Welcome to Clyde's Corner

🍀The Month of Lucky Leprechauns🍀

Needing some prayers? We got you! If you would like our Big Red Barn Prayer Team to pray for something specific, you can submit prayer requests here! Remember no prayer is too big for our God and with community in prayer, anything is possible

Monthly Updates:

• We are so LUCKY to know each and everyone of you💚Your kiddos are LUCKY to have teachers who love them as you do!💚
• I Love You Rituals:
  • Ms. Jenny will be handing out the new I Love you Ritual for the month of March. Please complete the I Love you Ritual with every student in your class at least 2 times within the month of March. Please document the date that your complete an I Love You Ritual with a specific student AND sign your initials as well so we can see which teachers are implementing them 🙂
• Recycling: 
  • We now have a large recycling bin which has a yellow lid. This bin is for any cardboard that you use. Please completely break down boxes before placing them inside of the recycling bin.
• Meal-time Clean-up:
  • We have noticed a lot of our classrooms are not properly cleaning up after mealtimes to follow CO's Health and Licensing protocols. 
  • After EVERY mealtime (snacks AND lunch) please do the following to ensure the safety of our students--especially our allergy kiddos:
    • Sweep AND mop the floor by using the small grey mops (put the dirty mop head in your dirty laundry basket immediately after you finish)
    • Complete the 3-step sanitization process to clean BOTH the chairs AND the table
      • 1. WASH using the soapy water spray bottle and wipe using a cleaning rag
      • 2. RINSE using the rinse spray bottle filled with water and wipe using a cleaning rag
      • 3. SANITIZE using the sanitizer spray bottle, let the sanitizer sit for 2 MINUTES, then wipe using a cleaning rag
      • Lastly, dispose the cleaning rag into the dirty laundry (rags are 1-time use and are used for only 1 cleaning project ONLY)
• Playground/Outdoor Expectations:
  • Outdoor times are NOT a time for teacher conversations--most injuries occur on the playground so teachers need to have their FULL attention on the students.
  • Teachers are expected to be FULLY ENGAGED with the students.......its a time to play, run, dance, and explore the outdoors with your kiddos (we don't want teachers sitting along or standing at the fences....PLAY!!)
  • Teachers MUST be spread out on the playground so you can see ALL areas of the playground and ALL students
    • If you have 3 teachers, position yourselves in a triangle
    • If you have 2 teachers position yourselves on the opposite sides of the playground.
  • Teachers are NEVER allowed to turn their backs to their students. Your bodies should always be facing the students so you can engage and prevent any injuries.
• Portfolios:
  • This is just a reminder to work on your portfolios for your students to prepare for Spring Parent Teacher Conferences.
• Feminine Products:
  • The feminine products provided at the barn is for EMERGENCIES ONLY! You are expected to bring any feminine products that you need from home....we want to have them on hand in case you forget, but we are not providing them for your monthly use.
• Playground App:
  • Every teacher is expected to log into Playground as well as ADP. Playground will be used to track your hours and will be used to follow CO licensing.
  • Please make sure you are moving your children to the associated playgrounds and classrooms for our new "name to face" procedure.
  • Please transition yourself on Playground when you move to different locations and when you take your breaks so we always know where teachers are, so we can track your breaktimes, and to properly abide by CO licensing!
  • Please speak to your admin team if you have any questions or concerns!
• Please give Alyscia or Jenny your best drawing of a Leprechaun as proof that you read the entire newsletter-the first 3 people to provide proof will get a special treat! 
• Drop-off Reminders:
  • Every family member sign off in aggreance to wash hands with their students at every drop off. Please hold your parents and students accountable by ensuring EVERY parent washes hands WITH their student BEFORE leaving the classroom.
• Student's Belongings
  • Every belonging that a student brings to school should have their first and last name on it--teachers please write names on items without!

