Joyful Beginnings Hummingbirds: August 11-14, 2026

Aug 14

Dear Hummingbird Families,

We are happy to have you at The Garden School!

It was wonderful to see everyone again at our Meet & Greet, the children playing and connecting at our forest classroom, and to strengthen our relationship for the journey ahead. Thank you to all new parents who attended the Orientation prior as well; your presence is very important. We are so excited to begin this journey together and look forward to a wonderful year with all of our Hummingbirds!

This week marks our first week of school, and our focus is on helping each child feel comfortable and confident as they adjust to our learning environment and daily rhythm. We work on transition time, songs that the children will become familiar with in our daily rhythm, such as our “Clean Up” song, which helps us clean up our toys, and our “Come Follow” song, which guides us to the forest.

In the early morning, children explore small body movements at Circle Time and start to connect daily activities in our indoor classroom. In the late morning, at the forest classroom, we help the children become familiar with our boundaries and learn how to play safely while exploring nature. Having opportunities to play with natural materials, shovels, trucks, and rakes as they discover and enjoy their surroundings. By the end of the month, we will begin our chopping activities and continue getting to know our friends and our wonderful environment.

We look forward to a joyful start to the school year and to watching our Hummingbirds grow, explore, and learn together!

Class Reminders and Announcements:

Create a goodbye ritual: Having a special goodbye routine can be very helpful during drop-off. You might share a special handshake, give your child a hug, or say a few encouraging words before saying goodbye. A consistent and positive goodbye can help make the transition easier and more comfortable for your child.

Label belongings: Please label all of your child’s belongings with their names.

We are NUT-FREE: Please make sure you pack a small nourishing NUT-FREE snack (allergies to peanuts and tree-nuts listed for our Joyful Beginning Program).

August 29: Community Workday (All families welcome!)
September 7: Labor Day (No School)
September 8: Early Childhood Curriculum Meeting, 6:00 pm (Adults only)
September 9: Grade Curriculum Meeting, 6:00 pm (Adults only)

Warmly,

Ki Isabela