -uggghh - how many times have you all done that!!! So, I'll try to recap what I said - it all started when I wasn't sure what to blog on and then I got the Sunday papers with 542 ads for the holidays...so it hit me that the craziness had started - although I should have know it started the day after Halloween when I went shopping and Silver Bells was playing decorations were being held - anyway, it made me think that it would be a good time to remind parents that it is perfectly OK to keep your children in a good, consistent routine during the next month or so. Schedules get totally crazy because you feel you need to bring your children to all 32 Santa's in the mall or every festivity there is for each of the upcoming holidays in December! You can limit the parties you are invited to and keep your families a bit sane. It is really best for your children to remain in their same routines for as long as possible, including bedtime routines. The more stressed you as parents get, the more stressed your children will get. Their stress will not show the same as yours however - you will begin to see them look more tired, change behaviorally, and/or demand more attention from you as parents. Give yourself permission to continue to set the limits, keep your routine consistent and say no to one of the 734 parties you are invited to - ITISPERFECTLYFINE!!! And, it is really best for you and your family - oh yea, trust me I am not a baa-humbug person as Itruly do love the holidays - I also want you to really enjoy the season by not stressing yourself out OK, so yes, I am now going to press SAVE!
A Blog Extra!
Wednesday, 05 November 2008 06:54
The real secret of professional development days......(be honest now...I know you are wondering!!!)
OK, so growing up how many times as a child did you think "boy, teachers have it made on all of these curriculum days - they get the days off!" Or .... "What do teachers do on all of these curriculum/professional development days?". WELL...let me tell you what YOUR preschool team did on their professional development day - most exciting was that everyone got to see the latest design of our new building - and it was very exciting! We chatted about the specifics and also the location - and yes, we are still scheduled to open in September of 2009! More importantly, I just have to say that we have the BEST staff around! Our preschool staff worked all day on beginning to develop a new curriculum based upon the Early Childhood Standards recently approved and distributed by the MA Dept. of Education. The teachers, paraprofessionals and therapists worked to begin to align our curriculum with the state standards - yes, there truly are state standards for our little three and four year old children! So, I had to take this opportunity to thank our staff for the INCREDIBLE work they did yesterday - they worked as one team together striving to provide each and every one of your children the very best preschool education and experience possible - our work will continue throughout the school year so I'll keep you posted on our progress.
THANK YOU PRESCHOOL CUBS STAFF - YOU ARE THE BEST ANYONE COULD ASK FOR !!!!!!
HVAC, RFP, RFQ, MSB, .......Oy vey!!!
Sunday, 02 November 2008 08:57
Good grief I never knew so many abbreviations were needed to build a new preschool building!! I think I need an abbreviation dictionary by my side - BUT, yes, I am learning all of them - OK, so most of them! The process to build our new building has been so exciting, but I won't lie - at times it is stressful! There are many decisions to make and many of them are "on the spot" decisions. I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is for me to be part of the "design committee" and an attendee at the Building Committee meetings and provide my input (which is really all of the staff's input) on a regular basis. In most people's educational career, they are NEVER part of designing an educational environment from ground on up. I consider this a complete honor to represent our Preschool CUBS staff and families in making sure that this building will accommodate all of our needs. There are so many things to consider in this process and those that are making the decisions and moving this process forward, want to be very sure that every decision that they make is RIGHT for our children. So, the update is....the RFP (or is that RFQ) will be going out shortly which means contractors will be bidding on our project. Once the contract is awarded, the building will be built offsite and moved here in many pieces. And yes, I will probably want to set up a tent and camp out to watch this whole process of putting together our building from about 26 pieces- anyone want to join me???? I'll continue to keep you posted and hopefully soon I can share a picture or two. Until then....I must go back to studying my abbreviations! TAFN (haha - I thought I would join the fun - That's All For Now!).
"Apples and leaves and trees" OH MY!!!
