Bright Beginnings Preschool

So many emotions are flooding through me as I write this, and I know my words will be inadequate to express what is in my heart! Due to life changes and new business opportunities, Bright Beginnings Preschool will no longer be in operation. This is something that I have known for a while, and I didn't want any more time to go by without properly and officially closing this chapter of my teaching career. Since opening the preschool in 2016, I have experienced the most magical, rewarding, challenging, life changing moments as a teacher and as a human. I have been blessed with meeting and loving the world's most incredible children and their families over the past 5 years. I want to give the most giant THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to the students who have been in my classroom. Thank you for the Circle Times where we learned and explored together. Thank you for the endless dance parties where we laughed and showed off our silliest dance moves. Thank you for your looks of excitement and wonder as we discovered something new each day. Thank you for reminding me how to be patient, understanding, sympathetic, a good listener, in the moment, and to see the world through your eyes. Thank you for showing me how to love, forgive, move on, accept everyone no matter what, and be a friend to all. Thank you for loving me in the big and small ways, the countless hugs, the never ending 'I love you Ms. Ashley's, and the hand drawn cards and letters. Thank you for letting me be your teacher, whether it was for 3 years or 3 months. I remember every child who has been in my school, and I know that they will all continue to be amazing human beings throughout life. Thank you to the parents and families who chose to send their kiddos to me. ESPECIALLY the first year!! Looking back now, I was in pure survival mode and had not a clue what I was doing, so I am even more thankful to those families who gave me a chance. Thank you to all those in the community who let us use your facilities, hosted amazing field trips, and supported Bright Beginnings in numerous ways. Thank you to everyone who watched all of the virtual videos during 2020. That was such a fun experience for me, and I had a blast every day making them. Thank you for loving Barbara!! Thank you to all of our friends and family who helped us physically get the school up and running the first year. SO much time and energy was put in to leveling and readying the yard, pouring concrete, building the deck, painting, putting in the bathroom and having a second door put in (plus 1,000 other things I'm forgetting). Most importantly, thank you to the world's best husband and partner who actually made the entire thing possible in the first place! Bright Beginnings would 100% not exist without Brandan and his ability to make my dream a reality. He is the backbone to the entire operation and I am in awe daily of everything he accomplished to get the school where it is. I am sharing a bajillion pictures to commemorate some of the highlights from the past 5 years, including the house/yard/classroom/construction process. (I am missing a ton of photos, especially from the first year and I know I don't have every single student represented.) Again, THANK YOU to everyone who made Bright Beginnings a possibility. Owning and teaching this school has hands down been the highlight of my teaching journey. 💗
If you need me, I'll be looking at all of these pictures and drowning my sorrows in wine and chocolate.

We just had the BEST time at the new Children's Discovery Center at the downtown library! The kiddos were able to play in a grocery store, doctor's office, vet clinic, ice cream truck, firetruck, dress up and perform on a stage, build with tons of blocks and stem activities, race balls on a magnetic wall track and so much more! I am beyond amazed at how much work and dedication the staff put in to creating this awesome resource for our community! Can't wait to go back with my older students next week. Definitely go if you get the chance! My students were in heaven for two hours. 😊🥰

Registration for the 2021-22 school year is now open! Please contact Ms. Ashley for more information and to schedule a tour of the preschool. :)

If you need a sensory experience to help combat the winter weather, I have the MOST amazing two-step recipe for you! Baking soda and shaving cream. That's it! I've been doing sensory table fillers every month for the past four years, and this has got to be one of the best ones yet! My students were in HEAVEN during class today. Some of them spent over 45 minutes playing with this fake snow, and it took me less than 5 to put it together! I dumped baking soda into a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer overnight to make it cold, which added to the fun! Plus, it cleaned right out of my carpet which is a huge bonus for me. Add whatever animals, cars, people, random objects (I used bamboo and bears because that's what I had on hand at the moment) and I promise your kiddos will be living their best sensory play lives!

Bright Beginnings Preschool has one opening in the MWF Afternoon Class! Please contact Ms. Ashley for more information. 🥰

Christmas Sensory Bins are complete and ready for local pick up starting tomorrow! Everything pictured is included and they are $35. There are only a couple left! 😊🎅☃️🎄

Getting ready to put together Christmas themed sensory bins! Let me know below or in a private message if you would like to pre order one for the holidays. They'll be $35 for local families. 🥰💗⛄️🎄

Thanksgiving week is so fun with preschoolers! We've done turkey color sorting, the cuuuuutest thankful drawings with sharpies and watercolors and our annual Feast of Favorites! I'm excited for another Thanksgiving themed day with my younger students! 🥰🦃

To go along with our Nutrition theme this month, we did a Taste Tray for snack! The students sampled cucumber, bell pepper, lime, mint and green apple. We added some of the food to their water cups to make it 'fancy'! Thanks for the wonderful idea, it was a huge hit!

Christmas is coming! This list of toys from Busy Toddler is AH 👏🏼 MAZ 👏🏼 ING! She breaks her list down by age range, which is sooo helpful. I have many of these items in my preschool classroom and would start here if I had kiddos of my own! Happy shopping! 🎄🥰

The Ultimate Toy List 100+ open-ended toys to grow with our kids. Let's give them the best tools for play.