Although it was a short week here at school, we were up to plenty! Here are the highlights from late summer at MVS...
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: Here is the child by child breakdown of the latest and greatest from our room. E: has been enjoying the reading corner and examining herself in the mirror. B cruises around the room, now on his feet! O. army crawls wherever he wants, especially if he's going after a ball. M. stands at the top of the climbing structure, waving her arms and talking to classmates on the floor below. H. kisses her classmates whenever possible. L. likes laying under the mobiles and watching them spin. C.'s favorite thing is to be covered by a scarf, and then feel it be pulled slowly away. O.P. would stay outside playing in the water table all day if given the choice. Q. has mastered all of the climbing structures in the classroom, and always likes making her peers laugh. And, S. sits up tall, telling us something important and exciting with his booming voice!
Infant II: As a classroom we have been working on our mealtime routines. Our hope for mealtime is that it provides opportunities for calm socialization. One way we build understanding about this time with the children is by talking about using calm voices and having calm bodies. When we are at the table, we are trying not to rush, and even if all the food is gone from our plates, we can still sit together while others finish and keep each other company. The overall conversation about inside voices vs. outside voices happens at other parts of the day as well. Again, we are doing quite well after our transition to cots, the children are doing a great job putting themselves to sleep.
Toddler Room: We have been noticing some changes in our outdoor environment, even though the weather still feels very summery. We have observed a few leaves beginning to turn, and some of the crab apples and berries have already fallen. The children are interested in these gifts from the trees, and happily collect and sort them. The children bring their collections to us to show and talk about just what they have found and just what is happening. Another result of our observations is noting more birds flying overhead. Overall, we don't just want to know that it's a bird, but want to know what kind of bird it is. In fact, JF spotted a crow overhead for the Preschool 1 group on Wednesday as they attempted to count the ones they saw. In the social-sphere, we are working on kind and gentle interactions with one another in our words and actions, especially when playing near one another. A note for parents: Please be sure your child has a lunch box/bag/vessel; all food containers can be found in there at day's end. Thanks!
Preschool 1: Parents! Families! Help us count all the Chipmunks and Crows in the greater Stowe/Morrisville/Waterbury/Hyde Park, etc. area! As you likely know from our room, and the funny "caw, caw" sounds your children are making, we are studying these two animals in depth this week, and will continue studying them next week as well. This interest came about after GM spotted and heard a crow overhead, and LHB saw a chipmunk scurrying across the playground. Now, wouldn't you know it, we're scientists. We've been reading non-fiction and fiction texts about these animals and are comparing their habitats: chipmunks are in burrows deep underground, crows are in the trees/nests/sky. We have been using colored pencils, markers, crayons and paint to make artistic representations of chipmunks and crows, and we listened to audio clips of both animal sounds as another way of spotting them: we don't have to SEE it to SPOT it. Anyhow, please help us by counting all you see with the kids. We will be graphing our findings together next week. We're continuing our small group walks on Thursdays and Fridays, and today were able to do some plant identification of goldenrod and wild aster.
Preschool 2: The children of Preschool 2 have been engaged in a lot of block play as of late. Their elaborate structures and stories that go along with them are consuming lots of morning free play hours. CK has been setting up his blocks and vehicles in long lines, towing boats and "trailers." MT worked hard to build an intricate farmyard with all number of stalls for the animals. Another interest has been in counting and sorting with small beads. Our daily rhythm stick practice continues, as does our nearly three week old love of Caps for Sale. Our focus on classroom norms and culture is at the heart of our activities: cleaning as we go, being kind to our environment and the people within it, and using clear communication with one another.
Pre-K: We have been excitedly showing Kate around our school and community and teaching her the rules and routines of our Pre-K day. As promised, we've made a few more environmental changes in the classroom. It might seem a little maze-like at drop off with many grownups moving around the room, but once we settle into our day, the space is working very well. We love the big train table! More nook type spaces give us places to play individually or with a small group. And what might seem maze like from above, keeps our feet moving slowly and our movements deliberate. We are working on negotiating any tight spaces with thoughtful problem solving and manners. We have become very interested in emergency vehicles, fire fighters and fire fighting. We are reading lots of books on the subject and have started a KWL chart to organize our thoughts and figure out what we would like to learn more about (K for what we know, W for what we want to know and L for what we have learned once we're done studying). The children have been working on some interesting props for dramatic play (hoses, fire extinguishers, and cell phones for calling 911) If you have any books or thoughts you'd like to share with the class around this subject please let us know.
