We first want to thank you for all the parents who attended our 4/5/6 Parent Night! It was amazing to see our room filled with families enjoying some our 4/5/6 favorites!

4/5/6 friends were so excited to share our homemade game, Pickle! We had the most epic game to date with our 4th grade creators and their parents! Our kiddos were beaming with pride sharing the space and it made the games they have been playing all year round, feel new and exciting! Thank you again and again for everyone in attendance- it was truly a major highlight this year!

Basketball has totally taken over the last month with mini tournaments, dribbling drills, games of Knockout, HORSE and Around the World! 4/5/6 plays as often as they can, racing to the basketball court while outside and itching for gym time to shoot some hoops! With Aaron and Irene both massive basketball fans themselves, it's been a blast jumping in on some of these games! We can't wait until its all sunshine and warmer weather all of the time and looking forward to longer stretches outside! 

4/5/6 came back from February Break recharged and ready to go!

In the last few weeks we picked up two more amazing board games and have been playing non stop! We introduced Yahtzee Frenzy! and Large Spoons! These have been a perfect addition to our cart as it allows more friends to join in on the fun all at once!

With some mixed weather we've also enjoyed playing some of our favorite gym games, Doctor Dodgeball and Jedi Dodgeball! It's been quite awhile since we've had everyone play one big game in the gym and it was pretty epic to see how our teams strategized and worked together! 

Although it's always an adjustment with Daylight Savings, we are so happy to have more fun in the sun! Our kiddos have welcomed the warmer weather and sunshine with open arms and we are happily ending our days out on the playground! Right now 4/5/6 is loving playing Nuke 'Em out on the tennis court and if there aren't friends on the tennis court, they're playing Knockout on the basketball court! We can't wait to officially welcome Spring!

We are also looking forward to seeing all of you during our Family Night event on Thursday, March 21st! An e-mail has gone out with all of the details and just a reminder that even if your child(ren) do not attend LEDP on Thursday's, we'd love to have you! Feel free to reach out with any questions... see you there! :-)

The past two weeks have also just flown by- and 4/5/6 continues to be busy, busy bees! 

The last couple weeks we celebrated the Lunar New Year by making koi fish out of the traditional Chinese red envelopes with second grade! These came out so cool, the mentors suggested offering more of 4/5/6 to try out the craft. This year is the year of the dragon and we made sure our koi fish fashioned the golden dragon printed on each red envelope!

A highlight last week was all of our fifth graders playing the homemade game created by some of our fourth grade girls, Eva, Emily, Daisy, Adelee and Celestine! They were absolutely beaming with pride hearing how much fun fifth grade was having playing their card game! Pickle has been such a big hit I think we're all itching for a another fourth grade original!

We've been able to stay out a little longer these days with a tad bit of warmer weather and longer evenings with sunshine! 

I think we are looking forward to a bit of a break with family and friends, but anticipate our kiddos jumping right back in when we return! 

We hope everyone has a wonderful February break and we will see you all in a week!

January has just been cruising along and we can hardly believe another month has just flown by! We have spent the last couple weeks enjoying both our first real snow fall and longer days of sunshine! It's always such a relief when the 4:00 sunsets are behind us! 

4/5/6 continues to do a wonderful job with Mentoring- creating heart sun catchers with Kindergarten followed by craft roll penguins with 1st grade! It's always amazing to enter into the other groups and seeing all the enthusiasm the little ones show when the mentors are introducing the activity!

Nerd Club also continues to be a smash hit with the latest meeting resulting in "leveling up!" This can only mean wilder adventure up ahead!

The last two weeks Irene and Natalie have been helping our 4/5/6ers create their very own stuffys! We take our own drawings (or shall we dare.. masterpieces), cut both a front and back carefully, then use clear packaging tape to create a durable surface. We then use stuffing for the inside and carefully close all sides with more packaging tape. We love the final products and love that it has been such a beloved project the last couple of weeks!

We have also started a new Friday tradition- we've coined DJ Fridays where everyone gets to pick a song, creating a playlist for the length of choice time! Needless to say, Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson are topping the charts per 4/5/6!

We are looking forward to what February has to bring and lets just say we are crossing our fingers for a little more snow! 

Happy, Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a relaxing holiday break with lots of fun and tons of family time!

