"It Makes You Feel Good" by Renee and Jeremy

Thank you, Miss Ashley

May Team Member of the Month: Miss Ashley

Ashley, an Ann Arbor native, traveled to Chicago a few years ago to pursue a degree in art history and fine arts from DePaul University. She found a home at Bubbles Academy, and her steadfast work ethic and creative vision led her to progress from Event Assistant to Event Coordinator to Events Manger. Ashley directs the organization and execution of birthday parties and special events at Bubbles Academy. Her many years of experience as a nanny has provided her with the expertise to manage challenges and spark children’s interests. Ashley’s Goddaughter Eva, one of the children she previously was a nanny for, plays audience to Ashley’s secret talent — animal voices!

Ashley can often be found in the Bubbles Academy kitchen preparing “experiments” for a spy party or preparing the fish mask materials for the Under the Sea party! Her delight in details has lifted our annual Bubbleween and Bubble Egg Hunt events to a magical level of entertainment. Most importantly, Ashley has developed a supportive team dynamic with our event staff, and she strives to exceed the expectations of our families with each and every event.

Before and after the Academy, Ashley enjoys running (a participant in the 2011 Chicago Marathon), reading and exploring new restaurants with her fiancé Matt (a helpful and voluntary Bubbles Academy decorator).

"I Was Made for Sunny Days" by The Weepies

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

In honor of Maurice Sendak, this week Miss Becca will read Where the Wild Things Are in Open Play Story Time!

I have been reading many articles about this great man and heavy influence on my teaching philosophy.  His honest, wild style is, and will be, missed.  Among my reading, I found this great article with quotations from Mr. Sendak.  Here's my favorite:

“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, 'Dear Jim: I loved your card.' Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, 'Jim loved your card so much he ate it.' That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Bring your wild thing to Open Play this Thursday to hear Miss Becca read Where the Wild Things Are at 3:30 PM.  "Let the Wild Rumpus Start!"

"Hard To Be Cool (In A Minivan)" by Oak Ridge Boys

"Bark, George" by Jules Feiffer

Here's another classic for our book of the week!  It's one of my favorites, Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. This simply illustrated story follows a frustrated mother dog and her puppy, George.  The problem: George won't bark.  Every time his mother asks him to bark, he makes the sound of another animal.  After having enough of George's moos, quacks, meows, and oinks, George's mother takes him to vet.  You and your little one will get a kick out of seeing just how frazzled George's mom becomes.  As the vet examines George, he discovers that the noises are coming from animals in George's belly.  The simple illustrations are hilarious as the vets pulls out a cow, duck, cat, and pig!  It's a great chance to quiz your little one on animal sounds and a better chance for a few laughs!  Finally, after reaching in and pulling out a cow, George lets out a rewarding "Arf!"  It's a fun read with a surprise ending adults and kids are sure to love.  I won't ruin the end, so you'll have to come out to Open Play this Thursday at 3:30 to see what happens!

See you at Open Play this Thursday at 3:30 at Bubbles Academy for Miss Becca's Story Time!  See you there!!  Arf Arf!