Our First Full Week of School....

The Cardinals finished their first full week of school with great smiles.  They have settled in very nicely to their schedule, connected with old friends and made new ones, and took advantage of all “work” spaces available in and out of their classroom.

As part of our daily schedule, we introduced the “Open Snack” option. During “Choice”, the Cardinals may opt to prepare their own snack from the choices provided by their teachers. This is one of the many ways in which we foster the self-esteem of the individual child by encouraging independence and healthy growth. Through preparing their own snack, washing their hands, getting their own cup and napkin, cleaning up after themselves, the Cardinals become increasingly independent.  Their cognitive and fine motors skills are enhanced as they count out the amount of crackers and fruit slices and pour water into their cup.

We spoke to the Cardinals about how we are a small portion 
of a larger community. For our new friends, we explained 
that our school consists of many students from three year olds to eighteen year olds.  To familiarize the children with our larger community, we took a tour around our campus.  We walked through Lower School, Middle School and Upper School. Then, we walked to Tyson House. To get there, we needed to cross the (parking lot) street. This served as a wonderful opportunity to review the safe way to cross a road. We stopped at the end of the sidewalk, looked to our left, looked to our right, looked to out left again and then crossed safely between the white lines on the ground. 

Our week was full of opportunities for the children to make connections with each other and as well as our larger AFS community!