More Learning through Play

We love capturing the mind of a child while at work or play! At Holly Tree we strive not only to make this a fun experience while at school, but ultimately a learning experience as well. We adopted our "learn through play" motto and utilize that throughout the day! Whether it be at circle time with the toddlers or self exploration with the older children, we are learning and growing each day! Below the teachers have taken pictures of some of our academics and captioned the pictures so you can get a glimpse into the life of a Holly Tree child!






Adelyn is using the letter puzzle to do capital letter matching.



Lydia is using fine motor skills to build a log cabin using the Lincoln Logs from the manipulative as center. In Pre K we are getting ready for Presidents Day



Toddler learning letters at Circle time through songs and fun





Matching colors/pictures with a floor puzzle, utilizing trial and error.



Digging and filling buckets with sand.



Using our ears to identifying animal sounds during JAM (Jesus and Me)



Today they learned that Mr. Fish needs water to live & has fins to help him swim around.



Wesley, Campbell and Madilyn are pictured here learning how to use stamps. They are using paint instead of ink. Paint is more malleable than ink, so they are learning different ways to manipulate their material; for instance, they now know that different amounts of paint make a different imprint on their paper. Paint also makes it possible to print with homemade stamps, like the toilet paper roll heart. This activity is also great for fine motor practice; it helps them build muscles in their fingers which will facilitate writing later in their academic career.



While holding cups for Ms. Shanice, the girls got creative and made the letter H for Holly Tree! 

Healthy Grab & Go!

To round out our month of Fitness Fanatics we are having a smoothie grab & go! Such a fun and yummy way to kick off 2017 with healthy choices! We have enjoyed doing aerobics, learning about healthy foods, getting some fresh air outside, and making those healthier choices to fuel our bodies for the new year! We represented the Gold Sneaker Initiative and we are excited to keep making these choices ALL year! Cheers to a new and healthy year!

To learn more about our program, please visit www.hollytreechildcare.com

Pre-K Learning through Play

At Holly Tree, we are a play based company. Our objective is to learn through play! In our Pre-K class, along with our Kindergarten Readiness activities, we strive to find our kiddos having fun and being able to tell us what they are learning! Here are some pictures below with our Pre-K teacher, Ms. Shanice explaining what she found.



"Ava and Zella played teacher in the block center. The used the small people for 2 teachers and 2 students. The girls both said "mommies and daddies went to work!" Ava, Zella, and Ms. Shanice talked about our daily routine how we come to school and the parents go to work."



"Charlie cooked Ms. Destenee a nutrition snack. In the dramatic play center and. Destenee taught Charlie easy fractions. By cutting the orange into 4 slices it can still make a whole."




"George built a train using the snap numbers in the math center. George and I counted how many blacks we used to make the train. George was able to work on fine motor skills by snapping the numbers together. We then figures out the numbers were in the shape of a cube."

"James pretended to be a photographer in the dramatic play center. He walked around the classroom taking pics of his friend. James stopped by Ms. Shanice and learned how to take a #selfie"



To learn more about our program, please visit our website. www.hollytreechildcare.com

Gold Sneaker Initiative

We are talking all about fitness and healthy choices this month! One way we strive to maintain healthy habits is through the Gold Sneaker Initiative. This state funded program is a voluntary program that we have gone through to promote health and wellness in early childhood. These policies promote physical activity, healthy menu options, and non-smoking facilities.

As a Gold Sneaker facility we:

• offer children at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day
• limit television and video viewing to 60 minutes per day of educational programs
• do not allow children to remain sedentary or passive for more than 60 minutes continuously
• ensure physical activity is a positive experience
• ensure appropriate feeding patterns, including adequate
time for meal consumption
• ensure appropriate infant and child feeding patterns, including appropriate portion sizes
• promote a positive attitude toward food
• maintain a tobacco free campus

To learn more about Gold Sneaker Initiative, please go to: 

https://tn.gov/health/topic/goldsneaker

Healthy Habits in January!

It is a new year, and we all know what that means...resolutions!

We at Holly Tree want to start the new year off right with Healthy Habits! Every Monday we will be talking about healthy foods to eat and having a special healthy snack station! This week it is all about fruit! Here are some fun facts about fruit...







Did you know?

• A strawberry isn't an actual berry, but a banana is.
• Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
• Apples, peaches and raspberries are all members of the rose family