This week’s most exciting event was the annual ice cream social on Tuesday evening! We all enjoyed face-painting, live music and ice cream in absolutely beautiful weather. The rain held out for us! It is always wonderful to see siblings who are Children’s House alumni. We hope that all the families who joined us had a fabulous evening. In future years, even after graduation, please come back and visit us during this event. It turns into a bit of a class reunion! It’s hard to believe that the school year is almost over, but we had a great time celebrating the successful school year together!

As I’m sure you are aware the big excitement of the week was welcoming our mothers and
grandmothers to school for the Mother’s Day Tea! Your children worked very hard in
preparation for this event. They painted pots and planted flowers, made Monet-inspired
placemats and heartwarming cards with Mrs. Bateman. They also cut all of the fruit for the
fruit salad that the families shared together. The students created many flower arrangements
as centerpieces, and set the tables for all of our guests. They were taught to pull out their
mother or grandmother’s chair, and to politely ask what food and drink they would like to
enjoy. There was much learning involved even in an event that is so fun!

“Mother is a verb. It is something you do. Not just who you are.”
– Cheryl Lacey Donovan

We really appreciate all of the women in our student’s lives coming out to share a
nice brunch together. I’m sure they made your day, but know you also made
theirs. Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Children’s House of Exton! Thank you to everyone who thought of us during Teacher Appreciation Week. You’re thoughtfulness and kindness was greatly appreciated.

Happy May! Where has the time gone? Thank you to all the parents who came in this week
for parent/teacher conferences. One of the questions I received frequently this week was
regarding work that can be done over the summer to limit summer regression in the fall.
There are a number of different websites like starfall.com and pbskids.com which could be
helpful, and fun! There are also applications for iPads and tablets that work on handwriting,
reading and even math. Some of these are Bob Books (varying levels available), First Word
Sampler, and Montessori Numbers. Some are free, and others are available for a small fee.
This is also the wonderful world of Pinterest where you can search “beginning sound games”
or “learning numbers activities” and get some fantastic ideas from other users on summer fun activities that have an underlying educational goal.

Summer regression does happen, but children
usually pick right back up where they left off
after a small transition back into the classroom
routine. If there is no time in between all of your
summer activities to practice letter sounds or
other skills, please don’t worry. Enjoy your
summer and your child will be just fine come
August!

This week we celebrated Earth Day! We read various books and had many discussions about the importance of caring for our planet. The children brainstormed ways that we could change our daily lives to better serve the Earth. Examples of this were riding bikes or walking, instead of driving cars; or remembering to turn out the lights when we leave a room. During Kindergarten Time the students completed a writing prompt on this topic. All the children who were present on Earth Day, created an Earth handprint to symbolize that with their hands, they can change the world.