As I write this article, we are less than 24 hours away from spring, and yet the forecast is predicting a few inches of snow overnight. In fairness, we are beginning to see signs of warmth, with temperatures actually reaching the 40s, and the melting snow and muddy trails around the campus and on our playground are sure signs that spring in on the way.

Inside, we are busy little bees preparing our classrooms with bright colors, planting seeds and warming our incubator with hopes of once again welcoming a few new chicks to our spring classrooms. We are marching through the melting snow and enjoying the muddy patches along the way.

April will be in full swing when we host our Nursery Rhyme Family night on the 16th. Children will be tip-toeing through each classroom, finding adventures along the way. We will be decorating eggs and dropping them over the wall with the help of Humpty Dumpty. We will be tasting haystack cookies with Little Boy Blue, jumping over the candlesticks and lacing our way with the Old Woman Who Lives In A Shoe. Little Miss Muffet will be sitting on her tuffet (eating her curds and whey), and of course, there will be a spider or two along the way. The Three Little Bears will leave some porridge for us to sample, and I expect you will see a Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Children will be searching along the paths for mittens, you know those silly kittens, they lost their mittens. But have no fear, we will find them here!

We will be hopping our way through Easter and hosting our annual Hopping-Thon. It’s a great time to remember the importance of getting our bodies moving. Children will be growing whiskers and bunny ears and enjoying a snack of delicious carrots. With the longer days we will be enjoying more outdoor time with spring scavenger hunts and visits down the many trails as we search for signs of spring.

Our youngest Bouncy Bears are changing and growing more and more each day. Our “babies” are crawling and standing, and many are even taking their first steps. It’s hard to believe many of our little ones have turned or will be turning one year old in the days ahead.

Our Marvelous Monkeys continue to enjoy the indoor sandbox and have loved the warmer days outdoors. Our ever-moving bodies have enjoyed many new songs and dancing, and moving with the help of our bubble machine has been pure joy!

Tigers and Pandas continue their weekly trips to the library for weekly story time. The melting snow means more puddles to jump in and over and run around. The adventure across the street is almost exciting as story time itself. Pandas are also enjoying their new weekly Book Bag Buddies, and we love hearing about their adventures on Friday.

As we said good-bye to March, we are sad that once again this year we were outsmarted by that little leprechaun. Despite our fabulous traps (complete with shiny and sparkly items), we did not catch that mischievous little man.

He really made quite the mess in our classrooms, leaving green footsteps everywhere, tinting our toilets green, and stringing yarn, tossing toys, and creating quite a mess in our classrooms. Fortunately, he was kind enough to leave a treat of shiny and yummy gold coins. Here’s hoping next year we can catch that little ball of trouble!

Finally, with the end of March come visions of summer camp and fall enrollment. Should you have any questions regarding any of our programs, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 735-5900. Come visit our classrooms, meet the staff, and learn more about how your little one can become part of our adventures here at Imagination Inn.

On behalf of us all here at Imagination Inn, good-bye winter and Happy Spring!