ECE @ Home: Fall 2022

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

For this Fall’s ECE at Home, the focus is Social Emotional Learning. SEL is such a core part of early childhood learning everyday at RHS that we want to give it the spotlight it deserves. We also have a lot of exciting announcements: launching RHS Littles, Friendship Groups, Arts-Integrated Enrichment Classes, and more. Let's hop in!

Congratulations to our RHS graduates of 2022! We are so proud of you, it was a true privilege to support the first stage of your educational journey.

Youngest friends ~

RHS Littles is a two day per week class led by Master Teacher Kirsten Hove. The Russian Hill School Toddler Program serves families with children ages 2-3 years of age. At Russian Hill School we believe that very young children learn everything they need to know through play, social engagement, and an introduction to the arts.

We are Music Makers, music and movement classes, is also led by Teacher Kirsten. Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays for walkers and crawlers. Music is a universal language. It is made up of sounds, rhythms, and patterns. As practicing singers, dancers, and music makers, simple pattern recognition strengthens connections in the brain which supports reading and math skills, self regulation and so much more. From practicing classic nursery rhymes to grooving to middle eastern ensemble music, We Are Music Makers is designed to support the emotional, physical and cognitive health of all who participate.

Birthday Parties at RHS! Our two-hour turn-key fuss free parties highlight fabulous age specific fun: welcome play time followed by (you choose) music & movement or an individualized art class topped of by an hour free play & time for cake.

School aged friends ~ K-3

We have a unique arts-integrated class lineup for this coming holiday break November 21st & 22nd: 

Making Connections Through Puppet Arts & Play 

Mixtures, Masses, Curds and Whey Cool Science

Jewelry with Teacher Kirsten

Click here to learn more about these classes. Space is limited, so sign up for these classes now!

Friendship Groups: TK and grade school aged children can benefit significantly from social and emotional learning in small friendship groups. Led by trained child development specialists utilizing the SuperFlex® curriculum, students gain confidence by building and practicing social and emotional and self awareness skills in the teacher guided group setting and through one on one interactions. These core SEL skills, such as self regulation, learned and practiced with peers - support students back in their classrooms, in their team sports, and at home with family. 

Here’s a fun playlist of some of our Social Emotional Learning Videos.

Playlist:

  1. Teacher Stephanie’s Life Lessons

  2. Waterfall Breath

  3. Exploring Emotions

Halloween Open House & Play: October 29th, 10 - 12:30pm
We invite all families to join us for a morning of fun, halloween art, and even some not-so-spooky science experiments!

Click here to RSVP!

Our exciting new enrichment space!

Resources

Making Friends Dramatic Play Theme
Join us for this wonderful DPT made by RHS Teachers!

The Gottman Institute - Emotion Coaching: The Heart of Parenting
Continuing education is an integral part of RHS. We recently completed the Emotion Coaching course from The Gottman Institute during our monthly Teachers' meeting. This is a wonderful course for all!

Helping Children Manage Emotions
Here are some supportive resources for you to help your child express and label their feelings. In the PDF below you will find a list of children's books about feelings, emotion charts, and the 5 steps for emotion coaching from John Gottman's book, "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child."
Emotion Coaching Resources (PDF)

Feelings Chart & Thermometer
We love to use the Feelings Chart / Thermometer in the RHS Classroom. This simple chart helps us practice our feelings vocabulary and helps us understand our feelings when emotions run high. More advanced charts are easily available for when children master the first. A robust feelings vocabulary helps children to get the inside out!

Happy Learning!

Best,
RHS

P.S. Please feel free to share with parents near and far to send a little ECE love across the globe!

ECE @ Home: Spring 2022

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

Russian Hill School is going to be very exciting in the 2022-2023 school year. From launching RHS Littles, our toddler program, to Foundations classes for parents, caregivers and children, to community lectures, there is a lot to talk about, so let's jump in!

Sign up here to get ECE @ Home in your mailbox! 

 
 

Congratulations to all of our kindergarten bound students!

Preparation and individualized support in the K process has been a hallmark and passion of RHS for decades!

Transitional Kindergarten at Russian Hill School

Wondering how best to support your 4-6 year old with their social & emotional growth and balance while honoring their playful and creative spirit this summer or throughout the year?