As Seen at MVS
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: Here is the child by child breakdown of the latest and greatest from our room. E: has been enjoying the reading corner and examining herself in the mirror. B cruises around the room, now on his feet! O. army crawls wherever he wants, especially if he's going after a ball. M. stands at the top of the climbing structure, waving her arms and talking to classmates on the floor below. H. kisses her classmates whenever possible. L. likes laying under the mobiles and watching them spin. C.'s favorite thing is to be covered by a scarf, and then feel it be pulled slowly away. O.P. would stay outside playing in the water table all day if given the choice. Q. has mastered all of the climbing structures in the classroom, and always likes making her peers laugh. And, S. sits up tall, telling us something important and exciting with his booming voice!
Infant II: As a classroom we have been working on our mealtime routines. Our hope for mealtime is that it provides opportunities for calm socialization. One way we build understanding about this time with the children is by talking about using calm voices and having calm bodies. When we are at the table, we are trying not to rush, and even if all the food is gone from our plates, we can still sit together while others finish and keep each other company. The overall conversation about inside voices vs. outside voices happens at other parts of the day as well. Again, we are doing quite well after our transition to cots, the children are doing a great job putting themselves to sleep.
Toddler Room: We have been noticing some changes in our outdoor environment, even though the weather still feels very summery. We have observed a few leaves beginning to turn, and some of the crab apples and berries have already fallen. The children are interested in these gifts from the trees, and happily collect and sort them. The children bring their collections to us to show and talk about just what they have found and just what is happening. Another result of our observations is noting more birds flying overhead. Overall, we don't just want to know that it's a bird, but want to know what kind of bird it is. In fact, JF spotted a crow overhead for the Preschool 1 group on Wednesday as they attempted to count the ones they saw. In the social-sphere, we are working on kind and gentle interactions with one another in our words and actions, especially when playing near one another. A note for parents: Please be sure your child has a lunch box/bag/vessel; all food containers can be found in there at day's end. Thanks!
Preschool 1: Parents! Families! Help us count all the Chipmunks and Crows in the greater Stowe/Morrisville/Waterbury/Hyde Park, etc. area! As you likely know from our room, and the funny "caw, caw" sounds your children are making, we are studying these two animals in depth this week, and will continue studying them next week as well. This interest came about after GM spotted and heard a crow overhead, and LHB saw a chipmunk scurrying across the playground. Now, wouldn't you know it, we're scientists. We've been reading non-fiction and fiction texts about these animals and are comparing their habitats: chipmunks are in burrows deep underground, crows are in the trees/nests/sky. We have been using colored pencils, markers, crayons and paint to make artistic representations of chipmunks and crows, and we listened to audio clips of both animal sounds as another way of spotting them: we don't have to SEE it to SPOT it. Anyhow, please help us by counting all you see with the kids. We will be graphing our findings together next week. We're continuing our small group walks on Thursdays and Fridays, and today were able to do some plant identification of goldenrod and wild aster.
Preschool 2: The children of Preschool 2 have been engaged in a lot of block play as of late. Their elaborate structures and stories that go along with them are consuming lots of morning free play hours. CK has been setting up his blocks and vehicles in long lines, towing boats and "trailers." MT worked hard to build an intricate farmyard with all number of stalls for the animals. Another interest has been in counting and sorting with small beads. Our daily rhythm stick practice continues, as does our nearly three week old love of Caps for Sale. Our focus on classroom norms and culture is at the heart of our activities: cleaning as we go, being kind to our environment and the people within it, and using clear communication with one another.
Pre-K: We have been excitedly showing Kate around our school and community and teaching her the rules and routines of our Pre-K day. As promised, we've made a few more environmental changes in the classroom. It might seem a little maze-like at drop off with many grownups moving around the room, but once we settle into our day, the space is working very well. We love the big train table! More nook type spaces give us places to play individually or with a small group. And what might seem maze like from above, keeps our feet moving slowly and our movements deliberate. We are working on negotiating any tight spaces with thoughtful problem solving and manners. We have become very interested in emergency vehicles, fire fighters and fire fighting. We are reading lots of books on the subject and have started a KWL chart to organize our thoughts and figure out what we would like to learn more about (K for what we know, W for what we want to know and L for what we have learned once we're done studying). The children have been working on some interesting props for dramatic play (hoses, fire extinguishers, and cell phones for calling 911) If you have any books or thoughts you'd like to share with the class around this subject please let us know.
As Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
-Sam
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