Hope Day School

Young children love to imitate adults! At school, we often see children playing teacher.

Why do they do this?

Young children are naturally honing their social, cognitive and physical skills all the time. Imitating adults and "trying on" adult language and behaviors is one way children support their own growing independence and sense of control of their world. Children are very observant when it comes to the adults who care for them. They notice the smallest details of what adults find meaningful and important.

We can use moments like this to self-check for what we are modeling to children around us. Do we put down our phones when we talk to each other? Do we model our own adult interests and learning? Do we model how to make a mistake gracefully? Do we share feelings with compassion?

Little ears,
Little eyes,
Giant lessons

A beautiful moment captured between children sharing the joy of discovery!

One friend was playing in the Science center and discovered our view master, saying excitedly, "I see an alligator!" Another friend overheard and his curiosity was piqued. He picked up another view master and they shared with each other the slides of animals they were viewing. "Wow!" "Look at this one!"

As adults, we can learn from children. We can slow down and share in their excitement. One measure parents report to us of the the success of Hope Day School's unique nature-based curriculum is how much they learn from their children about all the amazing animal and plants we can find in our state!

Contact us today to set up a tour! 214-351-5657

Great teachers know that diaper changing times are important moments for building one on on relationships with children amidst the hustle and bustle of infant and toddler classrooms. From the time they are young, children begin learning consent when adults describe what they do when helping care for children's bodies.

"I'm taking off your diaper now."
"Let's put your shoes back on."
"Time to wash your hands."

Great teachers use care and patience, allowing children to help with dressing themselves and washing their own hands as they are able. Giving children from a very young age appropriate opportunities to care for themselves supports their growing self-esteem and agency.

If you are looking for a loving center for your young child, set up a tour today! 214-351-5657

Let's not forget the primary role children's open-ended, undirected play in a three-dimensional world takes in their cognitive, emotional, language & physical development!

Here's one moment captured on our nature playground with two of our PreK students. One child begins building a stove and invites another child to join who has taken an interest. The bottom section of their construction is the stove. They brainstormed how to balance the top board on top of the larger blocks.

Friend: Wait! Scoot it over or it's going to fall that way!

Once they got the board to balance...

Friend Two: Don't put any pots on the sides or it will fall over!

They also made chairs out of the big blocks and made sure they had a back so "they won't fall."

In a world that has become increasingly digitized, we can't forget this is how children's most powerful learning occurs. This is STEM in it's most organic state!

The children and teachers are preparing for our annual Strawberry Festival this Friday! Our PreK classes are learning about the life cycle of a strawberry plant. Exploring plant and animal life cycles is an important part of our preschool science curriculum. Through the school year, as children learn about different cycles, they see patterns and are able to make comparisons.

All our families are invited at 3:15 on Friday to attend the very regal procession of the homemade strawberry shortcake with Queen Strawberry! We hope to see you there!

festival

The beginnings of data analysis...

Our preK classes graphed their favorite ice cream flavors this week on Homemade rice Cream Day.

One child asked, "Why is this a graph?"

The teacher said "Graphs help us understand information. Data is the information we collect. In our graph we can see which count and see which ice cream is the most liked and which is the least liked."

So many skills supported in a playful and meaningful way!

🍨Art & sensory-each child painting their cones

🍨Writing- labeling their card with their name

🍨Social emotional - each child's favorite included on the graph

🍨One-to-one correspondence- counting the cones

🍨Numeral recognition- adding numerals to the graph and identify where each bar lands

🍨Data analysis - interpreting the graph

🍨Language- Talking about the process & interpretation

But to the children, this is just a meaningful, playful community activity! Great teachers know how to support children's emerging skills in funand engaging ways!

Iif you are looking for a dynamic and loving school for your young child, call to set up a tour today! 214-351-5657

Big Mama's Funeral

Sometimes giving children opportunities to practice working through the little losses prepares them for the big ones later on. Fish come and fish go. We might not remember them all and some we will.

We read our favorite book about pet grief- The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst. A little girl's cat Barney dies and she makes a list of nine good things she remembers about him. Her father teaches her that when they bury Barney in the ground, he becomes part of the ground, helping the flowers and plants grow. The tenth good thing about Barney.

So after sharing our favorite memories of Big Mama - she liked the corner of the tank, she swam a lot, she ate ALOT- we wrapped he body in a cloth and buried her in the playground flowerbed. The children were so polite and helpful giving everyone a turn to scoop some dirt to cover her. Then we covered the spot with a heart stepping stone and placed our flowers.

To Big Mama we sang,
"God loves you and we love you
And that's the way it's gonna be!
God loves you and we love you
And that's the way it's gonna be!"

❤️ 🐟 ❤️

Our annual Homemade Ice Cream Day! We prepared by graphing our favorite flavor, playing ice cream shop, and playing ice cream fine motor games. We learned to follow a recipe, use measuring tools, and follow instructions. We got a little exercise jumping around and shaking the ice cream container. We saw liquids turn to solids and enjoyed sharing a tasty treat! Gross motor, fine motor, literacy, math, science& social emotional learning- all in a day's work at Hope Day School!

If you're looking for a unique & engaging curriculum for your little learner, set up a tour today! 214-352-5657

icecream

We are very sad to announce that our oldest member of the fish tank class passed away yesterday.

Affectionately known as Big Mama, Big One, and Fish, she was a prominent member of the Hope Day School community for many, many years. A Texas cichlid, she was caught in an area stream by our aquarium guy. She came to us small and fragile, each year growing, growing and growing more until she became a dominating force in the aquarium.When we moved to Cathedral of Hope years ago the children felt comfortable starting in a new space once they saw their beloved Big Momma came as well.

