Summer at Mountain Pathways!

Summer is in full swing here at Mountain Pathways! We have had an awesome first few weeks with our summer program. The smell of sunscreen and the sounds of laughter have filled the Children's House as we finally take on some consistently warmer weather (Boone weather can have us on our toes!) 

Pre-Primary 

Mornings in the toddler class are filled with music, puzzles, building blocks, and lots of story time! The toddler class loves to explore in the "Green Room" during summer mornings. After they finish a mid-morning snack, the class heads out to the playground. Outdoor time consists of: bubbles, sand tools, relay races, climbing, sliding, nature walks, and the occasional exploration to the forest around "Pebble Beach." Every other Thursday, toddler students visit Farm Camp at The Norwood House with Miss Kristy and Emily. The Farm Camp students take turns reading books to toddler friends. Under the large shaded tree, students sit on comfy blankets/pillows and taste fresh produce from the Farm Camp garden. Miss Ashley also brings her guitar to sing/play for her Toddler students! When it's time for lunch, the toddlers head back inside for an indoor picnic! The toddler class ends the day with nap time and after school activities. Toddler students were asked THEIR favorite summer activity at Mountain Pathways; here are a few responses:

"I like playing frisbee on our playground in summer." ~Jonah Henson

"My favorite part of summer is playing with Ainsley." ~Anne McClain

"I like dancing in the green room and playing with toys in there." ~Adalyn Masland

Primary Partners

"Mountain Pathways Summer Session holds a dear place in my heart. I am so happy to be back and to be joined this year by Elizabeth and Caitlyn. We are all lucky to be able to teach and learn in such a beautiful setting like Howard's Creek. We've had a great summer so far with lots of fun in the sun, enriching activities/lessons/crafts, and exploring the natural world around us. I can hardly wait for what we have in store the rest of the summer. Please be on the look out for lessons from Farm Camp, visitors like the Humane Society and much much more!" -
-Mr. Matt, lead Primary West teacher  

What's your favorite part of summer camp?

Saffron: "Coloring work and that we get to go outside a lot, and we have popsicle day, and there's lots of friends." 

Ayla- "Going swimming!"

Emma- "Going to the creek"

Maia-"Bouncing on the bouncy tree"

Lower Elementary 

"This group of children in the 6-9 class has brought so much creativity and enthusiasm to the summer program! While we are a small group, we have so much fun together. The mornings are spent in the classroom playing checkers, working with puzzles, math games, and enjoying arts and crafts. A popular activity that was introduced by the children has been building houses out of scrap paper! After lunch, we spend some time at Pebble Beach swinging on the rope swing and stacking rocks, and then spending time of the field with our younger friends to wrap up the day."


What's your favorite part of summer camp

Archer- "Going to Pebble Beach and building with rocks!"
Keller- "I like playing with my friends!"
Oliver W- "I like Pebble Beach and the rope swing!"
Helen- "My favorite part is LUNCHTIME!"
Dylan- "Playing on the rope swing!"

   

Farm Camp

Two sessions of Farm Camp have come and gone and both were huge successes.  We have had a great mix of boys and girls from MPS and other schools in the community.  Farm Campers enjoyed visiting Springhouse Farm and Fog Likely Farm where they were educated on how the farm worked and were able to participate in planting and harvesting.  We have visited Appalachian Brewery on Fridays where the Farm to Flame food truck provided pizza lunches for the campers.  We spend every afternoon at pebble beach with tons of rope swinging and splashing in the creek.  The kids have worked very hard in the garden planting, transplanting, harvesting, and selling all sort of yummy veggies.....turnips, radishes, arugula, sugar snap peas to name a few.  Wednesday mornings were spectacular when the toddlers came to visit for storytime in the garden led by Watauga County Library.  All in all, this has been our best weeks yet and there are still 3 more sessions to come.

Visiting Teachers

We have had the pleasure of enjoying visiting teachers who bring exciting themed lessons each week. Week one brought Ms. Remi with a variety of lessons and games about animals, their habitats, and their lifestyles. At one point, our playground sounded like the rain forest with all of the animal calls!

Week two, we had Ms. Katie who brought with her the taste of the seaside. The children created beachy crafts, proving that you can enjoy the seashore while at 3,000+ feet above sea level! 

Around the world in 80 days? More like 5 days here at MPS, as Ms. Carolyn has taken us on a journey around the globe exploring different styles of art and cultures!

Watauga Humane Society
On Friday, the WHS visited and taught us about their organization and what we can do to help animals and how to be safe around cats and dogs. A couple of kittens came to visit as well!

Stay tuned for more summer updates from MPS!!

Thanks to Ms. Kristen for putting together this special summer edition of The Pathway!