Dear parents, 

As I wrap up my term as VePA president, I want to thank all of you for a wonderful year. This year, I have really enjoyed working with the amazing volunteers at this school, with the staff, and with our super creative, hard-working head of school, Marcy. I particularly want to thank the VePA board which this year made my job easy. Everyone stepped up and brought their all to the board, taking the initative, making thoughtful creative decisions, and going above and beyond. Thank you for all your hard work. I look forward to working with you amazing people in one capacity or another in the years to come. With Dahlia in Kinder I have five more years at Ventana and am excited about the future as we all continue to create a great school!

Julie Stanford

The three-year-olds in the Sun Room recently cut peppermint leaves, making lavender and mint sachets that filled the classroom with wonderful scents. It sparked an interest in learning with their senses -- and a slew of activities.

They squished oranges into orange juice, which they drank out of baggies with straws. They used lemon juice for painting, and made lemonade too. When mixing the lemonade they tracked how many small cups of water were poured into each pitcher, providing a math connection. The teachers put cross-sections of blood oranges on a light table so the children could observe them closely for watercolor paintings. Finally, they ended with week with a sour grapefruit tasting. Phew!

For fascinating photos and quotes from the children, see the Sun Room blog.

Claire has been leading some lovely lessons in chapel this month. O n May 17, the children brought clipboards and pencils for a reflection exercise. Claire invited them to think about something that was a gift or blessing in their lives. 

Some children drew pictures (like the one at right) while others wrote their reflections. Here's a sampling:

"When I look out my window I see the big moon. I feel like I'm not alone."

 

"I love the ocean and the creatures in it."

"I was a buddy with a 4th grader."

"Playing with my friends makes me feel included and I always have fun."

"I feel happy when my brother plays with me."

"I feel really happy when people say 'thank you!' to me because that probably makes people happy which makes ME happy too!"

Claire is collecting the students' reflections and is planning to use them as she writes blessings for next year's chapel program. We're looking forward to it.

While kids are usually excited about the start of summer, parents sometimes have an accompanying dread: the long moan from children announcing they're booooored. It's positively painful.

But psychologists and child development experts say that boredom can actually be good for a child, as it develops imagination and creativity. What's more, when children are fully scheduled in the summer and never have to decide what do do with their time, it can limit their ability to discover what interests them. 

But how to combat the moaning? Child psychologist Lyn Fry suggests:

For more ideas and thoughts on the benefits of boredom, see Psychologists Recommend Children Be Bored in the Summer on Quartz.

There are times, of course, when you might want to facilitate your kids' play a bit, especially when they're younger.

The homeschooling blog An Everyday Story has a wonderful step-by-step breakdown of how to set up a Reggio-inspired activity at home.

You start by observing your child to discover what they've been wondering or noticing. For example, did your son stop to see how his shadow moved when he waved his arms? Maybe he'd like to explore how shadows work. 

With a topic in hand, you can begin planning and brainstorming. Your child might want to observe something in nature, make a drawing or painting of it, explore a new art medium, have a sensory experience, etc. 

For many more ideas and links to example projects, see Setting Up a Reggio-Inspired Activity on An Everyday Story.