Sunday, 19 October 2008 13:19
Walking through our Sargent School Preschool is like walking outside on a beautiful fall day! The children have been quite busy creating fall designs using leaves, apples, paint, playdough, glue, etc. When I walk in the classrooms I see the children really enjoying the fall colors in all of their centers. I also hear stories being read aloud either by the teacher or through a book on tape, and the children just loving the descriptions of the beautiful fall colors and all of the changes that take place outside so quickly. Fortunately, this fall we really do have such vibrant colors on the trees (and on the ground unfortunately to all of those that need to do fall cleanup!!) that the teachers are able to use them in their fall theme. Our staff are doing a wonderful job at using a multi-sensory approach to their teaching, which for this time of year is really enriching!
It's that time of the year when you want to take the opportunity to take your children out for a walk or just let them play outside in a pile of leaves! You can take them out on a "nature walk" and talk about all of the colors that they find on the leaves. You can also work on counting (leaves, acorns, apples, sticks, etc.) and even some shapes. Whenever you have the opportunity, it is also nice to work on vocabulary with your children. You can do a lot of labeling when you walk or even when you are just outside playing. Children at this young age are like sponges but sometimes you just have to take that extra second to label, describe, demonstrate and show in order for them to really understand the vocabulary word or the simple concept you are showing them. All in all, just enjoy the weather but more importantly, enjoy spending time with your children outside (because for those of us who DO NOT like winter, the days are numbered!!).
Parent Resources Available!!
Saturday, 18 October 2008 07:41
It's been a tough week for several of our parents who lost their daycare due to the unexpected closing of a center in NA. I received many phone calls from other parents to see if we had openings in our program to accommodate their children. I felt bad for all involved but unfortunately, we have no openings in our program at this time. Although as a public school program we cannot provide specific recommendations of preschools or daycares in our community, I can give you a few resources that we use that would give you the names of preschools and daycares in the North Andover area. You can either check out the following website or call these agencies to see if they can help you:
Child care circuit: www2.childcarecircuit.org 877-823-2273
Community Partnership www.glcac.org 978-681-4996
These are tough times for all families now. The pressure and stress of the economy and the election certainly stress out families and ultimately, it adds stress to dealing with children that may have behavioral challenges or are just being "preschoolers". There are many great trainings and worksshops available for parents. North Andover is part of the Community Partnership program and we get notified of many GREAT trainings for staff and parents. With my new blog I will now try to give you information on parent trainings that may help you with the challenges of raising young children. There are many trainings coming up so you might want to check out the following website to see if any of them interest you: http://parentingresourceassociates.org/index.html .
I hope these resources will help you out during these very challenging times. In the meantime, go out and enjoy this beautiful fall day with your children. Remember the days when your parents would just rake up a huge pile of your leaves and you would jump in them for hours.....maybe this is just the day to share that experience with your young ones!!!
A Wonderful Visit with the NA Fire Dept!!
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 17:07
Do you remember when you saw your first fire truck up close or got to actually sit in a fire truck - OK, so most of us can't remember what we did yesterday but if you are a parent, teacher or adult watching a child sit in the truck for the first time, all you can do is smile as you watch the excitement in the child's face! Well we got to do that about 20 times today when the NA Fire Dept. visited the Franklin School Preschool to conclude a unit on firemen that Lauren's was doing. She invited Linda and Kim's classes to join her class outside to sit in the truck, get a picture taken with the firemen and then listen to "Fireman Bill" chat about fire safety. The children were so excited and just so cute! It was a fun morning and we thank the NA Fire Dept. for visiting us and being so kind with our children!
Welcome to CUBS Corner Blog!!!
Sunday, 12 October 2008 11:48
Hi to all of my "blog" readers.....
I am going to make a real effort to just blog on a regular basis. If you have never heard of the word "blog" you are not alone - just consider it like an ongoing journal. I'll blog on my travels through our Preschool CUBS classes, progress on our new building, interesting websites you might be interested in, parent events, or just checking in to say hello. That's the fun of blogging - it is just ongoing journaling - I hope you find it interesting ! The other important thing to remember when you read my blog is that one entry may have nothing to do with the next entry. So, now you have read your first "CUBS Corner Blog". Stay tuned.....I'll be back !
