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Here are some of the things that happened in Lower School Science this past week:

The second graders harvested the potatoes that they had planted as first graders. Some of them were huge! Students carefully washed them and put them in brown paper bags. The potatoes will be stored in a cool, dry place until they can become part of the Thanksgiving Soup!

The Tree of the Week this past week was the Tuliptree.  There is a Tuliptree located on the BCD campus next to the second grade classroom.

The first graders talked about the differences between mammals and non-mammals.

The kindergarteners harvested gourds that had been planted last spring by the 9th grade and did observational drawings of them. These gourds will also be saved for the Thanksgiving Soup.

The rain kept all students indoors more than normal, but it was still a busy and fun week!

-Ms. Smith

P.S. Here are two of my new favorite children’s books:

Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell – A story about Jane Goodall as a child. It shows that children really can grow up to do the things they dream about.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Everby Marla Frazee – This book is a nice reminder that sometimes children have their most profound experiences in nature when they are simply left alone to explore and imagine.

        With the arrival of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I write to share that a member of our faculty, Kindergarten teacher Andrea Patel, authored and illustrated a beautiful children’s book in response to those events.  On That Day: A Book of Hope for Children was published in December 2001.  “This book will be welcomed by those who want to mark the anniversary of the tragedy with children; it is worth noting that it would also be useful to open a dialogue in the context of any violent act.

        Andrea Patel’s efforts to make her own peace with the subject have resulted in a book that does so quite effectively. Her tissue-paper collages depict, at first, a world that is “very big, and really round, and pretty peaceful.” The white expansive backgrounds allow viewers to focus completely on the images and message. The author goes on to explain that “sometimes bad things happen because people act in mean ways and hurt each other on purpose.” (Even preschoolers know this to be true.) Patel then offers a variety of ways that children, or anyone, could help the world: sharing, playing and laughing, taking care of the Earth, and being kind. Concluding pages point to the strength of the goodness that exists; listeners are reminded that they are part of that.”  (Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library, Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)

        What can you do when bad things happen? “Whatever we as teachers, and as adults, can offer the children – and each other – in the way of reassurance, and hope, and optimism, can only help heal us all.” (Andrea Patel)  While the hardcover edition is no longer in print, a limited number of copies of the original paperback version are still available.  If you would like a copy, please contact Andrea directly at apatel@berkshirecountryday.org.  The cost of the paperback is $9.  All the proceeds go to a children’s fund set up after 9/11.

        We have found the following points helpful when working with children during times of tragedy or stress:

• Children pick up on the attitudes and feelings of their parents.  Therefore, parents need to be mindful of what they are watching and saying in the presence of children.  If necessary, seek support for yourself and sort out your own feelings with other adults first.
• Be honest and answer the questions when asked.  As your own thoughts and feelings emerge, remember to clarify what the child is asking and to answer their questions.  With younger children, try to resist sharing your own reactions if the question is concrete. 
• Convey realistic confidence in their and your safety.
• Use your family traditions, beliefs, and religious practices to find meaning and comfort.

Welcome, everyone, to a brand-new school year!  Kindergarten is off to a great start.  New friendships are being formed and old ones renewed.  Through our Morning Meetings we discover things that unite us (you’ve probably all seen the “connection sign” at home by now!)  Our bulletin boards, bare the first day of school, are now covered with everyone’s work and drawings, and the classroom is starting to take on the personality of its new occupants.

The children have been busy playing and working together.  What a great group!

Our study of monarch caterpillars and butterflies is well underway.  Four butterflies have already hatched!  We released them on Thursday.  Earlier in the week, we made life drawings of the caterpillars and the chrysalides.  
Once the remaining three butterflies hatch, we’ll have an opportunity to paint them and then the class will be able to complete their posters of the monarch life cycle.  See if you can see three different stages in the following photo:

We’ll be taking our first trip on Tuesday, Sept. 20, to Magic Wings, the butterfly conservatory in South Deerfield.  More details next week.

We saw a wonderful assembly today that featured African drumming, dances, and storytelling.  The kindergartners were a very attentive group and really enjoyed it.  We also had our first fire drill today.  Again, I was very impressed with how the class conducted themselves.  They lined up quickly and were quiet until they heard the all-clear signal.  They’re all really trying to do their best!

