February 2025 Family Spotlight:
The VanHoudnos Family
Hello Children’s School Families! We are the VanHoudnos family: Nathan, Kara, James (15), Lillian (12), Madelyn (9), and Karis (4). All of our kids have attended the Children’s school, starting with James in 2012, to Karis who is currently in the Green room.
The Children’s School has meant so much to our family. Here is a little piece that each of us has gained from our time here.
James: At the children's school, I started to learn to read. I was helped with my reading in the Book Corner by Ms. Tomer. She was amazing. Throughout my time at the Children’s School I had a fun time reading the books. The children's school helped me so much. Now I am a ninth grader attending SciTech, and I am planning on doing the Computers and Connections concentration. I still love reading, and read quite often.
Lillian: My name is Lillian VanHoudnos. I am in sixth grade at CAPA and my major is Literary Arts. The Children’s School has helped me grow in many ways. Thanks to it, I entered kindergarten knowing how to write my name. I also learned important life skills like sharing and interacting with other people.
Madelyn: A memory I have from being at the Children’s School is seeing and holding the baby chicks. I especially liked Max. He was one of the ones I held and played with. We made a maze for the chicks with blocks. We watched them in the incubator and everyday I would come into school and ask “Did the eggs hatch”? I made lots of art at school. I made a plate of food with clay when I learned about My Plate and eating healthy. I made a self portrait out of playdough, gems, and a piece of cloth. I made a jellyfish that was made out of pipe cleaners and paper. We learned about brains and we used playdough to make a model of a brain. One thing I learned is that my brain helps me exercise.
I’m glad my little sister, Karis, is at the Children’s School and she might experience the same activities that I did. I also get to come to the Children’s School and teach the kids new things. I learned that you can make watercolor paints out of old, dried out markers. That’s what I did with Karis and her classmates in the discovery area.
Karis: I love that my mom got to come in and play with me. I really loved to paint with Madelyn. Sometimes there’s Legos and I love when Mom got to do it with me. Right now I love to play with the toys, I mostly love the blocks at the Children’s School. I started at the Red Room that had a little kitchen that only kids can play in.
Nathan and Kara: We have so many memories (and photos!) from the Children’s school. We’ve been there for nervous first days, making new friends, family festivals, walks up the rainbow stairs, birthday celebrations, and numerous stories of fun adventures. We are so thankful to all the Children’s School teachers and staff! They clearly laid an important foundation for who our kids have, and will, become.