“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” -Henry James
While I agree with Mr. James, it's been a hot and muggy week here at school, and we've been finding many creative ways to beat the heat:
Classroom Happenings
You'll note the names of the classroom spaces has changed to accommodate the new configurations.
Other teachers spending time downstairs are Leota and Megan (upstairs some mornings). Sam and Shannon upstairs.
Infant I (Danielle, Jasmine, Karla): Many welcomes! We have two new babies here at school as well as two new teachers working with our youngest children. You'll see Jasmine here during the morning hours, and Karla in the afternoons. Please be sure to introduce yourself! This week we have been trying to get acclimated to all the changes, and so far the room has been calm and the transitions have been smooth. Our main goal this week has been helping the infants figure out their moving bodies, and work through healthy levels of frustration on their way to rolling over, crawling up and down the ramp in the classroom, and moving around heavier/fixed objects that don't get out of their way such as furniture or walls.
Infant II (Amanda Sicard and Amanda Stebbins): It's been a big week for our small children. We welcomed a new student to school and three new students into the Infant II space. This has meant some adjustments in terms of schedules and routines. We also have children taking their naps on cots for the first time. Gross motor play has been huge in the room this week, it seems we are constantly trying to climb and maneuver our bodies up and over large objects and furniture. Kicking balls has been another dimension of this type of play. Outdoors, we have been exploring the water. The pool was the place to be for both cooling off and splashing/pouring. A reminder to parents to please label all parts of food containers so they can be returned to you. Thanks!
Toddler Room (Carly): It's been an exciting time as we explore all parts of our new classroom space. Call it a week of exploration! We are working on autonomous tasks in every part of our day. Examples of this include drinking from open cups, taking off and putting on our own shoes each day, and washing our hands. Another focus has been on table manners: taking small manageable bites of our food, keeping food on the table, and using utensils instead of our hands. Another change for us is that we are all using cots for nap time. Social skills we are working to develop include positive and clear communication with one another. Instead of telling peers to "go away" we are trying to instead say, "I need space." In the mornings, we have been integrating a quiet sensory activity into our curriculum. This week it was oobleck, which allowed for changing consistencies and lots of tactile manipulation.
A couple other logistical notes: Rain gear and boots are now being stored outside of the room on the large green hooks, information about your child's day can be found on the whiteboard near the cubby space, and please be sure to send along a cot sheet and blanket for your child (these will be sent home to be laundered each Friday).
Preschool 1 (Melissa and Paige): We found a nest of baby ants under a log and we were very intrigued. Here's what some of us had to say about what we saw:
MH: (referring to the ant eggs) "What are those little white balls? They look like my rice without the salmon." And, "There are so many ants, that is a humongous family!"
HO: "Why are their eggs not in trees like birds?"
We have been doing a lot of cooking out on the playground. We've been setting up more elaborate kitchen spaces with sinks, stoves and ovens. We're using the pans to make pizzas and cakes and mixing the mulch and sand to represent different ingredients. We also did some cooking inside this week, to make blueberry and apple cider popsicles:
We have a new kitchen in our room and it's just been a real hit, we've been making meals and bottles for our baby dolls. So, as you can see, it's been all things cooking! We've also been collecting and sorting rocks and talking about their colors and unique characteristics. And we've been interested in the new way we get out to the playground through the long hallway, and working hard to use our walking feet. And happy birthday HS!
Preschool II (Sarah): We went on a big walk with the Pre-K class, which was really exciting...and left us a little tuckered! It's been a week of really getting outside and enjoying the fresh air. When inside, our Lego and block play has become more dynamic; instead of building structures straight up, we've been doing more and more, looking at examples in our block books and then following the trajectory we observe. Overall, we've been more focused on intricate designs and really placing items thoughtfully when we make things.
We've been working on lots of independent projects while also helping the younger children in their play. This seems to have fostered problem solving as the children navigate shared resources in a kind and respectful ways.
Pre-K (Jen): Summer schedules and a recent visit from a black bear have kept us close to home. With fewer children here in the room, we've had more space to spread out and play inside. JDC, FP and SD made an awesome train station with our Legos, which they kept revisiting over the week. We also created a campsite for our dolls, complete with campfire and tent. Everyone collected tiny sticks for the fire. We practiced tracing circles and cutting with scissors to make "dots." We even went on a dot hunt around school and came up with quite an extensive list of dots. We plan to make a book for documentation purposes. We also wished a Happy Birthday to SM, and say farewell to TT.
