Dear Families,
I have had two clarifying conversations with families, and want to pass along what we discussed for all current and potential students.
If you have enrolled your child for 5 days next year, do not worry. We will not force you to switch your child's enrollment to 4 days for next year.
Conversely, if your child is enrolled for 5 days next year and you would like to entertain the idea of having your child remain in the 4 day Butterfly Classroom next year, please let me know. We can have administration alter your child's contract.
Finally, if you have registered your child for 4 days but think there may be a compelling reason that you would seek 5 days of school before next school year is out (you are in a job search, for example), please let me know. That would be a compelling reason to place your child in the Sunflower or Golden Forest Room next year.
Below I am going to summarize options for next year in Early Childhood by age. They are not rigid rules, but guidelines. As you can see, there are multiple options.
Parent & Child classes; Friday at 9, Friday at 11:30; children birth to 4
Monday to Thursday early childhood; children 2 and half to children turning 5 after June 1 (children aged 3 and half to young 4 could be in any of 3 classes)
Monday to Friday kindergarten; children 3 and a half to six (rising first graders are expected to attend kindergarten 5 days a week).
As always, please call or write with questions.
Warmly,
William Geoffrey Dolde
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
4 Day Nursery
Dear Current and Prospective Nursery Families,
The faculty and board at WIWS have approved a change to the nursery program. Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, the Butterfly Nursery will now be a 4 day, Monday to Thursday class. All students in the Butterfly nursery will receive 4 day contracts and attend 4 days a week.
What does this change mean? It is likely that a number of current nursery students will remain in the Butterfly classroom next year. I will adjust the curriculum to meet the children where they are. For many of my previous 8 years of teaching nursery children, I have had classes that combined older 2 year olds, 3 year olds, and young 4 year olds, and I feel confident in my ability to create a program that nourishes children of diverse ages.
The Butterfly Nursery will continue to welcome children as young as 2 and a half. We will also continue to welcome children who turn 4 after June 1 of the school year (that is, children with birthdays after June 1, 2007, for the 2011-2012 school year). We have had such a robust enrollment of 2 and 3 year olds in the past 2 years that we have had to place young 4 year olds in the Sunflower or Golden Forest classrooms to make space for 2 year olds. While we may still have a healthy interest from families of 2 year olds, our kindergartens are almost full for next school year, and we want to do our best make sure we have space for new families to our school with 5 and 6 year olds. Because the mix of early childhood families as a whole changes from year to year, we adjust our classes to best serve the community of students and family as a whole.
When we finalize our class lists in early August, we will take into consideration my conversations with current nursery families about wishes for next year. As with every year, we try to ensure that children have peers. We avoid placing, for example, one young 4 year old in a classroom with all 6 year olds--or a young 4 year old in a class of all young 3 year olds. We also take into consideration your family's history with our school teacher--that is, if your child has older siblings who have been with Kim or Dyanne for before, it is more likely your child will be in that class. Please contact me with concerns or questions as soon as possible.
Prospective and current nursery families (indeed, all early childhood families) should know that enrollment for all early childhood classes is robust. It is likely that all 3 early childhood classes could be full with a wait list at some point earlier or later in the summer. Please return contracts or applications to reserve your child's spot.
I will continue to offer 2 parent & child classes next year on Fridays. In addition to a 9 to 11am class, I will also offer an 11:30am to 1:30pm class. In Baltimore this 2nd class time served a number of families well: infants and young toddlers who still take a morning nap; children of any age who take a slightly later afternoon nap; slightly older children who fare better with a smaller and younger group.
With warmth of light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
The faculty and board at WIWS have approved a change to the nursery program. Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, the Butterfly Nursery will now be a 4 day, Monday to Thursday class. All students in the Butterfly nursery will receive 4 day contracts and attend 4 days a week.
What does this change mean? It is likely that a number of current nursery students will remain in the Butterfly classroom next year. I will adjust the curriculum to meet the children where they are. For many of my previous 8 years of teaching nursery children, I have had classes that combined older 2 year olds, 3 year olds, and young 4 year olds, and I feel confident in my ability to create a program that nourishes children of diverse ages.
