Hemlock class:
The children are enjoying themselves and are coming into their own. Putting on indoor shoes and getting snack whenever they are in the mood to sit with a special friend has become second nature by now. New friendships are blossoming and harder works are tackled!
What a busy month this has become! We started our Unit for the year –Transportation-.
The children are very excited to learn all about early forms of transport and how they have evolved over time into what we use today. There are lots of examples all around our room to look at, to match, to sort, to count, to categorize, to read about and to inspect for individual parts. We included our theme into our Practical Life area, art projects and even our necklaces will be adorned by vehicle cutouts! We will enjoy talking about forms of transportation for the coming weeks and hopefully start lots of conversations on the subject. The reading corner is stacked and songs are plentiful around the subject.
Thank you all who came for guest night and took time out to accompany your child to see how she/he fills his/her day. We enjoyed meeting so many of you! Sorry, that we can only have one visitor per child as our space is limited!
Our nature walks have been a wonderful experience despite the cold and rainy weather. The last few times children have been able to measure all kinds of items in nature and enjoyed the practice with tape measures (Thank you Ms. Ekstrom for supplying them!)
Valentine’s Day was much anticipated by the children so they could bring home their lovely Valentines cards for their families. Handing out one’s Valentines is always a big deal and taking home a filled bag makes for a special treat. Speaking of treats, our class snack on the 14th was a frozen heart treat, a heart sandwich and a yogurt covered pretzel (Thank you, Mrs. Managuli!).
Please make sure to sign up for our conferences on March 1st. It is a signup genius under Mrs. Managuli. (We are trying a new signup platform to avoid confusion.)
Buckeye Classroom:
We want to thank all of you who came to our guest night, and we hope you enjoyed seeing some of your child’s favorite works on the shelves! February was a busy and fun month in the Buckeye classroom, and a lot of celebrating was done: Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and Carnival (Mardi Gras). The children learned about the meaning of these celebrations and were able to fine-tune their art skills by creating a variety of arts and crafts.
We want to thank Liyao, Levy’s mom, for sharing stories and information on Lunar New Year during our circle time. The children are very excited when a special guest comes to visit! We encourage all parents (and grandparents) to share any special gifts, talents, or information they have with our classroom!
Valentine’s Day was a highlight for the children, and they had fun making cards and decorating their own Valentine bag to hold cards from their classmates. Distributing the cards into the bags of each child is something the kids always look forward to. Together they also enjoyed a special Valentine’s snack that day.
The children learned about the history of the heart shape, and we discussed friendship and love. Next up was Carnival – a joyous festival of merrymaking that is celebrated world-wide in more than 50 countries. It is pre-dominantly a Roman Catholic festival, the last “hurrah” before the beginning of the season of lent (a period of fasting and reflection) which ends on Easter. Ms. Ross showed pictures of popular Carnival destinations around the world: the famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, elaborate costumes and masks in Venice, Italy, and of her home town in Maastricht, the Netherlands. People dress up in colorful costumes, participate in parades, and decorate floats. There is music everywhere, and people dance and sing in the streets, young and old alike.
On top of all this fun, the children learned about vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and received an introduction to science. We discussed what science is and what scientists do. February was also “Black History Month”, and we highlighted a few of the many black Americans who have made incredible contributions to our country.
We are looking forward to seeing you during conferences on March 1st. The children have grown so much these past couple of months, and we are excited to share their progress with you!