New Schedule | 8/12 – 8/23

UPDATED Schedule | 7/29 – 8/9

New Schedule | 7/29 – 8/9

New Schedule | 7/15 – 7/26

Clyde’s Corner | August 2024

Welcome to Clyde's Corner

 🔥☀️ HOT HOT HOT August ☀️🔥

Cheers to the beginning of our FIRST School Year!

Monthly Updates | Reminders:

  • We are in the hottest part of summer! Please keep your kiddos well hydrated and don't forget yourself! 💦 You guys have been doing a good job with taking water breaks!
  • Please make sure when closing the playgrounds, we are covering the outdoor cabinets, and locking all of the locks, including the one up top 🔒
  • BW photos - these should be photos where you can see the kiddos face or clearly see what activity they are doing. We have been seeing a lot of blurry photos or photos of the back of children's heads. We understand that it is hard to get a photo of a bunch of children looking at the same time, all we ask is that there is a good variety of photos for our families to see. Remember, we also want to rotate between small group, large group and individual photos and sometimes its fun to get just a fun cute one for the families as well!
  • We will be test running Karate in our PK classroom on the 20th! This is only offered to PK kiddos and may not happen on a regular basis, we will test it out and see where it goes from there! 🥋
  • Make sure to look at the calendar on a regular basis there are due dates, observations, & important dates on there! The calendar will be sync'd on all classroom tablets upon our return from break! 📅
  • Need Planning time? Talk to Kathleen, let her know how much time you need, she'll get it scheduled! Please don't push it off / wait until the last minute to plan.
  • I Love You Rituals are a mandatory ritual that you need to be doing with your kiddos. We have not seen a lot of teachers doing them and will be checking in this month to make sure they are being implemented.
  • Ashley will be completing formal observations in all classrooms this month! Please let her know if there is a specific time you are struggling with inside the classroom and she will try to schedule it around that! These observations are nothing that should bring worry to you or your classrooms and are a way to collaborate to best help support our children and teachers!

Upcoming Events: 

  • Picture Day 📸 - August 23rd!
  • Looking ahead to September:
    • Grandparents Day Celebration will take place on Friday September 6th at 3:30pm! Supply Lists for Grandparent's Day Presents are due by August 6th!
    • See flyer for a FREE Dental Care clinic that takes place on Friday September 27 & Saturday September 28th!

 

Our annual LICENSING VISIT will be taking place sometime in August! Here are a few reminders to make sure we are on top of our game:

    • Brittany BIGGEST Pet Peeve - KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. We will be very disappointed if this is something we get written up on and there are no excuses to why you should not know this. This should be an answer that comes easily and no teachers in our building should have to count their students prior to responding.
    • Sanitizer is used on tables and toys and needs to sit for 2 minutes prior to wiping it off. The proper steps to ALL things that need to be sanitized are WASH (soapy water) --> RINSE (water) --> SANITIZE (bleach solution). This applies to tables, toys, nap mats, shelving units, etc.
    • Disinfectant is used on all areas that are exposed to bodily fluids. Think toilets, diaper changing pads and tables, any areas that com into contact with bowel movements, pee, blood, vomit, etc. This needs to sit for 30 seconds! The proper steps to ALL things that need to be disinfected are WASH (soapy water) --> RINSE (water) --> DISINFECTANT (Purell disinfecting solution)
    • Brittany may also ask you to change a diaper in front of her as well. If you are concerned or do not feel confident in these steps please see the administrative team. We would much rather you ask and do it correctly then try to figure it out on your own!

I Love You Rituals

Adapted from Conscious Discipline, I Love You Rituals are playful, one-on-one interactions that build loving bonds while increasing attention span, decreasing power struggles and promoting language and literacy at school or at home. These brain-building interactions facilitate optimal development for young children and create lifelong bonds between children and adults.

There will now be an I Love You Ritual on every newsletter! For that entire month, we will be doing the same I Love You Ritual center wide! 🥰

This month, we are going to ease into it and go simple. Below is the I Love You Ritual "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

   A Wonderful Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

"A wonderful woman lived in a shoe, 

She had so many children, 

She knew exactly what to do.

She held them, 

She rocked them, 

And tucked them in bed. 

I love you, I love you, is what she said." 

Here is a video example of this ritual. You can also find this ritual in the I Love You Ritual book on page 59. Again, you can do this during greeting/closing circle, when you're putting sunscreen on the kids, you can do it one-on-one with a kiddo, or even just saying it right before nap time. Remember, the opportunities are endless!

