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When I put Riley down for her nap today I told her that we would do something fun when she got up and she said "like go patchwork school?"
...makes us feel so good that she loves it there so much!
- Heather (parent)
Parents
We view parents as partners in the learning process and vital to the life of our school. Because parents and guardians deeply impact their child's orientation towards life, it is essential for us as educators to maintain an ongoing dialogue with families. Children benefit immensely from a continuity of experiences between home and school. Thus, we strive to incorporate each parent into the life of the school, in whatever capacity possible.
Existing families can receive updates and view the student directory using our patchworkFamilies Google Group. If you are friends or family members of a current student, you can request to join the group here:
Online Learning Community
In addition, we have an online learning community website that includes a community calendar, daily observations from teachers, and online photo albums! All current families should already have access, but if not, follow the link for instructions on requesting access.
Nutrition & Snacks
We know how important good nutrition is to parents, and how essential it is in ensuring children's well being. Therefore, we are very excited to announce that one of our parents, Laura Ostrowski, has volunteered to be our nutrition consultant this year. She is helping us to create healthy, yummy snacks and other nutritional guides for parents. Please check out the Patchwork Families Nutrition Guide on her website! Or you can go directly to the Snack Schedule.
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Collaboration
We are committed to offering a wide-variety of options for parent-educator collaboration. Here are a few of our ideas, although we'd love to hear others:
- Make use of our online blog to generate ideas for new material explorations or expansions for project work.
- Join our Parent Connections Committee to help bring parents' ideas and concerns to the Board of Directors (see the Contact page for the coordinators' email address.
- Sign up to participate in the classroom by bringing a snack, reading stories or playing music with us.
- Help us design parent events that reflect both the interests of the children and the parents.
- Join us when we attend conferences on various topics in education.
- Help to coordinate fund raisers or other events.
- Stay for class one morning or stop by to say hello at snack time; we have an Open Door Policy for parents.
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Letting Go
We understand how hard it is to say good-bye, especially the first few times, so we will work with you and your child to make morning drop-offs as successful as possible. Some children need a gradual departure, some need hugs from a teacher, some need to get engaged before you leave, and some just want to have a hug and kiss at the door. The important thing is to find a routine that will allow your child to know what to expect each morning since this will give them ownership over their experience.
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Parenting Support
Part of our role as educators is to be a resource for our families. By offering an extensive resource library within our school, we hope to share with you a few of the thoughts that have shaped our approach to learning and to life. In addition, we offer numereous book clubs, discussion forms, and informational sessions throughout the year to discuss parenting strategies and educational philosophy. We are also available for consultations or conferencing with parents and can also connect groups of parents with each other for more informal support.
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