Celebrating Diversity Throughout the Year Two children are playing together in the dramatic play area and a third child comes over to join the fun. A teacher overhears one of the children say, “you can’t play with us because your skin is dirty.” It is not unusual for an exchange like this to occur...

Lessons Learned from My Parents While winter break was a very busy time at PIC this year, I did have some time to visit my family in Bethlehem (yes, I travel to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas!). I am fortunate to still have my 94-year-old mother and 96-year-old father living independently in their...

December 2014 I recently spoke with the parent of a PIC alumni who proudly shared with me her daughter’s recent successes. She credited PIC with giving her a wonderful start during her early childhood years. She fondly talked about traditions, projects, field trips, teachers, and friends. I was...

A Season of Simplicity Prior to joining the PIC community I spent nine years working in a Quaker school in Montgomery County. I had never been in a Quaker community before and I spent much of my time there learning the values of Quakerism and how those values apply to young children and families...

Loose Parts Spark Imaginations I vividly remember playing in the “forest” behind the home of my aunt and uncle as a child. I would collect sticks with my friends and create “firepits.” We would add rocks for “food” and sit on piles of leaves. Chestnuts became fairies and the local outside cats...

Starting New Traditions After attending this year’s fall potlucks, I continue to be in awe of the wonderful traditions that have been established at PIC, potlucks being primary among them. I have been told that our summer traditions of Watermelon Wednesday, Lemonade Lull, and the Spoil-Your-Supper...

Seven years ago today, former PIC Executive Director Marni Sweet died after losing a battle with cancer. Some of you knew Marni well and many others never met Marni. I write this today because I feel it is important to note and remember that much of the culture at PIC is because of Marni. While she...

Back to School… for teachers too! PIC teachers experienced two very rich days of learning during our recent In-service days. Time was spent in workshops learning from professionals in the field, having meaningful discussions with one another, and engaged in hands-on activities. On Friday, early...

Summertime Transitions at PIC Summer is a time of transitions at PIC as children move from one classroom to the next age group. For some children, these transitions are a breeze, and they barely look back to their old classroom. For others, moving to a new classroom is about building trust all over...

June, My New Favorite Month... but here comes July! While I’ve always loved the change of seasons, this past winter has diminished my love of winter and honestly, I can now just do without it. April and May were quite beautiful to be sure, but it is June that I now deem as my favorite month at PIC...