The quote above comes to us from one of the children in the Pre-K classroom, this week they attended the Stowe Performing Arts program "Music in May" to see Marimba player Makoto Nakura.
Reminder: We are closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. We hope you enjoy the long weekend and unofficial start to summer.
Classroom Happenings
All teachers wanted to mention that with the warmer weather we will be playing with water. Please send along bathing suits/swim diapers, sunscreen and sun hats if you haven't already. Thank you!
Infant I: Lots of outdoor time this week, we really had great luck getting everyone outdoors, to explore and enjoy the weather. The children's moods were mellow and happy as they took in the sun. We've been digging in the dirt with various utensils and containers, then filling them back up with dirt, water and rocks. Our walkers are enjoying trips around the playground while holding the hands of teachers or peers. We're noticing developing empathy with our older children; they can be seen offering help to others during times of struggle in the form of rubbing heads or bellies, especially when their classmates are crying. Our younger children are working through reasonable levels of frustration in their developing gross motor skills of standing, sitting, crawling and walking.
Infant II: This week in Infant 2 we concentrated our work on encouraging gentleness with each other. We are a social group and like to be close to each other, but sometimes that closeness is just too close! So, we are working on connecting with each other in appropriate ways. For instance, we can wave to each other, say hello, or ask to give a hug. We enjoyed the warmer weather and started to explore water outside in both the sensory table and pool. We are learning about sunscreen and how to apply it ourselves. We also are working hard on speaking in complete sentences when wanting to communicate with each other. Books that have held special interest this week have been on the topic of birds as well as "I Spy" tales.
Toddler I: We absolutely love butterflies. We started putting together our butterfly model from the sticks we've been collecting, and we continue to watch our caterpillars carefully. We've had one butterfly make an entrance, much to the excitement of the children. We've been watching the bird feeders that we made last week, and the birds (and chipmunks/squirrels) have been enjoying the spring meals. We will likely make more feeders to put out next week. On Thursday we had our first day of the season running through the sprinkler. And to make it feel even more summery, we enjoyed some all fruit popsicles that day too. We continue to work hard on all aspects of the potty.
Preschool: It was a relatively quiet week in our room, we had smaller classes with children out visiting relatives or taking trips. Our watercolor painting fascination continues, enthusiasm has certainly not waned. We did a little more planting this week and finished all of the containers outside. We have lots of sprouts that will need transplanting next week. We've been doing observations of our sprouts; comparing the mighty Sunflowers to the tiny Lobelia which were planted at the same time, but have had a much different rate of growth. We have been working on our scissor use. We have 17 different types of scissors which have different grips, make different patterns, and so on. We have a wide range of abilities with the scissors, with some children using them proficiently, and others working on how to grip or really open the scissors with one hand. They are learning these skills by watching each other, and using this tool to help themselves do other tasks, like open granola bar wrappers. The children also brainstormed just how we could turn our school into a farm, and took stock of all of the animals that should take up residence at MVS.
Pre-K: As mentioned, on Wednesday we saw Marimba player Makoto Nakura. The children did a great job and were really respectful audience members. They were very curious about the Marimba and how it could be played with 4 sticks at the same time!! We've been practicing with our xylophones which look similar but sound different. We've been comparing the sounds of the xylophones to each other and noticing differences: "This one has letters on it." "This one sounds....sharper." We took all of the instruments out to the playground on Thursday to keep the music going. The older children visited the Stowe Elementary School on Monday to get a feel for a Kindergarten classroom. We found that it is very much like our own classroom. The children are really looking forward to getting some play time in those new kitchen & block areas! We met all three kindergarten teachers and spent some time in circle talking about what kindergarten will be like and asking questions. We've also been reading books like Minerva Louise at School, Froggy Goes to School and Off to Kindergarten. Though the children are very exited, this is a big change and everyone is also a little on edge. Emotions have been running high and we have needed many reminders to be kind and gentle to each other. Change is hard. And speaking of hard changes....Butterflies! The butterflies have emerged. We've made them some food and will release them Friday.