Upcoming Student Birthdays!🎂

Sebastian | 3/5       Nora S. | 3/22       Emmy | 3/30

Upcoming Staff Birthdays!🎂

Ashley | 3/28

Welcome to Clyde's Corner

❤️The Month of LOVE❤️

Needing some prayers? We got you! If you would like our Big Red Barn Prayer Team to pray for something specific, you can submit prayer requests here! Remember no prayer is too big for our God and with community in prayer, anything is possible

Monthly Updates:

• We love each and EVERYONE of you! Thank you for helping us create a BRB family with a foundation of love and grace ❤️
• Sunscreen:
  • Per Colorado Law, we are required to put sunscreen on every child EVERY time we go outside.
  • Sunscreen lasts 2 hours, which gives teachers flexibility to apply sunscreen at different times of the day rather than immediately before going outside. If you are looking for creative times to apply sunscreen, let admin know
  • Sunscreen MUST be documented using the name-to-face options on Brightwheel
• Art Walls:
  • As a lead teacher, you are expected to have an art wall in your classroom that displays the art/work your students have completed. This is an opportunity to show off all of the amazing masterpieces students make as wells as all of the creative activities you bring into the classroom
  • Art Wall Expectations:
    • Displays 4-6 projects done by students
    • Art walls should be changed monthly to rotate which student's work is shown
    • Only 1 example of a project should be displayed (please do not add multiple examples of the same project--we want to keep a clean and organized look in our classrooms)
    • Each piece of art/example of student's work should have a photo of the student completing the activity AND a filled out Anecdotal Observation
      • Anecdotal Observations are descriptions of what the child created and how they did so in relation to their cognitive, social-emotional, language, and physical development!
    • Please go check out Ms. Sage's art wall in the Porcupette classroom for a GREAT example of these expectations 🙂
• Walkie-Talkie Etiquette:
  • Walkie-Talkie calls are heard through the entire school! Please keep walkie-talkie calls short and sweet while respecting the privacy of our staff and kiddos
  • If there is a behavior issue or an incident, please do NOT say the student's name(s) on the walkie or too many details.
    • If your need immediate help say that you "need help ASAP!" rather than sharing details over the walkie
  • If admin does not respond to a call, or forgets........please call us again! We have 50 millions things running through our brains throughout the day, sometimes we need reminders too.
  • Just because we may forget or get pulled in different directions does NOT mean that we don't want to or can't support you. Every member of your admin team took on administrative roles SPECIFICALLY to be teacher's support system!
• Please give Alicia or Jenny a PINK heart with your name on it so we know that you have read the entire newsletter.
• Potty Breaks:
  • A teacher MUST be INSIDE the bathroom while a child/children are in the bathroom
  • Potty Breaks are a GREAT time to discuss proper bathroom etiquette and privacy to your scholars.
    • If there is a boy and a girl using the restroom, please stand in between the two stalls to emphasize on privacy!
• Diaper Changes:
  • When changing a diaper, please focus on the details of the diaper changing procedure. This month, we will be doing extra diaper changing checks to make sure were are protecting our kiddos while being fully prepared for a licensing visit. 
    • You MUST get out all materials (cream, diaper, and wipes) and put gloves on BEFORE touching the child.
    • Since we share wipes, you CANNOT go back for more wipes after you take off a child's diaper. If you need more wipes mid-diaper change, grab a NEW pair of gloves so we are not contaminating the bag of wipes.
• Messy Faces: 
  • Please make sure you are continuously wiping the faces and noses of your kiddos. We have noticed that this is getting missed by our teachers!
  • Toddler Teachers--diaper changes are great times for a face-wipe.
  • Please make sure faces are being wiped after every meal time and before pickup! Parents don't want to pick up their kid with crusty boogers from throughout the day.
• Drop-off Reminders:
  • Every family member sign off in aggreance to wash hands with their students at every drop off. Please hold your parents and students accountable by ensuring EVERY parent washes hands WITH their student BEFORE leaving the classroom.
• Pick-up Safety:
  • Students are NOT allowed to open the playground gates or run out before their parent gets to the gate itself. Please be firm in this!
  • It is the safety of your kiddos at risk.......gates are a "teacher touch" and it is YOUR responsibility to keep students INSIDE the playgrounds until their parents arrive to the gate.
• Playground: 
  • We will be transitioning to Playground rather than Brightwheel on February 23rd, 2026. We will talk more about this transition on our mandatory teacher planning/prep day!
• Water Bottles:
  • Water bottles must be in reach of every student in your class and available to them at all times 
  • Water bottles should be provided at EVERY mealtime--so we should not be getting calls for water cups past morning snack normally!
• Student's Belongings
  • Every belonging that a student brings to school should have their first and last name on it.
  • Please make sure student's hats, gloves, jackets, water bottles, pacifiers, etc. have their first and last name on it.
  • It is hard enough keeping track of your kiddo's things......make it easier on yourself and your coworkers and label them 🙂
• Cintas:
  • As you may have noticed, we have changed a few things in regards to cleaning supplies! We are now using a company called Cintas, who will visit our school weekly (generally on Thursdays) to restock supplies:)
  • You all have received training on the new chemical station in the laundry room--please talk to admin if you have any questions!
  • Reminders:
    • Sanitizers no longer need to be poured out
    • Disinfectant (once we get the bottles) must be empty before refilling to ensure there is a proper ratio of chemicals! Once we receive the bottles-admin will provide an in person training on this!
    • Teachers are in charge of restocking all cleaning supplies in the classrooms 🙂
    • If you need to change a paper towel roll, toilet paper, or soap, the 3-in-1 key is in the top right drawer of the coffee counter in the staff room!
    • When changing the paper towel roll, please make sure that the end of the roll is placed UNDER the blue tab found on the left side to ensure the paper towel is unrolling properly.

