Valentine’s Day activities, Olympic games, a Lunar New Year celebration, and Black History projects were among the activities keeping Stepping Stones students learning, engaging, and having fun during the month of February.

In the Stepping Stones preschool class, the students made special crafts for Valentine’s Day, including “Love You to Pieces” puzzle wreaths. For Black History Month, the class honored Sam Gilliam, recreating his style of art by spray-bottle painting on canvas squares and then squishing them into balls to create texture. February is also Children’s Dental Hygiene Awareness Month, so the children painted the bottom of a seltzer bottle to create a toothbrush/toothpaste holder in the shape of a tooth, and practiced their tooth-brushing skills on a large model of teeth.

In the transitional kindergarten class, the students marked their 100th day of school by adding 100 heart stickers to a heart poster. They also celebrated the Lunar New Year with a special lo mein lunch and snacks of almond cookies and oranges. They enjoyed lion dances, parades, lanterns, and exchanging red envelopes, and incorporated the 12 Chinese zodiac animals into their weekly yoga class. In honor of the winter Olympics, the children participated in a torch relay and completed an Olympics-themed obstacle course. They wore clothing of different countries and cheered on their classmates, with each child receiving a medal. And for Valentine’s Day, students had a special pizza lunch, exchanged cards, enjoyed a plastic-heart-ring activity, and observed a candy science experiment.

The primary class students took part in a variety of Valentine’s Day activities. The children created beautiful heart-themed (and sparkly) Valentine’s wreaths, completed a craft with hearts, popsicle sticks, and puzzle pieces, sorted candy hearts by color and graphed their totals, and enjoyed some delicious Valentine’s Day treats. The Arc of Essex County’s Stepping Stones School is a Department of Education approved private school for students with disabilities serving children ages 3-10.  Located in Roseland, NJ, the school is designed to meet the developmental and educational needs of children with cognitive impairments such as Down syndrome and other students with similar educational and developmental needs.  For more information, or to request a virtual tour and assistance with an out-of-district placement, contact Sue Brand, Director of Early Childhood and Education at (862) 210-8781 or sbrand@arcessex.org.