March 3, 2017
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| Each month the preschool classroom reads Maurice Sendak's "Chicken Soup with Rice". We felt that this month was especially perfect. |
News and Reminders
A family is currently missing a Patagonia children's jacket. It is navy on one side and navy and orange on the other, it is reversible. It was last seen in the basket in the entryway. In the pocket, it is labeled with the initials EK. Please return it to Sarah if it is found. Thank you!
Parent Potluck and Parent Collaboration Committee Meeting on March 16th at 6:00 pm.
With the ever changing weather, it is time to think about upcoming Mud Season! It has already been here a bit and will definitely be back in the next few weeks. Please think about appropriate clothing for your children and providing extra layers as some do not dry from morning to afternoon.
We have a special deal with Oaki Wear for 15% off when you enter outdoorschool at checkout. They have some really fantastic rain suits that are sturdy and waterproof.
For mittens, we have tested hundreds of styles and have found the best rain mittens are made by Abeko. You can find them on amazon.
Book Review
I have recently read a few really wonderful books. Here's a bit about each of them. Let us know if you'd like to borrow any of them.
French Children Don't Throw Food by Pamela Drukerman
This was a great book with a different cultural perspective. Drukerman makes a very good point that the French consider "discipline" differently than Americans. She explains that the French consider discipline to be the education of how to behave and become well-socialized people. Typically, we in America, think of discipline of correcting behaviors or handling difficult interactions. The goals of French parents are to teach children how to manage themselves so that they are successful in life. I found it incredibly interesting how she described the ways French parents interact with their children, there is no yelling or negotiating. French parents are calm, consistent, and do not give in. This makes managing behaviors much easier because children know what is expected and they know how their parents will react.
This was a great book with a different cultural perspective. Drukerman makes a very good point that the French consider "discipline" differently than Americans. She explains that the French consider discipline to be the education of how to behave and become well-socialized people. Typically, we in America, think of discipline of correcting behaviors or handling difficult interactions. The goals of French parents are to teach children how to manage themselves so that they are successful in life. I found it incredibly interesting how she described the ways French parents interact with their children, there is no yelling or negotiating. French parents are calm, consistent, and do not give in. This makes managing behaviors much easier because children know what is expected and they know how their parents will react.
Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life by Dr. Stuart Shanker
This book offers a research-based understanding and perspective on behaviors. It gives clear definitions on self-control versus self-regulation. Self-regulation is incredibly important and with this book, we can all have a better understanding of how to support children's abilities to regulate their own emotions. Self-regulation is such a vital skill for all of us. There has been a lot of research that has shown that higher levels of self-regulation leads to more success as an adult. Dr. Shanker gives a perspective of changing our mindset when faced with stressful situations and to be mindful and aware of our own emotional state. This can be incredibly difficult when faced with a challenging interaction with a child.
Permission to Parent: How to Raise Your Child with Love and Limits by Dr. Robin Berman
I really appreciated this book. It explained the importance of recognizing limits, setting them clearly, and being consistent. It really supports parents in recognizing they are in control and need to be. There has been a pendulum swing in American culture, going from too strict to trying to appease children's every whim. There is a happy medium of teaching children the boundaries and creating manageable expectations. Dr. Berman also makes the point that consistent follow-through is essential for children's emotional safety as well as your own sanity! If you say one more time you must truly mean it every time and follow through.
I really appreciated this book. It explained the importance of recognizing limits, setting them clearly, and being consistent. It really supports parents in recognizing they are in control and need to be. There has been a pendulum swing in American culture, going from too strict to trying to appease children's every whim. There is a happy medium of teaching children the boundaries and creating manageable expectations. Dr. Berman also makes the point that consistent follow-through is essential for children's emotional safety as well as your own sanity! If you say one more time you must truly mean it every time and follow through.
Classroom Updates
Infant I: Slightly lower numbers this week has meant for a calm and quiet week for us with a bit more time to slow down and appreciate all of the new skills we are developing. We have a few children who are on the threshold of crawling, rolling, and walking which is so fun for us teachers to observe. We've also enjoyed having Jasmine back with us this week. She will be subbing on and off for the next few months. Finally, our children have been having some new adventures in eating, whether it's trying finger foods for the first time or just putting solids into their mouths for the taste of it. It has made for some joyful and exciting meal times.
Infant II: This week we were lucky to have Hannah as a teacher in our room while Danielle was out. The children really enjoyed getting to spend time with their old teacher and had lots of snuggles. We also welcomed an old peer back to MVS and have had lots of fun exploring and playing with her. This week our classroom really focused on communicating with our teachers and peers, as well as our classroom routines and rules. As the children work towards solving problems and their own wants and needs, we have been working hard to find the right words and actions to take when socializing with each other. Outside we have really enjoyed the changing weather and all of the sensory opportunities it has provided us. Mud, ice, slush, and snow! We just love getting to explore the different properties.
Toddlers: We had a great week in our classroom. We love our time in the sunshine and we especially love our time discovering mud and puddles in the rain. Large puddles on the back playground were the source of much excitement and play this week. We found shovels and worked hard on scooping up large amounts of water. We are also continuing our ballet lessons and worked on learing the Waltz this week. We counted 1, 2, 3 . . 1, 2, 3 as we carefully learned the steps. We worked on balancing our bodies while slowly swaying to the beat of the dance.