Upcoming Student Birthdays!🎂

Ronan | 2/27

Upcoming Staff Birthdays!🎂

Whitney | 2/7        Tiana | 2/11       Sharon | 2/17       Dom | 2/23

Welcome to Clyde's Corner

🥳Happy New Year!🥳

Needing some prayers? We got you! If you would like our Big Red Barn Prayer Team to pray for something specific, you can submit prayer requests here! Remember no prayer is too big for our God and with community in prayer, anything is possible

Monthly Updates:

• Thank you for an AMAZING year.....We are so excited to see what 2026 brings to the barn!🥳
• Opening Shifts & Planning Time:
  • We granted teacher 4-10 schedules in order to add a mental health day to your weeks as well as providing more planning time for lead teachers. From 7-8am Lead Teachers should be doing lesson planning to get ahead, printing/coping materials, gathering materials, etc. Please utilize the staff room for your planning time, so you are not interrupted during this precious time!
  • If you are not a lead teacher or if you have completed all lesson planning, please work on our weekly cleaning lists in the morning. These lists are already posted in the classrooms!
• Clocking In & Lunch Breaks:
  • Please do NOT clock in more than 5 minutes before your shift starts
  • Please do not wait for rides or until after you settle down for lunch to clock out. Lunch breaks are schedules specifically to allow every staff member the proper time to rest and for our day to go smoothly while maintaining ratios. If you leave the classroom at 1, clock out RIGHT away so your lunch is from 1-2.
  • Please take your entire hour lunch-do NOT clock in before the hour mark.....you deserve that entire time of rest so please use it!
• Please write down 2 goals you want to accomplish in the new year (1 personal goal and 1 professional goal) and give it to Jenny or Alicia to prove that you read this month's newsletter!⭐
• Time-In's with BIG behaviors/emotions:
  • To align with our BRB values and Conscious Discipline, please put great emphasis on Time-in's with big emotions. There should never be a crying child alone (unless they ask for space from teachers).
  • If students need a breather or if they are overstimulated in the classroom, please use your co/assistant teacher and/or admin to take your kiddo on a walk if needed---sometime kids need a break from the class just like teachers do 🙂
  • When confrontations between students occur please do not use commands to stop the behaviors, you help your kiddos best when you navigate their behaviors and emotions through Conscious Discipline. Using commands put a band-aid over the situation while Time-in's with C.D. is a solution! Take your time in these moments, even if you have to take time our of your schedule to do so.
  • Time-In's: 
    • Never skip an opportunity to teach your kiddos about emotional regulation and kindness.
    • Get on the student's level, talk about and through their emotions and what triggered those emotions, take a few breathes (using the F.S. breathing techniques), and have the student be apart of the problem solving!
      • Student-involved problem solving: "I see that you are feeling really sad and a little frustrated....How can we make your body feel better? Do you want a hug? Time in the cozy corner? Or do you want to take a walk?"
• Teacher Body Breaks:
  • Teaching is extremely taxing emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Asking for a break from the classroom is NOT a weakness in teachers....it is a STRENGTH!
