Clyde’s Corner | February 2025

Monthly Updates:

Parent's Night Out for February will be held on Saturday, the 8th from 4-8 pm. If you would like to sign up to work please fill out this survey.
Our classroom Valentine's Day Parties will be held from 3:30-4:30 pm on Friday, February 14th. Parent's are always welcome! Parent's will make sure to send their kiddos with valentines for their friends, but have been told to not write any names on them other than who they are from to help make the process of handing them out go smoother and faster. Please make sure to plan to make valentines boxes or bag for this party!
We have finalized our New Classroom Schedules and they have been send to parents! Below are the snack time cut off for each classroom. Please make sure to follow these so we can keep our classrooms on track for the rest of the day.
- Porcupettes
  - Students must be dropped off no later than 8:35 am to participate in AM snack whether food is brought from home or supplied by The Barn.
- Little Llamas
  - Students must be dropped off no later than 8:40 am to participate in AM snack whether food is brought from home or supplied by The Barn.
- Rowdy Roosters
  - Students must be dropped off no later than 9:00 am to participate in AM snack whether food is brought from home or supplied by The Barn.
New outside temperature protocol! After much consideration and research we have decided to change our cold weather minimum from 30 degrees to 20 degrees. There are many facilities nearby who use this same protocol, and our kiddos need it! The Big Red Barn is all about prioritizing outdoor play and this new protocol helps support that! If the FEELS LIKE temperature is between 20-30 degrees the kiddos will be limited to a max of 15 minuets of outdoor play, anything over 30 degrees will be our normal allotted times. However, please continue to monitor the children closely during these times and if you see that the children are getting too cold or uncomfortable bring them in early! Please make sure all kids have the proper attire (ie. labeled gloves, hats, snow pants, big jackets, snow boots, etc.) at The Big Red Barn at all times so we can be fully prepared for outdoor play.
IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION: For those of you who do not know, Colorado gives a tax credit to all qualifying early childhood educators. Here are some important links and information regarding how to receive this FREE money just for being you!
- To qualify you have to have applied for a 3.0 Credential level at some point in 2024. Below is the amount your will recieve based on your credential level.
  - Level 1 - $852
  - Level 2 (lead teacher qualification) - $1,136
  - Level 3 or above (director qualification) - $1,705
- You also had to have worked at an Early Learning Center/Preschool for at least 6 months in 2024 to qualify
- You have to apply by filling out this form and submitting it with your tax return!
Ashley has been working on updating our Conscious Discipline Ongoing Professional Development. We have some exciting things in the works, but for now, I am asking that all staff members listen to at least on CD Podcast each pay period. After listening, please share your thought in Group Me so that we can spread the knowledge and track your professional development hours. See this link for Podcast Episodes available to you. This will begin with the February 10th pay period and is a requirement for all staff members! As an ECE educator in Colorado you have to complete 15 hours of ongoing professional development each year to stay qualified, so this will go towards that.
- Please also check out the Conscious Discipline Website for more FREE resources. Use the search bar to look up anything you are struggling with in your classroom or visit Sophie's Classroom for ECE specific supports!
As many of you know we have a team of therapists and behavioral analysts that we have partnered with, and we are excited to announce that we have officially brought on Brice as our in house behavioralist. Brice has supported The Barn since October 2024 on an individual level with students, but has begun her work helping in all of our classrooms by supporting with staff training, questions, and observations. As a certified ABA therapist, Brice adds a new layer to our Big Red Barn difference and we are so grateful for her support! Please do not hesitate to reach out to her or admin if you are struggling and could use extra supports/observations in your classroom!

Meet Brice!

Hello! My name is Brice and I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with Positive Behavior Supports Co. (PBS). I provide behavior analytic services (ABA) to children, teens, and adults with varying intellectual disabilities. I prioritize compassionate and trauma-informed care. I have a passion for education and supporting in related environments and I am so excited to work with The Big Red Barn Early Learning Center. You can learn more about my company and what I do at. You find out more about my certification and what I do here. I can be reached at [email protected] or 720 772 9745. If you see me, don't be afraid to say hi! 😊

Extracurricular Revamp

We are moving right along when it comes to finalizing our more structured extracurricular schedule. Along with offering these more frequently, we also have brought on a few professionals to bring these to the next level! Please see the chart for our new extracurricular rotation schedule and check out our program introductions below!

