Category: Staff News

🍁 October at The Little Red Barn 🍁

Fall into the strongest version of yourself

F-find your strength

A-accept your journey

l–let go of fear

l–lead with courage

>> To help keep our the school clean, organized, and free of small critters, all food, drinks, packages, and containers must be labeled with first and last names. This includes not only your food, but the kids too. All kids snacks should be placed in a labeled zip lock bag. These have been placed in your classrooms for convivence, along with extra baggies. All food in the teacher resource room has been placed in the pantry cabinet, in baggies (we may have some friendly critters).

Please make it a habit to label! This will help us keep our shared space tidy and prevent mystery items from piling up. This is especially important when someone other then you is in the classroom. 😄 Thank you! 💛

🧹 Every Friday, please send home water bottles to be cleaned by the parents.

>> 🤧 Cold & Flu Season — Stay Ahead of the Germs and viruses that come with the season

For your protection, please wear a mask when you are cleaning up diarrhea or vomit. These illness’s are often air born illnesses, and wearing a mask helps prevent you from catching the virus, from cleaning it up. Smocks should be changed daily, especially when viruses such as diarrhea and vomit are present in the classroom. It’s like wearing the same clothes to work for two days in a row:)

Fall means more sniffles! Just a reminder to reinforce frequent hand washing, sanitizing high-touch surfaces and toys, proper diapering procedures, and staying on top of classroom cleaning throughout the day. This will ensure that staff and kiddos remain healthy!

>> 🧼 Hand washing
Make sure parents are washing their childs hands at drop off! Teachers should be actively helping children build handwashing into their everyday routines.

>> 💬 Parent Communication Matters!

Please take a moment at pick-up to share something meaningful about each child’s day—not just meals, diapers, and naps. A new word, funny moment, activity they loved, or milestone gives families a connection to their child’s day.

Daily reminders:

• Please complete and check off all daily and weekly cleaning checklists to ensure nothing is overlooked.
• We need to be using the Wash | Rinse | Sanitize process for EVERYTHING touched by kids. Make sure to sanitize tables, chairs, high chairs, and frequently touched surfaces after EVERY use.
• Don’t forget to clean under shelves, cribs, tables, and other hard-to-reach areas as part of your weekly deep cleaning.
• All staff need to have closed-toed shoes to wear inside classrooms. This ensures your saftey, and is a licensing rule. 💕
• 👟 Shoes On Outside!
  • Please make sure you are wearing shoes anytime you are outside on the playground. Staff should not be going outside in socks and then returning to the classroom in those same socks. Please take the extra moment to put your outside shoes on before heading outside—even for a quick trip!
  • Children should also be wearing shoes outside if they are mobile.

>> 📸 Quality Over Quantity in Playground
Photos should show children actively learning, playing, creating, and engaging. Curriculum photos should help families see the purpose behind what we’re doing—not simply document that an activity happened. Make sure photos aren’t blurry!

>> 👀 Intentional Play

Too much downtime in the classrooms? Focus on intentional play and engagement. All young children learn best through play, interaction, and connection with their teachers! Adding variety in the classroom does wonders! This can be done by taking certain toys out during these down times, to quickly engage the children. These should be toys and activities that they don’t have access to during the day. These are special toys; these have been placed in classrooms for easy access and endless fun and leaning in the classroom.

Sing, narrate what they’re doing, read books, introduce new materials, or create a simple activity. Not every moment needs to be structured. Often the cheapest toys (boxes, cards etc.) are often the most engaging and low maintenance toys. We have stored boxes in the staff room, just ask for them.

Always remember the kite, as the kite goes up, it becomes small, so we have to cultivate these things. Keep innocence with us. There is a baby within us. That baby wants to laugh with people, that baby wants to play with people, and that baby wants to love everyone- (2025, Success has a Pattern, Lakshmi Sagar G.)

>> ⏰ Making the Most of Downtime

When the kiddos are sleeping or there is appropriate downtime in your classroom, please use that time intentionally and productively. There is always something we can be working toward to help our classrooms run smoothly whether it’s preparing upcoming lesson plans, completing trainings, organize classroom materials, restock supplies, or tackle cleaning and deep-cleaning tasks, or do trainings!✨

>> 🍎 Daily Classroom Expectations

• 📱Playground Photos and Captions: Aim for 2-3 photos per child daily! One of these pictures needs to be curriculum! Add a short learning caption (doesn’t need to be long, just meaningful!)
• 📚 Don’t fall behind on Portfolios: Remember to start completing anecdotal observations and developmental checklists for Conferences!
• 🎨ART: Make sure you are doing an art project once a day! You should be saving art for portfolios and hanging some in your classrooms – this looks great for incoming parents! Product art is ok, process art is HIGHLY encouraged!!!

