rates for 2012-2013!

man, the years are creeping by quickly! 2012?! wow!

it's time for me to post my rates for those interested in coming to meadowlark next fall.

i typically raise my rates every other year. so, here's the cost for 2012 through 2014

tuition: monthly payment:

5 days $620

4 days $510

3 days $415

2 days $315

1 day $175

so, there you have it. and as i've mentioned, i'm not really blogging much these days. if you want to contact me, feel free to email. or check out meadowlark preschool's facebook page!

project: front yard

this is the front door to meadowlark. welcome!
gardening, tree round furniture, wooden pieces ( for making bridges and ramps...)
playhouse with an eco-roof. tires to climb on and plant things in. more tree rounds for climbing, a bridge found 2nd hand and fixed up.... the yard is comin' along nicely, if i do say so myself.

ok... i've realized i'm not much of a "blogger". my last post was months ago. oops.

i've been busy working on the front yard at meadowlark. it's the size of a postage stamp! i've had many dreams of big yards with trees and room to run all over the place, but nope. not possible here. i kept my yard mostly empty with just grass for making it easy to run ( at least a little bit) but the grass turned to mud and the yard was messy and boring. so, i decided to make things to play with, climb on, hide behind, crawl under, etc... here's a few pics of what's happened so far. the kids are having fun and being much more creative in their play with all the new "props" in the yard. not pictured: narrow side yard with sandbox ( that i want to re-make next!) and rabbit hutch. ( we love our furry friends.)

bigger art show

yes! cupcakes!
a wall of wonderful, colorful, happy artwork!
a very dapper Felix and his awesome robot picture!

we had our annual art show at alma chocolate and, as always, it was such a lovely evening!

many of the children dressed up and enjoyed chocolate cupcakes and fruit punch while their mamas and papas admired their creations up on the walls of the shop.

love. love. love our art show. all month long i visit it and enjoy the work of my many creative students (while drinking a delicious chili-cinnamon mocha, no less!)

ps. on an unrelated note, i haven't forgot the folks that want to see pictures of meadowlark's front yard. there's been a delay on the roof of our new playhouse and i planned on waiting. i have not forgotten you.

mini-art show

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meadowlark has an art show at new seasons ( on 20th and division ) for the month of march. it's not as big a space as we have for our annual alma show, but the art is up and looks lovely nonetheless. if you're out and about in southeast portland, stop by and check it out!

numbers are everywhere!

so many counting games and art projects.... this week we learned all about numbers and before long, children were counting everything! "i have 5 crackers in my lunch." "we have 2 cats at school." "i see 10 ducks on that page". they have become my mini-mathmaticians!
photos: carter's rocket countdown collage and lark's number stamping painting

facebook page? yep!

well, meadowlark has joined facebook as another way to spread the word. i'm not much of a blogger, it turns out, but i do want folks looking for a small, creative preschool to be able to find me. so, here goes.... a new place to see cute pictures and hear what we've been up to... possibly on a more regular basis, too. it's just listed as "Meadowlark preschool" ( they wouldn't let me do all lowercase.) check it out!
thanks, friends

circles, squares, trapezoids!...

my student, felix, has been asking "when can we learn about shapes?" ( he's actually been asking for a few weeks now, but i already had lessons planned and field trips in place for other themes.) finally, this week, i told him it was time and he was so excited! jump-up-and-down-and-squeal-excited! it's fun letting the children help plan the curriculum.

photos (top to bottom): Eva traces shapes in a book.
Sylvia makes a shape collage.
Felix makes up a triangle yoga pose ( and then proceeds to make as many other shapes as he can with his body!)

this is meadowlark's outside.

the children are on break for the winter holidays. i'm missing them and going through old photos...
i came across this shot of our school taken during last year's snowstorm and thought i'd show folks the outside of meadowlark.
our tiny house makes me smile. the colorful fence. warm Christmas lights. freshly fallen snow. the glow from inside...
happiest of holidays to all.

yippee! t-shirts!

oh my goodness. my friend, josie (a BIG kindergardener and former meadowlark student) drew the cutest meadowlarks.
and we're gonna make t-shirts! i am so excited. little shirts for the children and bigger shirts for the mamas and papas and maybe even grandparents, too.
we will be so stylish in our school tees!

busy artists

it is so nice to have the children back. so nice to watch them create and explore. the art table is a constant center of activity. by the end of the day, i sweep up tiny paper scraps, bits of yarn, run away beads, crumbles of styrofoam.... evidence of a day well spent.

little leopard

my friend violet is so sweet. even her leopard mask looks friendly.
and how perfect that she has a spotted shirt on!

school starts again in one week... and violet will be heading to kindergarden, but i will have new little friends and new little leopards.

change.

