GOOD Times, Great Neighbors & 10,000 Pieces of Candy! 🍬🎃

The Academy of Indian Lake Village had a GOOD time at GOODfest in Goodlettsville this weekend! 💛

Our AOILV family packed up our candy, brought our biggest smiles, and headed out for a day full of community fun, Halloween excitement, and plenty of sweet treats. And when we say sweet treats, we mean 10,000 PIECES OF CANDY! 🍭🍫 We kept little trick-or-treaters smiling one handful at a time!

One of the sweetest surprises? Goodlettsville is only 11 minutes away from our school! Talk about having a whole lot of community fun right in our backyard!

At The Academy of Indian Lake Village, we believe being a great preschool means more than what happens inside our classrooms. It means building relationships with our neighbors, showing up for our community, and giving our children and families opportunities to make meaningful connections beyond our playground.❤️

A huge thank-you to everyone who stopped by to say hello! We had a GOOD time, Goodlettsville, and we can’t wait to do it again!

Good vibes, good times, and GOOD neighbors — that’s the Academy way! 🧡

🍬 The Academy of Indian Lake Village
📍 Hendersonville, TN
📍 Just 11 minutes from the fun in Goodlettsville!

1,000 Pumpkins in a Patch!

The Academy recently brought the spirit of the season to The Streets of Indian Lake Village with our very own pumpkin patch!

With 1,000 pumpkins ready to find their forever homes, families had plenty to choose from. Tables were set up for pumpkin decorating, giving little ones the chance to get creative, show off their personalities, and make festive memories together.

From picking the perfect pumpkin to enjoying hands-on fall fun, the event was a wonderful reminder that fall is for family. At The Academy, we love creating opportunities for children and families to connect, celebrate the season, and make memories that last long after the pumpkins are gone.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make our pumpkin patch such a special day. Here's to more family fun, festive traditions, and all the magic that makes fall so wonderful! 🍂

Learning Through the 5 Senses!

Our pumpkin patch is open, and our little learners are enjoying hands-on opportunities to explore the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes of the season.

Our young scientists have been investigating pumpkins using their five senses! 👀👂👃✋👅

What did we discover?

Sight: We observed pumpkins of different sizes, shapes, and colors. We noticed their stems, ridges, and unique features.
Touch: We explored the pumpkins’ smooth, bumpy, firm, and sometimes rough surfaces. With teacher guidance, we also investigated the stringy insides and slippery seeds.
Smell: We took a closer look at the way pumpkins smell, especially when opened!
Hearing: We listened as we tapped, knocked, and gently rolled pumpkins, noticing the different sounds they made.
Taste: When a safe, prepared pumpkin food was available, we had the opportunity to explore its taste. We talked about how pumpkins can be used in different foods.

As the children explored, they practiced describing what they noticed, comparing similarities and differences, asking questions, and sharing their discoveries with friends. These simple, playful experiences help build curiosity, vocabulary, observation skills, and the foundations of scientific thinking.

Connecting Our Pumpkin Exploration to TNELDS

Our pumpkin investigation supports the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards (TNELDS) through meaningful, hands-on learning experiences.

These standards encourage children to learn by doing, wondering, observing, and communicating their discoveries.

Little Hands & Lasting Connections

Every Monday at The Academy of Indian Lake Village, we look forward to welcoming our friends from Legacy Village in Hendersonville for a special time of stories, coloring, conversation, and connection!

These intergenerational visits are about so much more than sharing a book or creating a colorful masterpiece. They give our students the opportunity to build meaningful relationships across generations while learning valuable social and emotional skills. As our little learners listen to stories, practice taking turns, share their artwork, and engage in conversations, they are strengthening their language and literacy skills, expanding their vocabulary, developing fine motor skills, and learning the importance of kindness, patience, and respect.

And the benefits go both ways! For our friends at Legacy Village, spending time with young children can bring joy, companionship, meaningful social interaction, and opportunities to share stories, experiences, and wisdom. The laughter, little conversations, and proud show-and-tell moments create connections that enrich everyone's day.

We believe some of life's most valuable lessons happen when generations come together. Our students are learning that friendships can look different at every age, that everyone has a story worth sharing, and that even the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference. At AOILV, we're not just learning and living — we're building a school family that reaches beyond our classroom walls. Here's to making Mondays more meaningful!