Summer Fun

     Summer is one of our favorites seasons to embrace here at SMART START! The children absolutely love playing outside in our outdoor classroom! Our young learners love to play on the play structure, cool off in the sprinkler, kick and throw balls, play hide and seek, pop bubbles, dig in the sandbox, go on nature hunts, tend to the garden and chickens and engage in endless pretend play! Summer is full of sunshine and smiles here at SMART START and we absolutely love it! 

     Here are some highlights from our Summer Fun program here at SMART START!       #1 - LEMONADE! Our SMART START friends put on their chef hats and aprons and were busy in the kitchen.  The children worked in pairs to use our handheld juicers to produce freshly squeezed lemonade for their outdoor picnic lunch!  

     #2 - PLAY STRUCTURE! When it is time to go outside here at SMART START, the first thing the children do is run to our new play structure. Whether they are swinging on the swings, gliding on the glider, sliding down the slide, playing in the house, or zooming the trucks around, fun is being had by all!  The smiles and laughter are endless and we love watching our young learners truly enjoy the new play structure.

     #3 - GARDENING! It is a favorite activity here at SMART START.  The children love tending to the plants, especially the bean plants.  When it's their turn to fill up the watering can and water the plants, instant excitement sets in!  They have helped grow and collect many beans that we use as snacks for both the children and our classroom pets.  

# 4 - CLASSROOM PETS!  We are fortunate here at SMART START to have two different classroom pets.  Pilot, our bunny, has been with us for a long time and the children always look forward to spending quality time with him.  They absolutely love holding Pilot and feeding him freshly grown beans from our garden!  More recently we welcomed two chickens, Charlotte and Caroline. Our pet caretakers enjoy playing with and visiting the chickens in their coop. Pilot, Charlotte and Caroline have truly enhanced the children's daily hands on learning experiences. We are firm believers that classroom pets make a difference in the lives of children!

#5 - FUN WITH FRIENDS!  One of the major advantages of sending your child to SMART START is that they will socialize and make friends!  The children spend countless hours together and learn so much from each other during structured time and free play.  We facilitate a great deal of their interactions through our curriculum and hands on learning experiences, but we also are able to witness friendships blossom on their own as they engage in conversation and play.  SMART START friends have thoroughly enjoyed a fun filled summer here together!  We are so lucky to have such a lovely group of students here at SMART START.

      We hope your summer has been filled with endless fun! Our summer program here at SMART START was wonderful. We thank you parents for allowing your children to be a part of it. They make every day here at SMART START special!

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

SMART START Chicks and Chickens

      We welcomed some new additions to our growing SMART START family this summer!  SMART START would like to introduce Chick and Chicky, our baby chicks.  Chick and Chicky visited us here at school and remained with us through the end of August.  They then moved on to the chicken farm.  The children absolutely loved Chick and Chicky and acted as wonderful care givers. They enjoyed holding, playing, feeding and simply observing them.  Chick and Chicky brought lots of smiles, conversations and giggles to our students and we are so happy to have provided them with this hands on learning experience right in the comfort of our own space.

     SMART START has also welcomed two friendly chickens, Charlotte and Caroline.  Charlotte and Caroline live here at school in a chicken coop.  The chickens are acclimating well to their new environment and thoroughly enjoy running free in our spacious backyard/outdoor classroom. Charlotte and Caroline are well behaved and allow the children to pet, feed, hold them and collect their eggs each day. We have been teaching SMART START friends about caring for the chicks and chickens and how they play a vital role in their care. We have taught our students about the egg laying process through stories and pictures and how to properly remove the eggs. This job is highly sought after! Our SMART START chefs have enjoyed making scrambled eggs, pancakes and more with our fresh eggs. Thank you Charlotte and Caroline, for providing us with  healthy snacks and meals.

          Our young learners partake in fulfilling their responsibilities to care for Chick, Chicky, Charlotte and Caroline on a daily basis and look forward to receiving their job assignments. Whether it be feeding, providing fresh water, cleaning the chicken coop, or collecting eggs SMART START friends feel a great sense of accomplishment knowing that they are helping.  Caring for an animal is so much more than we think! It teaches young children many helpful and important tools that translate into different life situations. Here at SMART START we are constantly striving to provide your children with an all-inclusive curriculum and hope that you can see the benefits.    