4/5/6 jumped right back in from where we left off! Further revamping of the cart has been done- which had been prefect timing with mother nature promising colder days ahead. Along with Sushi Go and Taco vs. Burrito we've added Tapple, Life and Tetra Tower. Sushi Go and Taco vs. Burrito remain very popular- so much so we've added an expansion pack! The number one hit the last few weeks has definitely been Tapple. This is a game against the buzzer, with button like letters  surrounding the outside. Players choose a category card and take turns naming different things that fit that particular category. 

We also have this amazing Pickle game, completely created by our fourth grade friends Eva, Emily, Daisy. Adelee and Celestine! Below, find some photos of the gorgeous cards they created- this game has been played by all of 4/5/6 and sits on the cart proudly among all the other games.

We've also added a ton of book series including City Spies, Amulet, Warriors  and Wings of Fire!

It's been such a nice change of pace being able to focus more on group games! We have a some fun art projects on the horizon! Please be on the lookout for some final products!

Just a quick reminder that we do try and get outside everyday for at least twenty minutes. Please make sure your kiddos come to LEDP with the proper winter attire; thank you in advance!

Wow, we can believe December has just come and gone and we are coming to the close of 2023!

This month we worked on revamping our cart with new card games and fun art activities! We recently added Sushi Go and Taco vs. Burrito! Sushi Go is all about creating the best sushi dishes using a combination of cards that consists of three rounds of drafting different sushi favorites. You become the best restaurant in town by collecting the best combinations worth the most amount of points! Although often pretty competitive, I think our friends really enjoy how cute the illustrations are on each card! Similarly, Taco vs Burrito  is a wildly hilarious game where friends choose a taco or burrito to build the wackiest, weirdest meal they can possibly create with equally funny and cute illustrated cards! Both games have quickly become fan favorites!

This month we also made different holiday cards and ornaments. We used fine point permanent markers and watercolor for our holiday cards. I think our artists worked really hard trying to find the most unique play on words- my personal favorite being an adorable rock playing jingle bells! We used pipe cleaners to create snowflakes, wreaths and Christmas trees!

We hope everyone enjoys their Holiday break with lots of family time and relaxation! We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year and to see what 2024 has to offer!

Happy Holidays to all our LEDP FAMILIES!

We hope this year’s season fills you up with the things that mean most to you and energizes you for a happy and healthy new year!

Happy Thanksgiving from 4/5/6!

November flew by as we dreamt of yummy Thanksgiving meals all month long- but 4/5/6 didn't slow down one bit!

We continue our journey to master more origami creations with cute mittens, Christmas trees and various ornaments! This remains a fan favorite among many of our artists... ready to master every creation Natalie throws their way!

We also spent a couple days creating holiday cards showing thanks for what we have and whats to come! We have many friends ready for the snow and the holidays! 4/5/6's cards really came out quite beautiful- outlining intricate details with sharpies and filling the page with thoughtful, whimsical watercolor over the black lines. We see many more watercolor projects in our near future!

Our mentors also had a blast making scarecrows with 2nd grade- that including tracing, cutting and coloring to create their puppets! 3rd grade mentors also had an absolute blast playing Tic-Tac-Toe relay racing that even had the teachers joining in! 

Fourth and fifth graders have also been all about soccer; each day they are itching to get out on the field and continue their ongoing games they've been playing since September! It's really fun watching how much their skills have already transformed over the last few months. They also really enjoy a good old fashioned boys verse girl game... and let's just say the games are always a real nail-biter!

Just another reminder that with the time change and the shift in temperature we ask that our kiddos are sent with the appropriate attire- the temperature drops pretty drastically and we do our best to get at least 20 minutes out each day. In addition, please make sure teachers know of any different pick-up times, as our days currently end inside and teachers cannot wait more than a few minutes past the scheduled time.

We look forward to whats to come in the wintery months! Let it snow! :-)

October came and went, yet the month was jam packed with lots of fun activities!

By the end of October, mentors have now met with K, first and the second grade groups and Irene has been thrilled to see how the mentors have really stepped up to the plate to lead in each activity! Kindergarten started off with our favorite "Cat & Mouse," parachute game, 1st grade did a Halloween themed, "Would You Rather," activity followed by the classic toilet paper mummy wrap! Please take a moment to check out the Peer Mentoring  page on the site to see our wonderful mentors in action!