Russian Hill School’s Transitional Kindergarten program provides an excellent opportunity for your child to fully experience arts-integrated learning with summer enrichment or year round. 

Our curriculum targets cognitive, physical, emotional, social, and creative development goals. Our TK / K enrichment serves PIE: individualized planning, implementation and evaluation child curriculum.

From the RHS TK Classroom

Habitat Tales

This project is an individualized, teacher led activity for our senior students. Skills developed: research, observation, concentration, eye-hand coordination, fine motor development, three-dimensional representation, sculpting techniques, environmental awareness, language development, the art of the narrative, and oral story telling.

Throughout the Transitional Kindergarten program, there is also a strong leadership component whereby our TK students are encouraged through specific teacher supported strategies to become more autonomous and socially skilled.  By leading through example and articulating solutions for social dilemmas among fellow students, children develop empathy and build self-esteem. 

Here's a shining example of a Habitat Tale from one of our TK alums! 

 
 

Georgia the Bumblebee

by Henry J.

Georgia was a queen bumblebee. It was winter time .. so she was hibernating. She was hibernating in the ground. It was snowing. So she couldn’t come out of her nest yet... because it wasn’t Spring yet. She was going to come out in the spring. So she kept sleeping. It was because there was still some snow, and it wouldn’t be there in the spring because it would be warmer. When she did come out, she was really hungry. Because she didn’t eat when she was hibernating. She didn’t eat all winter!

But now it was spring time. Georgia came out. She saw the blue sky and the sun. She thought it was pretty, outside. So, then she looked for some flowers to eat some nectar because she was so hungry... and she looked all around to find some flowers on top of the ground. She sees trees and a bush and some wildflowers. They were all different kinds of wildflowers. There were dandelions and flowers that were all different colors. There were some red flowers... and some gold ones... some California Poppies were growing there. And she sees cows, and horses there. So, she was in the country... not in a city. There was a little beach there too where she was. So, she started flying and started getting nectar to eat... lots of nectar. She sucked up the nectar with her nose part. And then she saw a lemon tree. It had flowers too. She grabbed the leaves with her legs and did Buzz pollination. It’s when bees hold on tight to some leaves and get the nectar. She sucked up some nectar in those flowers too. It was important, so lemons can grow.

And then she flew, when she was full, to build a little nest where predators couldn’t get it. It was at the Presidio Forest... on the ground. So, she must be in San Francisco now. She built her nest under the leaves there and made a little pot out of wax to keep her nectar in. And she kept going to get nectar, over and over... because she needed to fill her nectar pot... so she could make places (wax Cells) in her nest to put her eggs in. And then she was ready. So then she laid some eggs. And she sat on them. Bumblebee queens do that to keep them warm. They ‘shiver’ when they sit on the eggs so that they stay warm.

And then, one day the eggs hatched. They looked all white. They are called larvae then. So, Georgia kept feeding them. She fed them pollen and nectar so they could turn into BEES. She made SOOO many bees that way. All of them were girl (female) ‘worker-bees’. She made 50 bees! And now she just has one job to do... and she’s the boss! So she buzzed and buzzed and she gave them jobs. It was so she could just keep making babies. Twenty-five worker-bees would have to guard the nest and clean it... and twenty-five would have to fly and get nectar and pollen... every day. Twenty-five and twenty-five is Fifty!!! That’s a-lot... so she had to give them all numbers so she could tell them apart.

So, then the next time Georgia laid some eggs they were different. They weren’t ‘workers’ anymore. They were some new queens... and some male bumblebees too. The male bumblebees all fly away. It’s because they want to meet (mate) with some queen bumblebees... but not with the ones in their nest. And the new queens in the nest keep getting nectar to eat and get the pollen. It’s because the weather is getting colder. It’s because winter is coming again. And so, they will have to hibernate in the ground when winter comes... just like Georgia did!

 
 

Russian Hill school is excited to announce the Spring Introduction to the RHS Littles Program. The first phase will center on Foundations: Parent/Caregiver and Child interactions through play-based theory and technique.   
The Russian Hill School takes an arts-integrated approach to development and learning in a classroom environment. RHS Littles will focus on the foundations of learning ie. Parent/Child attachment and transitions, developmentally appropriate play and theory, and the opportunity to engage in a relaxed environment to learn and grow around people in similar stages of life. The second phase is a dedicated Toddler Program 2, 3, or 5 days a week.
The RHS Littles program was conceived by Kirsten Hove and Dr. Kate Threlfall, both child development specialists and children of early child educators.  