The Butterfly Nursery will continue to welcome children as young as 2 and a half. We will also continue to welcome children who turn 4 after June 1 of the school year (that is, children with birthdays after June 1, 2007, for the 2011-2012 school year). We have had such a robust enrollment of 2 and 3 year olds in the past 2 years that we have had to place young 4 year olds in the Sunflower or Golden Forest classrooms to make space for 2 year olds. While we may still have a healthy interest from families of 2 year olds, our kindergartens are almost full for next school year, and we want to do our best make sure we have space for new families to our school with 5 and 6 year olds. Because the mix of early childhood families as a whole changes from year to year, we adjust our classes to best serve the community of students and family as a whole.
When we finalize our class lists in early August, we will take into consideration my conversations with current nursery families about wishes for next year. As with every year, we try to ensure that children have peers. We avoid placing, for example, one young 4 year old in a classroom with all 6 year olds--or a young 4 year old in a class of all young 3 year olds. We also take into consideration your family's history with our school teacher--that is, if your child has older siblings who have been with Kim or Dyanne for before, it is more likely your child will be in that class. Please contact me with concerns or questions as soon as possible.
Prospective and current nursery families (indeed, all early childhood families) should know that enrollment for all early childhood classes is robust. It is likely that all 3 early childhood classes could be full with a wait list at some point earlier or later in the summer. Please return contracts or applications to reserve your child's spot.
I will continue to offer 2 parent & child classes next year on Fridays. In addition to a 9 to 11am class, I will also offer an 11:30am to 1:30pm class. In Baltimore this 2nd class time served a number of families well: infants and young toddlers who still take a morning nap; children of any age who take a slightly later afternoon nap; slightly older children who fare better with a smaller and younger group.
With warmth of light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Well-used cake recipe
<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0frETmIo_mWCh6nIByImPdG-fCkN7ks6YYyQe5A5Y1_RlTxWLalol9soPqGY5lE3LFpnPYNFc_cC7eWiSwfujp8B5NuoeuKqcAR2074jzIE1X-KcchYsqtsJzzva2-1JttmKFPzDdrP8d/' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0frETmIo_mWCh6nIByImPdG-fCkN7ks6YYyQe5A5Y1_RlTxWLalol9soPqGY5lE3LFpnPYNFc_cC7eWiSwfujp8B5NuoeuKqcAR2074jzIE1X-KcchYsqtsJzzva2-1JttmKFPzDdrP8d/s288/1305224931362.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 173px; height: 288px;'/></a>
posted from Bloggeroid
posted from Bloggeroid
posted from Bloggeroid
Bread recipe
<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJYdyF4-wHQt4g5S1tJrspeZ6Mol6F1EwsCCJpKD_cH7-6aXhliXbyeJL1eh1YTSYfHvuk68grLTSkHzv-LvrzG7zAW3OYKyUns__gfS166gAtX5Vmcvhyphenhyphenk66D_RbRmz2OLXXUVw8OiZV/' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJYdyF4-wHQt4g5S1tJrspeZ6Mol6F1EwsCCJpKD_cH7-6aXhliXbyeJL1eh1YTSYfHvuk68grLTSkHzv-LvrzG7zAW3OYKyUns__gfS166gAtX5Vmcvhyphenhyphenk66D_RbRmz2OLXXUVw8OiZV/s288/1305224851571.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 173px;'/></a>
From Butterfly.
posted from Bloggeroid
From Butterfly.
posted from Bloggeroid
posted from Bloggeroid
Soup recipe
<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8EGOtlElTgIgR-fQUgw37XiztWzb9PSqqncJzWa-NUa_BMMObrfc1S1vlbbXPRaXYycZ_ZdvvTTE7SJcEkEeMIw0udJ3XVh4JHsIutaOGY74fEh34QoffnY9tDq6m5DKEEeTnQu9p7ot/' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8EGOtlElTgIgR-fQUgw37XiztWzb9PSqqncJzWa-NUa_BMMObrfc1S1vlbbXPRaXYycZ_ZdvvTTE7SJcEkEeMIw0udJ3XVh4JHsIutaOGY74fEh34QoffnY9tDq6m5DKEEeTnQu9p7ot/s288/1305224887082.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 173px; height: 288px;'/></a>
posted from Bloggeroid
posted from Bloggeroid
posted from Bloggeroid
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Inclusive Parties
Dear Families,
It has been heartwarming to observe a play scenario that has emerged inside the past two days. A child has been inviting all children in the class to a party and making it clear that every child is invited (not necessarily every child drifts over, but most do). As with much social and imaginative play, much of the joy and work is in planning. There is great fluidity, and children add ideas, and the process keeps flowing along and changing. FIrst on Monday the party was going to be for thieves, and everyone could be a thief, and then this quickly shifted into a birthday party, and then metamorphosed into a pretend school party in which some students were in 2nd grade and others were in 1st grade (without a lot of tension). Clean-up was very easy that day because I asked the 2nd and 1st graders to help, and it seemed natural to our children to pitch in like these venerable and seasoned students of their imagination.
