The new Artists of the Week are Alessandro, from the Aspen room and Mia, from the Cypress room. Be sure to check out their wonderful creations in the Art Hallway located by the Cypress classroom entrance. We have been very busy this winter exploring warm and cool colors as well as different types of lines.
Hello parents. The time has come. Creative Movement classes will start Wednesday, October 14th. for the Aspen, and Cypress rooms. I have placed an Introduction letter in all of your mailboxes. Please take the time to read it and if you should have any questions I can be reached by email at starlight21381@yahoo.com or you can visit me in the Cypress room. I’m excited to start classes and look forward to a great year.
Hello Copper Beech parents!
This past week was a very fun and sucessful week in the art room. We have been working with primary colors in a variety of ways. There are paints available as well as crayons, colored pencils, and markers all in the primary colors. Also, we have been working with holding scissors and cutting straight lines. Scissors can be very tricky at first, but many of the children are getting the hang of it and excited to cut out the pictures they draw. Please be sure to take home any artwork that may be in your parent mailbox!
Today we started our day playing outside in the sprinklers! Then before lunch we went into the gym for Curious Creatures! We held an African hedge hog, a baby skunk, and a boa constrictor! The kids were all excited to see the animals. After nap we read more books about the Rainforest and colored some pictures.
Today we took the T to the Arboretum! The kids were very excited about riding the train and had tons of fun playing at the Arboretum. We explored the grass and trees using magnifying glasses and we had a picnic! After nap, we made our first rain forest snack…Ants on a Log!
Today we are making dino cookies. The kids got a chance to use some kitchen tools to mix the dough this morning, and it will chill while they sleep. In the afternoon we’ll use dino cookie cutters to make shapes and bake them up! Each child will get to eat one in the afternoon, and they’ll be able to take the rest home.
We had a sprinkler day on the playground today! The new play structures are a huge hit, as well. Don’t forget to keep your cubby stocked with a swimsuit, water shoes and towel every day.
Wednesday will be my (Kristina’s) last day at Copper Beech! We’ll have a goodbye ceremony just like we do when a child leaves- we’ll sing “Make New Friends” and then we’ll “pass the squeeze,” which is going to be pretty emotional for me! I let the kids know about my plans today at morning circle, and they very enthusiastically offered proposals to make sure that I would remember them when I’m gone (offers to give me their toys to take with me, take care of my plants, etc.). I will surely have no trouble remembering these awesome kids!
Today you may have seen the gignatic dinosaur in the playground! The kids had a great time bouncing, some of them all morning! We have some tired kids at nap today.
Some of the kids are enjoying learning about paleontology, and are doing some simulated “dino digs,” unearthing dino bones from plaster in order to assemble them into a complete skeleton. When we use up that activity, we will have “ice digs”- dinosaur skeletons frozen in a bucket of ice. The kids love digging out the skeletons, and that work is usually out all day.
We are also learning some of the names of different dinosaurs, as well as the difference between herbivores and carnivores.
We have lots of dino materials at school, so please stick with the “no toys at school” policy. No matter how great your dino toys are, it is confusing to the kids if we allow them when we have a rule against it, and they are just as distracting as other toys, since they are separate from the materials we provide on the shelves. We do, however, appreciate good dinosaur books, which you can share by giving them directly to a teacher when you arrive in the morning.
I hope you all enjoy talking about dinosaurs at home, as well!
Today we are going to the sprinkler park! We will be there from 11-noon, and will eat lunch on the lawn by the school.
We had a wonderful time at the farm yesterday! The weather was absolutely perfect, and the train ride through the orchards was beautiful. The play area, surrounded by rows of fruit trees, had a burlap maze to explore, a bouncing castle, a treehouse, goats to visit, and lots of fun play and climbing equipment.
Today we will be walking to the library for a movie. We will leave Copper Beech at 9:45, and will come back in time for lunch. We will have a group time to learn about Venus and Mars before we go!