About two weeks ago two young gentlemen arrived in a truck and parked in front of our school. They proceeded to unload a very large, flat wooden "item" and then buzzed to come in - of course I thought to myself "What did I order now that looked like this big board". We checked them in after they stated they had a sign for us. After they unloaded this "sign" and we determined where it was going I began to think that people will probably never know the importance or what went behind this sign - so, what was the sign you ask???? It was the traditional sign that gets put up in a building upon completion stating all of those that brought this building from beginning to end! So, I looked tat the sign and at each person's name on the sign and began to think how special this sign really was. Over many, many Thursday nights and then work in between, the names on this plaque indicate the effort put forth by all of these people to be sure that all of your children have the best and safest environment possible so learning will be the priority. So, as you walk in to our building please take a minute to look at our plaque and the names on it - then if you see any of these individuals please thank them for making your children a main priority in all of their decisions and helping our dream come true - they continue to finalize this very special project and should be so proud of their accomplishments! This plaque means a lot to me and I hope to all of you also - it surely makes me pay more attention to the plaques in the other schools now that I know the true effort and dedication these individuals put forth - so thank you to each and every one of you - we promise to do you all proud in our new home!!!! 
First let me apologize for getting behind in my blogging - as you can imagine things have been so busy just getting up and running. Time has really flown by - I can't believe it is almost November. Anyway, things are going GREAT!!! I am really so thankful that I have this opportunity to get a brand new school up and running. It is a gift that I promise never to take for granted. Our preschool building is looking just so beautiful no matter where you walk. I think it is just so special because each staff person has taken her space and personalized it - that is what makes it so special. I just LOVE to tour people through our bldg. Each time I tour I see things that just amaze me or just make me smile. I have had many moments during the past two months that have brought up so many different emotions. The strongest emotion is feeling the loss of my father and thinking how proud he would be of the building and all of what went into the building. He was so excited the night I came home and told him that the building was approved at town meeting. From there the plans came out and the excitement grew and he began to be the "project manager" from his home. His support for our program and for what is daughter did every day was always there - he loved hearing about what was up at school. Once the bldg. started his excitement grew as more details became available. My dad suffered with cancer and as the cancer progressed, his excitement about our new bldg. never stopped. Even though cancer took my dad away from us, his enthusiasm, support and love continues to be with me every day of my life and especially when I go off to work. I think of him so often with various things that we have done with our bldg. I often think of how proud he would be and also how far we have all come in the Preschool CUBS program. I often tell peopel that my biggest regret about the bldg. (and honestly my only regret!) is that my dad never did get to see the finished building. He would be so amazed and would just love the fact that our littlest gifts to this world, our children of course, have a safe and enriching environment where their most difficult tasks that we all take for granted, can be addressed in this loving building. Now if someone asked me what my proudest moment with this new building was right now I would have to say it was raising the American flag ! Why you ask??? First, my dad fought very hard for our freedom as many others did - and he just loved the American flag and all that it stood by - he would have just LOVED watching us raise the flag and would have loved to watch the flag waving in front of our school. Secondly, having our flag raised and now waving freely in front of the school is an absolute beautiful site that we all should treasure since so many young men and women fight for this - we are a beautiful school and now that our American flag is flying our school looks complete! I hope you are proud dad - you continue to be an inspiration to me in all that I do and I'm sure you will watch over all of our children in this beautiful new building! 
Walking through our Sargent School Preschool is like walking outside on a beautiful fall day! The children have been quite busy creating fall designs using leaves, apples, paint, playdough, glue, etc. When I walk in the classrooms I see the children really enjoying the fall colors in all of their centers. I also hear stories being read aloud either by the teacher or through a book on tape, and the children just loving the descriptions of the beautiful fall colors and all of the changes that take place outside so quickly. Fortunately, this fall we really do have such vibrant colors on the trees (and on the ground unfortunately to all of those that need to do fall cleanup!!) that the teachers are able to use them in their fall theme. Our staff are doing a wonderful job at using a multi-sensory approach to their teaching, which for this time of year is really enriching! 