Summer Session

It has been brought to my attention that some working parents might benefit from a summer program for their preschoolers whose regular programs close during the summer.  My family will travel during the summer, but the weeks that we are home, Harmony's House will be open!  I will work on updating the calendar to reflect these dates.  Please let me know if you would be interested in enrolling for just one semester during the year.

harmonyhutson@gmail.com

Open Enrollment

Half day preschool is not for everyone, but for some parents, it's a great fit.

• Are you a stay at home mom wishing for more social opportunities for your child?  
• Do you home school, but would love to have two mornings "off" while your child is taught elsewhere?  
• Do you have a new baby that would benefit from more one-on-one time with mom, but your older child needs more attention during this life transition as well?  
• Maybe you would just like to have a few mornings to go shopping or clean house by yourself.

Harmony's House might be a solution for your family.  Ms. Harmony offers a two-day, half-day preschool opportunity for children ages 30 months through five years.  She works from her home with no more than five enrolled children to maximize supervision, individualized learning, and healthy social development.  Use the tabs at the top of this blog page to read more about Ms. Harmony's program and experience.  With only five available spots, it's important to act quickly to contact Ms. Harmony, submit paperwork, and reserve your child's place.

harmonyhutson@gmail.com

Harmony's House plans to open the first week of April!  Enroll now to reserve a spot!

What's new in the explore table this month?

Hearts!  Love!  Sorting!  Sensory experiences!

Can you find matching letters or colors hidden in the rose petals and squiggly paper?

It's all about the Heart

This week our family celebrated Valentine's Day.  I love this holiday because the heart symbol is my "letter link."  The children call me "Ms. Harmony Heart" and I love it!  I love that my personal symbol means love, and I certainly give all my heart to the kids.

"What is a letter link," you may ask.  These handy little symbols are part of the High Scope Curriculum for early childhood.  Every child and teacher has a symbol that begins with the same letter and sound as the name.  

This serves multiple functions:

- children that are not developmentally ready to recognize letters, can still "read" their name and friends' names

- letter links teach letter identification and sounds

- letter links build phonemic awareness (hearing the sounds letters and blends make in words)

Phonemically speaking, some letters can make more than one sound.  A "letter link" must match the sound to be correct.

For example, a child could be "Cathy Cookie" but not "Cathy Circle" because it's not the same sound.

A child could be "Kody Kangaroo," but not "Kody Carrot" because while it's a matching sound, it's not the same letter.

The children explore letter sounds, inventing new letter links for self and others, test out whether the sounds match, look in books to see if the letters match up, match letter links to friends' names, use letter links to "write" to one another, and so much more.  

Baby "K" got her letter link before leaving the hospital: a Koala.  She looked like a tiny baby koala snuggled up with her dad, so it became her letter link.  Here she is sending Valentine love to you and yours!  Yes, she is koala-fied to be your valentine.  ;)

The "House Area" is more than a house...

Although this center is referred to as the "House Area," it is so much more than a place to play "house."  Simply, this is the area where most socio-dramatic play happens.  This means that sometimes the House Area can be a post office, a fire station, or even a grocery store.  Changes this month included reducing the kitchen set up to a smaller furniture piece, in order to add in a baby nursery.  With the monthly focus being on different jobs people have in our community, it was important for children to interact with ideas of being doctors or nurses, bakers or chefs, veterinarians, or child-care providers.

Read to them

It's true.  Reading to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers is one of the best ways to prepare them for learning to read in elementary school.  The young children learn that language has rhythm, alliteration, and rhyme.  Language conveys ideas and emotions.  Language tells stories and can be illustrated with pictures.  Language is symbolic (in our language, via a letter alphabet).

At Harmony's House, the Book Area is kept fresh with new literature.  This week, I added books about Valentine's Day and all kinds of community helpers from construction workers, to teachers, to firefighters and veterinarians.

Construction Zone! Kids hard at work!

In February, thematic units usually include community helpers, health, nutrition, and fitness.  I update each area to reflect these themes.  The Block Area has been transformed into a construction zone complete with hats, work cones, tools, measuring tapes, tool bench, construction vehicles, and Little People workers.  I expect the small friends who come to play at my house will be hard at work very soon!