The Kaleidoscope: fun for all ages

Inspired by one. 

Inset Kaleidoscope by Lucy

That's all it takes for The Children's School to break out the box of vintage optical toys! Perfect timing with our spring sunshine. Here's a few of our gems and their fantastic explosions of color...

1960's ZOOSCOPE made in England

Vintage Optical Viewer, with changeable color lenses, made in Japan
by よしにのかかく

1960's Kaleidoscope made by Galt Toys in England

The Karascope:
"The Karascope creates an optical fantasy in a tube by polarizing, refracting and reflecting light. There is no colored glass in the Karascope, only the spectral colors of light itself.
Ordinary white light which vibrates in all directions is polarized along one plane when it passes through the base of the tube. The light then enters clear, colorless pieces of birefringent material and is reorganized by the eyepiece to produce the startling colors that you see. The patterns, unlike those in a kaleidoscope, are asymmetrical.






Hold the Karascope toward the light, rotate the base, and the image changes. A twist of the eyepiece alters the colors of the image and causes the pattern to swirl to or from the eye. The spectrum also shifts as the Karascope is pointed toward different light sources".
 -Designed by Judith Karelitz, 1978 New York City.























Jupiter Scope: The Space-Age Prism by SolarGraphics 1981 Berkeley, CA

Rainbow Disk LOOK! Sticks to windows and creates colorful prisms.
The Magic Mirror Book by Marion Walter 1971 (with mirror intact)
Assorted PrismaScopes

Now let's play!

The Children’s School

Spring Fling Campaign

All proceeds benefit the program and students.

Help us reach our goal of $5000.

DONATE TODAY!!!

This is a matching grant so EVERY dollar you give is doubled.

Spring Fling details - CLICK HERE!

Winter Olympics 2014 at TCS!

The Winter Olympics have been in full swing at Sochi, on our televisions at home and in the classrooms at TCS!
Some of our kids stepped up onto the podium and we asked them a few basic questions about their Olympics; what country they were representing, their sport of choice, the equipment and any special food that they require to be the best athlete they can be.
Here is what we found:

Sophia of Seattle
Sport: Ice skating with partner
Equipment: Ballet shoes on my shirt, ice skating shoes with socks that have unicorns
Food: Oranges, Apples, Bananas

Zoe of United States
Sport: Ice skating with partner and alone
Equipment: dress with polka dots and ponies, ice skates with princess unicorns
Food:pasta and meatballs

Tate of Seattle USA
Sport: Skiing on hills (medium hills)
Equipment: Jacket, coat, hat, helmet, ski boots and long underwear
Food: Pizza and noodles

Bethany of Seattle USA
Sport: Ice skating (alone)
Equipment: Dress with skirt, tights, ice skating shoes
Food: Bananas, apples and cheese

Daisy of Seattle USA
Sport: Ice skating with partner
Equipment: Butterfly dress, ice skates and unicorn socks
Food: Broccoli, carrots, bananas and cheese

Calix of United States
Sport: Skiing (flat and on hill)
Equipment: Jacket, hat, boots and snowman on ski's
Food: Banana

Zadie of Seattle USA
Sport: Ice skating with partner
Equipment: Skirts and pretty dresses, ice skates and gold medal
Food: Apples (whole)

Max of America
Sport: Skiing on hills
Equipment: Gloves, goggles and helmet
Food: Protein

Emily of Seattle WA USA
Sport: Ice Skating with partner (lots of time practicing!)
Equipment: Pretty dress and skirt
Food: Apples

Adelyn of Seattle
Sport: Ice skating with partner (3 days of practice)
Equipment: Warm clothes, safety clothes and skates
Food: Grapes

Roslyn of Seattle
Sport: Ice skating
Equipment: Skirt and shirt that matches
Food: Strawberries

Lexie
Sport: Ice skating
Equipment: Dresses and skirts
Food: Carrots

Lucy
Sport: Ice skating
Equipment: skirt and skates
Food: Carrots

Logan
Sport: Toboggan- Bobsled (fast and slow)
Equipment: Mittens and toasty-warm coats
Food: Chicken and fish

Leila
Sport: Ice skating with partner
Equipment: Sweaters, jackets, warm socks and really warm pants
Food: Broccoli

Aida
Sport: Ice skating
Equipment: Clothes I am wearing today and ice skating shoes
Food: Strawberries and Tofu

Evan
Sport: Bobsled (faster than a hot rod!)
Equipment: Helmet but no goggles
Food: Cookies, breakfast and milk

Connor
Sport: Bobsled Team
Equipment: Tools and stuff, helmet and goggles
Food: Cookies and milk. It makes me feel strong and healthy!

TCS kids showing their skills!














































Gotta love the Olympics!

BIG SHOUT OUT!

We couldn't resist sharing this recent post by a TCS parent about our program - many thanks!  

