DIRECTOR'S CORNER
It is a busy end of the school year
here at the Nursery. The children are
busy caring for the nine chicks and six
ducklings that were hatched during
our embryology project. This project
is made possible by The 4H Club and
Cornell Cooperative Extension of
Westchester. Nancy Caswell and her
staff, annually organize with local
farmers and local farm organizations
to provide this remarkable opportunity
for children throughout Westchester
and into NYC. This year the chickens
will be placed at the Stone Barns Center
in Pocantico Hills and the ducks
will be placed at local farms following
a stopover at the Yorktown
Grange Fair Grounds. Stone Barns
Center is a working educational
farm in Westchester and can be visited.
For information go to www.stonebarnscenter.org.
Late in May, the older classes took our
annual trip to The Little Red Lighthouse.
It was a dreary drizzly day,
but the trip was once again a resounding
success. Upon return, the children
have been busy in the block area building
bridges, lighthouses and barges.
At the art tables children have been
constructing lighthouses and drawing
about their experiences.
This year the Spring Bazaar had to be
held indoors due to rainy weather, but
it still brought Nursery families and
neighbors together once again. As a
fundraiser it was a success, but also
seeing families and friends from years
past reminds us that the Nursery is an
integral start for the families of the
community. Having grandparents mention
that their grandchildren attended
the school more than 20 years ago,
speaks to the longevity of good memories
and foundations that began in this
school. Thanks to all the families who
fulfilled their obligations and volunteered
for their shift and especially
those who went above and
beyond. Our fundraising
committee did a wonderful
job – many of whom
are outgoing families!
Parents worked quite hard
this year trying a few new
fundraisers and a few tried and true
events. Thanks for supporting our
school, through fundraising or by fulfilling
your requirements which help
keep our costs down, so that we may
maintain the high quality program the
Amalgamated Nursery School has always
been. This year we purchased
new playground equipment that took a
bite out of our reserve funds. We will
probably need to continue to fundraise
for the purchase for another year,
but your children have been making
jubilant use of the equipment and I am so pleased to
have taken the plunge to purchase it.
Thanks to the Nursery staff who work hard each
day to provide the rich experiences for the children.
The school is blessed with a dedicated, nurturing,
caring staff. We are indeed fortunate to
have each member of our staff working here.
As you read through this newsletter, you will most
likely see references to children’s literature. In
fact our annual trip to the Little Red Lighthouse was
sparked by the fact that many teachers had a great
love for the book The Little Red Lighthouse and the
Great Gray Bridge and wanted to share that with
the children. At school books are an integral part of
your child’s day and they should be an integral part
of their life. Over the summer months keep this
relationship alive by finding books that relate to the
families activities and by extending books that you
have already read together.
Books about family activities are relatively easy to
find. Our local librarians are more than willing to
help you in your quest. For example if you go to the
zoo, find a book about animals; if you walk along a
park with a pond, get a book from the library that
discusses pond life; if you have a new baby; find a
book about infants and siblings. The possibilities
are endless.
If you are unsure about the type, level or topic of
books to choose always feel free to ask the librarian
or the person who works in the children’s section of
the bookstore. They can help you find appropriate
books of interest. Look for other books at used
book sales, yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets.
Extending a book that your child enjoys and has
read is easy too. It’s as simple as providing materials
for children to draw or paint the favorite part of
the book. You can also act out what the characters
in the book do. If the characters are firefighters
or astronauts or chefs, gather a few props to spark
the child’s play. Supporting a child’s imaginary play
supports problem solving skills, creativity and fosters
rich language development. If characters
plant a garden, try planting a few seeds. If the
story or a part of it takes place at a bakery or grocery
store, in a forest, or at a swimming pool, read it
just before you set out for the same kind of place.
Once there, you and your child can notice things you
saw in the book, point out things you haven’t seen
before, and look at the book again when you get home.
When children read about familiar activities or when
they act out favorite stories, books come alive for
them. Reading becomes more meaningful, more
memorable and more fun.
As the year comes to a close, we wish our graduates
and other students who are moving on to other
schools a warm goodbye – but please stay in touch.
We thank you for letting us enjoy and work your
children. I hope that while they were at the Nursery
they developed friendships and learned to work
with others, developed a rich sense of curiosity and
a strong sense of confidence so that they will know
when to lead, when to follow and when to stand on
their own. All the best!
