1 Hello Families! Lots of Exciting Things Have Been Happening at OSP The

Home , Eagle (Calder), Olympic Sculpture Park, Split (sculpture), Stinger (sculpture), Wake (sculpture)

Hello families!

Lots of exciting things have been happening at OSP the past couple of weeks! The highlight was a visit from our friend, Bobby, who is the head gardener at the park. He taught us about the plants, trees, and shrubs that we see in our everyday life. In the Valley, we learned about snowberries, sword ferns, dogwood trees, and ginkgos. We have begun to recognize which kinds of berries make humans sick (snowberries) and what colors the tree leaves are turning (red, yellow, orange).

+her’s names, explore our most immediate surroundings at the park, and familiarize themselves with the available activities of each day.

In the North Meadow, we are exploring different kinds of plants and wildlife. The Meadow is home to Douglas firs and Garry Oaks, as well as all sorts of grasses we can roll in. The Meadow is also where our best train-spotting occurs!

Emerging fine motor and artistic skills: drawing people! 2

Using magnifying glasses to look at plant clippings

Questions we have been asking about the sculptures: What colors/shapes do you see in this work of art? What do those colors and shapes remind you of? Do we all see the same thing when we look at this sculpture? Or do we notice different things?

Questions we will begin to ask: Why do you think these colors were used in this sculpture? Do colors have meaning? Do colors relate to emotions? Do you see movement in this work of art? (i.e. Does the sculpture look like it’s floating/flying/tipping over?)

We’ve encountered a few sculptures on our explorations. Now we’ll look deeper, asking “What is a sculpture? What shapes do you see? What does it remind you of?” Also as children form stronger connections and friendships at school, we’ll also learn about being a kind member of our community and practicing inclusion. We’ll also identify the four basic emotions (happy, sad, mad, scared) and then expand to other emotions (excited, surprised, frustrated, disappointed, lonely, calm.) The main theme of these two weeks is “What is a Sculpture?” while the main social-emotional topic is inclusion and emotional literacy.

Attached is a copy of the lesson plan that we tentatively followed for Week Three. Using an emergent curriculum, lesson plans are flexible and likely to change based on the weather and what the students’ interests are for that particular day.

Week Three MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Class Meeting Introducing a new Feeling cards Book: Daniel’s Feeling cards Book: Jamaica Tag rule: “Everyone Day Along can play. No left Excited, Calm, Disappointed, outs.” Surprised, Lonely What can you do Worried, to take care of Frustrated What is a left your feelings at out? school?

Exploration Stinger Sky Landscape I Split/Meadow Wake Eagle

Magnifying Drawing the Building sculptures Observing glasses for shapes we see Safety review with pattern sculptures: looking at plants blocks

“What do you Storytime inside notice? What sculpture does it remind you of?”

And here is a schedule for this week – Week Four:

Week Four MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Class Meeting No school: Staff Feeling: Sad Reviewing Feeling: Angry Introducing Professional Inclusion: shapes: square, Development Day When do you feel “Everyone can When do you feel triangle, circle sad? What can play. No left angry? What can you do? Who can outs.” What is a you do? Who can help? left out? help? Exploration Meadow Path to Stinger Stinger Sky Landscape I

Using new Aspen Grove: Blocks, buckets, Drawing the binoculars, exploring with shovels shapes that we playing with balls magnifying see glasses, finding native berries

At Tiny Trees, we use Teaching Strategies Gold as our main assessment tool. With it we can track the progress of children in different categories: Social-Emotional, Physical, Language, and Cognitive, Literacy, Mathematics, etc. The past two weeks have been focused on the social-emotional category (how to regulate emotions and behaviors, establish and sustain positive relationships, and participate cooperatively and constructively in group situations). In addition, we have been working on language (how to use language to express thoughts and needs), mathematics concepts (counting objects), the arts (exploring visual arts, musical expression), and more! We will continue to update you on important benchmarks that we have reached as a class. ------Wednesday is another special day! Just a quick note to let you know that a reporter from KIRO News Radio will be visiting our class this Wednesday, October 4th to learn more about Tiny Trees. We will keep you updated once there is a news segment that we can pass on. 4