Upcoming Events @ RHS!

Open House & Play
Join us for a morning of fun at our next Open House. We invite all families to come visit Russian Hill School and meet some of our teachers and current families while playing in our classrooms!

Curriculum Sessions
These evenings, held quarterly, are an opportunity to meet teachers, current parents, and learn more about the Russian Hill School community. Our evening curriculum presentations are parent / caregiver only events due to the late timing and nature of the tour.

Click here to see our upcoming dates!

Resources

Farm Life Dramatic Play Theme
Come join us on the farm in this wonderful DPT made by RHS Teachers!

Creating learning environments for meaningful reflections
"Reflective thinking is a vital aid to the central function of the brain – improving its capacity to predict what will happen next. Play is important because it can prompt such reflection."

Happy Learning!

Best,
RHS

P.S. Please feel free to share with parents near and far to send a little ECE love across the globe!

ECE @ Home: Fall 2021

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

It has been a wonderful transition to a new school year here at Russian Hill School! With a few of our annual fall projects tucked under our belts, we thought we would highlight today: Extended Learning Projects. These individualized multi-process projects are a hallmark of RHS.

"Take your time and make it special" is an important maxim here at RHS. Some of our Extended Learning Projects span many months, building attention, cognitive skills, self efficacy, and delayed gratification along the way. The display, presentation, and experience of finalizing an extended learning project boosts self esteem. The culmination of the final work of art created is an important building block of student learning.

These projects incorporate many foundational skills including pre-math patterning, numeracy, literacy, and understanding how to plan for what something will look like in the future. Seeing the fruits of their careful diligent work is a rewarding experience and a marvel for us educators to participate in!

Sign up here to get ECE @ Home in your mailbox! 

 

"One of the Extended Learning Projects we enjoy are craft adventures that teach a myriad of skills, including fine motor skills and design. Teachers are busy inspiring and guiding the commencement of our SPIDERS project- which will take friends through the Halloween season and into autumn." -Teacher Matt

 

Andy Goldsworthy’s Ephemeral Art
Circle Time & DPT with Teacher Stephanie

This offering is wonderful for preschool and grade school children alike.

 

Andy Goldsworthy’s Ephemeral Art

Runtime: 7:04 / Activity Meter: 3

This week, students will learn about environmentalist artist, Andy Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy’s artwork reminds us that all things in life are in constant motion and that there is beauty in every transition we go through. His sculptures are made from nature, using leaves, twigs, ice, snow, feathers, mud and rocks, and left outside to be changed by their environment through the passing of time.

Extended Learning: Make an Andy Goldsworthy inspired sculpture and observe how it transitions in its environment over time. Try stitching a string of leaves together using pine needles to make a shape, change a rock’s color by covering it in wet leaves, sort rocks by color and create a design out of them on the ground or stacked, draw lines in the sand, or make anything at all using completely natural materials and leave it in the environment where it was made.

 

To extend the learning, here’s Teacher Stephanie’s wonderful accompanying DPT: Download it here!

From the RHS Classroom

 
 

“I am a Painting”

by Teacher Rafael

“As a way to provide tasks that can give children the opportunity to pursue their naturally emerging interest, the Dramatic Play Room at RHS has been divided into the following segments: a) the frame, b) the giant canvas, and c) the white wall.  Each of those segments were created with the intention to provide a somatic experience to the student. The students are assisted to first become a painting and after they are assisted to create art work that are based on the feelings that each of them was able to experience. For example, the frame was designed for the students to personify a life painting -- a self-portrait. 

Here, each student is assisted to pose for a picture while they are also asked to impersonate a character, an animal, or a unique being.  The “giant canvas” is made out of large white plastic and is placed inside the room -- on the floor and continues on to a wall until touch the ceiling.  The purpose of designing the giant canvas is for the students to feel as if they are existing inside a canvas.  While one student is inside the canvas, the other students are assisted to act as if they are paint and drawings themselves.  As a further example, a children’s swimming pool is used to assist the student to imaginatively mix color with the use of confetti -- team work is orchestrated for each student to take turns to get inside the pool and be confetti-rained on from their team mates.  The ‘white wall” was designed for the student to place and contemplate the art work that they created.”