>> Outdoor Play🌻 : Please prioritize taking kiddos outside!

• Make sure infants are dressed appropriately for weather!
• Piglets | REQUIRED that you go outside AT LEAST once a day, weather permitting
• Cuddly Calves | REQUIRED that you go outside 2-3 times a week | daily if possible – weather permitting

🍁 September at The Little Red Barn 🍁

“Just as every leaf has its season to change, every child has their own season to grow. Our job is to give them the patience, encouragement, and love they need along the way.” 💛

>> 🥪NEW RULE: Staff Fridge and Pantry

To help keep our staff kitchen clean, organized, and free of forgotten food, all personal food, drinks, packages, and containers left in the staff fridge or pantry must be labeled with your first and last name.

🧹 Every Friday, Admin will clean out the fridge and pantry. Any items that are unlabeled may be thrown away during the weekly clean-out.

Please make it a habit to label it before you leave it! This will help us keep our shared space tidy and prevent mystery leftovers from piling up. 😄 Thank you! 💛

>> 🤧 Cold & Flu Season — Stay Ahead of the Germs

Fall means more sniffles! Just a reminder to reinforce frequent hand washing, sanitizing high-touch surfaces and toys, proper diapering procedures, and staying on top of classroom cleaning throughout the day. This will ensure that staff and kiddos remain healthy!

>> 🧼 Hand washing
Make sure parents are washing their childs hands at drop off! Teachers should be actively helping children build handwashing into their everyday routines.

>> 💬 Parent Communication Matters!

Please take a moment at pick-up to share something meaningful about each child’s day—not just meals, diapers, and naps. A new word, funny moment, activity they loved, or milestone gives families a connection to their child’s day.

Daily reminders:

• Please complete and check off all daily and weekly cleaning checklists to ensure nothing is overlooked.
• We need to be using the Wash | Rinse | Sanitize process for EVERYTHING touched by kids. Make sure to sanitize tables, chairs, high chairs, and frequently touched surfaces after EVERY use.
• Don’t forget to clean under shelves, cribs, tables, and other hard-to-reach areas as part of your weekly deep cleaning.
• All staff need to have closed-toed slippers to wear inside classrooms by Friday, September 18th! Bring them to the front desk and get them approved by Admin. Thank you 💕
• 👟 Shoes On Outside!
  • Please make sure you are wearing shoes anytime you are outside on the playground. Staff should not be going outside in socks and then returning to the classroom in those same socks. Our playground surfaces can carry dirt, germs, and other debris back into our classrooms. Please take the extra moment to put your outside shoes on before heading outside—even for a quick trip!

>> 📸 Quality Over Quantity in Playground
Photos should show children actively learning, playing, creating, and engaging. Curriculum photos should help families see the purpose behind what we’re doing—not simply document that an activity happened. Make sure photos aren’t blurry!

>> 👀 Intentional Play

We’ve noticed a little too much downtime in the classrooms, so this month we want to refocus on intentional play and engagement. Our kiddos learn best through play, interaction, and connection with their teachers!

Get down on their level, join their play, narrate what they’re doing, sing songs, read books, introduce new materials, or create a simple activity. Not every moment needs to be structured, but teachers should be actively present and engaged throughout the day.

>> ⏰ Making the Most of Downtime

When the kiddos are sleeping or there is appropriate downtime in your classroom, please use that time intentionally and productively. There is always something we can be working toward to help our classrooms run smoothly whether it’s preparing upcoming lesson plans, completing trainings, organize classroom materials, restock supplies, or tackle cleaning and deep-cleaning tasks!✨

>> 🍎 Daily Classroom Expectations

• 📱Playground Photos and Captions: Aim for 2-3 photos per child daily! One of these pictures needs to be curriculum! Add a short learning caption (doesn’t need to be long, just meaningful!)
• 📚 Don’t fall behind on Portfolios: Remember to start completing anecdotal observations and developmental checklists for Conferences!
• 🎨ART: Make sure you are doing an art project once a day! You should be saving art for portfolios and hanging some in your classrooms – this looks great for incoming parents! Product art is ok, process art is HIGHLY encouraged!!!

>> Outdoor Play🌻 : Please prioritize taking kiddos outside!

• Make sure infants are dressed appropriately for weather!
• Piglets | REQUIRED that you go outside AT LEAST once a day, weather permitting
• Cuddly Calves | REQUIRED that you go outside 2-3 times a week | daily if possible – weather permitting

Parents Night Out Incentives Reminder!

