St. Alban's Episcopal Day School

Happy 5th birthday to this sweet and sassy girl! 🥳

Second half of week two! Friendship bracelets. Did you know that celery makes the best scales for a paper plate Rainbow fish? We also found out that mouse likes studio apartments!

Tune in for next week's adventures!

Today we read, "If You Take a Mouse to School" and found a note from Mouse! He left us a special snack and when we found it, it was chocolate chip cookies! 🍪🐭

Happy 4th birthday to this cutie pie! 🥳🎈🎂

First week of school in Ms. Kathy's older three's class in the books! 🍎🏫

So much fun exploring color, reading about mouse at school, a lunchbox hunt, and making purple lava!

Princess and Pirate Day was a hit! Aargh!

We ask them too fast.

We live in a culture that marks them with maturity far sooner than they are ready for.

It’s tablets before words.

It’s travel ball before fundamentals learned.

It’s TikTok before reading time on a clock.

We expect them to handle emotions when they don’t even know how to identify them. We expect them to fully cooperate when we change plans on a whim.

We take away recess time to teach more and more and more. Then ask them to perform and make the score.

We overwhelm them.

It’s constant entertainment. No time to be bored. Here’s one more thing to occupy you, so we can scroll our phones a little more.

It’s short lived magic with eyes that only gleam for a short little while at the Santa Claus scene.

It’s nails and makeup adorned by little girls younger every year.

And don’t forget… there’s no time for tears.

We rush them and shuffle them and ask them for more… than any child is really ready for.

We don’t slow down, we never stop. It’s just hop on the train and then wonder years later how to slow down the clock.

Can we give them a second? A moment to breathe? Let’s go outside and climb up a tree.

Forget the phones. Forget the score. Forget the always wanting more and more.

I want simple for mine. Time to explore. Time to realize what life’s really for.

Just be a child. Make the mess. Let’s enjoy life with a little bit less.

Grow up slower, my little one. There’ll be time for more when your childhood is done.

Adulthood comes quickly, and you’ll live longer there than in your childhood that will be gone like a flare.

We ask them too fast. I want to ask less. Let’s slow down and give them the time to express.

It’s our job as parents, because the world asks too soon for our kids to grow up and lose the childhood at bloom. Let’s help our babies grow up slower and always remind them there will be time for growing up when they’re older.

Happy 2nd birthday sweet girl! 🎉

We had a visit from an astronaut today! Thank you Ms. Rachael and the Baker family!

Happy Birthday Ms. Kathy! 🥳

Wild West fun! Chocolate pizza (brownies) from our favorite song: She'll be coming around the mountain!

Our class donation lists are ready in time for some great Back to School Sales. Please check out your child's class list!

Uncle Les was playing a song on our new playground musical toy and we lassoed the longhorn (caterpillar) on the playground! 🎵🤠🐮

Happy 5th birthday to this sweet boy! 🥳🎉🎂

Excavation day!!!🦕🦖

What would you add to this list? 🗒️

Happy Independence Day!🎆

It's that time of year! For individuals with sensory considerations, auditory input from scheduled (and unscheduled neighborhood) celebrations can be a challenge!

Here are tips to support those who can't take the unexpected (or expected) boom of fireworks:
💥Earplugs
💥Headphones
💥Chewlery
💥Weighted blanket/blanket
💥Watch from live streaming or from TV broadcast
💥Countdown to the start
💥Earbuds
💥Sunglasses for bright lights
💥Personal space away from crowds

When it's time to sleep and the neighborhood is still celebrating, try:
💥White noise sound machine and blackout curtains
💥Music
💥Turn on a movie
💥"Camp out" in the basement for a fun adventure

Read more and check out our bubble wrap fireworks activity that is a great auditory processing activity for the 4th of July: https://www.theottoolbox.com/fine-motor-and-auditory-fireworks/

Water day for our one year olds!

Love this!

“We don’t call our cars broken when they’re out of gas. They just need to be filled up.

We don’t call our phones worthless when they’re out of battery. They just need to be plugged in.

The same goes for me and you.

You are not broken.
You are not worthless.

You’re worth healing.
You’re worth rest.”

Threes and fours enjoying water day. Wow, they move fast!

Twos are loving water day!

S'mores day!!!

Happy 5th birthday to this funny, smart , and sassy girl!

Regulated means your energy matches the task. 🙌 Thank you

Today Ms. Rachael and Ms. Kathy's classes had boat races! Everyone was a winner in the race! ⛵

We made our boats and we are ready to race! 🏁⛵

Watermelon day! We had watermelon for snack (which I got no pictures of) and made watermelon slime! 🍉