Resource

Helping Kids Adjust After the Last 16 Months
Here are a few thoughts and tips from Kyle D. Killian, Ph.D., LMFT to help kids adjust to life during and, hopefully someday, after COVID-19.

ECE@Home: Summer 2021

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

We are enjoying the colors of spring here at Russian Hill School. We are also loving being out in nature and learning more about how plants grow and how they help us and how we can help them! 

Sign up here to get ECE @ Home in your mailbox! 

our
eARTh
it's in our hands

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Help us celebrate the past 40 years and support the next 40! As Bonnie, our founder, has always encouraged: let us spring forward into the future!
Preview the stunning student art and if you can join us tonight June 5th at 8pm on Zoom for our annual art celebration & auction.

 
 

From the RHS Classroom

In the classroom, RHS students are learning how to care for their very own plant through succulent propagation.

Plants are crucial for not only for our health and survival, but for the health and survival of our planet! This project will give each child the opportunity to grow their own succulent plant through propagation and will help them to experience a personal bond with nature. In this project, they will get to design a special pot for their plant, learn how to care for it to facilitate optimal growth, and they will come to understand the importance of developing connections with life in the natural world. 

 

Propagating Succulents
Runtime: 7:20 / Activity Meter: 4

Propagating succulents is a fun experiment to try at home with your child! Succulents grow in dry and sunny climates, and are an excellent plant for children to care for because they require very little attention, but often grow in unexpectedly exciting ways!

Propagating plants is the process of growing new plants using a parent stock. When it comes to succulents, propagation only requires a healthy leaf from a mature plant, a pot of soil, a spray bottle filled with water, and some patience. In this video, children will see beautiful footage from Teacher Christine's succulent garden, they will learn about the magic of a plant's growth cycle, and will be inspired to recreate that wonder at home with the help of a parent or guardian.

Supplies needed: a small terra cotta pot, glue, q-tip (or something to use for painting with glue), sand, findings from nature (described in step 2), small strip of paper, pencil, soil, a succulent leaf -- e-mail us and we will send one in the mail if you do not have easy access to succulents)
Steps:
1. Pluck a leaf or a few leaves from the bottom of a mature succulent plant
2. Place the leaves in a window sill for a few days until their wounds have healed over
3. Fill a pot with soil and place the leaves on top
4. Put the pot in a brightly lit space and spray with water when the soil is dry
5. In about 3 weeks, your leaves should begin to sprout with roots and you will start to see a baby succulent grow!
6. Carefully remove the dried leaf from the baby succulent
7. Enjoy watching your baby succulent grow and grow!

 

Color Walk
Runtime: 9:46 / Activity Meter: 3
A Color Walk is a great way to open our senses and pay attention to the world around us. Join Teacher Stephanie as she discusses primary, secondary, and neutral colors, and embarks on a Color Walk of her own to see what Spring colors are appearing!

Extended Learning: Go for a color walk of your own! What color do you think you will see the most of? What color do you think you will see the least of? Try to find as much of your favorite color as you can!

Dramatic Play Theme: Fairy Tale

This Dramatic Play Theme, “Fairy Tale" was made by Teacher Lesly. Fairy tales are a great tool in encouraging creativity, problem solving skills, and helping children make sense of the world around them. By using fantastical representations of their surroundings, children are able to explore different emotions and perspectives, story sequencing and structure, and the differences between “real” and “make believe”.

Download it here!

Resources

1. Plant a Love of Nature in Your Kids:
Here’s a taste from this insightful article: “Parents are besieged with advice on reducing screen time and encouraging outdoor play, and extended time outside has many benefits. But even a single, seemingly ordinary moment can inspire a lifelong conservation ethic.”