summer is coming to an end. already the days are getting shorter. and there's a crisp coolness in the air.
soon new children will be here. we will get to know each other. we will fall into the daily rhythm of school.
and we will celebrate the new season ahead- leaves changing, birds migrating, squirrels gathering nuts for the winter ahead, bears cozying up for a long sleep... we will go on walks just to search for a perfectly red leaf or to enjoy the sound of leaves crunching underneath our shoes.
i always wish that summer would last just a little longer... but, i know that the children will remind me of the simple things that make fall a lovely time of year.
even the rain is welcome when one is wearing colorful galoshes and splashing in puddles!

shameless promotion.

well, it's true that i am still looking for a few students for fall and i want to tell folks about something that makes meadowlark (in my opinion) so super wonderful...
we have an amazing array of professional artists that visit our school on a regular basis to work with the children! isn't that cool?
the following are our regular visiting artists and links to their websites:
iris nason-growingartscenter.com -iris teaches dance, yoga, stretching and more.
samantha van der merwe- shaking-the-tree.com -samantha is a storyteller and theatre teacher.
mylinda king- home.teleport.com/~marimba/marimles.htm -mylinda is a marimba instructor.
sam cooper- myspace.com/samcoopermusic - sam sings and plays banjo, guitar, and fiddle.
the children LOVE the days we have visitors. and parents LOVE that their children are being exposed to so many different art forms in addition to the art projects that i lead.
so there, that's my post bragging about the school.

sea creatures.

we are learning about the ocean and there are so many fun sea creature art projects to do!
at meadowlark, we're always making things: drawing, painting, glueing, collaging, beading, sewing, sculpting...
my background is in fine arts and i taught children's classes at the portland art museum for many years before starting meadowlark. in fact, i have been an artist for forever (it seems). as a child, my answer to "what do you want to be when you grow up?" was always very enthusiastically, "an artist!"
i feel so lucky to spend my days teaching through art and watching young artists create such beautiful things. their creativity constantly amazes me.
here are a couple of our ocean projects. note: the jellyfish are made from old gelato cups, scraps of ribbons, lace, and other fabric trim... we love using "junk" for art.

three words....

i. love. summer.
thursday afternoon pool party. splashing. giggling. running through sprinklers.
hot sun, cold water, chubby legs stick out of cute, flowery, ruffly suits.
the smell of sunscreen, hands sticky from watermelon...summer, summer, summer!
i love summer!

summer fun to come.

summer program starts next week. hooray! it's been awfully quiet around here these last couple of weeks. after some lazy mornings at the neighborhood coffee shop and some outings to the gorge and sauvie's island, i'm ready to have my friends back at school. let's have picnics in the park, make messy art outdoors, have a lemonade stand, and play in the sprinkler on extra hot days!

and just because i have a plethora of cute photos, here's one of josie during movement class. our dance teacher, the lovely iris nason, often brings these big stretchy fabric pieces and the children love moving around in them. so fun to watch.

the cutest pinecone ever

one of my favorite pictures of eva showing me her lovely little pinecone owlet.
makes me think of summer camp nature crafts from when i was a child.
happy summertime wishes.

school information for those looking.....

meadowlark preschool, located on the first floor of my home, provides an environment for children to create, learn, communicate, and celebrate their unique talents!
i emphasize the creative arts- drawing, painting, sculpture, dance, song, and dramatic play. I believe that children explore their environment and express themselves best through the arts: a language that is natural and accessible to them.
i have an enrollment of 6 children- allowing for lots of individual attention as well as allowing for socialization skills to develop.
the hours are 9:00 am to 1:00 pm mondays-fridays with aftercare available on tuesdays/thursdays until 3:30.
2010-2011 tuition is as follows:
5 days= $590/ month
4 days= $485/ mo.
3 days= $395/ mo.
2 days= $300/ mo.
1 day= $ 160/ mo.
please call to set up a visit or to ask any questions!
thanks,
alison

soft and sweet

this picture warms my heart! sweet hazel loving our pet chicken, louise.
pure, simple, love!

end of the school year

it's my least favorite time of the year. so many of my students are leaving- heading off to kindergarden. it never gets easier saying goodbye. i love these children. some of them have been with me for 3 years. some i have known since they were babies and their older siblings attended meadowlark. i want to freeze time. or at least slow it down a bit. who doesn't?
ugh.
they came to my school so young. still so little and with baby fat. they have grown taller and leaner. their vocabularies have exploded. they have gone from scribbling to drawing people and animals and writing letters. they have become so close to their school friends. shown compassion. shared silliness and contagious laughter. and occasionally fought. but they have been like a family. and now they move on.
they'll be fine. better than fine and so will i. i know that, but it takes a little time getting used to the change.