There are blue folders in your child’s backpack today.  Please take time to go over the contents and return the empty folder on Monday.  We’ll use these all year.  Enjoy!

Upcoming events:

Friday, 9/16 – Pizza Friday

Saturday, 9/17, 5-7 pm – High Spirits Parent Gathering, BCD

Thursday, 9/22, 6:15-8:15 – Back-to-School Night

Sunday, 2/15, 4-6 PM, Kindergarten Pot-Luck Supper at Chris and Tyler Weld’s home

You can see we’ve been busy!  Have a wonderful weekend.

Andrea

Hi Everyone,

We wanted to let you know that we had our very first all school fire drill today.  As the teachers were informed of the date and time the fire drill was to take place, we had the opportunity to talk with the children about fire safety and smoke detectors.  We discussed the fact that children should never touch matches, lighters, lit candles, nor fire.  Some of the children were also aware of the practice “Stop, Drop and Roll.”  As we expected the fire drill to take place on Wednesday, we began these discussions on Tuesday.  The actual drill was postponed until today, because of the rainy weather.  We also read some books about fire engines and fire fighters.  After reading the books and initiating these discussions, we talked about what we do at BCD when we hear the fire alarm sound.  We mentioned that the fire alarm is REALLY loud, so everyone can hear it.  We even practiced making the sound with our voices.  When they hear the alarm, the children have been instructed to stop what they are doing, whether it is eating, playing, singing, etc…and put down anything that is in their hands and line up at the door, with no talking.  We shared that the teachers will count the children, to be sure everyone is in line, and the teachers will lead them out to the berm(or tunnel) on the playground.  We also mentioned that while we are walking, we may see siblings, parents or other people we know, but we cannot run to them, nor can we talk; and our hands should remain at our sides.  We explained that we must not talk so that we can hear any important instructions from the teachers or from Mr. Frantz.  Once Mr. Bingham or the Fire Department gives us the “All Clear!”  we will return to the classroom, walking in a line and not talking.  We practiced our own fire drill two times, once, when we were playing and once when we were having snack.  Today

, Everyone was prepared and they all did fantastic!  The alarm was really loud!  We will probably have another fire drill in the next few weeks.

This may be a good time to talk about fire safety at home and develop a family plan for evacuating your home when your smoke detectors or fire alarms sound.

With all of the rainy weather, we certainly have had plenty of time to explore the various learning centers in our classroom this week.  Using Responsive Classroom practices of Guided Discovery, we continued to introduce the Block Corner, Sandbox, Pretend Area, Train Table, Puzzles and The Book Corner.    When introducing a new center, we discuss how many students may work or play in that area at one time, how the materials in that area are and can be used and where those materials are stored.  With practice and reminders, the children are doing a fine job of learning to work and be with one another in the classroom.  Next week we will learn about the Small Building Toys Area, the Math Center and the Writing Center.  We will also establish our Hopes and Dreams for the year.  Each child will share what they “hope” to do in Preschool this year.  Once our Hopes and Dreams are posted, we will use them to develop our classroom rules.  These activities are also Responsive Classroom practices.

On Thursday, we read about Annie Apple, from Letterland.  Annie, a talking apple, lives in an apple orchard in Letterland and she sells apples from her apple stand.  Annie has many animal friends, such as the anteater, an alligator and the antelope.  On Friday, the children made Annie Apple head bands by stamping real cut apples with paint on to green bands.  We also had an “apple tasting” party.  We all sampled Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and MacIntosh slices.  It appears that the Gala slices were the class’ favorite.  Next week, we will meet “Bouncy Ben”, who is a brown bunny.  He loves to play with balls and bounce about. 

Books We Read:

A Day with Firefighters, by Jan Kottke

Fire Engines, by Anne Rockwell

Firefighter Fred, by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre

My Mom is a Firefighter, by Lois G. Grambling and Jane Manning

School,

by Emily Arnold McCully

The Seashore Book, by Charlotte Zolotow and Wendell Minor

Curious George Goes to School, by Margret and H.A. Rey’s

From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle

Dates to Remember:

Friday, September 16th, Pizza Friday

Thursday, September 22nd, Back-to-School-Night, 6:15pm, parents only, no childcare

Thursday, September 29th, No School, Rosh Hashanah

Monday, October 10th, No School, Columbus Day

Have a Nice Weekend!

Ellie and Joni