Dear Parents,

This week, we are back on track with large and small group lessons. We reviewed how to care for the environment by putting back our material as we found it, exactly where we found it. Since we have several new students, we also did a review on dish washing, folding, and sweeping up dry spills on the floor. We also had some new lessons and lots of singing practice. In addition, we read new books such as Safety in My Neighborhood, by Shelly Lyons, and If I Ever Endeavor,by Holly Meade (and if you click on the link to If I Ever Endeavor, you can see some images and a summary of the book).

Visitors this Week

Edison’s grandmother was thrilled to join us for a circle time one day this week to read us Reading Makes You Feel Good, by Todd Parr. The kids thoroughly enjoyed her story telling and we hope she will come visit again, soon! She donated the book, along with another book, Honey…Honey…Lion!, by Jan Brett, to our classroom. The kids were especially appreciative. Thank you!

Our old friend Maya L., who now currently attends the French immersion school in town was also able to visit this week. Everyone was so glad to see her smiling face…

Circle Time Lessons

Science Experiment with Wax: This was an extension to previous lessons on gas, liquid, and solid forms of matter. We began the lesson by passing around a cube of scented wax for the kids to observe the wax as a solid. Then, we lit a candle and placed it in a ceramic wax melt, adding the wax cube in the pit above the candle (as seen below). The kids all had a chance to observe the cube change to the state of a liquid (and of course, we had a talk about hot wax and fire safety before the candle was lit). Later in the day, when the candle had been blown out and the wax was cooled, they discovered that the wax hardened to the shape of the pit.

Singing with Expression: Several times this week, Angelique worked with the kids on using their singing voices properly along with techniques that encouraged them to be expressive as they sing. They practiced various expressions and worked on vocabulary words to express themselves. The key was to keep in mind that whatever we were feeling, we should sing it passionately and clearly, emphasizing our words and expressions. These exercises are a lot like role playing, and we find that the kids really get into the songs more with some feelings in mind.

Singing with Letter Sounds: The kids took turns choosing two sandpaper letters, i.e., a vowel and a consonant for us to sing in scales to. For example, one child chose “f” and “a,” and so, we put them together and sang up scales on the piano, “fa, fa, fa!” They always have a blast with these types of exercises.

Small Group Lessons

Sorting Plants and Animals: The kids were presented some real-life photo cards of animals and plants to sort into two columns on a rug. It was kind of funny, because when a photo of a person was thrown in the mix, and the teacher would ask, “is it a plant or an animal?” and the kids in each small group would always respond, “a person!” We went ahead to explain that people are indeed part of the Animal Kingdom, too 🙂

Letter Pronunciation: While using the sandpaper letters, the kids were encouraged to over-emphasize letter sounds while looking in the mirror, to see exactly what their face, mouth, and tongue are doing as they speak.

Numbers One through Ten Presented in Symbol, Word & Quantity: Our students were presented matching cards and quantities with beads to practice recognizing their numerals in word form, digits, and quantities.Did You Know? The kids take turns setting the tables for lunch. Several students place plates on the table and help prepare lunches for each child on a daily basis.

This week, we also added some miscellaneous works in the practical life and sensorial area that you will see the kids working with in some of the extra photos below.