Annual Food Day Celebration and Open House at Learning Circle Preschool Friday October 21, 2016 from 9-11:30 a.m.

Join us for activities planned as part of Food Day, the nationwide movement for healthier, affordable, and sustainable food. Parents will be able to participate in activities with their children.

The goals of encouraging children to eat “real food” locally grown when possible, fit right into Food Day goals and Learning Circle Preschool’s use of the Early Sprouts curriculum, a “seed to table” gardening and nutrition curriculum first developed at Keene State College in New Hampshire. Components of the Early Sprouts curriculum address research that indicates young children are reluctant to try new foods unless they have multiple exposures that include a variety of experiences, including sensory exploration, tasting, and cooking. In a 24-week sequence of classroom activities using six common vegetables, children participate in sensory exploration, observations, and investigations of the vegetables and the plants from which they come. They help cook simple recipes at school, share them at snack, and then share those same recipes with their families at home.

On the 21std of October, learning centers will be set up on the school’s playground (weather permitting) between 9:30 at 11 am including gardening, arts, science activities, and reading books relating to gardening and harvest themes. The focus of each activity will be on healthy food choices, where food comes from, investigating the science of some familiar vegetables, and planting.

If the weather permits, we will also organize two walks for parents and their children to Brookwood Farm, a short distance from the school. An educator will lead discussion as parents, volunteers, and children follow a map to the farm, and participate in activities relating to healthy foods along the way. The first walk will leave at 9:30 am, and the second will leave at 10:30 am.

An Open House will be on-going between 9 and 10:15 a.m. for families interested in collecting information about Learning Circle Preschool's programs beginning in September 2017. Meet teachers, tour the space, and see documentation of work in progress with our individualized, creative, and nurturing curriculum for children 2.9-7.