We will begin implementing our Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Extracurriculars this month!

What to look forward to in March: We will be partner with Tippi Toes and Altitunes for our dance and music programs beginning in March! Be on the look out for their introductions in the next newsletter.

Creative Critters

Hello Red Barn Community, I’m Laura! I received my Masters in Education in 2016 as well as an International Montessori Diploma for ages 6-12. I have been a Lead Teacher for over 7 years in a Montessori setting but have recently transitioned away from the classroom full time to focus more on my passion of teaching Art! I wrote my thesis on creative expression and its' benefits on social behavior and metacognitive awareness in children. I believe the process of creating art can help develop young children’s communication skills, build confidence, promote mindfulness, and enhance their overall creativity and joy. I am so excited to take the next step of my teaching career at Red Barn, especially since I have a four year old in the pre-k classroom, what a gift!

In addition to teaching art, I also guide field trips in nature for students and am passionate about the importance of reconnecting children to nature. In my free time, I love to dance with my daughter, practice yoga, see live music, go camping, and adventure with my friends somewhere new! I’m honored to be working with this community and look forward to meeting you all through the process of art!

Running Rascals

Although Mr. Colby has been with us for a while, we wanted to reintroduce him to all our new families!

Hi Big Red Barn! I'm Colby and I have been assisting with Running Rascals since March of 2024. I am super passionate about fostering a love for movement and fitness in children and adults alike. I have spent the last year thriving on creating engaging and energetic activities for your young learners. Currently, I teach classes at Orange Theory and am excited to take on a coaching role at Evergreen Highschool this Fall. In my free time, I enjoy walking my dog, spending quality time with friends and family, traveling, and being at The Barn!

Fun with Faith

As you all know, Fun with Faith is very close to Ms. Ashley's heart who shares this passion with both her mother, Ms. Cheryl, and her sister Ms. Alicia. As a trio, Ashley, Cheryl and Alicia will work together to run our Faith based program. With the revamp, we are going to focus on the Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As a Christian, these are things that we strive to focus on within ourselves and lead us to be more thoughtful and loving humans. We will also continue our conversations regarding gratitude, unconditional love and forgiveness. The goal of Fun with Faith is to help foster loving and caring children through the eye of God and this is a tangible place to begin!

New Schedule | 1/27 – 2/7

New Schedule | 1/13 – 1/24

Clyde’s Corner | January 2025

Monthly Updates:

Our Staff Christmas party was a blast, thank you everyone for coming and have a good time!
Throughout the next couple of months we will be revamping our Extracurricular programs! These 8 different extracurriculars were always meant to be a staple at The Barn and something that sets us apart. That being said, we are finally in a position to create more structure around these. We will be bringing on more professionals for each of these programs and will begin to offer them daily, instead of sporadically throughout the months. This will be a process as we find the best fit professionals so be on the lookout for more updates. We are also in the midst of creating new classroom schedules to accommodate these daily. Over the course of this month, teachers will be trying out new schedules and we will send finalized ones once we find what works for the center as a whole.
In order to help keep our furniture in good condition and to last longer, we are asking that all teachers refrain from sitting on tables or shelving units. Please only use chairs to sit on and if you need more to accommodate, please let admin know.
We will now be deep cleaning our tables and chairs nightly with a bucket of hot soapy water and a rag prior to sanitizing them for the night. This will help get off any leftover gunk from lunch, snack, sensory play, and art. Please make sure to fully wipe down all tables and chairs top, bottom, front, back, and sides. There is a bucket in the cleaning closet and you all know where the rags are, let us know if you have any questions!
Closing playgrounds: Please make sure that when we are closing playgrounds we are making sure that we are leaving them neat and clean. The below items are what should be completed nightly to properly close these down:
- Sanitize all toys
- Cover all shelving units and close sensory bin lids
- Park all cars
- Put away ALL toys
- Lock gates
Our next MANDATORY staff meeting will be held on Tuesday January 28th from 6 - 8 pm. Please let Ashley know if you have any conflicts.
It was so much fun to display your student's artwork at the Belmar Library and if you did not get the chance to stop by and see it, you can check it out below!

Exciting News!