2. The changes to life during Covid are plentiful. Even with the opening up that is happening slowly there are many disappointments to manage around playground desires, birthday celebrations, limitations to or when seeing grandparents and friends, and the changes to planned holidays. Here is a useful article from the Child Mind Institute on how to help your children manage these disappointments. In the article you will find a hopeful idea from Dr. Madeline Levine regarding potential growth out of this crisis: "Hopefully this experience will make that muscle of tolerating disappointment more robust, says Dr. Levine. “I think that’s the message that parents need to be aware of, which is some iteration of, ‘I think you can handle this. I know it’s really hard, but you got this.”

ECE @ Home: March 2021

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

Spring is here, spring is here! We hope you enjoy the beautiful fragrance of fresh flowers and rain in this wonderful season. We are so grateful to be on the trails and hope you are enjoying some time outdoors as well.

Sign up here to get ECE @ Home in your mailbox! 

 
“Make new friends, but keep the old / one is silver, the other is gold / a circle’s round, it has no end / that's how long I want to be your friend.”

“Make new friends, but keep the old / one is silver, the other is gold / a circle’s round, it has no end / that's how long I want to be your friend.”

 

Presidio Trails Inspired Art Project

How to make leaf rubbings
-Collect leaves while out on a walk or hike.
-Place a leaf with its bottom side facing up. Place a thin sheet of paper over the leaf.
-Rub the side of a crayon (with the wrapper removed) gently over the leaf.
-You will soon see your lovely leaf in the color of your choice!

 
 

Circle Time with Teacher Stephanie:
Exploring Emotions
Runtime: 9:11 / Activity Meter: 3
Today we will be exploring the way different emotions make us feel inside. Using our imaginations, we will remember times we felt happy, sad, excited, worried, angry, and calm, so that we can notice how our bodies react to these states of being. Being aware of how we feel inside is a crucial tool for understanding ourselves and learning how to self-regulate

Extended Learning: Choose an emotion and draw a picture of what this feeling looks like inside of you!

DPT: Exploring Space

This Dramatic Play Theme, “Exploring Space: Looking and Seeing" was made by Teacher Rafael! The sense of sight will be the main focus of our exploration for this DPT. The concept of looking and seeing will be presented while in tandem with exploring “the universe”.

Resources

Helping Children Manage Emotions
Here are some supportive resources for you to help your child express and label their feelings. In the PDF below you will find a list of children's books about feelings, emotion charts, and the 5 steps for emotion coaching from John Gottman's book, "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child."
Emotion Coaching Resources (PDF)

Feelings Chart & Thermometer
We love to use the Feelings Chart / Thermometer in the RHS Classroom. This simple chart helps us practice our feelings vocabulary and helps us understand our feelings when emotions run high. More advanced charts are easily available for when children master the first. A robust feelings vocabulary helps children to get the inside out!

Happy Learning!

Best,
RHS

P.S. Please feel free to share with parents near and far to send a little ECE love across the globe!

ECE @ Home: February 2021

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

Happy New Year! We hope your family enjoyed a cozy holiday season. This year marks our 40th anniversary. We are so excited to celebrate four decades of early childhood learning through the arts with our community.                                    
We hope you enjoy our first ECE @ Home blog of the year. Please feel free to share with parents near and far - sending a little love across the globe!
                         
Here at RHS, our students are making Valentine's Day cards for each of their friends to send home. Take a blast from the past tour of Valentine's Day at RHS from 2018.

Sign up here to get ECE @ Home in your mailbox! 

 
 

Circle Time with Teacher Stephanie:
Writing Thank You Notes
Runtime: 3:08 / Activity Meter: 2
Writing a thank you note is an excellent way to show gratitude for something you have received or someone you appreciate. In this video, Teacher Stephanie writes thank you notes to her friends and family to thank them for gifts, visits, and friendship. Practice spelling the words "thank you" and sing along to the jingle to help remember the order of the letters. Stay tuned to the end to see Birdie open her thank you note and continue the beautiful cycle of gratitude!

Extended Learning: Practice writing the words "thank you" and send someone a handmade thank you note!

 
 

Circle Time with Teacher Stephanie:
Decomposition: The Never Ending Story of the Tree
Runtime: 5:10 / Activity Meter: 1
Thanks to decomposition, a tree's story is never ending. Follow along as Teacher Stephanie illustrates the journey a tree embarks on as it transforms from tree to log, and from soil to sprouting seed. Pay attention to some of the key players in this cycle, fungi and earth worms!

