"Hi, Hello, How are you? How are you today? I'm feeling fine, thank you, I'm glad things are okay!" That happy little song, written by Miss Laura's cousin Jeff, has been a kind of anthem for Hazel Drive since our "hatching" phase during the spring and summer of 2010 and our opening in November of that year. From the very start, Hazel Drive has been a place of many blessings. It is a place filled with warmth, kindness and love. Our teachers are so happy to come to work each day. Their joy is in the air, nurturing and nourishing the children. Our families are happy knowing that their little ones are cared for with patience and tenderness and are learning so much, too. And our children...
How beautiful it is to watch them as they sing, play and learn, filling our school with all the happy sounds of childhood!
Hazel Drive is just the right size! Big enough to be busy and vibrant, small enough to be cozy and homey. The big, medium and little ones mix it up a bit at music and lunch and recess time. The big kids look out for the little kids and enjoy helping and teaching them. All the teachers (and the children, too, at this time of year) know their jobs well, and we move along through the day like a well-oiled machine! Early Bird play time, getting our many school age children on their bus to HCS, Music/Spanish class, outdoor recess, indoor recess, more music, lunches and naps, post-nap play, story time, and before you know it, the bus comes back and we're heading into our afternoon snack and play time. Woven through it all is conversation, laughter and lots of fun!
Within each group, many unique things are taking place as well. Let's take a peek in each of our classrooms:
Little Bunnies and Cottontails
Miss Cathy J., Miss Joslyn, Miss Cathy, Miss Linda and Miss Laura
The months since the beginning of the school year, with their Teddy bear illustrations, are displayed on the bulletin board above our calendar. A visible reminder of the passage of time. But all we have to do is look around us and we can see how the passage of time and gentle care have guided our littlest children into the lovely group that they are! It's so cute to see them gather around the piano after clean-up time...They know the routines so well! It's priceless to see them stand, hands on hearts, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. They are so adorable marching and singing our patriotic medley, little American flags in hand. They love to do projects with glue and paint, and play with the play dough. And our Circle Time group is getting bigger and bigger, as more and more children show readiness for doing the calendar and weather and Miss Cathy J.'s fun, educational games.
Here are a few special things the Little Bunnies and Cottontails enjoy:
We like to tiptoe down the darkened hallway and whisper "Shhhh...Don't wake up the bear - he's sleeping!" We're not really sure where the bear is, but everyone likes the little game and is very, very quiet! Now we say, "Shhhh...Don't wake up the bear - He's hibernating!"
The kids love when Mr. Squirrel pops out of Miss Laura's apron pocket! He's spending the winter in there because it's nice and cozy. One day when he woke up, he found he'd been joined by another lttle friend, Mr. Groundhog. Mr. Groundhog just went in there to get warm, and ended up making it his burrow for hibernating. Well, after the children learned a song about mittens, the red wool mittens went missing. Imagine our surprise when our furry friends popped out of their burrow in their new, red wool "sleeping bags!"
Every day we sing the Hazel Drive song. Every day while we're singing the song, a teacher or two is on the other side of the half-wall setting up the snacks. Every day before we sing the song, Miss Laura whispers conspiratorially, "After we sing, I'm going to ask Miss Joslyn" (or Miss Cathy or Miss Linda) "how she liked the singing." The children sing their hearts out, and then wait very quietly while Miss Laura asks, "Um, excuse me Miss Joslyn," (or Miss Cathy or Miss Linda) "Did you hear some singing just then?" and the teacher replies obligingly, "Oh, yes, it was BEAUTIFUL!"
Big Hoppers
Miss Gloria and Miss Carolyn
Speaking of months rolling by and children g-r-o-w-i-n-g...Just the other day, Miss Gloria was proudly showing the children's self-portraits. The children have been doing a self-portrait in pencil every month since school began, and their progress is amazing! The child's natural development, paired with the instruction of a true artist is a perfect match. During their first drawing lesson, the children were learning shapes and spatial concepts all while following directions and being completely engaged in their work! And as a bonus, when they were finished, there were suns, flowers, happy faces and apples to be proud of!
The Big Hoppers have and elaborate Circle Time. They learn not only their names, but each others in a little mix-up game. The months of the year are laid out on the floor while they sing a song to remember them. They hold their little American flags in their LEFT hands, while they place their RIGHT hands on the hearts for the Pledge. They recite "The Pledge to Myself" where they promise kindness to one another. It is obvious that they take their pledge seriously. The Big Hoppers are very kind and play so nicely together!
The children form little groups where they build things and play make-believe. One of their favorite toys are magnetic building tiles. The tiles are translucent squares, rectangles and triangles in vibrant colors that can "stick" edge to edge to create imaginative structures. Multiple-unit dwellings for little people and animals, boxes, barns with hinged doors, and mosaics are just some of the things that are constructed by the Big Hoppers. They have such fun with their pretend play! Another toy that sees a lot of creative use are the Giant Polydrons. These are really big waffle blocks, squares and triangles, that fit together like puzzle pieces. The things that they create are positively amazing: a play pen, a bed, a car, houses, a giant pencil, space helmets, even a gazebo have all been built with their little hands and big imaginations!
The Big Hoppers love their Project Time. They sit on the floor with Miss Gloria and Miss Carolyn and learn about the day's topic and listen to instructions on how to do their project. Then they proceed to the tables where they work with their baby pencils, paper, scissors, crayons and glue sticks to make beautiful projects. Their paintings are a joy to behold! Many times the children are learning the alphabet shapes and sounds. Usually you can find a letter on the floor for the children to "walk" (and hop, too, when necessary!) Remember our song: "Where do you start your letters? At the TOP!" At the tables during project time, they may be using their artistic skills to create the letter of the week. And always on display are ABC puzzles, books and many objects beginning with the featured letter sound!
Wascally Wabbits
Miss Missy and Miss Alyssa
The biggest children in our school are called the "Wascally Wabbits." We like rabbit names, and when it came time a few years ago to name a new group of older children, we settled on that very cute name. As it turns out, however, the Wascally Wabbits are not very wascally at all! They are nice, busy four- and five-year-olds who earn their nickname "Hunny Bunnies" because they are very endearing and like to hug Miss Missy! 
Being the oldest children at Hazel Drive, they live up to the expectations for BIG kids. They take care of so many of their own needs. They help the little ones. They are responsible for their work boxes containing the tools of their trade, scissors, crayons, a pencil and a glue stick and perhaps a work-in-progress to be completed in the afternoon. And they are the best picker-uppers...They even have a "Toy Inspector" on the roster of daily jobs to make sure everything has been properly and neatly placed on the shelves and in the bins!
There is a growing display of ABC animals on the wall in Miss Missy's room. By the end of the school year, the children will have compiled their own Animal ABC books! The Wascally Wabbits have great enthusiasm for their artistic endeavors, and their big room is always beautifully and whimsically decorated for the season.
With the help of the daily meteorologist, the children complete their weather charts. At the end of each month the type and frequency of the weather is analyzed and graphed. Their calendars are also updated daily. They write or trace their numbers and color a pattern with their crayons as the days pass. Many skills are learned through these activities, skills that will serve them well now and as they look ahead to Kindergarten next fall!
Hope you are enjoying the slowly unfolding spring as much as we enjoy and treasure the blossoming of your lovely children!
Love,
Your Hazel Drive Teachers
