Well, there you have it! Art Show, 2026! It’s the culminating display of the growth of our three classes, in movement, artistic expression and the broad stretch of all that we have done this year. We hope you enjoyed the performances, the displays and the works that you were able to take home. We hope you find a place of honor to display your child’s art. We are aware of Children’s Garden students’ artwork displayed in downtown Seattle Law Firms, at Swedish Issaquah Campus, several parents’ personal offices throughout King and Pierce County, and in homes around the country! Alum students who are no parents of Gardeners themselves, tell us that their Garden art is still framed and displayed in their childhood homes. 

There is a certain ‘free spirit’ in preschoolers’ art. They think they are artists, they have freedom in their movement and do not judge or criticize their work. We teach them to frame their works, because each work so deserves a frame. 

The dances are such a huge show of growth. From Ladybugs learning how to follow steps that have them let go of hands, to Crickets sharing partners, using their dramatic skills to act out being elves or dinosaurs, and Bees learning intricate dance steps and series of motions. We are so proud of each and every one of them for being so brave to show us what they have learned and for being exactly where they are.

In the classroom, we are seeing such wonderful growth in our students. The Ladybugs have settled into the daily routine of school and will sit engaged in a project, imaginative play, and at circle time for a longer story. The Crickets are playing in larger groups, independently of the teachers, and able to use their words to advocate for themselves. The Crickets are also singing the full alphabet song, able to sing, not only the alphabet names, but a word that starts with that letter as well. The Honeybees are preparing to launch from The Garden, and we want to thank Garden alumni students who are currently in Kindergarten, who have joined us at circle time this past week to answer questions about Kindergarten from our Bees. Thank you Claire, who came in on Monday afternoon, and Bella, who came in on Wednesday afternoon. They answered questions like, “Do you still do art?”, or “Do you have a tire swing?”, to, “Do you get to go outside?” and “How many kids are in your class?” These question and answer sessions help to calm the nerves and smooth the transition from one class to another. We are so grateful for our Garden Community that continues to work together to support our program.

Ladybugs

What a fun week we had with our Bugs these past few days! We celebrated Anya’s July birthday on Tuesday, and Easton’s third trip around the sun on Thursday. We made some beautiful handprint flower gardens, complete with ladybugs and honeybees. Emily, our Honeybee teacher and Camp Tree Circle Director, was in the class with us on Thursday, as Cari was on a plane to Arizona for her son’s University graduation. Cari has an exciting graduation season this year, as her youngest graduates from Issaquah High School next month. You can see Cate’s beautiful graduation announcement in the courtyard along with other Garden alums. 

Our Ladybugs sure shone on Wednesday night at The Art Show! Every Bug that was there got up and danced with the group! Yay Bugs!

We said “Have a great summer” to our friend, Sean, who is off to China for the summer and will be back at The Garden as a Cricket in the fall.

Wishing you all a great weekend! Just 7 Ladybug sessions remain! 

Crickets

What a sweet way to kick off this past week, by celebrating our friend, Theo’s birthday circle! We also had Caleb’s mum, Jen, with us in class on Monday as she interviewed the students for the Cricket yearbook. 

We had a great time Wednesday night at the Art Show, displaying all of the Crickets’ amazing art pieces and then watching them dance the night away! “Brother, come and Dance with Me”, and “We are the Dinosaurs”. We especially enjoyed when they all stop to take a rest, and then get up and roar! That’s kind of like every Cricket class day, except without the ‘rest’ part! :0)

These Crickets are definitely morphing into Honeybees, as we notice that they play more independently on the playground. They are not so centered or focused on the teachers, but making their own games. These typically are good guy/bad guy based, and poor Cara usually ends up in ‘jail’, but they sure are having fun as a group. 

A few of our Crickets have been having a little bit of separation anxiety at drop off and this is completely normal. The kids always go through phases and stages of development and they are sometimes more cyclical than ‘once and done’. We’ve noticed that several of the students experiencing the separation anxiety have younger siblings all around the same age – no longer sleeping infants, but baby siblings who also want more attention from their parents.

A few of our Crickets have been working through lots of frustrations at school. These kiddos have spent months brushing up on their friendship skills, inviting themselves to play, joining in with others in their play, and are now comfortable with that skill. Now, they are wanting to control the play more. ‘ I’ve got you as a friend, so now, I’d like to do things MY way!’ This too, is a learning step in the wonderful preschool years of exploring social and emotional skills. Lots of play dates, lots of understanding, and lots of guiding and helping them use their words and taking turns. 

Freya was with us this morning, as Cara had a family gathering scheduled out of town. We always have a wonderful time when we watch Freya set up such wonderful imaginary play scenarios for the Crickets. 

We hope you all have a great weekend! Just 10 more Cricket classes remain! 

Honeybees

Whoo boy! These Bees are the Bees’ Knees! Wasn’t their Art Show performance so fun?! And the parent Maypole dance was such a great way to top off the evening! We sure enjoyed it all! 

Our week kicked off with such sunshine and warmth that we opened up the gate to the creek and boy! Do these kiddos love to play in the water! We know we desperately need the rain for our green environment, but we sure do hope we get lots more sunshine so that these kids can have a ball!

With the Art Show behind us, our attention now turns to our end of year celebration, the Honeybee Graduation Ceremony! We have a few projects that we do in class, some video making, and, of course, treasuring our remaining time with these 18 kiddos. Graduation Ceremony is Friday, June 12th at 10:30 AM. There is no school on Monday, May 25th for Memorial Day, and no school on Thursday, June 11 for Graduation Preparation. Believe it or not, that means 14 Honeybee classes left.

Have a great weekend, everyone!