Extended Learning: Draw your own picture of a tree going through the cycle decomposition!

Under the Fallen Log 

This Dramatic Play Theme, “Under the Fallen Log: Understanding Decomposition with Mushrooms and Worms" was made by Teacher Genevieve! This DPT will focus on learning about funny fungi, squirmy worms and why they are important to nature!

Resource:
The Gottman Institute - Emotion Coaching: The Heart of Parenting
Continuing education is an integral part of RHS. We recently completed the Emotion Coaching course from The Gottman Institute during our monthly Teachers' meeting. This is a wonderful course for all! About the course:

"A five-step method that builds emotional intelligence and creates positive, long-lasting effects for children from toddlers to teens. Easy to learn, and used by parents, educators, and care-givers, it supports kids through life’s ups and downs."

Happy Learning!

Best,
RHS

Winter ECE @ Home

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

We hope your family is settling in for a cozy holiday season. We are delighted to share these special winter themed ECE @ Home materials with you!

Birdie Finds Patterns in Nature
Runtime: 4:05 / Activity Meter: 2
Patterns are all around us! When children are able to recognize repetition in their surroundings, they begin to establish a sense of order and understanding of their world. This understanding leads to developing logic, building mathematical skills, and not to mention seeing immense beauty in all things! So what better place to start finding patterns than outside in the natural world? In this video, Birdie starts to notice that patterns appear almost everywhere in nature! She finds repetition in the grass, the rocks, the branches, the leaves, and the petals! Join Birdie as she shows us her discoveries and uses them to inspire her artwork!

Extended Learning:

Vocabulary words: endless, abundant, infinite

  1. Discuss the meaning of these words and how they relate to the patterns Birdie found in nature.

  2. What patterns in nature do you notice when you go outside?

Creating Patterns with Nature
Runtime: 8:50 / Activity Meter: 4
In our last video, Birdie discovered that patterns are all around us in nature! Now we will discuss some of the ways that patterns help organize our lives and we will put our learning to the test and create some patterns ourselves! Join Teacher Stephanie and collect some objects from nature to make your own pattern designs with. Save your findings for future art projects and more patterning fun to come!

Extended Learning: Take a closer look at some of the found objects you or Teacher Stephanie used to make patterns with. Do you see any patterns on the objects themselves? How would you describe them?

Winter Wonderland DPT (Dramatic Play Theme)

Winter is coming quick this year! Tis’ the season to bundle up and enjoy the chilly weather with your loved ones. And what a better way than with some classic wintertime activities! Friends will practice patience, taking turns, and sharing as they engage in pretend play.

Resource:
The Snowy Day
Ezra Jack Keats's classic story, with animation by Jay Boucher and narration and sound by Napoleon Maddox.

Happy Learning!

Best,
RHS

December ECE @ Home

Dear Friends of Russian Hill School,

We hope your family is enjoying the changing of the season this fall.

We are excited to share a wonderfully autumnal Circle Time video by Teacher Stephanie about the journey a leaf takes this time of year.

There is also a resource for parents and caregivers which will help you to find some silver linings in these unusual times.

Fall Leaves with Teacher Stephanie
Runtime: 4:12 / Activity Meter: 1
In autumn, the leaves of deciduous trees put on a miraculous show of color for us to see! They dance on the trees in gorgeous shades of golden yellow and orange, reds of scarlet and crimson, and deep purple burgundies and maroons.

So, Why does this happen?
In this video, we will learn about the journey of a leaf in fall time!

Leaf Vocabulary Words: Chlorophyll, Photosynthesis, Anthocyanin, Decomposition

Chlorophyll- chemical that turns sunlight into energy and makes leaves green
Photosynthesis: Process that turns sunlight into energy and makes leaves green
Anthocyanin- chemical that turns leaves different shades of red
Decomposition- Process that breaks down dead leaves and turns them into healthy soil

Resource:
How the Pandemic Can Teach Kids About Compassion
"If we offer children warmth and tenderness when their routines are turned upside down, we can soothe them in their own time of need. Parents can extend compassion by making space to help their children become better aware of and process their feelings. Acknowledging and being sensitive to our children’s emotions can act as a salve and help them to see that this moment of hardship will eventually pass."

Happy Learning!

Best,
RHS