As many of you know, Ms. Alicia has been working very hard over the course of the past 6 months to gain her credentials and some experience on the administration side of ECE. A few months back she received her Large Center Director Qualification and has been taking classes to gain more knowledge on coaching ECE teachers. She is an incredible educator and I am trilled to announce that she will begin to make her transition into the fulltime director role at The Big Red Barn. This will be a slow transition as we find the best fit replacement within the Porcupette room to partner with Ms. Emily, and do not worry Ms. Alicia will never be far from our classrooms. Please make sure to give her a big congratulations the next time you see her as this has taken a lot of hard work and dedication.

New Schedule | 12/30 – 1/10

New Schedule | 12/16 – 12/27

Clyde’s Corner | December 2024

Monthly Updates:

Thanksgiving Dinner Sensory Style was a hit! Thank you all for helping make this such a fun event for our students and parents!
Our Halloween costume winners are.......... Winnie the Poohs and Piglet! Congrats Jenny, Alicia, and Hailey and thank you all for making Halloween a a fun event! All the costumes looked great!
Our Staff Christmas Party will be held on December 21st🎄 Time and location TBD, Significant others are welcome!
The Big Red Barn library mural will be up for the entire month of December! Make sure to stop by to see all your hard work come to life! Thank you everyone for helping create amazing art that truly embodies what we are all about. I am so excited to show it off to our Lakewood community!
The Christmas Recital🦌 will be held on December 7th at 2:30 pm. We would love to have you all attend and help support your children through the recital, but this is not a requirement. Please let us know if you will be able to make it! If possible, staff are welcome to come by around 2:00 pm to help with set up. Thank you Ms. Dom for all your hard work in organizing this!
- Location: 9142 W Ken Caryl Ave, Littleton CO
We will be CLOSED December 25th - January 1st for our winter break. We will also be closing early on December 24th at 3:00 pm. Merry Christmas and enjoy your break! Just a reminder, you have to be with us for 90 days in order to get paid for holidays or school closures. If you call in the day before or the day after a closure, your forfeit your holiday pay.
Classroom Christmas Parties will be held on December 24th from 10:30 am - 11:30 am. We will have a special visit from Santa Claus himself🎅

Expansion Updates

Due to a few permitting issues, The Little Red Barn expansion has been slightly delayed. We hope to still be open by February, but it all depends on the city and how quickly they process things. We will be in touch with any new big updates, but for the time being we are on a slight hold. On a more exciting note, Ms. Jayna is coming back to prepare for the expansion and Ms. Dom will begin her transition out of the classroom! We will have a lot of transitions over the next few months and will need all hands on board to make it go smoothly! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns

Reminders:

Please make sure to shake ALL FOOD off of plates and bibs prior to placing them in the dirty dish bins. This will take a few seconds in the classroom, but will help significantly for the staff member who is cleaning the dishes. Please also make sure all milk cups are poured out prior to placing in bins as well.
Laundry schedule reminder (we as admin will also start being better about brining laundry bins up on these days). Laundering soft toys will help reduce germs and hopefully get this sickness out of The Barn!
- Monday - TODDLER soft toys
- Tuesday - PRESCHOOL soft toys
- Wednesday - PRE-K soft toys
- Thursday - all INFANT laundry (soft toys and sheets)
- Friday - Sheets and blankets for Toddlers, Preschool, and Pre-K
Please do your part in helping keep our staff bathroom clean. We all use it, so we can all play our part! We have cleaning supplies in the bathroom at all times, so even it it is just a quick wipe down of the toilet seat or sink it will help a great deal when we go to deep clean! Also, if you notice we are low on toilet paper, paper towel, or soap please help us restock. Thank you!
Please make sure all material bins get put back nightly in the correct alphabetically ordered spot!
If you have read this newsletter please bring Alicia a piece of red paper.
Make sure playgrounds are being disinfected nightly, so we can keep up on germs outside as well as inside our classrooms.
Make sure to keep up with checklists WEEKLY and save examples of work WEEKLY to make sure we are staying on top of conference items. This will save you all in the long run and make it easier the next time parent teacher-conferences come around
Please do not let anyone inside The Big Red Barn that you do not know! If there is someone walking in at the same time, or you see someone at the door when walking past, please make sure to grab someone from the Administrative team. There have been times that people sneak in with classes or staff members and then are left waiting at the front desk. NO ONE that we do not know should EVER be left alone in our building AT ANY TIME.
Also, popcorn is now outlawed at The Barn (thanks Kathleen!)😂