Staffing Updates

Ms. Sage has decided to join our team full time! Sage was originally planning on working with us throughout the summer and then part time as she goes back to school, but she just can't say goodbye to your sweet kids! We are so excited that Ms. Sage has dedicated time to take classes to become a lead teacher with us and can not wait to see all that she does at The Barn. Ms. Sage will be co teaching with Ms. Maisey in our Little Llama Classroom🦙🥰

We sadly will be sending Ms. Soraya off to college this month. She has graduated highschool and will be attending CU Boulder to receive a Bachelor's in Neuroscience and Psychology. We are so excited for her on this next journey and know this is definitely not a goodbye, but a see you soon! Soraya will always be apart of our family and will always be welcomed back for visits over school breaks or long weekends or anytime she needs a little taste of home❤️ Her last day will be Friday the 16th.

Birthdays: 

Staff 🎂

Gemini | August 8th

Jayna | August 19th

Students 🎂

Colin 🦔 | August 5th 

 

Our space is now available to rent!

Please share this information with your friends and families! 

Are you looking for the perfect and private space to host your child’s birthday party? What about your weekend nanny share? Do you need a change of scenery? How about a fun moms night out where your children can explore a new age appropriate environment?

The options are literally ENDLESS! Please reach out if interested in our space. It is available any time on weekends and anytime after 6 on weekdays! Packages start as low as $250. We are a preschool by day, event center by night, and have 4 rooms available for rent, all purposed for different age groups from infants all the way to school aged kiddos. We also have 2 fenced outdoor play spaces available for rent! Contact us at [email protected] to get your event or night out scheduled today!

Clyde’s Corner Tidbit

Giving kiddos praise in daily words 

"These are very creative ideas you have"

"You had amazing focus when you were working on this project"

"You gave very good advice to your friend"

"I saw how you worked really hard on this. I really appreciate the effort you put in" 

New Schedule | 7/1 – 7/12

New Schedule | 6/17 – 6/28

Clyde’s Corner | June 2024

Welcome to Clyde’s Corner

 😎 ☀️ 🌻  June is Summer Time 🌼 ☀️ 😎

Half way around the sun being open!🥳 WOO HOOO! Ladies, you all are such rockstars and this past month has been amazing! The amount of teamwork that has been shown between everyone has truly been a blessing to see. Thank you SO much!  ♥️ 

                 

 

Monthly Updates | Reminders:

 

  • Mother’s day celebration was a success! Sprinkles, sprinkles, EVERYWHERE!🎊
  • Be sure to take time during the week to observe each child so you can do a little more individualized teaching/assessing. Parent Teacher conferences will be in the fall! (Date TBD) You don’t want to fall behind or be stressed the week prior to conferences.
  • Have you recently changed out any toys? What about books? This is a great way to get your kiddos excited again!
  • Blackout Days on the employee calendar means NO more requests off. Either too many staff members have already requested off or no requests off will be granted that day. Please check the staff portal calendar for these blackout dates prior to requesting or booking anything.
  • Please make sure when you are clocking in, NO more than 5 minutes prior to your shift start time. When taking lunch, you need to be taking your full hour. Also, if you are running behind or having a hard time getting everything completed before your shift ends, please let admin know prior to staying late. We are a team, there is no I in team, we are here to help 😊
  • EAST classrooms (Ducklings & Roosters), please keep the binds drawn until the sun is not beating in on y’all. This will help maintain a cool temp. in your rooms longer.
  • Lights need to be off in your rooms when no one is in there, so when going outside please hit the lights! Thank you! Reduce & Save 💡😊
  • The Staff party on July 5th has been CANCELED  We will reschedule and keep you all posted! 😎
  • We have done formal observations this month and as we look at it, we are still learning the most beneficial and effective ways to observe and follow up with lead teachers. With that being said, this months observations were more of a trail run. Please continue to look at the calendar for next months observations and teacher follow ups that will occur within the same day or week of the observation.
  • We have had a handful of teachers say they wanted their info passed on to families for babysitting! I wanted to review the babysitting policy that all parents are aware of:                                                                                    Negotiations regarding babysitting between staff and parents do not involve The Big Red Barn and must be done on the staff members personal time (non-working hours). Hours, fees, and transportation are an agreement between the parent and the individual babysitting. The Big Red Barn is not responsible for any action outside or off the Center’s property.
  • There has been some confusion on what to do when calling out/running late. You MUST call AND text your admin group chat so all three of us are in the know!
  • Reminder – the staff newsletter is a mandatory read. If you have any questions please see Kathleen. If there are any tasks to be completed, it is the staff members due diligence to make sure they get completed.
  • We had our FIRST ever graduate at The Big Red Barn! Jacob Miller will be going off to Kindergarten in the Fall! 🎓

 

              Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss | Goodreads

I Love You Rituals

I Love You Rituals are playful, one-on-one interactions that build loving bonds while increasing attention span, decreasing power struggles and promoting language and literacy at school or at home. These brain-building interactions facilitate optimal development for young children and create lifelong bonds between children and adults.

