Anna Much

September 5, 2025

Hello Fabulous Families,

We had another wonderful week exploring our world and working and playing together. We took a walk on the trail behind the school to pick those beautiful wildflowers called Madia (also known as Tarweed). You may have seen them on the drive into school. We usually leave most flowers for the bees and butterflies but since there are so many, we picked a few to make some hammer print art. We also used some of the Scabiosa (also known as pincushions) from our fairy garden for a beautiful red and purple color. We used rocks instead of hammers and talked about how our ancestors and people long ago didn’t have hammers so they used rocks as tools. 

Language Arts: We read a book called All the Colors of Us  where we learned that we get the color of our skin from our families and ancestors, the sun, and melanin. This then led to a discussion of who our ancestors are and where in the world they lived. We’ll be talking more about families and ancestors in the upcoming weeks as we continue to learn about who we are and how we connect with the world. We are still learning about feelings and what to do when we have big feelings. Today we brainstormed what we can do when we are angry and the children had many great ideas for safe ways to manage their mad feelings. We also read the book When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry. In this book Sophie runs outside and cries and then connects with nature before she’s ready to join her family again. We talked about how crying and being outside helped calm Sophie and how feelings come and go.

Math: The children have been building with pattern blocks and noticing how two shapes together can make a new shape. We also count the days we’ve been in school and we had our first bundle day!! Ask your child if they can tell you how many sticks are in a bundle! We are continuing our work with graphs and made a new graph for our hair color. We also added our big buddies to our Favorite Color graph!

Buddies: We met our big buddies (from Mr. Robbins’ middle school class) today and had fun learning their favorite color and painting our handprints together. We also played Red Light, Green Light and had lunch and recess with them. We can’t wait to play and do more fun activities with our big buddies! 

Save the Date: Sunday 9/7 Village Fest 1-4 @ the Rio Nido Roadhouse There will be music, good food, swimming and a Silent Auction! Come support VCS!!

Picture Day: 9/17

Back to School Night: 9/16 5-6:30 Potluck and Parent Meeting here in our classroom. We will have food from 5-5:30 and start the meeting at 5:30. This is an important night to learn about your child’s daily school routine and information about the year. Please let me know if you can attend. Parents only!!

Thank you and I hope to see you at Village Fest this weekend!

Much Love, 
💜 Miss Anna

August 29, 2025

Hello Fantastic Families,

We had such a fun and busy first full week of school! We started the week off with yoga where we learned how to grow a little taller as we sit with a straight spine and strengthen our core.
We had some stuffie friends help us with our belly breathing and did a sun salutation, as well as a few other poses. The children also made fairy houses in our garden and were delighted to see that the fairies had left some treasures for us. We had our first music class with Miss Rachel on Monday where we were tapping, clapping and stomping out rhythms. 

Language Arts: We read a book called In My Heart that was all about different feelings we might have. After the story, we painted hearts and the children told me how they were feeling in their heart. We continued our discussion of feelings later on with the Acorns with a collaborative circle where we read another book called Lots of Feelings. Then, Miss Jess (the Acorn Teacher) introduced the children to Bug, a shy stuffed animal who was very brave and talked to the children about feeling nervous and shy. Exploring and identifying feelings is so important for children as they develop their social/emotional selves.

Math: The children played several games this week learning some new shapes and identifying numbers. The children also graphed their eye color and their favorite color and learned that graphs help us organize information.Next week we will continue to explore who we are and how we connect with one another in our world. Please feel free to stop in the classroom and check out the children’s art work. They drew their self-portraits and I’m sure they would love to show you.

Remember: NO SCHOOL MONDAY!! Happy Labor Day!

Save the Date: Next Sunday 9/7 Village Fest at the Rio Nido!!This is a fundraiser and will be a lot of fun to build community and support our school! There’s a pool, music, silent auction and good food!

I hope you all have a lovely 3 day weekend!! 

Much Love and Gratitude, 
💜 Miss Anna

August 15, 2025

Hello Fabulous Families,

The first day of school is next Wednesday, August 20th!! School begins at 8:45 and ends at 1:15.  We have been busy working in the classroom to prepare for the children and getting excited for the fun we’re going to have. Just a few reminders: 
Orientation: Monday, August 18th at 5:30. Parents only please! 

Morning drop off: You or an older sibling may walk your child into the classroom in the morning to drop off their backpack, lunch and water bottle. We encourage children to be independent during this time as it helps them gain confidence and organizational skills. Students will hang their backpack or tote bag on a hook right outside of the classroom. These are not labeled, just choose a hook. Then students will bring their lunch, water bottle and jacket inside to their cubby. Cubbies will be labeled with their name. After your child has their things put away, they can take a quick look around and say hello, but we do encourage you to help them head out to the black top to join the rest of the school to play before the bells ring. At 8:45 the teachers will all call their children to line up. Each teacher has their own sound to call their students. Bells, whistles, a tambourine. My call is hand clapping. I will clap my hands several times and our class will line up on the black top closest to the ramp by the office. 
Every Monday morning (or the first day of the school week) we gather for an all school circle where parents are welcome to join. On the first day of school we will walk out to the field for our annual Spiral Dance. Parents are welcome to join and if you have never experienced this, it is truly a beautiful community event. We finish the last day of school this way too, so put it on your calendar if you are interested. After the Spiral Dance, we head back to our classroom to begin our day. If you are staying for the Spiral Dance, please say a quick goodbye to your child in the field. Then, students and teachers will walk back to the classroom as a class. 

Pick up: Please wait for your child outside of the classroom at the picnic tables or in the quad. I will excuse them individually. 

Extended Care: You can drop your child off at 8:00 a.m. in the Extended Care room (also the Acorns indoor space and right next door to my classroom). The children will go outside at 8:15 and play on the blacktop. Aftercare is provided until 5 p.m. every day. If you know your child’s aftercare needs please let me and the office know. Aftercare is always available even if you have not planned for it. So if you are running late and will not be there at 1:15, your child will go to aftercare. If you know your child’s aftercare needs in the morning, you can write this on our class dry erase board outside the classroom. You can verbally communicate to me or Miss Lena but please also write it on the board.

Things to bring daily: 
1. A healthy snack and lunch (protein, fruits, veggies, grain). No sugar or juice! There will be a handout by my dry erase board of some yummy suggestions compiled by Village families if you are interested. 
2. Water bottle filled with water only!! 
3. Extra set of seasonal clothes including socks and underwear
4. Jacket or sweater for the cool morningsPlease don’t bring any toys/stuffies from home. We have a class stuffie for snuggling (you’ll meet them soon) and it helps to keep things simple by keeping things from home, at home.
5. Sun hat (please apply sunblock before school starts)

What to wear: Children must wear close-toed shoes for safety. We are active and get messy and dirty at school so please keep that in mind. Remember: no logos or characters on clothing, backpacks, or lunch boxes. 

Communication: The mornings are busy in the classroom as we get prepared for the day. I do love a hello and brief conversation but if you have anything lengthy to discuss, please email me. I check my email early in the morning (before 8:00) and then again at the end of the day (after 3:30). If your child is going to be late or absent, please email the office. You are welcome to include me in the email as well.

Family Jobs: I have a Family Job list that will be posted outside of the classroom for anyone who is interested in helping out. Thank you to the families who have already signed up. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

It’s going to be a great year!! 

💜 Miss Anna