 Here are some things children learn while having fun caring for animals:

• Responsibility
• Trust
• Compassion
• Respect
• Self-esteem
• Loyalty
• Physical activity
• Patience
• Social skills

   

     SMART START friends have been learning about the life cycle of a chicken through hands on fun with the chicks and chickens as well as books, music, puzzles and games.  Having the chicks and chickens on site has truly enhanced our farm curriculum. As always, the children are eager to learn new things, listen intently and ask important questions.  Their curious minds love being stimulated and we absolutely love witnessing their joy of learning!  It is such a privilege to teach young learners who are so impressionable and enthusiastic about all we do here at SMART START.

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Show and Tell

     We love Show and Tell here at SMART START! The children get very excited for this activity at school. Not only are the children who are sharing look forward to their turn, the rest of the students enjoy listening to, asking questions and seeing what their friend(s) have to say and show them. Show and Tell is so much more than a child presenting a favorite toy from home. Here are some of the benefits:

• Builds self esteem
• Language usage
• Questions and answers
• Communication
• Social skills
• Public speaking
• Listening skills.

     Although our young presenters find Show and Tell to be just another fun activity, as always we are incorporating learning and development into all that we do at here SMART START.

     Benny was thrilled to bring in one of his favorite car toys from home for Show and Tell to share with his SMART START friends. Benny proudly set up the track while his peers patiently waited for him to set the car on the track. The children watched the car zoom around the track again and again. They each took turns and asked questions. Benny did a great job sharing and answering questions. Thanks for sharing, Benny!

Benny and his friends cheering on his car! Zoom, Zoom!

     Kaylee was very happy to show her SMART START friends one of her special toys from home!She brought in her Minnie Mouse remote control car for Show and Tell. The children gathered in a circle and watched wide-eyed as Kaylee drove Minnie around SMART START Lane! Forwards, backwards, and around and around! Friends enjoyed watching the show and asking Kaylee questions about her Minnie Mouse car. Kaylee did a nice job answering questions and letting friends have a turn driving Minnie around in her car. Thank you for sharing, Kaylee!

Kaylee driving her Minnie car around for all her friends to see! Vroom, Vroom!

     Cody blew his friends away with his leaf blower for Show and Tell. SMART START friends were quite impressed with Cody's leaf blower. Cody showed his friends how it worked and told them how he likes to use it at home and help clean up the leaf mess!  What a good little helper you are, Cody!  He did a spectacular job sharing his leaf blower with his friends and answering questions.  Thanks for sharing, Cody!

Cody demonstrating how to use the leaf blower!  Whoosh, Whoosh!

     Avery was very proud to present to all her friends at SMART START her doctor kit! The children enjoyed listening to and watching Avery demonstrate her "doctor" skills.  Doctor Avery did a fantastic job sharing with all her friends and answering questions they asked.  Thank you for sharing, Avery!

Avery showing her friends the stethoscope..."bum bum, bum bum!" 

          Emma and Isla were both delighted to share their special items with their SMART START friends!  They brought in a music player with microphone and enjoyed showing their peers how it worked and even sang a little song for everyone. The sisters also brought a souvenir book from their family vacation. Emma was a very kind big sister and helped Isla with her show and tell when needed. The girls also brought in a vacation itinerary from their family vacation to Vermont. They were thrilled to share stories. It was clear that they had an eventful and memorable trip!  Our young audience had fun playing with the music player and loved hearing all about Emma and Isla's family vacation and asked some great questions. What a fun thing to share for show and tell! Thank you for sharing, Emma and Isla!

 Emma and Isla proudly sharing their picture and telling friends about their vacation to VT!

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Homemade Ice Cream

     When we have hot summer days here at SMART START, we cool off by having some of our homemade vanilla ice cream!  SMART START chefs love to cook and made enough ice cream to last all summer. During our ice cream unit, the children learned about the ice cream making process through books, puzzles, toys and making soft serve vanilla ice cream! They put on their aprons and chef hats and were ready to use SMART START's soft serve ice cream maker. The children worked well together adding milk, cream and sugar to the machine. They absolutely loved watching the ice cream machine mix all of the ingredients together. Being part of the process is such a thrilling experience for our young learners and we are so grateful to be able to provide your children with these hands on learning experiences and yummy homemade treats!

     Once the ice cream was done, SMART START friends received their own bowl of vanilla ice cream and they each made an ice cream sundae. The children added yummy toppings to their ice cream: M & M's, rainbow sprinkles and cookie crumbles that they helped break into little pieces. They topped off their creations with chocolate sauce and whipped cream to make the perfect ice cream sundae!  

