❄️ Kicking Off the New Year with Winter Fun at the Academy of Gateway ❄️

We’re kicking off the new year the Gateway way with creativity, movement, and hands-on learning! The start of January has been full of winter-themed fun as our students explored new activities designed to support development across multiple learning domains.

Our classrooms cooled down with a snowman sensory bin, where children strengthened sensory processing, fine motor skills, and imaginative play while exploring textures and materials. To ring in the new year, students created a New Year’s craft, supporting creativity, self-expression, and early literacy through conversation and design.

January also introduced our Fitness Fanatics Fridays! Every Friday, students get moving with activities that build gross motor development, coordination, balance, and healthy habits. Strong bodies support strong minds!

Art and creativity stayed in full swing as children designed their own winter hats, encouraging fine motor control, color recognition, and decision-making skills. 

We continued the fun with a cozy hot cocoa sensory bin, promoting sensory exploration, social-emotional development, and pretend play as children played and learned together.

What a snow-tastic and energetic way to kick off the new year at the Academy of Gateway! We can’t wait to keep the learning, movement, and fun going all winter long. ❅

🎄 Festive Fun at the Academy of Gateway 🎄

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The past two weeks at the Academy of Gateway have been filled with joy, laughter, learning, and so much holiday cheer! Our classrooms transformed into winter wonderlands as students participated in a variety of festive activities that created lasting memories for our children, families, and staff.

We kicked off the season with Reindeer in a Cup, a fun grab-n-go activity that blended creativity with fine motor skills. Smiles were everywhere when we had a very special visit from the Grinch, who brought excitement, laughter, and just a little mischief to our day!

Our students proudly showed off their holiday spirit by wearing reindeer ears and participating in hands-on crafts, including a meaningful paper plate menorah craft as we learned about traditions celebrated by different families in our community. To keep things extra fun, we hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, and our classrooms were full of color, personality, and holiday flair.

Writing and literacy were at the heart of our celebrations as children wrote letters to Santa, sharing their wishes and practicing early writing skills. Santa himself even joined us to read a Christmas story, while everyone wore their favorite Santa hats—a truly magical moment!

Our Pre-K students shined bright during their Christmas concert, proudly performing for their families and showing just how much they’ve learned and grown. We also enjoyed a cozy PJ and Christmas Movie Day, complete with comfy pajamas and festive films.

To wrap up this incredible season, Santa delivered personalized letters back to our students, bringing smiles, excitement, and a sense of wonder that made the holidays extra special.

What a festive, fun, and memory-filled time it has been at the Academy of Gateway! We are so grateful to our families for sharing this season with us and allowing us to create such meaningful moments for your children. 

 

Kicking Off Christmas at The Academy of Gateway!

 We've officially started the Christmas season, and our school has been buzzing with excitement and holiday cheer! To start things off, the children Christmas light suncatchers, exploring colors and shapes while creating beautiful decorations to brighten up our windows. We also had a feed the Reindeer activity where the kiddos took turns giving the "reindeer" carrots. We kept the celebrating going with Wear your favorite Christmas Socks Day, the kids loved showing off their favorite socks and were so excited. The kids also got active during our Snowball Toss, the giggles were definitely heard as we tossed the snowballs around the classroom. Another highlight was our Candy Cane fishing activity, which blended fun and fine motor practice as the children hooked candy canes in a playful holiday challenge. To wrap up the week, families were treated to a cozy hot chocolate bar at pick up, complete with marshmallows and sweet toppings-the perfect warm up for a chilly night! We're so excited for all of the Christmas adventures still ahead and can't wait to make more magical memories with our school family!