Traditions and Special Events
Valentine's Day
Be Mine! Oh, the memories of creating Valentine’s mailboxes and making or buying valentines for our classmates is a cherished childhood tradition. Besides slightly overdoing it with the pink and red paint-drenched art projects, and gluing doilies and lace, we have Valentine’s Day parties in our classrooms. Our parties always encourage at least half of the food to be healthy: fresh veggies and dip, fresh fruits, yogurts or cheese, and crackers but we’ll also enjoy special cupcakes, cookies, or other treats- in moderation. But the best part of the day is giving and receiving adorable paper valentines!
Spring Egg Hunt and Spring Bunny Visit
Part of our school welcoming spring each year includes an egg hunt on the playgrounds of our school. Typically we ask parents to donate colorful plastic eggs with small trinkets or treats. It’s so much fun to come outside for playtime and gather eggs. We love to eat lunch outside and celebrate spring with an Easter or spring lunch treat!
Our newest tradition is decorating our playgrounds with pretty balloon arches and inviting the SPRING BUNNY! It’s a great adventure to meet a giant bunny and the squeals of excitement can be heard for miles.
Pre K Graduation and Family Picnic
Celebrating Pre-K graduation is a great time to visit with other families as we send our kiddos off to the big school! We make graduation special with a family potluck picnic and have a short graduation program that shines a light on each of our children! We celebrate with a graduation cake and gift each child with a fun t-shirt and carefully chosen children’s literature selection, signed by the entire staff. Recent books have included: What Do you Do With An Idea (by Kobe Yamada), I Wish You More (by Amy Krouse Rosenthal), and Wherever You Go (by Pat Zietlow Miller)
Halloween
We think Halloween is pretty much a perfect holiday- and our kiddos do too! What could be better than dressing up and trying on a new persona, collecting candy, and adventuring out after dark? Our older children talk about their Halloween plans for weeks ahead and we encourage creativity and celebrations. Our traditions include an Annual Halloween Parade (even the babies come to school dressed up for a Halloween buggy ride) and classroom parties.
Fun Fact: Living in gorgeous Charlottesville guarantees great fall photos because our scenery is gorgeous. Many families trick or treat on the lawn at the University of Virginia. The college students go all out with music, and plenty of treats, and the event is memorable. Be sure to go early and get pictures of your little pumpkins in front of the Rotunda!
Dr. Seuss’ Birthday - March 2nd
Every year on March 2nd we celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Well known for his beloved children's books that combine rhythmic prose, funny illustrations, and tall tales, Dr. Seuss has been a favorite author for generations of children and their parents.
Depending on the interest of the children in the classroom, we may dress up like a character in one of his books, create Dr. Seuss-inspired snacks (green eggs and ham are a face!) or act out one of his stories.
St. Patrick's Day
Do you know that our super savvy and clever preschoolers make leprechaun traps each year in the hopes of catching one! Yes, that’s right- using STEAM skills our young engineers create engaging leprechaun traps while imaging questions they’d ask, should they actually catch one. Art traditions include painting rainbows, creating pots of gold, and gathering gold coins. Including imaginative traditions like these create wonderful early childhood memories.
International Mud Day
Every year on June 29th, International Mud Day celebrations happen all over the world as a way to connect children to the Earth and soil and discover the messy joy that comes from playing in and with mud. We love this day! Aside from the obvious squishy delight, we feel from mud play, mud play benefits include physical and mental health. We don’t limit mud play to just one day but we go all out on June 29th!
4th of July
America’s Independence Day celebrations are big in Charlottesville with parades and fun fireworks. At school, we celebrate with arts and crafts, Dear Mr. President letters, and patriotic songs. Water play is a big part of our summer activities and we love to celebrate the 4th of July with water play!
100th Day of School
Learning to count is central to a preschooler’s education and boy do we count! Whether our children can actually count to 100 without an oops, or they are beginning to understand the concept of numbers, we celebrate the 100th day of school! Children bring in 100 objects, sometimes in baggies in groups of 5 or 10. Deciding which objects to bring from home is fun for the whole family and many times older siblings are celebrating 100 days of school too. Favorite items to bring include coins, candies, pretzels, mini marshmallows, cereal, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, lollipops, M & M’s, stickers, and buttons.