Sunflower South Going To The Fair!

An exciting guest post by Ms. Julia below! Please let her know if you have any questions, or post them in the comments below so we can get them answered ASAP. This should be a memorable and fun-tastic adventure for the kids. 

Hello, parents!

We have another very exciting Wednesday field trip planned! Next Wednesday- August 6^{th -} all of Sunflower South will be riding the Mountain Lion Bus to the Western Montana Fair at the Missoula fairgrounds! 

We will get on the bus at 5^th and Orange at 10:48 am and arrive at Stephens and Central at 10:52. It’s a short (0.1 mile) walk to the fairgrounds from there. We won’t be going to the midway (no carnival games or rides on this trip), but will be going to see all of the 4-H animals and other fun exhibits. Miss Jordan’s little sister, Eden has a pig and her little brother, Madiah has a sheep. The kids will have an extra special close encounter with them. 

We will go to the petting zoo, watch the Dock Dogs at noon, the WildWest Show at 12:30 and also have a picnic lunch there. We will get back on the bus at Stephens and Central at 1:28 and arrive back at 5^th and Orange at 1:33. 

There will be plenty of teachers as always but parent volunteers are greatly appreciated and especially welcomed for this super fun field trip!

-Ms. Julia

4TH ANNUAL SPLASH BASH

It's almost here! Sunflower's biggest annual party and only annual fundraiser is just a few weeks away. This year, Splash Bash will feature an endless taco bar catered by Chef Byron (who is looking forward to meeting all of the Sunflower parents), beer provided by Big Sky, a rubber duck race, a private, Sunflower-only swim session at Splash Montana and a Silent Auction featuring some great items donated by local businesses. 

In case you're wondering, the proceeds from this event will go to expand Sunflower's Specialist program. We'll be able to increase Coach Shane and Mr. Michael's hours to include new/more sessions with Seeds and Sprouts, and will also use funds raised to hire additional specialists for our older kids (Language and/or Science).

The dinner is at a pavilion at Playfair Park (just 200 yards to the left of Splash, if you're looking at it from the front) at 4:30p, then everyone can easily walk over to Splash to begin swimming at 6p. 

We hope everyone can make it to the entire event, because it's a great way to celebrate the end of a fun Sunflower summer, and a great way to usher in a new school year. You're also welcome to just attend the dinner, or just swim - whatever works best for your family. 

Everyone's invited - students and families old and new, as well as any relatives or friends you'd like to bring along - the more the merrier. 

An exciting new thing this year is the Splash Bash Store. The Sunflowermontessori.com website now features a devoted Splash Bash page where you can buy everything you need for the party, from taco bar tickets to swim wristbands to refillable beer cups to racing ducks. No shipping or handling charges, no tax, no hassle. Everything will be waiting for you, Will Call-style at the event (although you should still bring along your checkbook to bid on Silent Auction items). 

There are a few areas where we could use your help (pretty please) - 

1) Set-up volunteers at Playfair Park. We'll be setting up the taco bar and dining area starting at 3:30pm. We'd love some extra hands to help with all of those last minute details like icing down drinks, decorating the tables, doing Chef Byron's bidding, etc. 

2) Silent Auction Items. We've contacted several local businesses, asking them to donate items that our parents and families will like and be inclined to bid on. If you own or work for a business that could spare a donation for the auction, we'd really appreciate it. We'll happily promote your business on our blog and website.

Any questions about the event? Feel free to contact us. 

Hope to see you at the party!

-Brooke

The Field Trip To End All Field Trips

Yesterday, the kids from Sunflower South walked to Caras Park to enjoy "Out To Lunch."

They got to meet - and get autographs from - the Osprey baseball team:

Then, Miss Julia led the kids in the "Open and Shut" song, and everyone got to dive into their picnic lunch catered by Chef Byron: vegetarian Sloppy Joes with peas and watermelon.

I learned what it's like to order 31 ice cream cones from an ice cream truck, but it was totally worth it for these faces:

Lots of parents came to help out (thank you, you're amazing), and the kids were so well-behaved, that after lunch, the gang stayed at the park to dance to the live band and ride the Carousel!

  

We ended the day with our Wednesday art class back at the school, learning about color mixing by turning three primary colors of Play Doh into secondary colors.

The kids each got a bag of Play Doh to take home (I used this recipe - it was super easy, especially if you have a stand mixer).

Thanks to Miss Julia for being brave enough to take the kids on extra adventures, and thanks to the parent volunteers for making it possible. Oh, and thanks of course to the kids for being such good sports - you're the greatest!

For more pictures of the all the kids' summer adventures (this includes you, too, Seeds!) be sure to check out the new Sunflower Instagram account: "sunflowermontessori."

-Brooke