Don’t forget—staff are always welcome to volunteer to work Parent’s Night Out for some extra cash! It’s a fun, relaxed way to spend time with the kiddos outside of the normal routine. All staff who participate will leave with $80 for the evening—a great way to earn a little extra while supporting our families! 😊

Here is a list of the incentives for staff who sign up to work multiple PNO’s!

• After 2 PNOs – Lunch on us!
• After 4 PNOs – $100 funny money for your classroom!
• After 7 PNOs – An extra PTO day for the year!

🐞August at The Little Red Barn 🐞

August is a month of fresh starts, classroom growth, and new relationships. While change can bring new challenges, it also gives us the chance to grow both personally and professionally. Thank you for the flexibility, teamwork, and dedication you through these transitions!✨

>> 📦Classroom Refresh

As a new school year approaches, now is the perfect time to refresh and reorganize your classroom in preparation for welcoming new little learners! During breaks throughout the day, take a few moments to:

• Organize shelves, bins, and learning materials.
• Rotate or replace toys to keep centers engaging.
• Check that classroom items and children’s belongings are labeled.
• Classroom revamp (Supplies, curriculum ideas, birthday boards, wall art)

A little bit each day goes a long way! Taking time now to refresh your classroom helps ensure a smooth transition and creates a welcoming space where every child can learn, explore, and thrive. 💛

>> 🐜 Mealtime Clean-Up Reminder

We’ve noticed an increase in ants around the building, so it’s especially important that we stay on top of mealtime clean-up.

After EVERY meal or snack, please make sure to:

• Wipe and sanitize tables, chairs, and high chairs.
• Sweep & Mop under tables and around eating areas.
• Clean up any food spills right away.
• Throw away food scraps promptly and ensure trash cans are closed.

A few extra minutes of clean-up after meals helps keep our classrooms clean, ant-free, and comfortable for everyone, especially the kiddos!

A few reminders:

• Please complete and check off all daily and weekly cleaning checklists to ensure nothing is overlooked.
• We need to be using the Wash | Rinse | Sanitize process for EVERYTHING touched by kids. Make sure to sanitize tables, chairs, high chairs, and frequently touched surfaces after EVERY use.
  • Disinfectant = Bodily fluids ONLY! | Sanitizer = Tables, Chairs, Cribs, Toy
• Please make sure we are wiping the diaper changing mats between each use!
• Don’t forget to clean under shelves, cribs, tables, and other hard-to-reach areas as part of your weekly deep cleaning.

>> 📵 Phone Usage
We have observed an increase in personal cell phone usage within the classrooms recently. Our focus should always remain on active supervision, engagement, and interaction with the kiddos throughout the day. Personal phones should only be used for Playground documentation or emergencies ONLY.

>> 🔌 Outlet Covers

Please take a moment to ensure that all lower-level electrical outlets have outlet covers securely in place. We’ve noticed a few have gone missing, especially after vacuuming during closing.

As you finish cleaning each day, do a quick walk-through of your classroom to make sure any outlet covers that may have been knocked loose are put back.

>> 🪑Classroom Furniture | Wear and Tear

We’ve noticed an increase in staff sitting on classroom furniture. Please refrain from sitting on the shelves and tables. This will help us keep our furniture in the best condition for longer!

>> 🍎 Daily Classroom Expectations

• 📱Playground Photos and Captions: Aim for 2-3 photos per child daily! One of these pictures needs to be curriculum! Add a short learning caption (doesn’t need to be long, just meaningful!)
• 📚 Don’t fall behind on Portfolios: Remember to start completing anecdotal observations and developmental checklists for Conferences!
• 🎨ART: Make sure you are doing an art project once a day! You should be saving art for portfolios and hanging some in your classrooms – this looks great for incoming parents! Product art is ok, process art is HIGHLY encouraged!!!

>> Outdoor Play🌻 : Please prioritize taking kiddos outside!

• Make sure infants are dressed appropriately for weather!
• Piglets | REQUIRED that you go outside AT LEAST once a day, weather permitting
• Cuddly Calves | REQUIRED that you go outside 2-3 times a week | daily if possible – weather permitting

Parents Night Out Incentives Reminder!

Don’t forget—staff are always welcome to volunteer to work Parent’s Night Out for some extra cash! It’s a fun, relaxed way to spend time with the kiddos outside of the normal routine. All staff who participate will leave with $80 for the evening—a great way to earn a little extra while supporting our families! 😊

Here is a list of the incentives for staff who sign up to work multiple PNO’s!

• After 2 PNOs – Lunch on us!
• After 4 PNOs – $100 funny money for your classroom!
• After 7 PNOs – An extra PTO day for the year!