TerraNichol Academy of the Arts
Weekly Blog December 9th-19th, 2019
Our Learning Lab Journey
Although the Gingerbread Men tried to get away we were able to keep them close by! Students have had so much fun creating Gingerbread boy and girl stories, listening to Gingerbread Man tales, and building Gingerbread houses and a trap for him! Although our Gingerbread house and traps were more about the process and not the product it was interesting to watch our students brainstorm ways to build their houses and traps. Some took the triangle-shaped option which worked well for some, others chose a flat version and focused more on the details of the house. We used pom poms, popsicle sticks, jewels, blocks, and linked blocks, and legos to add details to our gingerbread houses. Gingerbread traps consisted of tape, recycled cardboard, sticks, ribbon, yarn, and bottle tops. True artists, engineers, inventors, and an innovative creative process! The students also enjoyed innovative ways to help the gingerbread man cross the bridge out on the playscape in the construction and eco-village area.
The culinary kitchen was busy with our gingerbread bakers. We had to be very cautious as those Gingerbread boys kept trying to get loose! They did not get away this time! Our Gingerbread Cookie tasting was so scrumptious and they smelled as good as they tasted. We created a first bite graph and graph which body part would be our first bite. The students thought this was pretty funny! Students enjoyed measuring ingredients and rolling the dough to create Gingerbread Men Cinnamon Ornaments, which will go home next week once they have dried completely.
Carnival of the Animals and Holiday Music
The orchestra has filled the learning labs with the sounds of the Carnival of the Animals! In art and music appreciation students have been listening to the pieces of the music and created art sketches and paintings featuring the animals of the orchestra and the music that they are playing! We also began getting in the holiday spirit by introducing holiday songs from around the world to the students during music appreciation workshop.
Little Yogis-We are eager to bring our mindfulness journey into the new year! As we wrapped up our December yoga journey we were reminded of the importance of getting into and out of a pose safely and with control. Motor planning is a key part of yoga which we will continue to work on developing in the new year.
Yoga Day-Although we recognize yoga weekly yoga day was a great way to create a yoga obstacle course! Students practiced challenging poses as they made their way through the course!
Peppermint has been wafting through the indoor and outdoor learning labs as students have been engaged in science and sensory exploration using peppermint sensory water play and shaving cream fun. Students were amazed that peppermint candy and candy canes can turn water to pink and red, and create imprints in the playdough, and mix with sensory foam for a multi-sensory experience. Next week we will add vinegar to the process to see if we have a different result!
Next week we will wrap up all our December projects and prepare the school for closing until the New Year. This will be the last school blog for 2019. We are looking forward to another positive school semester of learning, growing and developing new growth mindset goals.
Goodbye December Yoga Flow. Our body thanks you.
Parent Referrals
The best compliment to our program is parent referrals.
Thank you to all our TerraNichol Academy families for recommending our program. We are very honored to be serving the community and feel it is a privilege to be an Early Childhood Teacher. We are very proud of our work with children, the program and the school family we have developed and created over the last 13 years.
Share Your Winter Break Adventures!
Happy Holidays From All Of Us At TerraNichol Academy of The Arts School.
As 2019 comes to a close, we want to reflect on this wonderful year of natural play and to thank you, from all of us, at TerraNichol Academy Of The Arts for an amazing year of play and learning. This semester has inspired all of us for a new year to come. Happy Holidays from our Teaching Team to you, your families, your community and learning organizations.
Mark Your Calendars
December
20th ‑Jan. 6th School Closed for Winter Break
January
7th School Resumes
20th School Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February
3rd School Closed for Professional Day
14th School Closed for Mini Break
17th School Closed for President's Day
March
12th School Closed for Professional Day
13-20th School Closed for Spring Break
January
International Creativity Month
17th Kid Inventor's Day
15th Hat Day
20th Penguin Awareness Day
31st Inspire your heart day
31st Backwards Day
February
Random Acts of Kindness and Fairy House Month
2nd Take your child to the library
14th Friendship Dance and Tea Party
20th Love Your Pet Day
22nd Walk The Dog Day
March
3rd Different colored shoe day
10th National Day of Awesomeness
20th Day of Happiness
World Tasting!
