Nursery Rhymes Newsletter - Markets & Tadpoles

The UPK class is off to a very successful start. Children have become comfortable with each other and eagerly participate in our curriculum.
We started the year with both a seasonal focus on apples and apple picking as well as a supermarket study. We have cooked with apples….made applesauce, apple pie, apple cake and apple muffins and thrown in a pear cake as well. Your children have diced and sliced and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Although most of the children enjoy preparing food, not everyone is as enthusiastic about trying new foods. We encourage them but we don’t force it.
We’ve also collaged apples, sponge printed apple trees, cut paper apples and baked pretend apple pie in housekeeping. We’ve read about apples and apple picking, using a fabulous selection of children’s literature .
Our loft has been turned into a supermarket where the children may shop. Inspired by our trip to the local supermarket, Of course our children must make their own shopping lists in order to go to our supermarket and thereby gain fine motor pencil skills as they start to make important connections about the relationship of writing (or drawing, scribbling) to communication and meaning. The children loved acting out John Burmingham’s Shopping Basket
As you can see, a lot of or art, music, dramatic play, science, social studies and language revolve around our theme, but we are not limited by it.
Scissors and hole punchers are big favorites and those itty-bitty pieces of paper your children may be bringing home require dexterity and fine motor coordination. They are developing organizational skills as they decide where to place their cutouts. At this age, process is more important than product.
In addition to special projects, crayons, craypas or markers, are available almost everyday. Either sand, water, rice, cornmeal or salt or play dough is also available almost every day.
We’ve made a book called “What’s for Lunch?” where each child collaged a page with pictures of food that they like to eat. The children are able to “read” this book. It is still being passed around so that every child in the class will have a chance to share it with their family. We made another book that all the children can read with their favorite cereal boxes. They can open the flap and see who likes which one.
We have also passed around a class book with pictures of everyone who’s UPK . We hope this affords families the opportunity to open discussion about what’s going on in school and whom it’s going on with. So please, read the class books out loud with your children.
We’d like to remind families that everyone wants a turn with class books, and we’d really appreciate it if the books were promptly returned. If your child wants more time, let us know and after everyone’s seen the book, perhaps you can have another opportunity to borrow it.
In a study that will be ongoing for the year, we are raising tadpoles. With luck and some TLC we are hoping that the children will have the opportunity to witness their transformation into frogs before the year is out. We know where frogs live in the wild, because we went on a fabulous trip to the lake in Van Cortlandt, park. We were so lucky to be guided by Sarah, Oscar’s mom who is a professional Park Ranger. We will add a pond study to our themes and have already created a pond in the loft and we’re working on a book about our trip to the lake.
In the coming weeks we will be continuing our pond study, taking a look at some of the autumn happenings including falling leaves, and pumpkins, just a touch of Halloween fun and preparing for Thanksgiving.
As many of you know, we have been lucky to have a student teacher, Yahira, in our classroom this fall. The children enjoy and benefit from her presence, and we love having an extra adult in the room.
We are looking forward to an exciting year.
Minia, Kirsty, Lucy, Jean, Yasmin and Yahira.