Also Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
-Sam
Reminder: We are closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. We hope you enjoy the long weekend and unofficial start to summer.
Classroom Happenings
All teachers wanted to mention that with the warmer weather we will be playing with water. Please send along bathing suits/swim diapers, sunscreen and sun hats if you haven't already. Thank you!
Infant I: Lots of outdoor time this week, we really had great luck getting everyone outdoors, to explore and enjoy the weather. The children's moods were mellow and happy as they took in the sun. We've been digging in the dirt with various utensils and containers, then filling them back up with dirt, water and rocks. Our walkers are enjoying trips around the playground while holding the hands of teachers or peers. We're noticing developing empathy with our older children; they can be seen offering help to others during times of struggle in the form of rubbing heads or bellies, especially when their classmates are crying. Our younger children are working through reasonable levels of frustration in their developing gross motor skills of standing, sitting, crawling and walking.
Infant II: This week in Infant 2 we concentrated our work on encouraging gentleness with each other. We are a social group and like to be close to each other, but sometimes that closeness is just too close! So, we are working on connecting with each other in appropriate ways. For instance, we can wave to each other, say hello, or ask to give a hug. We enjoyed the warmer weather and started to explore water outside in both the sensory table and pool. We are learning about sunscreen and how to apply it ourselves. We also are working hard on speaking in complete sentences when wanting to communicate with each other. Books that have held special interest this week have been on the topic of birds as well as "I Spy" tales.
Toddler I: We absolutely love butterflies. We started putting together our butterfly model from the sticks we've been collecting, and we continue to watch our caterpillars carefully. We've had one butterfly make an entrance, much to the excitement of the children. We've been watching the bird feeders that we made last week, and the birds (and chipmunks/squirrels) have been enjoying the spring meals. We will likely make more feeders to put out next week. On Thursday we had our first day of the season running through the sprinkler. And to make it feel even more summery, we enjoyed some all fruit popsicles that day too. We continue to work hard on all aspects of the potty.
Preschool: It was a relatively quiet week in our room, we had smaller classes with children out visiting relatives or taking trips. Our watercolor painting fascination continues, enthusiasm has certainly not waned. We did a little more planting this week and finished all of the containers outside. We have lots of sprouts that will need transplanting next week. We've been doing observations of our sprouts; comparing the mighty Sunflowers to the tiny Lobelia which were planted at the same time, but have had a much different rate of growth. We have been working on our scissor use. We have 17 different types of scissors which have different grips, make different patterns, and so on. We have a wide range of abilities with the scissors, with some children using them proficiently, and others working on how to grip or really open the scissors with one hand. They are learning these skills by watching each other, and using this tool to help themselves do other tasks, like open granola bar wrappers. The children also brainstormed just how we could turn our school into a farm, and took stock of all of the animals that should take up residence at MVS.
Pre-K: As mentioned, on Wednesday we saw Marimba player Makoto Nakura. The children did a great job and were really respectful audience members. They were very curious about the Marimba and how it could be played with 4 sticks at the same time!! We've been practicing with our xylophones which look similar but sound different. We've been comparing the sounds of the xylophones to each other and noticing differences: "This one has letters on it." "This one sounds....sharper." We took all of the instruments out to the playground on Thursday to keep the music going. The older children visited the Stowe Elementary School on Monday to get a feel for a Kindergarten classroom. We found that it is very much like our own classroom. The children are really looking forward to getting some play time in those new kitchen & block areas! We met all three kindergarten teachers and spent some time in circle talking about what kindergarten will be like and asking questions. We've also been reading books like Minerva Louise at School, Froggy Goes to School and Off to Kindergarten. Though the children are very exited, this is a big change and everyone is also a little on edge. Emotions have been running high and we have needed many reminders to be kind and gentle to each other. Change is hard. And speaking of hard changes....Butterflies! The butterflies have emerged. We've made them some food and will release them Friday.
Also Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
-Sam
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