Tonight we focused on childhood curiosity with the help of WEDU PBS, PBS KIDS friends and Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat! According to Zero to Three, nurturing your child’s natural curiosity is one of the most important ways to foster a love of learning. From a teacher’s perspective, curiosity is the […]

Tonight we were focused on communication and friendship.  Young children depend on language and communication to make their wants and needs known, solve problems, ask questions and play with others.  Families joined us in play tonight and they learned ways to continue learning at home such as Reading books and telling stories are important ways to support […]

Tinkering Offers Valuable Skills Tonight we focused on the creativity, curiosity and confidence that comes when children are free to “make” their ideas come to life in 3-D.  The “Makers’ Movement” encourages children to create using self directed, innovative ideas that solve a real world problem or showcase a new way of thinking.  Making has […]

Before beginning our circles this week we spent time reflecting.  The purpose was to consciously gather information to share during the discussion.   With intention, we deeply thought prior to speaking. Our prompting reflection questions included: Was something learned from reading this book, if so what? Was there a specific passage that had left an impression, […]

This week our book circles adopted a Round Robin format.  The entire group sat in a circle so all were visible to each other.  This arrangement is designed so each members can carefully speak and listen to each other.  One member volunteered to be a note-taker and another member volunteered to be the “Coordinator.”  The “Coordinator” […]

This week our book circles used a jigsaw technique. We divided up the reading last week by choosing a Presence that spoke to us. Upon returning this week circle groups were presented with a blank sheet of paper.  A number, representing a Presence, was assigned to a specific location on the sheet.  Each member was asked to create a […]

Thank you to the Food Bank of Manatee for providing strawberries for our students to explore.  Our classrooms started off the day by introducing the fruit and then inviting the children to share what they already know about the item.  Many of the children were able to name the fruit.  Our teachers invited other types […]

Tonight at Soar in 4 we focused on the importance of healthy habits in young children.    Building healthy habits contributes to school success; research shows that physical activity supports academic achievement and well-nourished kids learn better!  Healthy routines are more likely to stick in adulthood if they are learned in childhood.  Our learning engagement areas […]

Soar in 4 Flock Leaders, Facilitators and Supporters were invited to participate in a learning and sharing circles focusing on the book The Power of Presence by Joy Thomas Moore. This investment in our community was made possible by the Patterson Foundation on behalf of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade Level Reading. As the mother of Wes Moore, whose […]

On February 2nd Soar in 4 teachers were invited to an Arts Literacy Professional Development workshop. This workshop was designed to help teachers support their students learn in and through the ARTS. The PAInT (Partnership for Arts Integrated Teaching) Center located at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee collaborated with Arts Literacy Specialist, Shelly Dorfman […]