January 14, 2018

Our Week in PreK:
In the week before winter break, the children were excited about working together on their movement studies, as well as their collaborations to prepare for winter vacation and holidays. 

The students continued their work with balls and light in small groups to study the movement of objects and how they can manipulate or control this movement.  These exercises in simple physics are engaging, fun, and build a foundation for future learning! 

Using a "pendulum" to knock down buildings, which was introduced during small group time.

Of course, the students were very excited about the upcoming holidays.  During choice time, most children worked in "Santa's workshop," which they built collaboratively and mostly independently.  By the end of the week, roles in the workshop included creating lists, wrapping presents (toys from the classroom, reindeer in Santa's sleigh, and Santa's puppies and kittens.  The children all seemed to relish the opportunity to "practice" wrapping and unwrapping presents.  As with any other holiday, it is easy for us adults to forget that these children haven't had the chance to experience Christmas many times yet, and may not remember what to expect!  Through their play, they begin to take ownership of the "big event" that everyone is making so much fuss about and feel comfortable, knowing what will happen and what they will do.

On Thursday, we enjoyed a fun day together as the children played games with their house teams in the morning, had a festive pizza lunch, and then invited parents and family for a winter celebration party in the classroom.  Thank you to all who were able to join, for a fun classroom party.  Special thanks to our room parent for all of the hard work coordinating and setting up the games!  Thanks, Amani!

Next Week:
As we welcome the students back from our long winter holiday, a lot of our focus will be on reviewing the routines and expectations of our school day and classroom community.  Three weeks away from school is a long time, and we all will benefit from reminders about how we learn and play together in the PreK classroom.

We will begin a new unit on measurement by studying tall and short objects.  The children will continue thinking and learning about movement.  We will also review the letters we have learned about, and introduce the letter K.

We will also welcome back our friend, Ms. Julia, who will volunteer in the classroom.

Circle Solutions:
The focus during circles this week will be on community and sharing as we come together as a class after three weeks away from school.

Reminders: 
Please be sure to pack your child's library books and bag each Sunday.  Thank you!

Upcoming Events:
We will have a house event this Tuesday, January 16th.  Please be sure to wear your house colors!

We will have no school on Thursday January 25th in observance of the Police Day holiday.

Parents' Corner:
In the classroom, we do our best to respond to big feelings with empathy and understanding.  However, it's important (and realistic) to acknowledge that children's feelings aren't always predictable and our responses must be flexible.  What to do when our best intentions of responding with empathy don't work?  Here are some tips on how to help your child in this situation.