Hi Pre-2 Families!
Just like that, we are wrapping up another month of our 2021 school year! Although mother nature has been indecisive, it looks like Spring is finally here to stay. Yippee! With the warmer weather, snow pants, snow boots, and gloves are no longer needed so you may take those home if you have not already, ask a teacher if you need help locating them. The children do love a good puddle so bringing rain boots and extra clothes may be a good idea, as we anticipate that mess. If you are ever questioning what is in your child’s school clothes bin, please don’t be scared to ask. Some kids change more often than others and it can be hard to keep track of what comes home!
Field Trip
We started off the month of March with our field trip to the Recreation Center here on Campus. As we mentioned in our February newsletter, we wanted children to have some fun with winter sports such as cross-country skiing and ice skating; however, good ole’ mother nature gave us that nice week with the weather in the ’50s. Instead of participating in winter sports, the kids got to go indoor camping! They walked around with Ms. Christine and picked out their equipment for camping such as a tent, lanterns, sleeping bags and mats, and cooking gear. To help burn off some energy, the kids also got to go run around the indoor track before we headed back to the center. A big thank you to the parents and additional staff that helped chaperone our field trip, we had so much fun with you all and are looking forward to at least one more field trip before the school year ends in May!
Individuality
This month, we continued to focus on ourselves and our unique differences from one another. We started off by learning about different shades of skin by reading “Shades of People” by Shelly Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly. Some of the shades of skin discussed in the book were creamy, ivory, chocolate, cocoa, tan, almond, and brown. The kids learned that there can be different shades of skin within a family as well, though the love is all the same. We brought out the multicultural paints and had the children blend them together to find what shades of colors make up their skin tone. Afterward, they painted their hands and placed them on large pieces of paper so we could show off all the beautiful shades of skin we have in our classroom.
We also discussed the different eye colors everyone in the class, and around the building, has. We learned there are a variety of eye colors such as honey, amber, nut brown, hazel-gray, chocolate, blue-green, cognac, hazel, aqua, hazel-green, and blue. Hillary took pictures of everyone’s eyes and during group time the kids tried to guess who’s eyes were whose and discussed what color they were. We also did a coloring activity with mirrors. The children looked in a mirror to see what colors their eyes were and then colored cutouts of eyes, which you may have seen on the window by the classroom door. We talked about the differences in our teeth and discussed the importance of taking care of our teeth through brushing, flossing, and making healthy choices. As we introduced a doctor’s office into our dramatic play area, we also discussed the parts of our bodies and what they do including arms, legs, fingers, toes, and more specific ones like shoulders, knuckles, and elbows.
The children also learned about famous people from all walks of life during read aloud such as Jesse Owens, Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin, Amelia Earhart, and Stevie Wonder. The kids loved hearing the success stories of people who come from all types of different backgrounds and they have been referencing the characters in their daily interactions as well. We also put out paper multicultural faces, different colored yarn, googly eyes, and skin-tone markers in the art area for the kids to make self-portraits of their unique selves
Simple Machines
Most recently, we dove into the world of simple machines as we are learning about the mechanics of levers, pulleys, incline planes, and more. We built our own pulleys, played with large motor levers, and will be introducing incline planes this upcoming week. We have enjoyed exploring this STEM concept and are excited to see the conversations it will bring in the upcoming weeks. In addition to all these activities, we also continued to build in our block area and create structures with our manipulative tools.
Week of the Young Child
As a heads up for next month, we will be celebrating the Week of the Young Child from April 12th– 16th. There is a flyer for spirit days located above the sign-in sheets, and in other various areas around the center. Monday will be favorite outfit day, Tuesday pajama day, Wednesday workout/ sports outfit day, Thursday wacky outfit/ crazy hair day, and Friday will be spirit/ NIU outfit day.
We are looking forward to jumping into spring with you all, and as always please feel free to reach out for anything you may need.
Much love,
Xena, Hillary, and Hailey