There will now be an I Love You Ritual on every newsletter! For that entire month, we will be doing the same I Love You Ritual center wide! 🥰

This month, we are going to ease into it and go simple. Below is the I Love You Ritual we will be doing:

On Your Face 

“On your face you have a nose.

(Touch the child’s nose)

And way down here you have ten toes. 

(Starting with your hands on the Child’s shoulders, slide down the child’s arms and then touch or point to the child’s toes)

Two eyes that blink, 

(Touch the child on the temples next to his or her eyes)

And a head to think. 

(With both your hands, gently cradle the sides of the child’s head)

You have a chin and very near, 

(Touch the child’s chin)

You have two ears to help you hear. 

(Touch both ear lobes and whisper something short into the child’s ear. Some suggestions are, “I love you”, “I’m glad to see you”, “I’m glad you’re in my class”. )

Arms go high and arms go low 

[Arms go low and arms go high] 

(Grasp the child’s wrist and hold the arms high over their head; then bring them back down (or vice versa if you’re using the variant line))

A great big hug to say hello [to say good-bye] 

(Extend your arms and give the child a hug)

Variations: The last two lines can be changed as was indicated, depending on whether you are using the rhyme as a hello ritual or good bye ritual.

Here is a video example of this ritual, you can also find this ritual in the I Love You Ritual book on page 107-108.You can do this during greeting/closing circle, you can do it one-on-one with a kid door you can have them do it in partners. The opportunities are endless!

Staff Updates:

Welcome Maisey to our team! We are so excited to see her in our Preschool & PreK program!

 

 

 

Upcoming Events: 

  • Our Chipotle fundraiser is on June 11th from 5 – 9pm. You need to show the flyer or give them the code on the flyer in order for us to get accredited! This is such a great fundraiser that we are planning to use the funds for our grassy field area! So please share with friends and families so that we can try to raise a good amount! LET it be known, Shout it from the mountain tops! 📢
  • Father’s Day Celebration will be on Friday June 14th! Root beer floats with Dad! Please have all father’s day gifts completed by Thursday so that part time kiddos can take them home!
  • Summer Kick Off BBQ – Saturday June 15, 3 – 7PM
  • FIELD DAY! Wednesday June 19th 9:30 -11:30 am! Colby will be here and we will be hosting a field day for all kiddos! Get ready & get excited for a morning filled with hula hoop twirls, obstacle course, water balloon toss and more! All student’s are invited – Part time students can come and participate however their parent must stay and will go home afterwards. We will provide pizza for the kids! 🏃🏼‍♀️🍕
  • Staff Meeting on Tuesday June 25th from 6-8pm. This is MANDATORY for everyone.
  • We will be CLOSED Thursday July 4th in observance for Independence day. We will be open on Friday July 5th.
  • Summer Break Closure 7/22 – 7/26. This is a reset/refresh for all teachers and kiddos! This is an annual closure and will begin our school year!

Birthdays: 

Staff 🎂

Mr. Scotty | June 28th

Students 🎂

Lukas 6/4, Kenji 6/9, Harper 6/24

 

Our space is now available to rent!

Please share this information with your friends and families! 

Are you looking for the perfect and private space to host your child’s birthday party? What about your weekend nanny share? Do you need a change of scenery? How about a fun moms night out where your children can explore a new age appropriate environment?

The options are literally ENDLESS! Please reach out if interested in our space. It is available any time on weekends and anytime after 6 on weekdays! Packages start as low as $250. We are a preschool by day, event center by night, and have 4 rooms available for rent, all purposed for different age groups from infants all the way to school aged kiddos. We also have 2 fenced outdoor play spaces available for rent! Contact us at [email protected] to get your event or night out scheduled today!

Clyde’s Corner Tidbit

Early experiences support all future development

Serve and return interactions 

Nurturing experiences for positive development  

New Schedule | 6/3 – 6/14

New Schedule | 5/20 – 5/31