Smart Start 2023-2024: Week One

Welcome to Smart Start!

Our first week of the new year was MAGIC! Our students arrived eager to learn and create and we had the best time getting to know each other this week. It usually takes a couple weeks for everyone to settle in to a new space filled with new things and new people. However, this bunch came in on the second day already feeling and acting like they'd been here all along. The atmosphere was full of joy and each student moved through the day with curiosity and enthusiasm.

At Smart Start, learning is presented through invitation. Our space is filled with engaging tools and toys that invite students to explore and experiment with curiosity, creativity, and kindness. These are our core values. In the first week of school we focus on kindness. For many students, this is their first time spending a significant amount of time away from home. For others, it's the first time being in a group of their peers where sharing and waiting are required. All of this "new" needs a hefty dose of kindness. This week we reinforced how important each member of our classroom family is to our group and how it is so important that we treat each other with kindness. Whether that is waiting our turn to share during circle so everyone can hear what each friend has to say or learning to share a favorite tool or toy so that everyone gets a chance to play and create. We talk a lot about kind words and kind hands and how to use them.

We jumped right in to learning concepts this week. We met the letter F and our number of the week, 1. We did our first weather spotting and started learning how to use our classroom calendar. We read four books this week, one of which was acted out by Ms. Jessie and Ms. Aubrey much to everyone's delight. We floated, fell, froze, and flew in the wiggle room and had our first watercolor lesson of the year inspired by Franz Marc's The Yellow Cow.

If the first week is a glimpse into the year to come, we are in for a terrific time with this incredibly sweet group of artists and learners!