patience

Patience.  It’s the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. It is a skill many adults need lessons on.  Waiting is hard.  Especially for spring in Northern Michigan.  I embrace the snow and remind parents and providers often that Michigan often doesn’t see spring til’ May! But each March they see “first day of spring” on the calendar and get anxious.  The fake warming weather gets their hopes up before the next snow storm.  The season sports sign ups and spring themed lesson plans get us preparing for warmer activities … for spring cleaning … for packing away the snow pants and boots.

Don’t put away those boots yet and even if it’s nice and snow starts to melt PLEASE send your kids to Adventure Academy wearing boots as the melting only makes it more fun to find mud puddles! Adventure Academy is a education through recreation program for babies to teens in Kingsley, Michigan and we spend lots of time outside.  This month’s theme is Pond Life and older students have begun pond studies – exploring how the pond across the road will change from winter to spring.  For safety reasons they will bring the studies back to our 1-room-classroom to share with their younger peers.  This week they have been bringing inside snow to study.

We spent time studying how the snow melts into water then freezes to ice when put back outside.  We spent time studying dirt, rocks and other nature items and will compare our studies as the weather changes.  As the weather changes we’ll note the changes to the greenery and animals around the pond.  We’ll use Mother Goose Time’s monthly curriculum kit to help supplement our studies.  Mother Goose Time (note activity pics) is intended for preschool development but can be expended on for older students studies and simplified for even the babies in our group to participate.  All ages participate together in our multi-age-program, and parents can request program observations for assessment purposes.

Adventure Academy offers assessments and referrals for our students with intent for individual forward progress, which is not compared to ones peers.  With understanding that each child has their own developmental sequence and timetable for growth – our program is stage before age focused.  Each student is observed and activities are provided to encourage development through ones own particular interests and strengths.  Each child deserves opportunities to develop skills using their unique learning styles.  intelligence styles include verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist and intra vs inter personal.

Everyone has their own learning styles, interests and strengths to help them thrive.  It’s not a race with a predictable outcome.  Just like nature, we must let it run it’s course and enjoy each moment.  Spring will come.  The pond will melt.  Frogs will jump across the lily-pads and back into our yard again.  Until then we’ll enjoy playing in the snow and enjoy the mysterious weather system that many around the world do not get to experience.  Until each child grows out of our program I’ll enjoy observing the mysterious ways brains develop and children learn and grow.  As some grow out of our program it’s bittersweet getting ready for goodbyes.

As some age into our program it’s bittersweet saying goodbye to the infant stage when they were dependent on the caregiver, but there are new rewards watching little ones interact and learn and grow besides peers.  If you know a child who’d like to join Adventure Academy email Christi@MiFamilies.com.  Adventure Academy is just one program Mi Families (“my families”) LLC offers. If you are a parent or provider who’d like to know about other programs Mi Families provides visit www.MiFamilies.com.  If you’d like to network with our team find us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, etc… If you’d like updates on what we’re up to – please subscribe above.