------Great news! Rain suits have been delivered! We will be handing them out sometime this week, depending on how fast we can get them to our location. Please read through the 2 attached PDF documents so you are ready to sign the agreement when you arrive to receive the suit. No need to print. We will have the forms ready for you when we hand out the suits. *Agreement for Use of Issued Clothing *Guidelines for Care of Issued Clothing If you have any questions about the agreement or care information, please contact our Family Empowerment Coordinator, Meri at [email protected]. ------Be sure to stay updated on our class adventures here: Tiny Trees Preschool: Olympic Sculpture Park AM (2017-2018) . The Facebook page is a great way to see more photographs of our days at OSP, as well as connect with other parents to learn about playdate and carpooling opportunities! ------Discounts on Outdoor Gear: Here is a list of discounts that families can use for additional gear. The list will hopefully grow as the year goes on! Please share on our Facebook page or by email if you know of any other discounts families can use.

Polarn O. Pyret: 20% Discount http://www.polarnopyretusa.com/outdoor_schools_form

Oakiwear: 10% Discount Code: oakischool

Puddlegear: 10% Discount Code: Forestschool10% ------Fun article: Hot off the press! Great article on outdoor preschool legislation and what it means for families in Washington: https://www.parentmap.com/article/best-outdoor-preschool-learning-washington ------As always, you can email us at [email protected] or reach us during school hours by phone at (206) 701-0245, ext 107. Please note that during the school day, our priority is to be present with children, and we will get back to you as soon as safe and possible. ------Here is a copy of the updated calendar for the 2017-2018 school year. I have attached a pdf version of the calendar to this email as well.

2017-2018 Family Calendar

August September 29, Tues: Camp Long Orientation 1, Fri: John C Little, Jefferson & OSP Orientation 30, Wed: Carkeek East & West Orientation 5-8, 11: Home Visits (scheduled at orientation) 31, Thurs: Big Finn Hill & Carkeek Central Orientation 12, Tues: First Day of School for Mon-Fri, Tues/Thurs Classes! 13, Wed: First Day of School for Mon/Wed/Fri Classes!

October November 2, Mon: No School (All Staff PD) 9, Thurs: No School (All Staff PD) 27, Fri: Tiny Trees Luncheon (no classes, free childcare at 10, Fri: No School (Holiday: Veterans Day) the event) 23-24, Thurs-Fri: No School (Holiday: Thanksgiving)

December January 18, Mon: No School (All Staff PD) 2, Tues: School Resumes 19-1: No School (Winter Break) 15, Mon: No School (Holiday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day) 23, Tues: No School (All Staff PD)

February March 19, Mon: No School (Holiday: Presidents’ Day) 14, Wed: No School (All Staff PD) 20-23: No School (Mid-Winter Break)

April May 2-6: Big Finn Hill No School (Spring Break) 25, Fri: No School (All Staff PD) 9-13: No School except Big Finn Hill (Spring Break) 28, Mon: Holiday (Memorial Day)

June 14, Thurs: Camp Long Last Day of School for Tues/Thurs Classes 15, Fri: Camp Long Last Day of School Year for Mon-Fri & Mon/Wed/Fri Classes 20, Wed: Last Day of School Year for Mon/Wed/Fri Classes 21, Thurs: Last Day of School Year for Mon-Fri & Tues/Thurs Classes 22-1: No School (Mid-Summer Break) July 2, Mon: Summer Session Starts (available at Big Finn Hill, Carkeek, Cougar Mountain, Jefferson, & John C Little parks). *see notes for additional details

Notes: - PD = Professional Development: We know that a great education comes from great teachers. In order to uphold and stay true to our core values of providing quality education through evidence-based practice, we will hold all-staff professional development training one day per month and during each of the school breaks. Our staff receive a minimum of 20 days of professional development and training each year. - Summer Session Starts July 2 * We will be confirming your summer enrollment plans, as selected at registration. If you need to change your summer enrollment contact [email protected] by January 31. If you are enrolled in a class at Camp Long or Olympic Sculpture Park, space may be available for the summer in classes at other parks on a first come, first serve basis.