What a Year!

 What a year it has been! The children in Katon started out as "Covid babies."  They had grown up mostly around their families and had rarely been around other children other than siblings. They have never known a world where people did not wear masks while interacting with them. They have gone from playing alone to looking forward to seeing their classmates and wondering where they are when they are absent. Many of them did not speak at all and are now telling us full stories. 

The end of the school year is always bittersweet, but this year, I'm feeling a little more emotional than usual. This has been one of the best classes of toddlers I have had in many years of teaching, and I owe a lot of that to you as their parents! You all have been patient and supportive. You have asked the right questions and shared the most important insights. Most of all, you have trusted me with the most important people in your lives. That means the world to me, They mean the world to me!

Thank you for an amazing year! I am so excited to see what adventures the next year will bring for them!

Look at how much they have grown!

Joey - August 2021                     Joey - May 2022

Eliyahu - August 2021             Eliyahu - May 2022

Wells - August 2021                                 Wells - May 2022

Leia - August 2021                Leia - May 2022

Emmett - August 2021                  Emmett - May 2022

Gordie - August 2021                Gordie - May 2022

  

Lily - August 2021                     Lily - May 2022

Louie - October 2021              Louie - May 2022

Maeve - November 2021                    Maeve - May 2022

Sophie - January 2022            Sophie - May 2022

Solomon - January 2022        Solomon - May 2022

 Today we mixed two of Katon's favorite things: science and art! We went back to our old standby combination of baking soda and vinegar to make colorful "explosions" with liquid water color. Then the children put pieces of paper on their explosions to make a print. There were a lot of "Woah!" and "Wow!" comments from the littles. 

Then we had a bit of a free-for-all with the paint at the art table. The children were so happy to be able to pour the paint out of the bottles and just take some time to create!

We can't believe tomorrow is our last day!

Final Week Fun!

 As a last hurrah in Katon, we are focusing on letting the children have time to do all their favorite things. We have been painting, drawing, reading, popping bubbles, dancing, and playing outside!

The children have been watching us take art down off the walls, and get things ready to be taken home for the end of the school year. We have started planting the seeds of knowledge that when they come back after our next long break, they will be with new teachers and some new friends. We aren't quite ready to give this amazing group of kids up after this year, so we're sneaking in all the extra snuggles we can!