First week in Fall!

I am continually amazed by these children’s capacity for empathy and kindness towards one another and towards the greater world we all share.  Children are learning to take turns with playground equipment and the coveted jobs of holding open a door, rinsing out paint brushes, using the ‘fox-tail’ broom to sweep up paper scraps and  turning on lights in the library during  our after lunch story times.  They reflect back what they hear: “It’s OK.  I could give her a turn.  There are lots of children.  I’m sharing, right?” They also extend warmth to one another in the form of hugs when a friend is feeling sad and kind and comforting words: “I miss my mom sometimes, too. But then I see her again.” “You will see her again, don’t worry!”

We were very happy to welcome a new friend into our class this week!  Duncan was excited to visit the pumpkin in our little pumpkin patch.  A group of children followed and we noticed that the pumpkins were growing larger and their bright green colors were being replaced by an orange hue. “They are really turning to pumpkins!” We have noticed this phenomena in the trees as well.  Green leaves are transforming into gold and red and fluttering to the ground like feathers.  We have attempted to catch them before they touch the earth so we can  make a wish. In the coming weeks we will collect leaves to press and preserve as we walk through campus on our lovely trails.

The children have often requested visiting our pond.  We looked at the water and thought about who might live beneath its surface.  “Maybe a fish.”  “Maybe a snake.”  “I see a bug!” Before we left the children asked if they could touch the water.  I told them they could say goodbye to the water but asked them to keep their shoes dry.  They solved this problem by squatting on the shore and patting the surface with their palms. “Goodbye, pond.” “Goodbye, pond.” It was as if the pond was a friend and this was the closest to giving it a farewell hug. We began reading In the small, small pond, looking at all the creatures who can reside above, below and around the life sustaining waters of a pond.  In the last picture we saw a frog with its eyes closed, nestled in mud, covered by a frozen pond and a layer of snow.

“What’s happening here,” I asked. I was surprised that somebody answered immediately, “He’s hibernating!” We all repeated the word, and thought about what it means to hibernate.  “He’s sleeping.” ” Do we hibernate every night when we go to bed?  Do we hibernate at rest time?”  “Nooo!!”  “Yess!!”  We will think more about this concept as we continue to observe  changes in the outer world and as we  read other books about hibernators. In Leaves, we were introduced to a young bear  who  is sad and confused when his friends the trees start losing all their leaves. He is unsure whether the trees are sick,  so he gathers all the leaves into a pile and uses them to make a cozy bed in a hillside where he sleeps until spring.

In our morning circle we often sing a song about a boat and turn our bodies into boats, balancing on the fulcrum of our seats and rocking back and forth over the waves.  Children imagine what their boats look like:  “Mine is a rainbow boat.” “Mine is green.” “It is a ship!” “A paper boat!” “A feather boat!”  “A glue boat.” At the water table children sail the small scallop shell boat and then sink it to the bottom. They ride together in the big boat, holding dolls or the wooden pear that often stands in for a bell: “Ding-a-ling-a- ling! Get in sister. Brother, come we need to ride quickly!”  “Why we need to ride quickly?” “We need to go to our house.”  “There’s a big fish under the water.”

In the block area children are making tall structures, practicing balance and symmetry.  They are also continuing to use the blocks and scarves to retell the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Recently someone noticed that when the arched block symbolizing the bridge is turned over, it becomes a boat!   An innovative way for the goats to safely traverse the waters and the troll and get to the green hillsides to eat!

We had a great milestone this week – two children sat with me to look into a mirror and study their faces.  We spoke about the shapes they observed as they traced the contours of their faces with a finger and then began to draw.  It was the first really readable representation of a human face.  All the children were excited and wanted to have a turn.  The second child had closely observed the first and a second face emerged. “It’s me! I have toes, too.  And I have feet.” We will continue to look closely at ourselves and attempt to draw what we see.  Throughout the year children will have the chance to make self -portraits and these representations of self will be kept in their portfolios.

In the next week we will continue working on our long term project of feathers and flying and the bird we are making. We will also look more closely at the fluffy balls of wool roving that have been in our class.  We began reading about sheep and imagining what it would be like to be a sheep getting sheared. The red color of the wool reminded us of apples and the children will be starting another project to make felted apples, illustrations of our Farmer Brown song as well as counting tools we  will use as we continue to learn about numbers and adding and subtracting. We look forward to felting with our Grandparents and Grand friends on Friday.

Our gallery of art and words from the children is growing.  Please come in to look at what your children are creating and please let me know if you have a time in the coming weeks and months when you would like to come in to the class to read a book, share a song, a baking project or anything else that is special for you and your child.

All the best!

Sarah