To prepare for reopening, a team of teachers created this Social Story to offer to the children and families. It walks through things that will be different, as well as things that will be the same. 

The Social Story also talks about the emotions that might come and how it is possible to hold simultaneous conflicting emotions. 

If the embedded PDF isn't working for you, click here to view the Social Story in Google Drive:               drive.google.com/file/d/1NX9hui-UaEO-EZPEKK4C3BoixX_6u2LM/view?usp=sharing 

An offering for the children of Room 11 from Mentor Teacher Laura

An offering for the children of Room 15 

Explore it outside!
Watch as the sunny weather melts the ice before you.
Can you break through the ice to reach the items inside?
How do the materials stay the same? How do they change?
What tools can you use?
What happens to the ice when an item is taken out? Does it leave an imprint?
How does it feel on your fingers? On your toes?
​Can you use a flashlight to shine it through the ice?

An offering for the families of Room 4

The teachers of Room 4, reflecting on that fact that we are truly living through a historical moment in time, realized that when our children are older they will likely want to know details. As time passes we will inevitably forget the details of our everyday lives during this quarantine, so they extended an invitation to the families to add to their children's Journey Books (Portfolios). 

They included a series of questions to help guide the families who chose to join them in this experience.  

• What do you and your child look forward to most during these days together?
• What is one funny or lighthearted thing that has happened.
• What has been challenging?
• What is your child’s favorite book/activity/phrase/movie/song/snack etc. right now?
• What is something new your child has started doing since quarantine that they weren’t doing before? / What is something new they’ve learned?
• Family members, what is life like in your eyes right now? What do you want to tell your child now for them to read years later about this time? 
• If possible, please include a picture to add to this memento.

An offering from Mentor Teacher Greg Morgan

Each day, Greg has been offering the children of Room 12 a new challenge around storytelling, story creating, and story appreciation. This was a strong thread of interest when they were all together. 

In this video, Greg walks them through creating a character. 

An offering for the children of Room 13 from Mentor Teacher Kayla Rodriguez

"What are the five senses?! 
Hearing, Sight, Smell, Taste, and Touch 

Using our senses allows to appreciate things in the world around us that we might not have noticed before. 

Discuss each of the five senses, then go outside and tap into one sense at a time. Describe what you focused on for each of the senses. Use as much detail as possible to describe what you're experiencing. 

Hearing: outside I heard the clunk of garbage trucks in the distance. The slight drip from our gutters as water is hitting the sidewalk. Birds in trees around me squawk and chirp at each other. 

An offering for the children of Room 11 from Resident Teacher Jenna

An offering from Mentor Teacher Laura Freund

The children of Room 11 have spent the past year and a half forming a relationship with the tree at the bus stop across the street.  Laura has been missing the tree as well as the children and offered this video to extend the experience at home. 

We have received a message from our beloved pets who are holding down the fort at school!
Click through the pictures to see what our little animal friends are up to.

​Thank you to our Assistant Director, Marisa Wheeler, for taking dictation!

What messages do your children want to send back?
Do you have pets or stuffies who might like to correspond?

An offering for the children of Room 16 from Mentor Teacher Kayla Klinzing

Mentor Teacher Kayla was a former Zumba instructor. She created this video to continue dance parties with her class. In addition to offering an experience to engage in together, this also offers the children a glimpse into Kayla's life.

This is a great dance to follow along with inside or outside - just be sure to have a level dancing surface and plenty of space.

Questions to extend the experience
Can you move your body like she does?
Can you add your own moves?
Does it feel different to dance inside vs out?
What other music inspires you to move?