Special Visitor Alert!

This week we had a real life Service Dog visit us in Pre-K!  He took a day off of his busy schedule at the Children's Hospital to spend some time with us.  We discussed all the things that Pepper does to help children and how he was once a homeless pup!  He enjoyed the endless belly rubs while we read the book "Love me Gently" by Lisa Wiehebrink.

Science is FUN!

Science perfectly complements a child’s natural curiosity!  Our Pre-K class set up an experiment on Friday afternoon and they all predicted what would happen over the next few days.  A mixture of salt and hot water created beautiful crystals in the jar over the weekend!  The children were delighted to see such an amazing thing happen in just a few days.  As young children discover the world around them, the more they will learn about and develop a thirst for science.  They named their experiment, "The Unicorn Horn"!  We love their creative minds!

2019 Holly Tree Class Photos

We all love our Spoiled Rotten fall photos, but there is always one thing missing!  Class photos!  Take a peek at our 2019 HTB class photos!

If you would like a copy of your child's class, we would be happy to print one out for you!

Hat's Off

Today we had special guests come to visit Holly Tree Preschool. The Brentwood Fire Department came to visit and brought their Firetruck. It was so sweet to see each of the classes and how differently they all reacted to the Firefighters. A good portion of the children couldn't wait to climb into the firetruck and others were much more apprehensive. 

I thought this might be a good time to be sure to Thank our men and women who serve. Be it Firefighters, police officers, paramedics, members of the military or anyone else that has the potential to put their lives on the line when they head to work each day. 

While I believe that each parent should decide for their own families how you explain what service men and women do for us each day, I do think that it's important that they understand early in life that they are important pillars of our society. 

Having them come and visit today and let the children see all of the equipment on the truck that they work with every day had each of them in awe. I loved watching their eyes filled with so much curiosity as they got to touch an actual firetruck. 

This time of year I try to think about it as much as I possibly can, I feel like sometimes it's easy to forget but it's not something that I ever want to take for granted. Each year on September 11th I try to ask the 'where were you?' to everyone that I can, and recount all that I can from that day. It makes it much more difficult to forget about the men and women who do what they do. 

We take our Hats off to all of the men and women who make so many sacrifices so that we can live in such a free and beautiful place. 

True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow. That’s what courage is. –General Norman Schwarzkopf

I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! Please let me know if you need anything at all! 

-Mallory 

Transitions

Every year, at the end of summer and before the new year begins, Caroline and I sit and look through our list of classrooms. We go and observe the children interacting, we determine if someone is ready for the next class- we look at development, social skills. Are they bored? Are they ready for a new challenge? 

It's very easy to go through the motions with this and we can determine pretty quickly if a child is ready to move into the next phase or not. However, when we take a step back and think about where these kids have come from, it gets quite a bit harder not to get emotional. 

We are so proud of all of our little adventurers for how they have grown over this past year! So proud of the leaps and bounds that these kids have taken to get where they are! 

One of the sadder things for Caroline and myself is seeing our Toddler Two class age out and head to the back building. We always miss seeing the kids all day and hearing 'Mal Mal! Car-rine" as we pass by their doors. It is such an honor to be part of your lives and to take such an active role in your children's lives as well. 

When we walk into a room and are immediately met with the children running towards us, talking a million miles a minute, or simply trying to leave with us to 'go help' it is a great refresher of why we do what we do- and why we love what we do. 

Thank you for the privilege of loving and being loved by your kids. 

Please let us know if there is ever any ways that we can improve, we want you to be as happy with things as we are! 

Have a great weekend!

-Mallory