Plano | Grove School

Got Goldfish!

Amanda Henry | June 29, 2011 | Comment

We had pet goldfish!

Our summer camp class been studying the theme “Under the Sea” and “Water World” for the past couple of weeks. We each brought a fish bowl to Camp and were given a goldfish of our very own! We filled our fishbowls with water. We picked one fish out of the bag and put them into our own fish bowl we brought from home. We fed our fish goldfish flakes. We fed him every other day for one week. We also cleaned out the bowls and gave our fish fresh water. After one week, we took the fish home to the families that wanted a pet. The rest of the fish went into the Camp Aquarium. This was so much fun to watch our fish grow. It taught us a great deal of responsibility!

Keywords: Grove School, Plano, Summer Program

Meet Ms. Micaela

Heidi Summers | June 28, 2011 | Comment

Michaela is joining us for the summer as a substitute teacher. She is currently a student at Oklahoma State University, studying Elementary Education. Michaela has volunteered in early childhood programs in the past and has demonstrated that she is a very flexible and energetic teacher.

We’re happy to have her here!

Keywords: Grove School, Plano, staff

Growing and Gardening Community Activity

Heidi Summers | June 16, 2011 | Comment

Are you looking for something fun to do with your 2 to 5 yr old? How about attending a Growing and Gardening session with Ms. Miranda? This is a no cost program offered on Wednesday mornings at 9:30.

Ms. Miranda will read stories and participate in gardening and outdoor activities with you and your children.

Please call ahead (972-618-3523) if this is something you would like to attend.

Keywords: Grove School, growing and gardening, Plano

Early Preschool for Toddlers

Heidi Summers | June 16, 2011 | Comments (2)

The Grove School in Plano offers a fantastic early learning experience for children who are 18 months of age and older. At this time, we are accepting admissions for full and part time children in the fall. Pre-registration is required for this class, so please call now and find out more about our early learners program.

An Early Preschool student learns about colors as she sorts shapes.

Keywords: Mommy and Me, Plano

What Makes an Insect an Insect?

Shelley Hill | May 17, 2011 | Comment

Students use their special loupes (magnifying glasses) to find insects in the garden.

During our Eco-Friends class time over the past few weeks, students were posed with the question, “What makes an insect and insect?” Our students combined their prior knowledge with their immediate observations of similarities and differences to discover the unique characteristics of insects.

Our students were introduced to an insect’s three main body parts through a rendition of the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” entitled, “Head, Thorax, Abdomen.” After observing toy insects, student participated in sorting a variety of different “bugs” using a Venn diagram on the SmartBoard. Students were asked to label the bugs by moving them on the screen into a circles labeled “Insect” or “Not an Insect.”

The students drew and labeled the parts of the ant.

After sifting through scorpions, spiders and worms, students became comfortable with identifying insects through these characteristics: 1) Three Body Parts (head, thorax, abdomen), 2) Eyes, Mouth and Antennae, 3) An Exoskeleton.

While observing and describing pictures, drawings and toy insects helped us learn what to look for when we went outside. Students had the most fun going on an insect hunt in the garden. Our classes identified flies, bumblebees, ants and beetles all living in our garden!

Keywords: Eco Friends, Grove School, insects, Plano, strands

Special Summer Program for Students in K-2

Shelley Hill | April 11, 2011 | Comment

I am so pleased to announce that we are adding a special program this summer. In addition to our regular preschool summer program, we are also adding CAMP GROVE for students in grades K-2 .

Have your children SEE THE WORLD with us.

Here is some of the details about the camp:

* Camps will run from 9 am – 5 pm, Monday-Friday.
* 12 oneeweek sessions from June 6-August 26
* Students K through 2^nd grade are eligible.
* Each camp will feature a fun filled week of activities as students learn more about the world they live in.
* Sign up for one week, one month or all 12 weeks.
* The twelve weeks are grouped into 6 two-week sessions related to the biomes: water, arctic, desert, grasslands, safari and planet Earth.

The weeks are shown below.

June 6-10 Under the Sea
June 13-17 Water World
June 20-24 Polar Express
June 27-July 1 Keepin’ it Cool
July 5-8 Seein’ the Sahara
July 11-15 Get Your Kicks on Route 66
July 18-22 Scientific Explorations
July 25-29 Safari Adventures
Aug 1-5 Weather Watchers
Aug 8-12 A Camping We Will Go
Aug 15-19 Nature All Around Us
Aug 22-26 Exploring Our Universe

I am more excited than ever about this summer. I can’t wait. Sign up soon as space is limited!!

Give me a call if you have any questions: 972-618-3523.

Keywords: Grove School, Plano, Summer Program

Meet Ms. Miranda

Miranda Laughlin | April 5, 2011 | Comment

Hello! My name is Miranda Laughlin. I am the Strands Teacher here at The Grove School. I am a recent resident of the Dallas area having moved from Colorado in September of 2010. I graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies along with an Early Childhood Education Teaching License. During my time in Fort Collins, I had teaching positions with second grade, kindergarten, preschool and special needs early childhood education classrooms.

In August of 2010, my husband Derek and I were married and moved to Dallas, where he is working as an engineer and attending seminary to be a Biblical counselor. I most recently worked as the lead teacher of a toddler classroom before coming to be a part of The Grove School team!

My philosophy of education focuses on serving children in building their path to learning how to think rather than what to think. Children should be the author of their own education story, and I as an educator get to create environments and situations where they may observe, explore, create and form ideas about the world. It is a joy to be a part of children formulating questions, hypotheses and intelligent thoughts as the foundation for the remainder of their educational journey. I see myself as a life long learner and enjoy being taught from my students as much as they enjoy learning from their teachers. My motto: “I’m not a square, I’m a circle and I can roll with it!

Keywords: Grove School, Miranda, Plano, staff

We Have Lots of SNOW!

Shelley Hill | February 9, 2011 | Comment (1)

Two students watch the reaction of the water hitting the snow mix.

Both inside and outside the school building, the past few days at our school have had a very consistent theme: SNOW…and lots of it!

As you know, outside we have had sleet, ice, snow and treacherous roads. Inside the school building we have also had snow. However in this case, it was not treacherous, but loads of fun!

The Outdoor Grove is covered in a thin layer of Texas snow.

Students in Ms. Opal’s and Ms. Mandy’s class made snow inside their classroom. It was a fun experiment that the children really enjoyed. They were able to add water to a special “snow mix” to make the fluffy white snow right in front of their eyes.

The photos show the students making, touching, and playing with the snow they made in their class.

Keywords: Grove School, Plano, snow

Evidence of Learning – Making Crystals

Shelley Hill | January 25, 2011 | Comment

An Evidence of Learning Disply of Ms. Misty's Class Experiment

Learning is fun! And it is also a process.

One of the things that is challenging to do in the field of education is to show both the students and the parents that actual learning has occurred. Here at The Grove School we call that EVIDENCE OF LEARNING.

Typically in most educational settings the only evidence you see is the finished product. There is nothing wrong with finished products. However, evidence of learning goes beyond that. It shows the PROCESS the students went through during their learning.

The experiment was to try to make crystals with water and Epsom salt. The students performed the tasks individually.

The steps were measure the Epsom salt, pour in the water, mix it up, transfer it to another bowl for observation, let the water evaporate and then investigate the results.

The photo at right and the close-ups below, show the process the students followed during their experiment.

Keywords: evidence of learning, Grove School, Ms. Misty, Plano, pre-K