Dear Families,
We had a lovely first week back. The children found new materials in the class – crayons shaped like little ‘books,’ alphabet cards with wooden clothespins, pattern blocks and a basket of spring colored wool. There has been much interest in sequencing – what order do the letters go in ? What is first and second and last? We have been talking about this when we remember stories or the process we go through to plant seeds. These ideas about ordering and organizing information are reinforced with games, songs, and physical experiences. When we read stories, we begin with a time to reflect and remember – “What do you remember about this book? What happens?”
At circle time, we sing a song about planting little seeds and we have begun to enact a game where “Spring” awakens all the sleeping seeds. The children had many ideas about what kinds of seeds they were and what they would become: sunflowers, crocus, roses, ‘rainbow trees,’ and ‘green grass.’ We noticed how tall our paper-white bulbs have become, how the forsythia branch was all yellow and how the grass we planted was so big it drooped over to touch the table.
The children have been very excited about the gardens and buildings they are constructing. We revisited our map hanging in the rice room and decided we would make a ‘real map’ with our buildings, connecting them with roads and sidewalks and train tracks. “We need cars, too!” “And a grocery store for food.” “Ice cream store!” “And a stoplight!” “And a stop sign.” “And a go sign.” This excitement and discussion led us to study a book of signs found in the city. Many children were able to guess the signs’ meanings by the context, but I noticed other strategies of decoding, like making the sounds associated with each letter! I am excited to see where the children’s wonderful ideas and enthusiasm about creating their own world will lead us! If you have any tiny boxes or containers at home, please bring them in for us to transform into trucks and trains and other vehicles.
On Friday, we had special visitors: Georgia, Lily and Ruby came to visit and it was such a joy for me to see all the children together! The B3s had many questions for my daughters,“How did you get here?” “Is Mrs. Cooke your Mommy?” “What color is your house?” My daughters were delighted to be so warmly welcomed! It was also my birthday and the children made it very clear that it was the birthday person’s job to bring in special treats to share, just like Aaron did earlier in the week. We all had strawberries and chocolate at snack time and took a long walk in the woods to find signs of spring. It was a perfect day!
The B3s and Pre-k with Georgia, Lily, Ruby and Jesse.
Happy spring, everyone!
Sarah
