A Big Week Ahead

See new construction pictures below the posts.

This week begins our race to the finish line. By this time next week we will have electricity, heat, flooring, paint, plumbing, trim, and even an installed kitchen. It is going to be a big week. Driving by things may look a little rough as the site work and landscaping are yet to be finished. We are working every day that is not raining on the grounds, but as you know, dry days have been few and far between. What that will mean for us is that it is very likely that we will open on January 4th without any of our playground installations in place.


This actually works out beautifully for us because we have contracted with folks at NC State's Natural Learning Initiative to help us with our playground plans. Robin Moore, the director of The Natural Learning Initiative has been working for the last 10 years to inspire those of us who work with young children to create natural learning spaces for children to explore. Through this contract, he and his staff are going to meet with our teachers to discuss best practices in incorporating the outdoor environment into our curriculum. They are also going to provide a workshop for our parents in which they are going to help us remember the wonderful experiences we had as children playing outdoors and relate this to our plans for our children. They are then going to create both a schematic plan and a master concept plan for our initial three outdoor spaces. They are also going to be consulting with us every step of the way while we build these spaces. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have been chosen by them. If you would like more information about them or to see some of their incredible ideas that have already been completed all over the country, please visit their website: http://www.naturalearning.org/

Needs: We will be painting trim every night this week and welcome a few volunteers who can help. We are also seeking a few volunteers to help us to distribute materials to the new classrooms on December 26th. Please write to christaniven@thelittleschool.net if you are able to volunteer.

REMINDER: We will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony at the school on January 3, 2010 from 3:00-4:00. Mayor Tom Stevens will be with us to help the children cut the ribbon. Please join us if you are able!

Glimpse: Thank you to all that joined us for our open house last week. As always, it is so inspiring to us to see the level of participation and commitment from our families. We had over 200 people join us to meet the teachers and see their child's classroom assignments. The weather didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirit! Our teachers were so excited to meet so many of their future families.