A Bunch of WILD ANIMALS!

What an awesome day at the Zoo!  Our TASK kids enjoyed learning about animals and their environments, as well as a quick trip to the zoo playground!  Although the weather was not great, we sure had a blast!  

The zoo is a great learning too for many reasons  and In addition to a zoo being a fun and safe place to learn, there are at least five reasons zoos are effective educational tools for formal learning:

1. The animals are real!
2. Animals have a universal draw.
3. Zoos are the ultimate in interdisciplinarianism.
4. The learning is active, outside the confines of four walls.
5. Different learning styles can easily be accommodated.

If you want to learn more about why we value great hands on learning tools, Click Here!

TASK Water Play Day!

Friday is WATER DAY for our TASK Kids!  They love taking a break from field trips and just having time to hang out and play at school.  Some choose to play in the water, while others choose to sunbathe or play on the playground equipment!  We sure are glad the storms passed and the weather allowed us to get some sunshine!  Studies show that getting outside improves our vision, promotes social skills, increases attention span, reduces stress and provides us with vitamin D.  Sounds good to us, we'll take it!

If you would like to know why we value our time outdoors, please CLICK HERE!

A Sweet Treat for our TASK Kids!

Our TASK kids have been on the go and busy bees this summer with all of our fun field trips!  We wanted to slow down, give them a break and grab a sweet treat!  

We took them to Sweet CeCe's and they all got to choose their own ice cream flavor and toppings.  Cake batter ice cream and sprinkles was the top choice for our girls and our boys opted for the chocolate ice cream with every topping they could fit in their cup!  

We think it is important for our school age kids to slow down because at this age, they are constantly bombarded with new information, voices and sounds.  It is very hard to find room for creativity and for getting new ideas.  Influences are good for creativity but an overload of input just makes them feel like their minds are overstuffed and like they are just trying to keep up with it all. 

“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”
Eddie Cantor

If you would like to know why we think it's a great idea to slow down and have a treat every once and awhile, please Click Here!

T.A.S.K. Geocaching!

As many of you have heard, our T.A.S.K. program has been having a blast this summer, but one thing has been a true highlight on their field trips, GEOCACHING!   

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.  They have been hiding little prizes in the vicinity of their field trip location!  This has been a fun experiment for our summer students.  Make sure to ask your T.A.S.K. child how they liked Geocaching!

Super Summer Climbers!

Smiles all around!

Taking a break in the shade!

Tire swing smiles!

Tire climb romp!

Could we of hidden a prize here?!?!?!

If you would like to know how we used Geocaching as a learning tool please CLICK HERE!

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle!!!!

T.A.S.K has been working hard on learning the importance of recycling. We have been collecting milk jugs to reuse to make an igloo that will be in our classroom to play in. What a great way to use our imagination and creativity all while saving the planet. 

Right now it looks like a fort but we are collecting milk jugs everyday to add to our collection until we make an igloo. 

 Can you believe that it takes over 400 milk jugs for this project?!

We have even started to collect half gallon milk cartons for our entry way of our igloo.The children are really getting creative.  

Every little bit helps so recycling does not have to be this big, you just need a big heart. The kids have really enjoyed participating and collecting the cartons for our project. It is not only a blast to make this fun  project but it also saves our planet by reusing the cartons for a different propose. This means less pollution and more reusing!!!If you would like to learn more about our T.A.S.K. program Click Here

Safety First

We are getting ready for our Summer field trips and what better way to get ready then a Good ol' Fire Drill?

 We will get them off the bus fast.

 Let's make sure everyone got out of the bus. We will do name to faces to make sure your children are accounted for. 

 As always Ms. Jane is keeping things in order. 

Even in an emergency test the children are smiling and having fun. 

Keeping kids safe is our #1 priority. For more information on why safety is important to us Click here. 

Spring Planting in TASK

Can we make mud pies when we are done ?

Taking turns!

These are going to be really pretty!

Poke a hole for the seeds.

Don't forget that one!

Add a little more dirt

TASK is ready for Spring! Our TASK friends started seedlings today to plant around the exterior of our building. We are so excited to watch them grow!

Who knew seeds were so tiny?

This was so much fun and just the beginning of our TASK planting project! Fo more information on our TASK program and activities please click here.