My children have been attending TCS for 5 years, and they have been an amazing asset to our family and our children's development. This place is incredibly nurturing, their student/teacher ratio is unheard of for a preschool, and they also have the flexibility to transfer your student, if a longer day is necessary…My son will be in their Pre-K Program next year, and I'll truly be sad when our journey there is done. They have taught me so much as a parent, how to nurture my child, work through difficult developmental milestones, welcome in, learn, and implement from my son's speech therapist, etc. This place is amazing! I would love to gush more about them… Diana Nickel (Jan 2014)

The Children’s School

A Montessori-based Preschool established in 1965

Schedule a New Family Visit to 
tour our school.  

 

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The Children’s School

Now Enrolling New Families 

Connor's Car Painting 2013

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

The Children’s School

A Montessori-based preschool established in 1965

What's special about TCS?    

• ·      We are child-centered in our approach and environment.
• ·      We strive to maintain a teacher-to-student ratio of 1-to-4.
• ·      We employ exceptionally qualified, talented teachers.
• ·      We are skilled in using Montessori best practices to teach.
• ·      We develop creative, enriching, themed curriculum.
• ·      We focus on safety and preparedness.
• ·      We learn, play, and inspire – all within a spirit of fun!! 

The Children's School has been educating children and serving families for nearly 50 years. Emphasizing a healthy and caring environment, we offer a developmentally balanced preschool and pre-kindergarten program that meets each child’s unique needs.

Check out our Registration Information for 2014 school year.

Follow us on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/thechildrensschoolseattle.  

Snow update December 20, 2013

The Children School will be closed today.  When Seattle  Schools are running two hours late on a a Friday we will be closed. Have a great holiday and we will see you in January.

The Elves and The Shoemaker "Play"

Our M-F AM and PreK class were busy in music this week acting out the story, "The Elves and The Shoemaker" (one of Mrs. McArthur's favorites). They sure all had fun doing it!

The first day the kids heard the story via this cassette tape (from 1975!)
















and then chose their part in the play






















but, to add to the suspense, they had to wait until their next music class to start acting.

The story was broken into 10 acts and, with very little direction, they used their imaginations and creative minds and got into character.

Elves' Song:

M-F AM Cast
(1st Group)
ELVES:
Lexie
Leila
Aida
Lucy
SHOEMAKER:
Mrs. McArthur
CUSTOMERS:
Evan
Connor
(2nd Group)
ELVES:
Matilda
Henry
SHOEMAKERS:
Yumi
Piero
CUSTOMER (KID)
Kai

PreK Cast
(1st Group)
ELVES:
Bethany
Daisy
Claire
SHOEMAKER:
Tate
CUSTOMERS:
Elsa
Zoe
AUDIENCE:
Calix
(2nd Group)
ELVES:
AJ
Teacher Cinda
SHOEMAKERS:
Adelyn
Zach
Max
CUSTOMERS:
Zadie
Emily
Roslyn
DIRECTOR:
Teacher Jen

With huge eyes and smiles on their faces, they were fascinated by this story and enjoyed watching their friends pretend. Some groups chose to perform the play more than once, each time, choosing to be a different character and coming up with new ideas. It was fantastic!

Two elves, Max and Roslyn, and Teacher Jen during the Elves Song





















What a fun week full of holiday spirit!

Mealworm Family

Our new mealworm family has sure been teaching us a lot!
The Life Cycle:

-the full life cycle can take up to a year!

Here is their home set up with a bedding of rolled oats, they also eat the whole grains. We started with 500 mealworms purchased from the pet store:

They also eat carrots, lettuce and cucumber (this is where they get all the water they need):

With a magnifying glass, the kids were eager to take a look:

After studying the mealworm family, it was their job to create a dictionary entry:

AM class

PM class

As with most things in life, you learn as you go!

Pets require a lot of responsibility, attention and care. There has been much discussion about this with the kids during their small group mealworm time. Even tiny creatures like these require upkeep! I have shared my adventures in "cleaning of the mealworm home" with the kids. This gets their attention and some are even surprised how much care is required. See book: Everybody Poops (My Body Science Series), by Taro Gomi and Amanda Mayer Stinchecum

Now that we have all three phases:

Mealworm, Pupa, Darkling Beetle:

The kids can really inspect close up the changes that have occurred. A few even pointed out how they can see characteristics of both the mealworm and the Darkling Beetle in the pupa stage.

Next comes a new home for the adult beetles. After they lay eggs in the current home, they need to be removed. This will be in another week or so. 

We will keep you posted!

-Teacher Jen

Put Together Again!

Our children have had hours of taking apart and putting together with the voice recorder Zadie donated! Thanks to many participants!

The Purpose of Reading to Pre-Schooler’s

“Pre-schooler’s are extremely curious about everything around them, and at this age, adults often refuse to give them complete… answers, assuming that they are too young to understand.” 

- Margaret Read MacDonald

by Teacher Joan

At The Children’s School (TCS), teachers believe in fostering pre-schooler’s innate curiosity! Reading and books are an integral part of our daily curriculum. 

