TerraNichol Academy of the Arts
Weekly Blog December 3rd-7th, 2018
Our Journey through the Reggio Emilia Learning Labs.
Another fabulous week was had by all at TerraNichol Academy. We were excited for our beautiful students to explore all the new learning lab activities for the month of December and our new learning lab donations.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Did you know that:
The tower took 226 years to build to completion!
There are 251 steps inside the tower to reach the top level!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is shrinking. It has shrunk 6m that is a little over 19 feet!
Pisa means "marshy land" which is found throughout the city
This soft marshy land is the reason for the famous lean!
Construction was halted for over 100 years as architects tried to figure out a resolution to the lean. Miss Terra brought in pictures of her visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. She shared first hand experience of what the tower looked like, what the winding staircases are like and the details of the tower. Students were fascinated listening to her relive her tower experience.
Students have become fascinated by this beautiful world landmark. Counting the levels, learning facts about the tower and sketching and building replicas is giving students a first-hand experience of the tower. Some creative ideas to help support and repair the tilt have been suggested by our little engineers such as building supports to keep the tower from future tilting.
All around the world
We are traveling around the world with our first stop being the beautiful and historical country of Italy. Students have begun creating their own passports allowing them safe travel to other countries. We will continue our passports throughout the next couple of weeks and mark all of our travels including France and England. Students have shared the idea of coming back to the US before we conclude our project to visit Seattle, New York City and California. Due to the students' genuine interest, this project will continue through January as well!
Gingerbread Man Literacy Journey
Oh No! the Gingerbread Man has escaped from the oven! Loose on the school campus. Wanted! The students will brainstorm some ideas about making a trap for the Gingerbread Man as well as engineering a way for the Gingerbread Man to cross the river without the help of the sly fox.
Run, Run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man!
We will celebrate Gingerbread man day on Wednesday, December 12th by engaging the students in a culinary arts workshop, graph what part of the gingerbread man we would eat first, measure how many gingerbread men tall that we are, experience gingerbread boy sensory projects, and design and participate in a gingerbread man obstacle course!
In Music Appreciation, we are introducing orchestra with a focus on The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint Saens. Each piece in the collection features a different animal and we are focusing on the tone of the instruments and the feeling that the music can evoke. This week in Music Appreciation we began by choosing a few of the movements to listen to. As we listened we identified the primary instrument in the piece. Then we discussed how it sounds. Did it play a fast tempo or slow? Did it sound upbeat or ominous? How did it represent the title animal given by Camille Saint Saens?
Culinary Arts project Thank you Martin del Campo family for volunteering to donate our supplies needed for our monthly Culinary Arts projects. Our little chefs will be busy in the kitchen making Gingerbread Men.
Feel the Flow...The Yoga Flow
December's yoga flow will be introduced next week Animal Yoga Flow and Animal Sound Breath and Laughing Breath! Yoga Story Journey: Goodnight Animal World
Yoga Mantra: Keep Calm and listen to classical soothing music!
Yoga Project: What helps you feel calm? Create a poster of techniques that work for you!
This week in Yoga we enjoyed the new yoga games purchased off our Amazon Wish List from the Dignam Family. Yoga Spinner game, Yoga Dice Roll and Pose offered challenging poses for our little Yogis. We will continue with these games throughout this month and January! Namaste Yogis!
World Yoga Day: December 14th. We will celebrate with a yoga obstacle course and make a yoga video to share!
Traveling Yogis: Students traveling yogis went home this week with their very own mini-yoga mat. We are excited to see the yoga adventures had by each students yogi! Post pics and videos of your child and their yogi during a yoga journey with #terranicholacademy #travelingyogiproject
We can't wait to see our student's sharing their love of yoga with the family.
Zumba Fitness-The students will learn the steps to the Cha-Cha and demonstrate the Cha-Cha- Slide. This Zumba song focuses on directionality!!!
Harvesting our school garden.
We have been told by the UF/IFAS extension that we have the best school garden in Sarasota County. We believe our garden thrives from love, passion, rich compost, and through the collection of rainwater. We had a little tasting of the salad mix and basil. Valentino was happy to demonstrate his love of vegetables for the students.
This week we will make an enormous organic salad with homemade dressing with our fresh herbs from the garden as well. Buon Appetito!
School garden life skills.
School gardening engages children by providing an interactive environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. School gardens are living laboratories where interdisciplinary lessons are drawn from real life experiences, encouraging children to become active participants in the learning process.
Studies have shown that school gardens encourage preference and consumption of fruits and vegetables, increase parental support and involvement, and improve children's’ enthusiasm about school, teamwork skills, and self-understanding. Gardens can be easily integrated into the learning environment or home and can be as simple as a raised bed or a few containers, which is exactly the layout garden design we have here at TerraNichol Academy of The Arts.