  • You cannot love and teach the way you want when your frustrations are in the way, students can feel your frustrations even if you try to hide it. LEAD BY EXAMPLE....CALL FOR A TEACHER-BODY BREAK! 
  • Encourage your coworkers to call for a break or call for them when you see them getting too frustrated or overwhelmed. Advocate your not just for your kids and yourself, but also your coworkers. 
• Tablets at Closing:
  • Please make sure to pass along your tablet to the teacher that you are transitioning your kids to. At the end of the night, the teacher closing the Duckling classroom will have all 4 tablets so that they have access to edit all classrooms' BW attendance and receive all BW messages.
• C.D. Shoutout!
  • We are really starting to see more C.D. used within the classroom and we are PUMPED about it! Please keep pushing and using C.D.--consistency will bring results!
  • Always remember, how you speak to your students is how they learn what is acceptable or not. Give your students the up-most respect and you'll get respect back 🙂 Our student's young minds cannot comprehend sarcasm, please don't "sass" your students....be kind. What you give children, you will receive back!
• Cleaning Expectations:
  • Deep Cleaning Toys:
    • Every morning, teachers should be transferring the clean toys from the white bags back into the classrooms. Please make sure you are writing the date on white/tan tape on the toy bin to keep track of the deep cleaning rotation. Then, teachers can put dirty toys into the white bag to be sent down for deep cleaning during nap time.
    • Wooden toys are not deep cleaned in the sinks--please sanitize these toys but do not send any wooden toys down in the white bags
    • Please only send down 1 set of toys at a time.
      • For example, if you are cleaning the kitchen toys, please only send down 1 set of toys daily (ex: dishes and food are cleaned separately). We have to fit the bag of toys into our sinks to be fully submerged, if you send too many toys down at once, we cannot properly clean them.
  • Snack Clean-ups:
    • After snack and lunch, please make sure you are using the 3 step Sanitization process to clean the tables and chairs.
    • Make sure all food is swept off of the floor--having food on the floor is a big concern for our allergy kiddos
    • After you sweep the floor, please mop the floor after each snack/meal time using the small mops found in the bathrooms.
  • Sanitizer VS Disinfectant:
    • Sanitizer is used for all classroom cleaning which includes toys, toy shelves, tables, chairs, etc.
    • When you use sanitizer please make sure you are completing our 3 step sanitizing process:
      • 1. Wash (soapy water)
      • 2. Rinse (Water)
      • 3. Sanitizer: Let it sit for 2 minutes before wiping! 
    • Disinfectant: 
      • Disinfectant is used for cleaning up any bodily fluids, trash cans, everything in the bathrooms, and the classrooms sinks at the end of the day!
  • One-time use Cleaning Rags:
    • Please only use a cleaning rags for one cleaning. Once, you use a cleaning rag to clean up a mess, place it in the dirty laundry bin!
      • Single Use Example: when cleaning snack, you can use 1 rag for all 3 steps of the sanitization process. Once the 3 steps are complete-- place the cleaning rag in the dirty laundry bin.
    • Cleaning rags are ONLY for the classroom, please use paper towels to clean the bathrooms.

