Congratulations To Emerson Academy!

On Monday of this week Emerson Academy had their annual visit from Child Care Licensing! Our new Licensing Representative, Lauren Russel, popped in and was very impressed with the center, our staff and our program. She visited each classroom, met all of our teachers and many of our students. At the end of her visit, Lauren paid Emerson Academy the highest of compliments...ZERO DEFICIENCIES!! She also shared with Sarah, that Emerson was doing a wonderful service to our community and that she wished there were more centers as dedicated to the specific needs of all children. Thank you for the compliment Lauren! And thank you to the parents, children and dedicated staff that believe in and support Emerson Academy!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

While sitting on the window sill peeking in the room, I caught a glimpse of The Ocitos learning about the color YELLOW! Every day the babies are getting to have different experiences with the color...eating bananas, playing with yellow scarves, singing "The Yellow Song", learning the sign for yellow and rolling lemons in yellow paint. When Ms. Jennifer sliced a lemon and offered a bite to Channing, well, as you can see, she didn't think too much of the taste or smell of THAT! This face gives new meaning to the phrase "sour puss"! Cordially yours, Shirley The Barn Cat, a.k.a. Mrs. Kravits

This IS THE LIFE!

What could be better than being SOOOOO loved by these amazing children. The Butterfly Class doesn't hold back when it comes to making me feel like the most important person in the world...ahem, I mean the most important DOG in the world...wink!

Eye On Emerson? It's More Like my Nose!!!

Because I'm nosy and need to keep my eye on what's happening with everyone, I've been snooping around. Here's what I've found out:
This week, the Starfish are learning about Things that GO! GO! GO! That's a perfect theme for them...I've seen those little guys on the playground...they can really move! The Butterflies have taken things back to basics and are really diving into the letter A and the number 1! The Guppies have "My Family" on board this week, sharing lots of pictures and stories about themselves and their families. In the Turtle class, a celestial theme has lead them to learn all about "STARS". This week in the Frog class, the kids are plowing into Winter, with lots of "snow" activities ahead. I'm lovin' this reportin' business!!

Peace Out! - Ocho

Who's Teaching Who?

At the risk of sounding cheesy...this photo truly captures the essence of Emerson Academy. As an inclusive center, we constantly work toward the inclusion of children with special needs and teaching a tolerance for people that are different. The best part about this photo is trying to figure out who's teaching who...

ME, ME, ME!

It's ALL About ME!!!

The Guppy Class (don't tell anyone, but they're my favorite because they drop more treats on the floor than any other class) is learning about ME this week. Today, they examined their fingerprints with a magnifying glass, colored self portraits and shared their "Me Boards" with their classmates. Ms. Vanessa and Ms. Jamey bragged and bragged on the hard work that the kids and their parents did on their projects. Those Guppies give me the warm fuzzies!
Your loyal and charming mascot - Duke

Busy Kids

Ziti Anyone?

On Friday, I spied the Turtle Class poking around in the garden. On closer inspection, I saw them cutting up weeds from the ground. They put them in bags and buckets and seemed really excited about them. I just couldn't figure out what was so special about a bunch of green stuff. Then, I heard Ms. C. say that the weeds, which she called lettuce, would be great for salad with their special lunch. What in the world?? Those weeds were definitely goat food!

Later that day, Ms. C. and Ms. JoAnne were talking about their luncheon...did they actually eat the weeds? YES and with something called Ziti. I'll tell ya, these people just fascinate me! So it turns out that the kids were learning about the letter "z" and all week they did projects and activities that helped them learn more about it. Eating Ziti for lunch, which Ms. JoAnne made with the help of the Turtles, and eating salad from their garden, was a great ending to a fun week of learning. Too bad they didn't save any of the green stuff for me!! Peace Out - Ocho

Turtles and Worms

Since the weather's a bit chilly today, Ms. Camporeale and Ms. Monique brought the outdoors in. The Turtles are practicing handwriting and spelling with "worms" and "mud", (aka Gummy worms and pumpkin pudding). Having such fun writing, drawing and eating has helped make being stuck inside much more fun!!

Good Friday Morning Emerson Families!
My name is Puddles and I'd like to tell you a story, but I must be quick...Ocho doesn't know that I'm using his computer ! I came to Emerson as a very young goat. Now, I'm grown up and soon will be a mommy. I have made some wonderful friends here especially a little boy in the Turtle Class. His name is Evan. He comes to visit me everyday and is very sweet. He always rubs my head and pets my belly. I just wanted to share with everyone that I couldn't be happier with my life and I love all of the children, but Evan is one of my favorites!

Employee of the Month

Way to go Ms. Beverly Franken, Butterfly teacher extraordinaire!!! Ms. Bev was voted Employee of the Month for January, 2011 by her co-workers! Ms. Bev shows great patience, love, attention and care to the kids in the Butterfly Class. They love her as much as she is appreciated by her peers, supervisors and families. Please take a moment to congratulate this dedicated and wonderful teacher!!

Congratulations are in order!

Congratulations to The Millard Family for being randomly selected to receive a $100 discount on February's tuition!!! Thanks to everyone who participated in the Early Tuition Payment Raffle! Emerson loves our families!

Ocho's Editorial

Happy New Year! I don't believe I've been formally introduced! My name is Ocho. I am a Nigerian Pygmy Goat, a handsome chap if I do say so myself. I live at Emerson Academy and I've asked for a little space on the Blog so that I can tell you what REALLY goes on around here!
I have been around since I was just a kid, being bottle fed by Stacey and the other kids who come here everyday. If it hadn't been for the human children who took care of me...well, I shudder to think where I could have ended up. Much like most of my barnyard friends, we've all mostly come to live here because other humans couldn't take care of us...but the children here love us and take great care of us...even the ducks!
I'll be writing to you every week, sharing the magic that I see happen at Emerson Academy everyday. Even though I'm very busy being the boss of the barnyard, eating hay and napping, I do keep my eye on things around here and I'll fill you in on what I see! Nice to meet you and talk to you all soon!