Here are six pivotal pre-reading skills we as teachers strive to integrate:

• Narrative Skills - Questioning about events and things, and telling stories.
• Print motivation - Teachers are interested in, and enjoy reading, books.
• Vocabulary - Knowing the accurate names of things.
• Print Awareness - Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, knowing how to follow words on a page.
• Letter Knowledge - Knowing distinct letters, their sounds, and recognizing letters everywhere.
• Sounds of Speech (Phonological Awareness) - The smaller sounds that make up words. For instance, “rat” “cat” “hat”.        

Moreover, we understand that nothing substitutes for a parent’s involvement in reading readiness. You are your child’s first teacher.

The Seattle Public Library offers tips for parents when reading aloud with pre-schooler’s. Among them are:

• Make it a special time.
• Have your child turn the pages.
• Be expressive!
• Let your child choose.
• Read rhyming and counting books.
• Let your child hold the book.

It’s the most important 20 minutes of your day. Read aloud to your child. 

Resource: 

Booksharing:101 Program to Use With Pre-schooler’s, 

by Margaret Read MacDonald

Here are some favorite books from your teachers at TCS!

Mrs. Banks: 

Winnie the Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne

Teacher Cinda:  

Pancakes for Breakfast, by Tomie dePaola

Mrs. McArthur: 

Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

The Little Engine that Could, by Wally Piper and Loren Long

Teacher Lisa Eve:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett

Teacher Joan:

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice SendakTeacher 

Teacher Maureen:  

Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister

Ms. Tierney:

Hester in the Wild, by Sandra Boynton

Marvin K. Mooney will you Please Go Now, by Dr. Seuss

Teacher Julie:

Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

Teacher BJ:

Everybody Poops (My Body Science Series), by Taro Gomi and Amanda Mayer Stinchecum

Teacher Theresa:  

Are You My Mother?, by P. D. Eastman

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton

Mrs. Coleman:  

Fairy Tales—I loved Rapunzel, especially.

Baby Island by Carol R. Brink

Teacher Shelby

The Sweet Touch, by Lorna Balian

Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Siverstein

Ping, by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese

Pre-3 Classes

The apples of our eyes...

Our Pre-3 friends are having fun with, and getting to know, their classmates. We are learning names, playing games, and singing songs, along with lots of paint, glue, and stickers of course!

WE'RE PREPARED at TCS

Over the past weeks, 

we’ve practiced our 

emergency preparedness 

for earthquakes, fires, and 

the potential volcano eruption.  

Stop, Drop, Cover, and Hold!

Mt Vesuvius by Evan!

Some of our supplies were ready for the Great WA State Shakeup

MWF Class

The MWF Class has been busy drawing, stenciling, and 

painting colorful leaves.  

Autumn Leaves

Morning (M-F) Class

We have been busy doing many orange activities; paint at the easel, play dough, orange water pouring, pumpkin decorating, scooping seeds from a squash, and making orange paper chains. We have also had lots of fun playing charades with Halloween costumes to spur ideas, and making creepy crawly spiders!

Take Apart Project 2013

The great learning in this project is that we sort, we handle tools, examine, problem solve, and we have a joyous time popping the screws out! Soon we will count them as well. In the picture below Calix and Tate are identifying  the items pulled from a bucket by our giant magnets. Thank you TCS Parents for generously sending things to take apart! 

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Wonderful News!

Happy Birthday to The Children’s School!!!

We are delighted to be celebrating our 49th year serving children and families; and what a FUN year do we have planned! Not only are we reflecting upon our legacy and all the growing up that we have done, but we are also anticipating some exciting changes on the horizon…

TCS is pleased to announce that Mary Lloyd will be our new Associate Director. Ms. Lloyd has been involved with TCS for almost 20 years – she taught the Pre-3 (MW) class with Barb Friedhoff back in 1994. She also helped start, and is still an active member of, the TCS Board of Directors.

Ms. Lloyd attended Seattle University where she earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and her doctorate in Educational Leadership. Along with teaching both children and adults, she has operated her own consulting firm, providing professional and instructional services for a myriad of organizations (including TCS) –www.marylloydconsulting.com .

Ms. Lloyd lives in Ballard with her husband Gary Meikle and their pooch Finley. Gary too has been busy creating change, having recently launched his own local business Red Grotto, where he is building and selling outdoor pizza ovens. Together they enjoy good food and libation, chasing surf along the northwest coast, and spending time with close friends.

We have already put Ms. Lloyd to work at TCS, and we’re looking forward to the ideas and energy she will bring to the school and community.

In Celebration of March 14th (Pi Day!!)

Does this remind you of ...PI?

My friend, Alexander created this beautiful horse on The Children's School Lite Brite (circa 1975), but when Mrs. Coleman saw it all she could think of was 3.14, which many of our area schools will celebrate as "Pi Day" this Thursday (3/14)!!   Of course, Mrs. Banks, Alexander's classroom teacher recognized it right away as the colorful and extraordinary horse that it is!  Great Lite Brite work, today, Alexander.