Dear Maple Families,
February, what a fast blur; illnesses and celebrations kept us all guessing all month!
We jumped into the month with our First Friday Teambuilder activities – two games that required careful attention and listening to both verbal and non-verbal communication. We explored different strategies for counting around a circle without interrupting each other, and discovered that patterns and attention-maintaining strategies were critical in making it around the circle. In “What Time is it Mr/Ms/Mx Fox?” we practiced listening and planning (and accurate counting!) in order to try to evade the fox.
This month had many more observers in our classroom as well; we are so happy to host our adults and welcome you all to see what happens every day in our energetic community.
Our field trip this month happened in the very action-packed week before Mid-Winter Break. We were fortunate and so grateful to have Ziggy’s mom, Linda, come and show us how to celebrate Mardi Gras with joy and excitement, beads and music – and delicious King Cake! The very next day, we held our annual Valentine’s exchange with our whole elementary community. Then, finally, Thursday held our field trip to the Battle Point Observatory. Frank, our docent, showed our elementary groups around the solar system in the planetarium, then helped us all appreciate the wonder of the giant telescope they house upstairs. This was an incredible end to an amazing week!
Our classroom continues to be a space where the children are exploring all across the universe of knowledge. Children have made animal research dioramas and presentations, bracelets and woven pouches and pocket dolls, new discoveries in the patterns held within multiples and spelling, and continued to grow and develop so many different kinds of skills.
March will hold new geography and botany lessons, fractions and new ways to see multiplication and division, and beginning knitting, more sewing, and so many more possibilities the children will offer and investigate. We continue to be grateful to spend each day with your children, learning and growing and deepening our sense of our community together.
Thank you,
Joelle and Cley
