Guess what?! ITS OUR BIRTHDAY TODAY. No joke, today marks one year of Play Frontier being open. WOW what a year it has been.
PARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
CELEBRATE TONIGHT with a Play Frontier Dance Party using this sweet playlist, featuring hits from the preschool classroom:
First of all, I can't believe that our little school has come so far in so little time - largely because of the incredible support of friends and family like you - which has truly made this dream come true! Can you believe it's almost the one year anniversary of Play Frontier?! It’s been an exciting year full of exploring the outdoors, painting, making messes, and having fun in our play-based learning environment.
At the same time, we have had to temporarily close our doors due to COVID-19 in order to protect our children, families, and staff. (Happy birthday to us, right?)
In order to remove stress from our families, we have put all of our tuition on hold until further notice. The state of Washington, who usually covers our subsidy tuition and food program, is so far NOT covering costs during closures... which means we are in need of your help more than ever.
WE HAVE HAD AN AMAZING YEAR THOUGH. Don’t let the pandemic cloud this beautiful day!
Here are some highlights:
Enrolled in Washington's Early Achievers program as soon as possible to accept families requiring state subsidy payment.
Successfully graduated our first cohort of infants, meaning our infant teacher (Megan) moved up with them to the toddler room! We are the only school in the SW Washington licensing district attempting this method, and so far it has been awesome! Yay for infant-caregiver bonding!
Rallied a fall work team to work on the beginning stages of our 'adventure playground.'
Featured in the Pacific Crest Trail Association magazine for hiking with toddlers and preschoolers on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Enrolled in the CACFP food program - we now make all meals on site, free of charge, for all kids enrolled. We use organic and whole foods whenever possible. My teachers and I are surprised at how lovely it is to cook meals with the children each day! Toddlers in particular that have been with us since the beginning love almost any vegetable, bean, or rice dish we put in front of them. I'm amazed at how diverse and healthy all of our diets are, and miss it greatly during this time apart!
We are one of the only childcares in the nation that hikes with infants and toddlers, not just the forest school preschool kids. This means we have toddlers who, while in daycare, learn the difference between a dark-eyed junco and a chickadee, learn how to forage for fresh salal berries, learn how to walk by wobbling along trails at Whistlepunk, and learn how to read by stopping at every sign in the Wind River Arboretum and asking about the trees. Someone asked me how I'll know that my wild school dream has come true, and all of this is proof that it has!!
I am also really really really proud of our teachers. They are all well-spoken child advocates in our community, supporting every child they come across with love, acceptance, empowerment, and education!
…and many many more amazing things! And we know there are more yet to come!