With mother nature deciding on warmth, rain or a brisk fall day, we've had the opportunity to continue more art projects along with more gym time! When homework and reading comes to an end, our 4/5/6ers have really enjoyed our Paint by Stickers books. Origami has also continued to be a huge hit this year, as we offer different instruction each day in the infamous art of folding paper. Thus far we have made, pumpkins, cat rings, cranes, dragons,  cute puppies and kittens, boxes and balloons! Our favorite project this month was the pipe cleaner friends we made! 4/5/6 made these adorable keychains of teddy bears and puppies made of pipe cleaners and decorated them with ribbon! Although small, it was all in the details and 4/5/6 just had a blast making them!

We look forward to giving thanks in the month of November and anticipate another amazing fun-filled month!

Please, note that with the time change we will not be ending our day outside which means teachers will only be at our pick up spot (by at the cafe door) at the designated time. If your time has changed moving forward please let us know either upon pick-up time or via e-mail and we can make a note on our attendance.

We're welcoming October with both Mentoring and Nerd Club underway! This year we have a total of twenty mentors signed up, with many volunteering for more than one group! It's amazing to see the energy and enthusiasm each mentor has already brought to the program and I foresee another phenomenal year ahead of us! 

The list for Nerd Club has also been finalized, with eight quest seekers ready to take on the adventure ahead! This is always such a wonderful opportunity for our mixed age group to really get to know each other- we thank Sam, from third grade, for his dedication as Dungeon Master and for keeping this 4/5/6 tradition going!

In the last few weeks we continue to take advantage of Mother Natures sunshine, but in the quieter moments and outside of club meetings 4/5/6 really enjoyed making their own Halloween themed stickers with Natalie! The process was quite simple, coloring in their favorite images or creating their own design. From there we cut out our designs and placed it on a large piece of parchment paper. We then cut a piece of clear packing tape that was longer than the sticker design is wide then placed the tape sticky side down on the parchment paper. Remember to place the cut out sticker design on top of the tape on the parchment paper, design side up and cover the sticker design with packing tape, sticky side down. When ready to use, peel of the parchment paper and stick away! October is off to a terrific start and we look forward to what lies ahead!

Wow September has flown right by and we are quickly saying goodbye to the summer warmth and welcoming Autumn's brisk hello's! We are continuing to enjoy what Mother Nature offers in long games of soccer, epic games of Four Square and long walks around the track! 

Although we're still navigating through smoother transitions, it's amazing to see how much progress we've seen as the largest group in LEDP embraces 4/5/6 routines and rules and expectations. It's been so much fun getting to know each other, especially in the quieter moments- exchanging weekend plans or favorite summer moments over fuse beads and Paint by Stickers. 

Last week we introduced two separate activities offered only to 4/5/6- Peer Mentoring and Nerd Club. Mentoring will be led by Irene with a group of 4/5/6ers that have volunteered to meet with a group or groups of their choice to help run an activity. This program has always been a massive success as it creates the perfect catalyst for creating lasting relationships and offers a real platform to exercise leadership skills. Nerd Club is led by Sam from 3rd grade. He introduces the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons and acts as Dungeon Master all year round, building characters and maneuvering through adventures. This club will meet every Friday from 2:00-4:30. Both Irene and Sam preface that these activities are year-long commitments and the success of both Mentoring and Nerd Club will hinder on 4/5/6's commitment to each. 

We are looking forward to getting both the Mentoring Program and Nerd Club up and running starting October! Be on the look out for updates via the Peer Mentoring section of the website! Stay tuned :-)

We're welcoming back so many friends to the 4/5/6 group and so very excited to have the fourth graders add such a new, fresh dynamic to it. The last couple weeks have revolved around getting to know new friends, introducing our new teacher, Natalie to LEDP, getting down our routines and putting our rules and expectations into action!

We beat the heat by jumping right into some 4/5/6 classics like Apples to Apples, Headbands, Scategories  and Dragonwood! We also hopped into the gym to play some Memory and Doctor Dodgeball -games that that have never failed to get a big group running around! 

Our favorite activity so far was led by Natalie, creating animal keychains with pony beads and gimp! We spent three days in a row making our own colorful creatures with lots of requests to make more!

4/5/6 focuses on accountability, time management and autonomy- only building off the foundation and building blocks they've created moving up through the program. Although a much larger group we've had in years, we are confident that our 4/5/6 friends will exceed all our expectations in these areas. We know a fantastic year lies ahead!

Just one last note to remind LEDP families that we no longer provide snack and to please send along one with your kiddos for their LEDP day. We'd also appreciate getting accurate pick-up times- with a larger group it's difficult to stray too far off the expected time as we need all three teachers to keep our day on track. Thank you in advance!