Parent & Family Resources

Amazing Berry Patch Families, 

What a fantastic school year we have had! The Berry Patch is truly a partnership between you, as primary caregivers for your children, and the team at ‘The Patch.’ The involvement and support of our parent community is a HUGE part of what makes this school so special. 

We want to thank you for…

*Showering our staff with love this last week. What a gift to be a teacher in a school where parents are so thoughtful!

*Contributing so generously to our CSO Projects this year- Washburn Center for Children (art supplies), Twin Cities Toy Drive (Christmas gifts), Hats & Mittens (outerwear), and Minneapolis Crisis Nursery (summer clothes.) Your children are experiencing family-life where being other-centered is a priority. What a gift you give not only the organizations we partner with, but also to your children.

Happy April Berry Patch Families, 

While we anxiously await spring’s arrival, we have a lot of fun happening at The Berry Patch! 

Children Serving Others (CSO)

Our final CSO project of the year will benefit the Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. The mission of the Nursery is to end child abuse and neglect and create strong, healthy families. “We help strengthen families by connecting them to resources, caring for their children during difficult times, and setting goals that promote stability and make the relationship between the parent and child stronger.”

Coming alongside families in our larger community is a natural extension of the ways we are learning to care for one another in our classroom communities. Join us in bringing in summer gear for boys and girls: SHORT SLEEVED T-SHIRTS, PANTS, SOCKS, UNDERWEAR, & WATER BOTTLES

School Pictures

Happy March Berry Patch Families!

We LOVE our theme this month: STORYTELLING. Books, Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, what it means to be an Author or Illustrator, making our own books, talking about all of the parts of books. We dive deep into literacy this month in creative ways your child will continue to foster their love of learning!

Spring and Summer Happenings at The Berry Patch
Be sure to sign up or mark your calendar for all the fun ahead… 

Happy February!

We are excited to celebrate LOVE this month, one of our core values. Valentines are already being made in ABUNDANCE in our classrooms. Children have so much fun ‘writing letters’ to each other and to you at home. Our berries will also be exploring and learning about cultures all over the world. Through activities like map work, family history lessons and sharing, trying new foods, and more your child’s vision for our big big world will be expanding. Thank you to all of the families who will be visiting or sharing items that teach about your family’s heritage- these are authentic, rich learning experiences!

Happy New Year Berry Patch Families! 

I hope that you have had a wonderful time with your family celebrating, playing, and (maybe?) having some time for rest and reflection. We are excited to see you all again tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday! A few important notes for January:

Winter Afternoon Enrichment
We are eager to begin our winter afternoon programming next Tuesday, January 10th! All families who registered have received confirmation of enrollment via Brightwheel. If you registered but do NOT have a Brightwheel message from Carrie, please reach out to her. Amazing Athletes (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) will be a blast and we have a great class of Afternoon Spanish berries at both locations (Tuesdays at BPE and Thursdays at BPW) along with PM Playmates on most afternoons. 

Welcome to December! It is so very December-y outside with the beautiful snow and sunshine. We are excited about all the fun that is planned for this month. There is innate joy in being in a school full of young children- this feels especially true during the magic of the Holidays!

Get Cozy with our Berry Patch Sweatshirts
Berry Patch Sweatshirts are available this month at both locations! This is a great Christmas present for your little berry. They will be available on a table near your school entrance. There is an order form on the table- you can take the sweatshirt you want with you, just jot down your child’s name and the size you took and you will see the charge on your January invoice. 

Happy November!
I LOVE this month where the focus of so much energy is on being Thankful! We are so grateful for each of our Berry Patch children and their families and our amazing staff. Lots of fun happenings this month at The Patch.

Dads/Special Guests & Donuts NEXT WEEK

• Berry Patch East: Monday OR Tuesday, 9:00-10:00 am
• Berry Patch West: Wednesday OR Thursday, 9:00-10:00 am
• Click HERE for reminder of which day your child’s class is scheduled

Happy Fall Berry Patch Families, 

We are excited to jump into this month FULL of so many ‘back to normal’ activities! 

Afternoon Enrichment Programs
Lunch Bunch has begun for our Huckleberries, PM Playmates and our Fall Partnership Class (STEM with Science Made Fun) are beginning this week for our registered Blueberries and Strawberries, and our Afternoon Spanish Class starts today with Ms. Zara at Berry Patch East and Thursday at Berry Patch West. Our afternoons will be full of fun for the rest of the school year! 

Monthly Morning Spanish
Ms. Zara begins her Monthly Morning Spanish Classes for all of our Huckleberries-Strawberries this month. Ms. Zara will be coming to both schools monthly for individual classroom Spanish learning time. What a gift to have a Spanish Teacher on our team. Click HERE for Ms. Zara’s October Newsletter 

See The Good!

We see always what we are looking for,
and if our mind has become trained to look for
trouble and difficulty and all dark and dreary things,
we find just what we seek. 
On the other hand,
it is quite as easy to form the habit of looking always
for beauty, for good, for happiness, for gladness
and here, too, we shall find precisely what we seek.                                                                       
-j.r. miller

Our theme as a school this year is a reminder to each one of us to ‘See the Good.’ As I presented this guiding principle to our staff during Work Week we talked about all the ways that we can be looking for the good throughout our days and that in focusing on all of the good moments that happen we can train our brains to start seeking out the good. We are so excited about this! 

Berry Patch Location Names
Colonial Church has officially changed its name to Meetinghouse Church, so we are also making a shift in how we refer to our school locations. We will begin making this transition this spring. We are one Berry Patch School with two campuses – our new location names will be:

• Berry Patch West (6200 Colonial Way, Meetinghouse Church-formerly Colonial Church)
• Berry Patch East (5300 France Ave. S., Calvary Christian Reformed Church)

May CSO (Children Serving Others) Project
We will be collecting items for “Summer Fun Bins” for our friends at Whittier Wildflowers Preschool this month. Look for a flier with a QR code for Amazon shopping link. Items can be brought to school at check-in through Friday, May 14 or shipped directly to Whittier Wildflowers (2608 Blaisdell Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408.)

End-of-Year Strawberry Events
We will celebrate our Strawberries launch from the Berry Patch with some special times together: