What a great first week and what a lovely group of children! We’ve been busy playing, working, and getting to know one another. We’ve started to create a sense of community in our Morning Meetings as we look for connections to each other. Answering questions such as, “What’s your favorite color? Do you have a brother or a sister? Do you like pizza?” help us to see our similarities. We’ve also begun to fill our room with the children’s own artwork which have added a lot of color to our walls. While we look for the similarities that link us, we also are learning to appreciate our differences. We talked at length on Thursday about how if everyone looked the same or drew the same way, it would be “BORING!” In addition, this week we’ve had Guided Discoveries using markers and pattern blocks. The children have begun to explore the marble maze, jigsaw puzzles, and the sand table. They’re working and playing well as they explore the room together. We also started to learn two poems, The Little Turtle by Vachel Lindsay, and My Dog Spot by Rodney Bennett. We’ve also learned a chant. Perhaps you’ve heard it at home already?
Crackers and crumbs, crackers and crumbs
These are my fingers and these are my thumbs
These are my eyes and these are my ears
They’ll all grow bigger in the next ten years!
When we began school, we had six caterpillars. Alex Ciejek (Daniel’s dad) brought in one more, as did Stella (a kindergarten alum now in fourth grade). On Thursday, I removed some of the caterpillars and put them on the table so that the children could begin to make their butterfly life cycle posters. The children were asked to observe the caterpillars, drawing what they saw as accurately as possible. They were then given black paper so they could cut antennae for them. These caterpillars are currently displayed on the white board – come and take a look. And when we left school on Friday, we already had two caterpillars in chrysalis, with a third getting ready! Next week I’ll bring the butterfly pavilion down to eye level so that, again, using their observational skills, the children can make a chrysalis for their poster. And we’ll be going to Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory on Sept. 17 as our first field trip, which is always a highlight.
At the end of the day on Friday, I asked the children a few questions about school, wanting to know what they felt about their school, their friends, their teachers, the things they liked to do. This was a quick exercise – we spent just a few minutes reflecting – and I typed their responses into a document. With the guidance of Maureen Tumenas, BCD’s computer and technology teacher extraordinaire, I put them into a Wordle. The larger the type, the more frequently the word came up. You can see for yourself below. (And you’ll also see that I haven’t fully mastered the technology – I couldn’t quite figure out how to leave off the heading or get the photo size just right. But you’ll still get the idea!)
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, Sept. 6 – No School, Labor Day
Thursday Sept. 9 – No School, Rosh Hashanah
Friday, Sept, 17 – Field trip to the Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield. More information will be coming soon.
That’s it for now. Enjoy the long weekend and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Andrea