Our December Kindness Project!
Wow, our Kindness Fairy traveled all the way from Iceland to encourage our students to display acts of kindness throughout the month. This year the kindness fairy is trying a new approach with students introducing a new way to demonstrate kindness each day! Have you received your foot rub yet? If not a kind reminder may need to be given! We take kindness as a core value at our school which we mentor, and work on developing every day! We want kindness to become an instilled quality in our loving students that remains with them throughout life. #kindnesscounts
MidYear Developmental Checklists
Your child's Mid Year Developmental Checklist will be sent out prior to Winter Break through Smores. Each family will receive a personalized blog with the checklist attached. We ask that you read carefully and thoroughly, reflect on the contents and save to your computer for future reference. We will send a portal message when they have been sent to alert you.
Enrollment for 2019-2020 School Year
Enrollment for 2019-2020 School Year
Based on many inquiries to the school about new enrollment and new families already securing their space in the program for 2019-2020 school year we will be sending out re-enrollment for our existing students and siblings early in February. Typically we do this in March but because of the volume of interest for next year, we will need to evaluate space in the program for new incoming students. Be on the watch for information coming out to all families in February 2019. This will include our Kindergarten and First Grade program.
Re-enrollment forms and Registration Fee submitted by the deadline will guarantee the student's space for the upcoming school year. If forms and registration fee is not submitted by the deadline we will assume you are forfeiting your space.
Mark Your Calendars
Important Dates to Know!
December
21st-Jan. 4th School Closed for Winter Break
Special and Fun Days through the month
12th Gingerbread Day
14th Yoga Day
January
7th (M) School resumes from Winter Break
14th and 15th (M-T) Pottery Enrichment Workshop with Open Studio-Onsite Workshop
16th (W) Off-Site Field Trip Junior Kindergarten First Grade Field Trip to Van Wezel for performance of Rosie Revere Engineer!
16th (W) School Closed for Professional Day
21st (M) School Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Special and Fun days through the month
International Creativity Month
9th Kid Inventor’s Day
15th Hat Day
20th Penguin Awareness -project 21-25th
29th Inspire your Heart with Art
31st Backwards Day
Custom handmade TerraNichol Academy Mugs
Price: $22.95
Calling on our Tribe
Volunteers and Donations:
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 of 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. See photo below.
See photos of fun take-home projects that we would love to add to our environment!
Looking for a quick and easy way to help
We Love This Marker Holder
Helmet Stand
Simple Sensory Walk-Most items are available at the Dollar Store
Upcycled Train Table
Nature Table and Playscape Signs
Scooter and Bike Port
TerraNichol Academy Of The Arts School Wishlist
Earn your 12 volunteer hours by shopping our Amazon school wishlist.
Holiday Essential Oils
Holiday Joy Essential Oil
What's that scent you say diffusing throughout the campus and learning labs?
Enjoy the delightful fragrance of our limited-time blend, Holiday Joy. This enchanting blend of Wild Orange, Nutmeg, Pine, Cassia, Cinnamon Bark, and Vanilla absolute promotes a warm holiday embrace and will fill your home and senses with the most inviting fragrance of the season for aromatic use. $32.67
Holiday Peace Blend
Discover your grounding foundation in the delicate tones of Holiday Peace with the calming aromas of three firs—Siberian, Douglas, and Himalayan—complimented by Grapefruit, Frankincense, and Vetiver. Embrace the soothing aroma of these fir oils, reminiscent of wintertime traditions. Holiday Peace will help you find the calm during your busy holiday season. Diffuse Holiday Peace or apply to pulse points during family gatherings and holiday prep to keep the atmosphere peaceful and merry. The harmonious blend of Holiday Peace will help bring a tranquil and serene feeling to your home during the holidays. $32.67https://www.doterra.com/US/en/site/terratominelli
Many thanks....
To the vendors who came to support our school. It was a pleasure meeting new people and seeing some old friends. All the products were lovely!!!
To the Bisgrove Family for signing up to paint our wooden wire reels on our playscape and for purchasing our requested children at play signs for the playscape!
To the Carney Family for planting our citrus trees! and to Angela for picking up our library books!
To the VanBlarcom Family for volunteering to sew all of the dolls for our upcoming Art Enrichment Workshop for the new railroad ties and for the ones that will be added to our sand boat area!
To the Vogt Family for the Amazon Delivery from our School Wish List-We love the new paint cups, brushes, watercolor pallets, and magnifying lens!
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:
December 10th @4:30pm
January 14th @4:30pm
February 11th @4:30pm
March 11th @4:30pm
April 8th @4:30pm
May 13th @4:30pm
June 10th @4:30pm
July 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