Dear Cedar Parents,
Our November in the Cedar Class was filled with the happy hum of continued explorations inside and outside the classroom. We explored color and light, and shapes and silhouettes through the creation of our lanterns in preparation for our Lantern Walk. The walk itself was a joyful and magical night under a full moon, with the train of glowing colors and smiling children a bright reminder of the peace we carry and the love we feel for each other. Thank you to all of you able to attend!
Our bird study began with a look at the life cycle of the bird, nest building, learning the parts of the bird, and creating individual bird books. We discussed the different ways birds eat, from the diving cormorant to the hovering hummingbird to the clever hole–pecking woodpecker. To further our study of bird feet, we did potato prints and made our own bird footprints on paper. Skylar helped us learn more about different kinds of eggs, and brought in her egg apron, with a duck and chicken egg in each pocket to pass around. She also shared her own turkey feathers with the class right before our Thanksgiving break. Our feather study included making our own paper feathers, using straws to represent the hollow calamus (quill). From our snack table we watched our local black capped chickadees and nuthatches feast from our new bird feeders on the patio, and out the front window watched the resident crows swoop in to eat discarded crackers. We dove into books on birds to learn more about the incredible variety around the world and learn the various words to describe groups of birds– a “gaggle of geese” and a “party of peacocks”. The Kinders enjoyed a sunny walk to the nearby duck pond where we observed the feeding habits of the visiting and local ducks. This week we will continue to learn more about our local neighbors, the amazing Cormorant and the Great Blue Heron, and complete our bird study with preparing our interactive display on wingspans for the Fall Study on December 9th.
Our special guests this month included wonderful read-alouds by our Mystery Readers: Sameer, Theresa, Michelle, Chris, and Tiffany. Thank you!
We also enjoyed a very special visit from Ren’s mother, Neha, who arrived in her finest traditional Indian dress to teach us about Diwali and share homemade Kesari Halwa (“saffron pudding”) with us.
We look forward to a magical few weeks together in December, celebrating the birthdays of Audrey, Maddie, and Aiden, and diving into lessons around baking and food science, as well as a few gift making projects for the holidays.
Thank you all for your continued support of our Cedar children in so many, many ways!
Warmly,
Mary and Kate