Preschool I: We have had a smaller class this week but we have managed to keep up the energy and enthusiasm. The children report to their observations in nature to the teachers and to one another: "Look, a squirrel in the tree!" and "I heard a crow but I can't see it!" They have also been interested all week in construction vehicles. This is a great opportunity for some new vocabulary: cab, boom, bucket, excavator, crane, hooks, wheels and tracks are just a few. To top it all off, we noticed an excavator in the woods across the street from the playground. In small groups Shannon took them to the grass to watch. A few children even got to watch a tree get cut down!!! They loved hearing the big crash.
Preschool II: This week we welcome Jane, a new teacher. She will be joining us most Fridays through the months of March and April until she joins us full time starting at the end of April. We had a pretty quiet week in our classroom as several children were on vacation. We observed our new butterfly that came out of its' chrysalis this week! In September a classmate brought in several caterpillars from her garden. We put them in our butterfly habitat and they quickly formed a chrysalis and have been in there ever since. This week a butterfly emerged! We are feeding her watermelon and water and love watching her move about her home. We worked with our sandpaper letters practicing very carefully to trace the shape of the letters using our fingers. We also welcomed the month of March with a lot of excitement. We have three birthdays coming up this month! We enjoyed our monthly routine of reading "Chicken Soup with Rice" and are beginning to know a lot of the words. We spent time visiting some of our favorite places as well. We took our snack to the Woof Trail and spent a lot of time exploring the mud and the woods. We also spent a windy day in Campfire Forest. The colder temperatures kept us close to the school towards the end of the week but we enjoyed having some slower mornings this week to play indoors.
PreK: We were excited to discover that our butterfly hatched from his chrysalis! We gave him watermelon and water. We are afraid it is too cold to let him outside yet, "We don't want him to turn into an ice cube!". We have been hard at work inventing new ways to combine our tracks at the train table. At circle we are reading "Frog and Toad are Friends". We started to wonder how frogs and toads differ. We are looking at information in books to find out. We also did our first science experiment in a while, with disappointing results so far. We are learning that trying out ideas, making tests, talking about results and trying out more ideas are important parts of science and life!
Infant II: This week we were lucky to have Hannah as a teacher in our room while Danielle was out. The children really enjoyed getting to spend time with their old teacher and had lots of snuggles. We also welcomed an old peer back to MVS and have had lots of fun exploring and playing with her. This week our classroom really focused on communicating with our teachers and peers, as well as our classroom routines and rules. As the children work towards solving problems and their own wants and needs, we have been working hard to find the right words and actions to take when socializing with each other. Outside we have really enjoyed the changing weather and all of the sensory opportunities it has provided us. Mud, ice, slush, and snow! We just love getting to explore the different properties.
Toddlers: We had a great week in our classroom. We love our time in the sunshine and we especially love our time discovering mud and puddles in the rain. Large puddles on the back playground were the source of much excitement and play this week. We found shovels and worked hard on scooping up large amounts of water. We are also continuing our ballet lessons and worked on learing the Waltz this week. We counted 1, 2, 3 . . 1, 2, 3 as we carefully learned the steps. We worked on balancing our bodies while slowly swaying to the beat of the dance.
Preschool I: We have had a smaller class this week but we have managed to keep up the energy and enthusiasm. The children report to their observations in nature to the teachers and to one another: "Look, a squirrel in the tree!" and "I heard a crow but I can't see it!" They have also been interested all week in construction vehicles. This is a great opportunity for some new vocabulary: cab, boom, bucket, excavator, crane, hooks, wheels and tracks are just a few. To top it all off, we noticed an excavator in the woods across the street from the playground. In small groups Shannon took them to the grass to watch. A few children even got to watch a tree get cut down!!! They loved hearing the big crash.
Preschool II: This week we welcome Jane, a new teacher. She will be joining us most Fridays through the months of March and April until she joins us full time starting at the end of April. We had a pretty quiet week in our classroom as several children were on vacation. We observed our new butterfly that came out of its' chrysalis this week! In September a classmate brought in several caterpillars from her garden. We put them in our butterfly habitat and they quickly formed a chrysalis and have been in there ever since. This week a butterfly emerged! We are feeding her watermelon and water and love watching her move about her home. We worked with our sandpaper letters practicing very carefully to trace the shape of the letters using our fingers. We also welcomed the month of March with a lot of excitement. We have three birthdays coming up this month! We enjoyed our monthly routine of reading "Chicken Soup with Rice" and are beginning to know a lot of the words. We spent time visiting some of our favorite places as well. We took our snack to the Woof Trail and spent a lot of time exploring the mud and the woods. We also spent a windy day in Campfire Forest. The colder temperatures kept us close to the school towards the end of the week but we enjoyed having some slower mornings this week to play indoors.
PreK: We were excited to discover that our butterfly hatched from his chrysalis! We gave him watermelon and water. We are afraid it is too cold to let him outside yet, "We don't want him to turn into an ice cube!". We have been hard at work inventing new ways to combine our tracks at the train table. At circle we are reading "Frog and Toad are Friends". We started to wonder how frogs and toads differ. We are looking at information in books to find out. We also did our first science experiment in a while, with disappointing results so far. We are learning that trying out ideas, making tests, talking about results and trying out more ideas are important parts of science and life!
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