Dear Parents,
Well, we’ve sprung forward!!! After months of dark winter nights, I’m happy to suffer through one 23hr. day in exchange for an extra hour of sunlight! Hopefully the children won’t notice that it’s still light out when bedtime rolls around!
This past week in “Circle Time,” we introduced the letter “Ss.” The children learned that S is an unreliable letter that often makes sounds other than the basic “s” sound. For example: (s) as in snake and Superman, (sh) as in shark! To highlight the letter we covered our pre-cut S with sequins. In addition to that, we placed a spoonful of yellow and blue finger paint on each child’s shamrock shape. We then had them use their fingers to mix the colors to get their favorite shade of green! This art project combined the science of color mixing with St. Patrick’s Day fun!
During our “Circle Time” discussions, we talked about sharks and spiders. We read Sharks by Catherine Nichols. The children were fascinated to learn that some sharks are as big as a school bus (whale shark), and some are so small they can fit in the palm of your hand! (cookie-cutter shark). Ask them which sharks people are afraid of most! (Great White). With illustrations on every page, the children soon memorized the names of nearly every shark. We also learned about spiders. Ask your child the difference between insects and spiders. (Insects have 3 body parts, six legs and many also have wings. Spiders have 2 body parts, 8 legs and do not have wings).
We also thought that since we based all our learning around the letter “S”, it might be a good time to get out the anti-smoking message. We discussed the health risks and the importance of making good choices. Our slogan was, “Be smart! Don’t start!”
Two more “S” words that we had some fun with last week was Solar System. The sun, moon, stars and planets are fascinating to young children who see the stars twinkle in the night sky. They learned that there are eight planets since Pluto has been left out in the cold. We learned that there is no evidence of life on other planets. Ask your child which planet is closest to the sun, (Mercury) and why we can’t live there. (Too hot) Ask which planet is the largest (Jupiter) and which one has the rings around it (Saturn). Ask why Mars is called the “red” planet. (red soil)
To demonstrate the planets sizes and locations in the Solar System, we used a Styrofoam kit. We positioned the planets around the sun for some totally far out fun!
We also did some scarf dancing this past week. Dancing in the nursery is already fun, and adding scarves to the mix brings the entertainment to a whole new level! We held our scarves by a corner and waved them around in time to “Let’s Go Fly a Kite!” Everyone got very creative!
This past week we discovered the magic of American Sign Language and let our fingers do the talking!!! We learned to sing and sign the song “Each of Us is a Flower.”
Chorus:
Each of us is a flower
Growing in life’s garden
Each of us is a flower
We need the sun and rain.
Each of us is a flower
Growing in life’s garden
Each of us is a flower
We need the sun and rain.
Verse:
Sun, shine your warmth on me
Moon, cool me with your night
Wind, bring the gentle rain
Earth, take my roots down deep.
Chorus
The children acquired it easily! I’m confident your child will be thrilled to practice his/her “secret language” with you! Ask them to sign words like….Mom, Dad, cat, dog, more, thank you, and I love you!!! Just like learning a foreign language, sign language opens up a new path of communication, especially with the hearing impaired. It’s also FUN and a great skill to learn at an early age. The children were eager to practice what they learned during free play and snack time! Olivia G. has been proudly signing “thank you” since we first introduced it!
Snakes with their flicking tongues, unblinking stares, incredible agility and no visible arms or legs were topics of conversations this past week as well. Naturally, we had to have some fun with a “Rattlesnake Eggs” prank!!! The envelope the eggs were in warned of the dangers, still, many of the children were beyond curious. They’d learned that rattlesnakes are best known for their rattles and that when you hear it, you should RUN! However, they were fairly confident that these eggs wouldn’t hatch till spring. So, several victims, including, Gavin, Avani and Ajaye volunteered to open the envelope and report to us what the tiny eggs looked like! Little did they know that inside the envelope, there was a rubber band assembly that uncoiled, causing a loud rattling sound as if the eggs had hatched. All three of them boldly stepped forward to open the envelope. ALL courageous….UNTIL…..the rattle sounded!!! Hilarious! Priceless!
In case you would like to sing along to our weekly flip chart song, it went as follows:
Ss (to the tune Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Sing, sing, sing a song,
sing a silly song.
Singily, jingily,
ringily, swingily,
won’t you sing along?
We continue to review our numbers, colors and shapes. This week’s letter focus will be “Tt”. To keep the children immersed in the learning, on Monday, March 14th, we will have a “Tea Party.”
We will also begin focusing on Easter! Since Easter eggs and the Easter bunny symbolize fertility and new life, we will center our crafts on rabbits, baskets and colored eggs!
We are gearing up for our St. Patrick’s Day parties on Wednesday and Thursday. It is very difficult to catch a tricky leprechaun but we are sure having a lot of fun trying!!! Gavin is determined to catch one for himself and brought in his trusty net to try and accomplish that!!! Encourage your child to spread some Irish cheer by wearing GREEN on March 16th and 17th!
To reinforce the concept that letter U always follows Q in words, we will hold a “ROYAL WEDDING” during “Uu” week. On Wednesday, March 30th we will hold a royal wedding in the nursery classroom. It will be complete with music, decorations, ceremony and reception. Your child is encouraged to bring a gift for the happy couple but it must start with a Q or U. (ie: Q-tips, Quaker Oats, quarter). Please see attached formal invitation.
“Wishin’ you a pot o’ gold and all the joy your heart can hold.” Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Warmly,
Miss Joanne
Birthdays in March:
Ava 3/14
Zia 3/30
Dates to Remember:
March 14th “Tt” is for TEA PARTY!!!
March 16th & 17th St. Patrick’s Day Parties!
WEAR GREEN!!!!!
March 20th Spring arrives!!
March 23rd Easter Party!
March 24th & 25th School closed for Religious Observance
March 30th The Royal Wedding of Letters Q & U!!!!