Our deepest condolences to the other fish in the tank who may be secretly happy they no longer have such strict competition for food.

Services will be held tomorrow morning in the school library. The children will share pictures they have drawn of their favorite memories with Big Mama, sing songs, and share goldfish crackers after.

To our dearest Big Mama- well done thy good and faithful servant for bringing joy to so many children.

Rest in Peace
🐟

We've spent the year studying the animals, plants and natural habitats of Texas and now it's time to celebrate! Yesterday and today the children are randomly picking the animal they will be for the first ever Texas Animal Olympics that will be held July 31!

Our teaching team has designed unique Olympic events inspired by the Texas places we have studied - Big Thicket log rolling, swimming the Guadalupe, Caprock Canyon rock stepping, Kickapoo cavern crawl, Panhandle playa lake jumping, flying through Eagle Mountain park, tracking footprints through Dinosaur Valley, dodging snakes in the Chihuahuan desert, walking the balance beam thru an alligator swamp in Brazos Bend, Gulf Coast protect sea turtle eggs race and rolling through the South Texas Plains!

We have come to know and love our state, incorporating science, math, literacy, & social emotional learning through our engaging, research-based nature-based curriculum.

If you are looking for a wonderful place for your young child to grow and thrive in their early years set up a tour today!

The joy of absolute freedom in nature one day a year -- Happy International Mud Day! We love getting really messy and exploring all the textures of mud once a year, getting washed off in the garden hose and getting our hair washed! From clean to dirty and back to clean again!

Thank you to our families for supporting children's exploratory play, our teachers for their hard work, and our kids for bringing smilies to our faces!

Due to severe weather we will delay opening until 8:15 am today. Please be safe driving in!

The ovens are on and the griddle is fired! Here's your dedicated 6 am crew cooking for today's family breakfast! We are excited for you to try some of Hope Day School's plant forward breakfast foods! On the menu today:
Carrot zucchini pancake with applesauce
Quinoa mushroom egg muffins with cheese
Black bean potato hash with onions, pepper, & kale
Fruit salad 🌱

Ms. Consuelo and Ms. Jazmin baked the beautiful Easter bread centerpieces for tomorrow's Easter lunch!

Mini carrot "hotdogs" for afternoon snack anyone? Ballpark approved and taste delicious! Carrots were cooked, marinated in Chef Ira's secret recipe, then grilled on the flattop!

Each month we choose a different vegetable or fruit to highlight our menus and curriculum. The children learn about it in the classroom and have opportunities to explore it in raw form. We then include the item in breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. This process has helped our team develop new and interesting healthy recipes our children love to eat!

This month our food highlight is carrots. This morning we are eating a breakfast hash with carrot, sweet potato, leek, apple, and plant based sausage. It's delicious! So many to start the day for growing brains and bodies!

Today in our morning staff training we discussed the cognitive development of young children. Over time they begin to think and play symbolically, which is also the basis of understanding print and writing. At our morning circle time, preschool teachers use a calendar to help children make sense of time, counting how many days to special events, embedding learning in a real life context rather than learning by rote.

One of our three year olds showed his interest by making his own calendar and posting on the wall today!

In alignment with DISD, Hope Day School will be closed Tuesday, January 16; 2024 for inclement weather. Stay warm!

An old Epiphany custom is to write an inscription over the doorway to bless the home. At Hope Day School, our annual tradition is for the children and staff to draw and write blessings at every doorway of the Cathedral of Hope campus to bless those who enter. Sacred scribbles!

Happy New Year and blessed Epiphany! Today is our annual Three King's Festival that culminates in our sharing of traditional King's Cake at afternoon snack. Hope Day School's cake is like no other, with a tiny baby Jesus hidden in each slice for our oldest children!

Behind the scenes of our work with children, our team of chef, teachers, and administrators lovingly passes down the learning of special skills - like the baking of King's Cake! This year's cakes were baked by Ms. Teresa and Ms. Aurora.

A gift for you this winter solstice night... magical photos from our annual winter solstice spiral walk. Each year, after hearing the Christmas story each of our older children walk the spiral evergreen path towards the Christmas star, laying a candle at the manger. (CHeck the comments for additional photos)

Happy Saint Lucia Day! This year Saint Lucia was played by our Butterfly teacher, Ms. Jessica. Each year we choose a special person to play this role based on their spirit of service and support to others. Behind the scenes, Jessica plays a key role in many of our school events. She is very creative and uses her gifts to create fun and engaging activities for children. She often steps in to lend a hand to teachers and administrators or cover the kitchen. We are blessed to have her at Hope Day School and celebrate her today!

There is no place quite like behind the scenes before a festival day at Hope Day School. We had a team of 6 church volunteers and school staff baking over 200 cinnamon cardamom rolls from scratch and preparing food for tomorrow's candlelight Saint Lucia breakfast!

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Last Friday a sneaky group of gingerbread men broke into Hope Day School on Christmas Pajama Day! While the children were on the playground, they caused all sorts of mischief and the children needed to find them. After nap, our older kids found rhyming clues throughout the school that led to a plate of gingerbread people under the Christmas tree.

Many thanks to all our families who donated pajamas for children in transitional housing as part of our annual drive!

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! The children ate their traditional Saint Nicholas Bread for lunch today! The children set their shoes outside for Saint Nicholas to fill during nap. Each year they receive a homemade ornament, chocolate coins, an orange, Christmas spice cookies, and their annual nativity book! We look forward to this day all year!

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We had a special treat today along the banks of the Guadalupe River! Chef Ira and Mr. Shane from facilities brought their fishing poles and showed us how much they love fishing together! We learned about the parts of a fishing pole, how to use a net, and why we wear a life jacket. We saw pictures of their fishing adventures and Mr Shane let each of us take a lure home!

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