Pumpkin Time

If you were ever wondering how many different ways you can use a pumpkin in an educational setting, the past couple weeks at Mainspring could give you an idea; the highlight of all of these being the culmination of making a Jack O’ Lantern. Using such a universally iconic representation of the season, our teachers did a wonderful job incorporating pumpkins in to their recent lesson plans. Here are some of the ways pumpkins were used in the different classrooms

•  Dewdrops dipped whole small pumpkins in paint then rolled them across long sheets of paper to see what shapes they make.
• Honeybees talked about different colored gourds then made their own using varying colors of tissue paper.
• Songbirds spent time scooping out seeds and chronicling the feel, smell and taste after they baked them.
• Shining Stars took to clay and sculpted and painted their own, exemplifying that each pumpkin is different and unique

Pumpkins are a fun, natural way of exploring the world around us while connecting to core curriculum components each class teaches. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun!

Giving much thanks

The day before any holiday break is always an exciting one around here, especially this one. With some families already taken off for a long weekend, the feeling about school is light and festive. Not sure if it started with the generous token of appreciation from Parent Advisory Council (PAC) in the form of Breakfast Tacos, but it certainly added to the delightful morning. If you would walk in to the Shining Star room this morning, you would find a well organized and possibly the cutest “Spider Diagram”. It details what it means to be thankful and what each student is thankful for; the results of which range from “Spiderman” to “Fluffy” to “Mom and Dad”. As we grow older, we lose sight of the simple things to be thankful for. For this, we are grateful we have young ones around us to keep us remembering the “small” things.

Among the many things were are thankful for, we must highlight one that stands most prominent today. After today Kassi Longoria, Center Director will be leaving us to spread her acquired wisdom and experience with multiple Childcare Centers throughout the area as Director Mentor for the Texas Workforce Commission. This is a wonderful opportunity for her and we wish her all the best in all her endeavors. As we proceed in finding a replacement for Kassi, it will be hard to find someone with the compassion she shared and we thank her for all she has given Mainspring over the past 4 years.