      

        💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Let's Go Fly A Kite

     Summer is full of fun activities for all ages!  One of our favorites here at SMART START has been kite flying! Our young learners absolutely loved participating in our kite unit.  Not only did the children have the opportunity to fly a kite, they helped make them.  SMART START artists designed the kites by painting them, drizzling glue and then sprinkling glitter. Colored ribbon was added for the tail once the kite dried. The children also helped to construct the kites and enjoyed being a part of the engineering process.

     SMART START students love to sing! We have incorporated the children's classic, "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins and "My Kite" from Barney  into our music program this summer. They sang loud and proud as they flew their kites! 
Here are the song lyrics for "My Kite" below so you can sing along at home!
Flying so high with its tail in the breeze Up in the air with greatest of ease Flipping and dipping with colors so bright I love to my kite
Whirling, twirling, high in the air Whirling, twirling, floating up there At the end of the string, there's a wonderful thing I love to fly my kite
Look at it flutter and dance all around Hear the wind blowing it high off the ground Feel the string tugging and just hold on tight And you can fly a kite
Whirling, twirling, fly in the air Whirling, twirling, floating up there At the end of the string, there's a wonderful thing I love to fly my kite
     Each SMART START kite is unique, beautiful and vibrant! The children worked so well together on this collaborative project. We waited for the perfect windy day to fly the kites and it was well worth the wait. They had so much fun running around our backyard as they watched their kites soar up to the sky. SMART START friends thoroughly enjoyed the kite building, decorating and flying process and were extremely proud of their hard work! Their smiles and laughter clearly indicated that kite flying is a perfect way to spend a summer day with friends.
 

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Slushies

     SMART START friends were so excited to make homemade slush! They each decorated coloring sheets to put inside their "special treat cups" using crayons and markers.  The cups looked adorable and our little artists enjoyed creating their masterpieces!

Decorating slushie cups and enjoying their special treat!

      Here at SMART START we have our very own slush machine! Our students worked together to add ice cubes to the slush machine and then took turns grinding up the ice. All were amazed watching the ice shavings stream out of the machine as they held down the button. Next, each added cherry flavoring to their cup of shavings. With a spoon in their hand and a smile on their face the children enjoyed their refreshing cherry slush!

Click the slideshow below to see all of our slush making fun!

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Weekend With Barny the Barn Owl

     Barny has really been enjoying his Summer visiting his SMART START friend's homes! The children look forward to hearing what Barny did at each and love to ask questions.

     Theo and Nora had their turn to bring Barny home. Barny had so much fun with two of his favorite SMART START friends. Theo and Nora completed the checklist with Barny and each did something special on their own with him. Best of all, Barny was invited to Nora's 2nd birthday party! There is something special about sharing in the joy of learning with a sibling. Fabulous teamwork completing your checklist! Thank you for taking such good care of Barny, Theo and Nora. He had a blast!

     Next up, Mickey! Mickey was jumping with joy when he found out it was his turn to take Barny home. Mickey was looking forward to showing Barny to his younger siblings and letting them join in on some big brother fun! Mickey kept Barny very busy and made sure to give him a fun weekend! They even played catch. However, Mickey noted on his checklist that Barny was not very good at catch. SMART START friends have been giving him some lessons at school (although not much improvement yet). Our young audience enjoyed listening to Mickey tell them about his special weekend with Barny! Thank you for showing Barny a great time and completing your checklist, Mickey!

     Benny and Barny- best friends! Benny had a fabulous weekend at home with his buddy, Barny!  He did a lovely job telling us all about his special time spent with Barny and how he made sure to include him in everything he did!  Benny colored his checklist beautifully and completed every item on it. SMART START friends loved listening to Benny share his stories!  Thank you showing Barny a great time and for being a nice friend!

     Kaylee's turn to bring Barny home!  Kaylee had an action packed weekend with Barny and loved telling her SMART START friends all about their adventure.  Barny picked a great weekend to go home with Kaylee because she went up to her family lake house in New Hampshire!  Kaylee kept Barny busy and completed all items on the checklist, along with playing the piano, video chatting with her Pop in New York, making Mickey pancakes for breakfast, and going for a boat ride! Thank you for an exciting weekend, Kaylee!

     Siblings, Avery and Michael, were beyond happy to bring Barny home with them for the weekend.  Avery and Michael enjoyed spending time with Barny at home and included him in all of their sister and brother fun.  They completed their Barny checklist and were proud to share their experience with friends.  Barny enjoyed riding and napping in the car with Avery and Michael. Sounds like Barny was tired out from all the excitement!  Thanks so much for showing Barny a great time, Avery and Michael!

                                         

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