Remember that you are all invited--siblings, too, of course--to join me and parent & child families at Maxwelton Beach this Friday from 5 to 7pm for a potluck.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
It has been heartwarming to observe a play scenario that has emerged inside the past two days. A child has been inviting all children in the class to a party and making it clear that every child is invited (not necessarily every child drifts over, but most do). As with much social and imaginative play, much of the joy and work is in planning. There is great fluidity, and children add ideas, and the process keeps flowing along and changing. FIrst on Monday the party was going to be for thieves, and everyone could be a thief, and then this quickly shifted into a birthday party, and then metamorphosed into a pretend school party in which some students were in 2nd grade and others were in 1st grade (without a lot of tension). Clean-up was very easy that day because I asked the 2nd and 1st graders to help, and it seemed natural to our children to pitch in like these venerable and seasoned students of their imagination.
Remember that you are all invited--siblings, too, of course--to join me and parent & child families at Maxwelton Beach this Friday from 5 to 7pm for a potluck.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
posted from Bloggeroid
Saturday, May 7, 2011
End of rain pants?
Dear Families,
As parents who have been in the school a number of years know, after May 1 students need only wear rain gear on an as needed basis. It has happened that we've had pretty wet and rainy Mays, so "as needed" may end up being every school day. If, however, we receive some dry weather, we can start wearing fewer layers.
Here are ways to help you make a decision. The Sunflower kindergarten posts their rain gear decision outside their classroom door. It would be good to follow this decision, especially for families with siblings in that classroom.
I will likely wear my snow pants through the end of the year. Inevitably I end up sitting on the ground in the forest with a child in my lap, and my outdoor pants preserve my indoor ones.
We also have sand and water and muck available to play with; some children may have more freedom in their play if they are not so worried about keeping indoor clothes clean and dry--a reason to keep on with rain gear most days.
Children tend not to need sun hats in our class--we are in the woods for an hour, and while some sun comes to our playground, we are not there for such a long time.
Finally, if you dress your child and the weather warms up, Lynne and I let children take off layers once we come to the playground; it is ideal to have a few light layers so it is easy to adjust. A t-shirt with a heavy winter coat might create only too hot or too cold options.
Hope this helps. Thanks as always for taking your child's clothes home on Wednesday. This really helps to create a welcoming feeling for parent & child families.
With aspirations towards warmth and dryness (but not so quickly that we have to dispense with our bonfires),
William Geoffrey Dolde
As parents who have been in the school a number of years know, after May 1 students need only wear rain gear on an as needed basis. It has happened that we've had pretty wet and rainy Mays, so "as needed" may end up being every school day. If, however, we receive some dry weather, we can start wearing fewer layers.
Here are ways to help you make a decision. The Sunflower kindergarten posts their rain gear decision outside their classroom door. It would be good to follow this decision, especially for families with siblings in that classroom.
I will likely wear my snow pants through the end of the year. Inevitably I end up sitting on the ground in the forest with a child in my lap, and my outdoor pants preserve my indoor ones.
We also have sand and water and muck available to play with; some children may have more freedom in their play if they are not so worried about keeping indoor clothes clean and dry--a reason to keep on with rain gear most days.
Children tend not to need sun hats in our class--we are in the woods for an hour, and while some sun comes to our playground, we are not there for such a long time.
Finally, if you dress your child and the weather warms up, Lynne and I let children take off layers once we come to the playground; it is ideal to have a few light layers so it is easy to adjust. A t-shirt with a heavy winter coat might create only too hot or too cold options.
Hope this helps. Thanks as always for taking your child's clothes home on Wednesday. This really helps to create a welcoming feeling for parent & child families.
With aspirations towards warmth and dryness (but not so quickly that we have to dispense with our bonfires),
William Geoffrey Dolde
posted from Bloggeroid
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