Thanks for Reading
Sam
While I agree with Mr. James, it's been a hot and muggy week here at school, and we've been finding many creative ways to beat the heat:
You'll note the names of the classroom spaces has changed to accommodate the new configurations.
Other teachers spending time downstairs are Leota and Megan (upstairs some mornings). Sam and Shannon upstairs.
Infant I (Danielle, Jasmine, Karla): Many welcomes! We have two new babies here at school as well as two new teachers working with our youngest children. You'll see Jasmine here during the morning hours, and Karla in the afternoons. Please be sure to introduce yourself! This week we have been trying to get acclimated to all the changes, and so far the room has been calm and the transitions have been smooth. Our main goal this week has been helping the infants figure out their moving bodies, and work through healthy levels of frustration on their way to rolling over, crawling up and down the ramp in the classroom, and moving around heavier/fixed objects that don't get out of their way such as furniture or walls.
Infant II (Amanda Sicard and Amanda Stebbins): It's been a big week for our small children. We welcomed a new student to school and three new students into the Infant II space. This has meant some adjustments in terms of schedules and routines. We also have children taking their naps on cots for the first time. Gross motor play has been huge in the room this week, it seems we are constantly trying to climb and maneuver our bodies up and over large objects and furniture. Kicking balls has been another dimension of this type of play. Outdoors, we have been exploring the water. The pool was the place to be for both cooling off and splashing/pouring. A reminder to parents to please label all parts of food containers so they can be returned to you. Thanks!
Toddler Room (Carly): It's been an exciting time as we explore all parts of our new classroom space. Call it a week of exploration! We are working on autonomous tasks in every part of our day. Examples of this include drinking from open cups, taking off and putting on our own shoes each day, and washing our hands. Another focus has been on table manners: taking small manageable bites of our food, keeping food on the table, and using utensils instead of our hands. Another change for us is that we are all using cots for nap time. Social skills we are working to develop include positive and clear communication with one another. Instead of telling peers to "go away" we are trying to instead say, "I need space." In the mornings, we have been integrating a quiet sensory activity into our curriculum. This week it was oobleck, which allowed for changing consistencies and lots of tactile manipulation.
A couple other logistical notes: Rain gear and boots are now being stored outside of the room on the large green hooks, information about your child's day can be found on the whiteboard near the cubby space, and please be sure to send along a cot sheet and blanket for your child (these will be sent home to be laundered each Friday).
Preschool 1 (Melissa and Paige): We found a nest of baby ants under a log and we were very intrigued. Here's what some of us had to say about what we saw:
MH: (referring to the ant eggs) "What are those little white balls? They look like my rice without the salmon." And, "There are so many ants, that is a humongous family!"
HO: "Why are their eggs not in trees like birds?"
We have been doing a lot of cooking out on the playground. We've been setting up more elaborate kitchen spaces with sinks, stoves and ovens. We're using the pans to make pizzas and cakes and mixing the mulch and sand to represent different ingredients. We also did some cooking inside this week, to make blueberry and apple cider popsicles:
 |
| Counting out the blueberries and adding the cider (which exploded all over us) |
 |
| After we added the sticks, we climbed the ladder to put them in the freezer |
Preschool II (Sarah): We went on a big walk with the Pre-K class, which was really exciting...and left us a little tuckered! It's been a week of really getting outside and enjoying the fresh air. When inside, our Lego and block play has become more dynamic; instead of building structures straight up, we've been doing more and more, looking at examples in our block books and then following the trajectory we observe. Overall, we've been more focused on intricate designs and really placing items thoughtfully when we make things.
Pre-K (Jen): Summer schedules and a recent visit from a black bear have kept us close to home. With fewer children here in the room, we've had more space to spread out and play inside. JDC, FP and SD made an awesome train station with our Legos, which they kept revisiting over the week. We also created a campsite for our dolls, complete with campfire and tent. Everyone collected tiny sticks for the fire. We practiced tracing circles and cutting with scissors to make "dots." We even went on a dot hunt around school and came up with quite an extensive list of dots. We plan to make a book for documentation purposes. We also wished a Happy Birthday to SM, and say farewell to TT.
Thanks for Reading
Sam
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