Another bright and productive week has flown by, beginning with a Parents Meeting that reinforced a strong sense of community and friendship. Our children have much to gain from such good role models!  Our week continued on with our lessons on the human body and other trickier topics like building relationships.  As your little ones begin to use their new found independence to actively learn how to make good choices in their open learning environment, mistakes will be made and feelings will get hurt.  I’d like to take the opportunity to encourage you to listen to, rather than probe into your children’s points of views, with the understanding that there are always 2 sides to every story.  New relationships are built on trial and error and encouraging your little ones to voice their feelings respectfully to their friends is a good first step to being understood.  In addition, encouraging your children to discuss their situation with their teachers is another healthy practice that will give both teachers and students opportunities to listen to both sides.  Teachers will then be able to use the situation to guide the children toward developing effective communication skills, and in turn help them build strong relationships.  Our feature photo shows two 4 year olds engaged in a 20 min conversation where the practice of taking turns listening and talking to each other was deeply respected by both.