Hello Everyone,

While it was a cold and rainy week, we did our best not to let the weather bring us down.  There were a couple days that the kids didn’t get to go outdoors and one day we managed to get out for only for 15 minutes, but we did our best to practice movement exercises at circle times to release some energy.  Our work cycles were typically longer this week, but the kids actually didn’t seem to mind as they continued to explore and stay busy in the studio.  Overall, we all managed to keep our spirits up during this dreary weather.

Reviews this Week

Since we have such a large studio space, it is really easy for kids to forget about our ground rule of “walking feet” in the classroom, as they want to quickly get from one end of the room to the other.  Some kids end up running, and sometimes getting hurt when they slip or bump into something.  So, we did some lessons on walking, and “fast walking,” by demonstrating that our knees don’t need to bend much at all when we are walking quickly.  We also gave a lesson on how to hold pencils and scissors when walking, by making sure that the sharp parts are pointed down and that we use our hands to shield the sharp part from anyone who might bump into us.  After that lesson, we had a little group discussion and decided to add a new ground rule:  “We help keep each other safe.”

New Lessons Taught this Week

One lesson this week that everyone loved was an introduction to playing the piano.  Everyone was crazy about this lesson and we made sure they all had a chance to play some tunes on the piano during work cycles.  She also offered her electronic keyboard from home to play on, since it was such a hit.  With a modern approach, Angelique began teaching the children variations of the C Major chord (c,e,g).

The notes found in the C major chord (c,e,g) were marked for the kids to play during work cycle.

Another group lesson that we had was about Antarctica.  We talked about why it is so cold there, how you won’t find many people living there, and that Scientists are especially found there studying the weather, geography, and wildlife.  We also added a new work with animal figures of Antarctica in our geography area.

Carrie put together a new story with props in the story book box called “Hush!  A Thai Lullaby,” by Minfong Ho.  We observed many children “reading” the book themselves during work cycles, using the colorful props found in the box to act out the story.

Reminders

We ask that children are not getting sent with toys to Indigo as it can be a distraction during school hours.  However, your child may leave toys in the cubbies at Wonderland to play with after school.

Also, please dress your child for the colder weather as we try to get them outdoors to play once a day when it’s not pouring rain or too cold.

~

Today, we managed to get some outdoor time as the rain held out.  This was a nice way to end our week as kids were so excited to get their energy out.  We hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Here’s what some kids have been up to lately…

Oh yeah, and we had a painting lesson (with brushes) this week, too!

Thanks for reading,

Angelique & Carrie