Particulars

Some of the things that make the Hutch so Austin...

Changing of the Season Festivals: Around the beginning of each season we celebrate with a festival during the school day. We use this day to encourage our parents and families to participate during the day by joining the children for many different activities (face painting, finger nail painting, moon walk, wheelbarrow rides, special food, music, etc.)

Snacks: We ask our parents to bring a healthy snack each day for the snack box. Through out the day we will bring the snacks out for the children to share. Contributions can be as easy as an apple, orange and carrots or as exotic as seaweed, mangos and star fruit. We find that having a snack box provides the children with many choices through out the day and introduces them to new things they may not have had at home.

Lunch under the trees & Pizza Day: Like many of us dream of doing each day as we sit in our offices, the children at the Hutch eat lunch each day outside under the shade of the trees. It is a sight to see - all the children of Habibi's running at the sound of the bell to wash up and get their lunch box. The Hutchsters make there way to the child size picnic tables, gathering plates, silverware and making choices of beverages and where and who they want to sit with. Lunch is a great time to make new friends and share some lunch. Parents or responsible for bringing a healthy lunch Monday through Thursday. On Friday's the Hutch treats the children to many varieties of "Austin's Pizza".

Recycle & Reuse: Our families donate some of our best toys and art mediums. The children love to make potions with old mixing bowls and spoons. Toilet paper rolls make the best binoculars. The address stickers that you get in the mail – they add that special something to any collage. You bring it and we will use it.

List Serve: The families of the Hutch have an active open topic email service. Both past and present share parenting issues, idea's, social issues in our communities and schools, calendar events, invitations to picnics, camping, play dates and any thing else you want to post to the group.

Resident Wednesday Musician Neal Kassanoff: For more than 5 years, we have had our Wednesday mornings brightened with live music from Neal. This is time that the children can choose to participate if they would like with sing-a-longs and learning about and using musical instruments. Neal is a professional musician who has recorded several CD's, and frequently plays around town at the local music hubs.

The playground: The playground is a huge part of the Hutch. It is not what you may expect, we don't have a big jungle gym, we don't have slides BUT we have a lot of other things that we find that the kids love even more. We have a misting system – since we do play outside for a big part of our day and it can get very hot, even with all of the shade, the misters make it a lot easier and more fun! We have bowls, spoons, colors & potion "powder", we have a big pile of sand, lots of vehicles to make your way around, water play bins, a play house and more. Our playground has all the items needed to stimulate the imagination and create your own adventure.

Parents Night Out: The teachers of the Hutch offer a parent's night usually once a month. We play with the children at the Hutch on a Friday or Saturday night usually from 6-10pm for a cost of about $25. It is a great time for everyone!