Joyful Beginnings Hummingbirds: November 17 - 21, 2025
Dear Joyful Beginnings Hummingbirds Families,
We hope you enjoyed meaningful time with friends and family over the break. And thank you to all who attended our Thanksgiving Luncheon. The children very much enjoy sharing their treasured forest space with family. It was lovely to welcome the children back to school this week and to hear their stories of home and holiday.
Before the break, the Hummingbirds enjoyed a full and beautiful stretch of days as we leaned into all that this time of year offers. The children diligently strung beads and felted leaves into autumn necklaces with blunt needles; a simple, repetitive activity that strengthens and refines fine-motor skills. They giggled as they pushed their block crayons across their papers to reveal the “secret” leaves playing hide-and-seek beneath, watching the shapes appear like magic through their leaf-rubbing drawings. But the true highlight of our week was the time we spent starting, tending, and gathering around our campfire in the forest.
During the two weeks leading up to the break, the children heard a simple story about a young boy who roasted an apple over the hearth with his grandmother on a chilly autumn morning. The warm imagery of the tale was too rich not to bring to life. The children helped gather small sticks and dry leaves to kindle the fire, watching with wide eyes as teachers added larger logs and the flames grew. Others helped carve out a bit of the inside of their apples, tucking butter and cinnamon into the hollow before wrapping them in foil. The apples were placed around the glowing coals to roast while the children, full of inspiration, set about imitating the work, gathering their own firewood (some pieces needing to be “chopped”) and building their own imaginative fires beside the real one. When the apples were soft and the juices could be heard sizzling through the foil, the children savored every warm bite.
As the children settle back into the school rhythm after some days away, we will return to simplicity and steadiness. This time of year often brings fuller schedules, visiting relatives, special occasions, and higher levels of stimulation, and the predictability of our daily rhythm at school can be a grounding comfort. In the coming days, the children will relish in unstructured play, prepare food, tidy their spaces, paint with watercolors, hear a story, visit the animals at the farm, and then do it all again. It is in this reassuring cycle (purposeful work, play, rest, repeat) that young children find security, confidence, and the freedom to grow.
Announcements & Reminders:
Next week’s tours are designed to meet your questions about the next phase of your child’s development and how the curriculum meets the changes you are starting to see now. A Kindergarten tour and a Grades tour will be offered on Wednesday, December 10th, at 9:30 am and Saturday, December 13th, at 10:00 am. These tours are for our current families to learn more about the respective programs. Please RSVP by emailing Crystal: admissions@thegardenmarietta.org.
December 10 & 11: Hummingbirds Winter Spiral at 12:15 pm
December 19: Last Day of Fall Semester-Grades Assembly at 11:00 am, all families welcomed (Half Day)
December 22-January 2: Winter Break (No School)
January 5: Teacher-In-Service (No School)
Warmly,
Ki Alycia
