https://gvsps.blogspot.com/2018/03/week-24-valentines-day.html
Dear Parents,
This week we battled germs and high energy as we counted down to our February vacation. We also are counting down the days till a new special person will be born. While waiting for that special someone, we said hello to Hannah who is joining us most days as Ms. Katie is out on maternity leave. Spring is just around the corner!
Also a reminder that with Spring weather brings lots of rain and mud. We may not need the warmth of snowsuits, but if you have waterproof pants or puddle jumpers, those would be very welcome. If not, make sure your child has a few pairs of dry clothes. We do our best to give them opportunities to explore the playground, and sometimes those opportunities lead to natural consequences of wet clothing. So after the break just double check the spare clothing boxes. Thanks!
Monday- Perhaps it was President's Day or perhaps everyone just felt very ill over the weekend, but we had an unusual number of absences. This made for a quieter day and some big new works were started. A child noticed that we don't have a puzzle or control map of Antarctica, so we started a measuring and mapping project that several students observed. Other popular works included stamp game addition, bead grouping multiplication, free drawing and painting, sound box, and parts of a turtle. We also wished Ms. Katie good luck as she decided to start her maternity leave this afternoon (We wish her luck and a super short but productive labor!)
Tuesday- Ms. Hannah joined us today and will be full day most days of the week. Many of you will recognize her from aftercare and nap room. She's great and well loved by the children, which is making this transition easier. Ms. Noelle is also checking in on the class during this transition time, and you'll occasionally see her running circle, as I step out to greet parents or check lunch boxes. Today's circle focused on the date and calendar, while reviewing the classroom rules and safety. Sra. Rosa also came to teach us some Spanish (ranging from farm animals, fruits and veggies, to calendar and days of the week). Popular works included the brown stairs and pink tower, free drawing, name tag tracing, build a number, and parts of a frog. The Antarctica mapping lesson inspired other students to try, which combines measurement with multiplication and directions (scaling). I was impressed one of our ambitious 4 years old tried and stayed focus on this hard task as long as he did.
Wednesday- Today's circle was focused on a special Early Birthday Walk. Happy 6th Birthday I*******! The children enjoy the work of setting up and putting away the birthday walk materials, perhaps more than the walk itself. I always enjoy hearing the stories that they remember and helping them see concretely the passage of time (they physically get bigger). Work cycle consisted of the work book challenge to see if those with an active work book could get it finished or nearly finished by Friday. Some friends also continued work on scaling map project (now expanded to Oceania). Mr. Wolfe also joined our class and helped us prepare for Arts Night. Other popular works included energy and what makes animals early reader books, free draw, chopstick transfer, transportation matching cards, and lacing works.
Thursday- Today's circle focused on reviewing the date and calendar as well as the rules for the new sap buckets outside. As its getting warmer we're seeing signs of spring start to pop up on the playground, and we have temporary rules regarding this transitional period such as limited play on particularly muddy sections of the playground at least until the grass grows. Again, we are trying to allow your children to explore and make safe recess choices while allowing them an opportunity to get dirty (and then also have ownership of personal hygiene). We step in if we see kids swimming in the mud (and it is a judgement free zone as my own daughter swims in the mud every chance she gets), but we fully encourage poking at the mud. Other popular works include stamp game, bead chains, brown stairs, build a number, skip counting, compass rose, mapping, name tag tracing, and early reader books.
Friday- Our last day of February was spent reviewing the calendar and date. As you might have noticed, we didn't have storytime this week, as we have been focused on cleaning our work drawers and finishing up loose ends. A few of our friends have "hosted" their own storytime in the library, reading books to classmates, which was so exciting to hear. Map building projects have sprung up, as well as a independent research project to learn flags and names of countries. I'm excited to see if the flag work will catch on. Multiplication by grouping has taken off this month as well as addition by the stamp game. And new faces are giving challenging works a try. On the creative front, the younger children are taking more risks in their art, mixing colors freely and developing good hand control on brush strokes. Many pre-writer are forming repetitive shapes and designs, and early writers have gotten a strong grasp of signing their own name (and usually a recipient's name).
I guess as I write this Friday night, I'm feeling nostalgic. I'm remembering the works from early September and really see how far each student has come. Its just amazing! And we still have so much time left. I can't wait to see what direction these children decide to go.
On a side note, we are asking for egg donations in the month of March. They can be fresh, store bought, or even hard boiled already. We plan on painting shells, crushing shells, eating hard boiled eggs ect... There will be a sign up in the coat room for donations. Thank you!
Ms. Becky and Preschool Staff.
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