Upcoming Student Birthdays!🎂

Mateo | 1/7        Nora N. | 1/17

Welcome to Clyde's Corner

🎄It's Jesus' Birthday Month!🎄

Needing some prayers? We got you! If you would like our Big Red Barn Prayer Team to pray for something specific, you can submit prayer requests here! Remember no prayer is too big for our God and with community in prayer, anything is possible

Monthly Updates:

• Thank you for helping us build our BRB family 🧡We could not create our BRB dream without you! Thank you for going the extra mile to build family connections, for giving grace to your coworkers, and for loving every heart that walks through our doors 🧡
• Extracurricular Captions: 
  • Please make sure you are using the proper captions for extracurricular activities! Our teachers and admin work very hard to create these captions in addition to the activities...please use what you are given 🙂
    • Extracurricular Activities that you create your own captions for:
      • Tiny Tots Dance with Tippie Toes
      • Music For Munchkins with Altitunes
      • Storytime with the Librarian
    • Extracurricular activities that captions are pre-written and posted on your classroom's google docs:
      • Fun with Faith
      • Creative Critters
      • Running Rascals
      • Silly Scientists
      • Simply Spanish
• Preparing for Extracurriculars:
  • Please make sure you are respecting the time of our Extracurricular teachers/guests. Make sure your class is prepared for the extracurriculars to begin BEFORE your start time. We have had a lot of classes late for these start times--please reach out to admin if you need help with time management or transitioning your class to ensure your class is on-time and ready!
• BRB Clothing Lists
  • To help us keep track of the BRB clothes that students borrow, we have placed BRB clothing lists in every classrooms. If your give a kiddo school clothes, please write their name, the date, and the type of clothing provided. When parents return the clothes, you can erase their name from the list 😁
    • Please make sure you are messaging parents to remind them to return BRB clothing until they are returned!
• Conscious Discipline Implementation Plan 
  • Thank you so much for sharing photos of your friends and family with us! It was so special to hear about everyone's "whys"! We will be creating a board for all these photos in the staff room so we can always be reminded, even on the hard days, why we do what we do. We love and appreciate all of you! If you have not yet sent photos, admin will be reaching out so we can have everyone on our board!
• Winter Morning and Nights
  • Now that winter is fast approaching, our mornings at the barn are cold and our nights are very dark!
    • Mornings: 7:30-8:30 am 
      • Morning drop off time can be enjoyed outside if it is warm enough, but mornings can also be spend inside our classrooms on the cold mornings
    • Evenings: 4:45-6:00pm
      • Now that our days are shorter, every child must be inside our building by 4:45 pm to avoid traveling with students in the dark!
• Sacking Chairs
  • This is an important reminder that chairs can not be stacked FOR ANY REASON while children are in the classroom. This applies to every classroom no matter the age. It is only ok to stack chairs when a room is completely shut down when no kids will be present for the rest of the evening.
  • Please also make sure to unstack chairs FIRST THING in the morning. This should be the first thing you do when arriving to make sure the chairs are not stacked when children begin to arrive.
  • THANK YOU!!!
• Combining Classes in the Evening: 
  • Toddlers:
    • Toddlers cannot combine outside until the combined total of students in Porcupettes and Ducklings is 10 or less
    • Toddlers cannot combine inside the Duckling classroom until there are 9 students total.
  • Llamas and Roosters:
    • Max number of kids that combine on the playground/grass is 20 students---please evaluate which kiddos are present to customize this number to ensure the safety of your kiddos. Llamas and Roosters should not combine before 4:45pm to ensure each classrooms has their designated outdoor time with their own class.
    • Combining inside:
      • Now that we are coming inside by 4:45 pm. We may or may not be able to combine together at 4:45 pm depending on numbers. Please get admin or the closing teacher's permission before combining classes inside so we can assess the energy and which kiddos are present to create a safe and calm closing classroom.
        • We generally will wait until there are 7-8 kids total depending on which llamas and roosters are present!
  • NEW LISCENSING RULE!
    • We can now combine all ages in the last hour of operating (5-6pm). For our school, we will allow all classes to combine in the Duckling classroom starting at 5:30pm. Students can only go down to a younger classroom and teachers must follow the youngest (toddler) ratio of 5:1 
• Teacher Coupons
  • Our admin team is looking for opportunities to give teachers special "teacher coupons"! If you have received a coupon, you can cash it in whenever you want 🙂
• Walkie-Talkies:
  • Please make sure you disconnect your tablet's Bluetooth from the speaker BEFORE leaving your classrooms. We have noticed that teachers are not hearing our walkie-talkie calls while outside because they are playing through the speakers in the classrooms.
• Draw a Christmas Tree and give it to Jenny or Alicia to prove that you read this month's newsletter!🎄
• Visitors at the Front Door:
  • To ensure the safety of our teachers and kids, please DO NOT let anyone into our school without admin permission. Anyone who should be inside the school has a door code. If there is a visitor/deliver person without a door code--please DO NOT let them inside. Have the visitor wait by the picnic table and contact admin to meet them outside. 
• Delegating Cleaning
  • If you cannot clean up a mess with the teachers available to you--CALL ADMIN! We need to make sure that our school is clean and sanitary for our BRB family.
    • If you are rushed and cannot clean up snack fully--CALL ADMIN
    • If there is an accident and student behaviors are intervening with cleaning--CALL ADMIN!
    • If you rushed and cannot sweep up the access sand by the sandbox before exiting the grassy field--CALL ADMIN!
    • If you are responsible for mid-day cleaning of the bathrooms but cannot complete it--CALL ADMIN! We cannot skip our cleaning routines throughout the day, especially in the bathroom upstairs. If you cannot complete your cleaning duties ADMIN WILL HELP!
• Snowy Weather Prep❄️: As a reminder, we follow Jeffco public schools for weather related closures. If Jeffco is closed, so are we. If they have a late start we open at 9:00 am and if they have an early release we close at 3:30 pm.

Upcoming Student Birthdays!🎂

Jayden | 12/2        Selah | 12/4       Emma | 12/5       Brooks | 12/21