Welcoming Back Loved Ones

Hollingworth is often described as song. As you know, we have a song for almost everything!  The children come to own the daily schedule through our routine and transition songs. We begin and end our days with familiar tunes and mark transitions with melody. From the recording of recognizable melodies children receive prior to the beginning of school, to their selection of favorites to be sung at their end of the year family celebrations – music punctuates every aspect our school experience. So we are delighted to welcome our loved ones back for our first ever Hollingworth Sing Along! Led by one of our favorite performers and friend, Ken Galipeau. We’ll take requests from our attendees when registration opens!

We often find the Hollingworth children seated at the green rug studying maps, nature guides, and other texts, just as you would enjoy a picture book. Relishing in the children’s delight in exploring all forms of text, we eagerly anticipate Emily Neuburger’s Story Map workshop, focusing on the integration of art and literacy. Story Maps is one of the projects from the Story Evolution chapter in Emily Neuburger’s award winning educational book, Show Me a Story. These detail-rich depictions of imaginary lands are the perfect foundation for developing elaborate characters and stories. Emily’s workshop begins with an inspiring demonstration with a clear introduction, followed by a short period of guided brainstorming. Valuing and respecting children's individual aesthetics, each child’s story map will be reflective of their own interests and artistic styles as well as the particular stories that they hope to share. It is our hope the children will be encouraged to continue to refer to their maps as they tell engaging new tales.

Collaborating with the Smith Learning Theater within the Gottesman Library, we engaged children in scientific explorations of light inspired by contemporary living artist Kara Walker, Pipilotti Rist and more. We engaged in a variety of activities and experiences that bridged scientific exploration with artistic expression with a focus on play. Creating spaces for play, we foocused our on inquiries into light, absorption, reflection, phosphorescence, color, and shadow

Our firm belief that everyone has a story to tell guided our Story Disks workshop led by Emily Neuberger, an artist, teacher, & writer whose blog and books have inspired many Hollingworth Homemade materials. These colorful disks with tiny, meaningful pictures are an engaging way to blend art, literacy, and tactile inspiration. Engaging in the process of story telling, the children first thought of some of their favorite things, (very much the Hollingworth way to begin) to start. Then, using small wooden disks, art and collage materials, the children and loved ones created many small story disks to take home as as small portable prompts for story telling, creating games, and having fun!

On Science Saturday children and loved ones explored the concept of polymers using a variety of everyday ingredients to create new substances for sensory play. This “kitchen science” opportunity invited children to expand their linguistic, mathematical and scientific literacies, to enjoy tactile explorations, and to delight in the opportunity to sink their hands in and get messy! Each combination of ingredients created a material with interesting textures and features, and the children’s curiosities were sparked as they were offered the opportunity to engage in observing, experimenting, theorizing, wondering, and imagining. Some of the materials we explored together were “old favorites” that the returning children remembered from their time at the preschool, other recipes offered a hint of familiarity as they created a “new twist” on tried-and-true recipes, and others were entirely novel experiences. And of course, the children departed with a new set of recipes so they could continue their science explorations at home!

Inspired by our Craft Day events, for our Memory Card Workshop current and former Hollingworth Children and Loved Ones joined us in this arts and crafts day. Emily Neuberger, an artist, creative writing teacher, blogger, and author of the popular educational arts book, Show Me a Story to lead us in engaging in this special workshop focusing on our memories as sparks for sharing our stories. Using a variety of craft and recycled materials, each child made their own Memory Cards engaging in the creative writing process: brainstorming, drafting, designing, conferring, and writing their own Memory Cards to take home and use as an early literacy storytelling prompt.