Bike Day!

What a BEAUTIFUL day for our first ever bike day!! These kiddos truly loved getting to bring their very own bike to school. Our older friends got to ride along our coned off track in the parking lot and out sweet, littler friends got to pedal around on their playground. We saw so many cool bikes and scooters that the friends were so proud to show off. Bike day provided our educators with the perfect opportunity to talk more about safety. We talked about why it's important to wear a helmet and why we have to stay on the track and how important it is to always listen to the teachers who are there to keep us safe. This activity really helped to build self confidence for our friends who are still learning to navigate and ride their bikes. So many of our friends got the hang of it quickly and were so excited when our teachers cheered them on! We are so excited that this new tradition was a huge hit and cannot wait for bike day next year!

This friend was so excited to hop on his bike and get the day started! 

Look at that awesome helmet!! 

He was so happy to get to show it off to all of his friends! 

This sweet friend was ecstatic when she started to get the hang of riding all by herself! 

Safety first! Click the buckle on your helmet and you're ready to go!! 

I'm ready!! This sweet girl was so ready to get cruising. 

She loved showing her friends the hassles on her bike.

Bike day was such a big hit. 

We cannot wait for next year! 

Sweet, little friend on the playground.

 Cruising around without a care in the world! 

Scooter fun! This friend said she likes riding her scooter more than her bike

 so we said bring it on!! 

Mr. John posing with one of his student! Does this helmet look familiar? 

The two brothers were very thrilled with their new helmets. 

For more info on AOFC and the programs we offer, please click HERE

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Outside Fun!

At last, the rain has disappeared and these sweet smiles have reappeared! After so many gloomy days, we've gotten a little break and the sunshine has allowed us to get moovin' and groovin' outside again. We absolutely love doing indoor gross motor activities, but we all know that these kiddos just adore their outside time (and it's no secret that their teachers do too!) Outside time is incredibly beneficial for children. Not only does it help the healthy development of muscle strength and coordination, but it also helps children develop self-confidence! Being outside offers the children a whole new perspective on the world and what it looks like. There are so many different ways to get the blood flowing while playing outside. Some of our favorite activities include climbing and sliding, tossing the balls back and fourth, trying to catch bubbles being blown, and chasing our teachers all around the playground! Its an incredible thing to see children playing together while outside, and learning how to problem solve together! We are super grateful that the skies decided to clear up and the cold weather is giving us a break! Check out just some of the sweetness that occurs here on our playgrounds!

These sweet Preschool kiddos just LOVE playing with Mr. Jacob during outside time! Mr. Jacob holds the ball up high so that his friends have to use their legs to jump up as high as they can and touch the ball! 

There's nothing sweeter than hugs from your BFF on the playground! These two are always playing together and giving one another the biggest of hugs!

Playground time is for the boys! These little friends are having a blast playing "Duck, Duck, Goose!" This is a great way to get those legs moving and blood flowing! Plus, these friendships.... how adorable are they?

Another favorite outdoor activity is definitely bike riding! We have different bikes/trikes/riding toys for every age group, and they all love being on them! Its a really cool experience to watch a little learn to ride all on their own!

Can we just look at this sweetness!? This sweet girl stopped her playing to give us the most precious smile! Thank goodness for this weather!

Another one of our favorite things to witness, is siblings seeing one another on the playground through the fence! We love how excited they all get to see each other! Siblings are the sweetest!

For more information about our program, please click HERE

Conscious Discipline

Conscious Discipline, created by Dr. Becky Bailey,  is an important part of our everyday routine that serves as guidance for teachers, leaders, children and families. Conscious Discipline focuses on wise, adaptive decision- making rather than compliance. When our focus is directed towards compliance, reward/punishment methods, and the need for the child to "please me" in their actions, we sacrifice self-regulation, wise decision-making, and goal setting. Conscious Discipline was evolved around three standards: Safety, Connection, and Problem Solving and through these, the four most important components were created: 7 Skills of Discipline , The Connected Family, 7 Powers For Conscious Adults, and The Brain State Model. Our educators are very knowledgeable on Conscious Discipline and consistently carry out the methods, ideals, and actions that coincide with this method, in the classrooms. You may notice upon entering the classroom for drop off, your child's educator will perform an "I Love You Ritual" These rituals are performed all throughout the day either individually or in groups. An "I Love You Ritual" was designed to "promote optimal brain development, increase attention span, reduce hyperactivity, build self-esteem, amplify cooperation and facilitate language development." There are four components to a successful ritual: eye contact, touch, presence, and playfulness. Conscious Discipline is constantly implemented throughout the day in the classroom, but is also encouraged to be used at home. The Conscious Discipline website just released Shubert's Home which takes the viewer through every room of the house and gives an examples of how Conscious Discipline can be used. AOFC recently held a parent workshop on Conscious Discipline and how to practice it at home. It was a HUGE hit! We had a fun raffle that allowed two parents to win books written by Dr. Becky Bailey that help with understanding and practicing Conscious Discipline at home. We love having the opportunity to implement these practices at our school and hope you will be encouraged to explore it at home!

One of our awesome parents selected in the drawing at the Conscious Discipline

Parent workshop. She won a great book written by Dr. Becky Bailey! 

The Parent Workshop was a huge hit and the parents that attended were all so excited for our prize drawing. This is the other parent whose name was drawn to win a book on Conscious discipline! 

We implement conscious discipline in so many ways at school. I Love You Rituals are always a favorite for the kids to participate in. During group time in the Preschool Three classroom, they use Fernando the Frog to carry out their I Love You Rituals. 

A little snippet on what an I Love You Ritual is, why we use it, and a few examples. 

These are really helpful in promoting connections in the classroom. 

This is an example of a Safe Place in the classroom . We use these as an opportunity for the kiddos to help them understand what they are feeling and regulate their emotions through breathing exercises  and other tools. You can use Safe Place at home, too! Check out the Conscious Discipline website to learn how. 

For more info on AOFC and the programs we offer, please click HERE

To see our "I Love You Rituals" in action, please follow us on Facebook!