Huge Thank you to The Carlson Family and Mango Bistro for making this month's Culinary Arts Workshop a huge success. The students enjoyed the tasting and the variety of food from around the world.
Calling on our Tribe
Volunteers
Handyman projects on campus. Earn volunteer hours! Winter Break would be a great time to help us out as we will be closed. Email Miss Terra if you would like to volunteer. terranicholacademy@gmail.com See the photos below
- Garden Houses
Our adorable garden houses are in need of some repair. We would like to replace some parts with more sustainable materials. When designed and built by the company it seems that the wood was not sustainable enough for Florida weather especially the moisture. If you could help us with the repairs we are need assistance as soon as possible. Also if you have ideas of what materials would be cost-effective and also will hold up please reach out. The porch areas and the molding are the areas that need repair first.
2. Removal of all wood spools
The wood spools are rotten and we would like a volunteer to remove them. The volunteer would need a truck and possibly a trailer.
3. Wood bridge on the biking trail. Volunteer to fix loose boards and reinforce them.
TerraNichol Academy Of The Arts School Wishlist
Earn your 12 volunteer hours by shopping our Amazon school wishlist.
2019 Purge the toys!
Some of our TerraNichol students have outgrown the scooters. If you have any upcycled bikes you would like to donate please donate when we resume school on Tuesday, January 7th.
We also have some balance bikes on our AMAZON wishlist.
Friendly School Policy Reminders!
Help Your teaching team work smarter and not harder.
- All students must wear closed-toe tennis shoes for safety. Please, no dress shoes or cowboy boots. We struggle to keep them safe when they are wearing these types of shoes for biking, running or dancing. School shoes only.
- Please refrain from bringing toys/books from home to school.
- If your child has a gift, picture, or a letter for a friend. Please make arrangements after school to exchange or drop the picture or letter in the mail to the friend. This way there are no hurt feelings.
- Please email if you anticipate that your child will not be attending school by 7:45 am.
- Students must arrive before 9 am in the morning. 9:15 am is the cut off for the school day. (9:15 -This allows for any unexpected out of our control events.) Arriving late is a hardship on our staff when planning for the day and beginning morning enrichment workshops.
- Reminder Half Day dismissal is at 1:30 pm SHARP!
Grazie, for your assistance.
TerraNichol Academy of the Arts Innovative Reggio Emilia School
TerraNichol Academy of The Arts School is the kind of school parents expect, educators celebrate and children adore. Our approach to learning celebrates the great potential of young children, with the goal of nurturing self-motivated, life-long learners. The learning labs are guided by our Master Teachers as well as the Founder of TerraNichol Academy of The Arts Preschool with low teacher-to-child ratio to allow for one-on-one engagement and thoughtful observation. Join our small community school for a backstage tour and be inspired by our thoughtful team of Early Childhood Educators here at TerraNichol Academy.
Come and Explore our Reggio Emilia program at TerraNichol Academy acclaimed for the stunning environments, their educators who create, provoke and dazzle the students' senses, invite curiosity and discovery, and most importantly, foster strong, respectful meaningful relationships.
Come learn about the values for children in the program:
Being a home away from home..
connecting children to their families..
helping children to be powerful and active..
being a steward of the natural world..
seeing oneself as a capable learner..
recognizing and being curious about..
We provide a school environment that is beautiful and taken care of with an attitude of care so that parents, children, and teachers want to come to school every day.
It is with an intelligent heart and courage that we continue our goals and vision to continue to proceed with the work of a child.
We would love for you to attend one of the backstage tours on the following dates:
January 13th @4:30pm
February 10th @4:30pm
March 9th @4:30pm
April 13th @4:30pm
May 11th @4:30pm
June 8th @4:30pm
Submit a school application by visiting our website if you will be attending the Tour. http://www.terranichol.com/resources
Email: terranicholacademy@gmail.com
Website: www.terranichol.com
Location: 701 Old Englewood Road, Englewood, FL, United States
Phone: 941-474-3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerraNicholAcademyofthearts/
Twitter: @terranichol