Have a wonderful summer!
Lisa
-
LITTLE HANDS II
Here we are at the end of another school year. This
wonderful group of children has shown a great deal
of growth. It always amazes me that a class of children
that meets only 4 hours a week can develop
routines, favorite activities and friendships.
This year the children were not fond of block building,
but they certainly loved trains. They enjoyed
the building of different track layouts, were pretty
good sharing the trains and really learned to use
their bodies carefully as the year went on so as not
to destroy the layout.
The children were also an observant group. They
enjoyed watching and learning about the different
animals that were in our room – Marlin the fish,
Chubby the frog, and most recently the caterpillars
that will hopefully emerge as butterflies by the end
of the school year.
They certainly love experimenting with art! I am a
strong believer in process oriented art – meaning
the process of gluing, painting and collaging is more
important than the finished product. Early in the
year, using glue was an adventure – in fact just drizzling
colored glue was art for them. Then, as they
became more experienced glue became a substance
that allowed them to stick other items on to a construction.
Paint can be used to represent one color,
or blended to make another. They learn that they
have control in their expression, they determine
what colors to use, where to put an item in a collage
or whether their strokes are broad and long or dabs
of color. For most of the younger children they are
still very experimental, still learning to control their
movements and placements –but they sure are enjoying
the learning process!!
Where I have seen the most growth has been in
their gross motor ability in the park and also in their
language development. Early in the school year, our
new climbing equipment was challenging for many of
the children – but now they are confident, sure
footed veterans! They are so proud of abilities and
take new risks each visit. The room was a quiet
place early in the year. Now the conversations, comments
and questions are filling the air.
All throughout this year they have become much
more aware of each other. On their journey to becoming
social beings (and it is a journey) they have
learned a great many things –most positive and a few
negatives! They notice when friends are absent,
they know who they enjoy playing next to, they are
beginning to know how to share, they recognize when
a friend is hurt and things that make them feel better,
they have in general learned it feels nice to be
nice, but in addition, they know who they can get a
rise out of and sometimes how to get a friend the
scream – despite teacher intervention!! So we continue
to work on problem solving and how to make
and keep friends. These things are part of learning
to get along in a group setting. It is hard for young
children to begin giving up thinking about themselves
for the good of the group. That in essence is what
Little Hands is about - learning social competence –
it is the beginning of the long road to becoming a
good member of a community. Research has shown
that this social competence is crucial to later school
and of course lifelong success.
Today we were able to share some of the excitement
with the three year olds as the chicks
hatched. We had been visiting the incubator and the
children were amazed to see the results. As the
day ended there were 9 chicks hatched. We will
also enjoy visiting the ducks as they grow.
I’d like to thank Jean and Meg for their caring attentive
manner–always laced with some humor to
keep us all smiling!
The children have amassed some favorite music as
the year has gone on. I plan to burn a CD for each
family with a few favorites. Two particular songs
by Laurie Berkner, “I Know a Chicken” and Telephone
are by far favorites! If you don’t know her music
please seek it out for your child, along with the classics of Raffi. I have borrowed copies of both artists’ CD’s from the library.
We look forward to seeing all our friends again in school next year, except for Michael Ervin who will be attending
another school in the fall. We will miss him and wish him and his family well!
Have a wonderful summer, make use of your Cool Culture Cards and visit the library - below I have listed a few of our favorite LH books this year.
Clip Clop by Nicola Smee
Hide and Snake by Keith Baker
Mrs.Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley
Piggies by Audrey Wood
This Little Chick by John Lawrence
Across the Stream by Mirra Ginsburg–
Our Farewell, Until We Meet
Again In September
By: LITTLE HANDS III
The smell of summer is in the air
and unfortunately the time has
come to say good bye. The children
have grown and blossomed so
much since the very first day of
school.
Since our last newsletter, we have
celebrated several holidays, Valentine’s
Day, St. Patrick’s Day,
Easter, and Chinese New Year.
We read books such as My First
Chinese New Year by: Karen Katz,
cooked Chinese Fried Rice, and
created wonderful art which were
hopefully displayed at home so all
could see.
We also explored various bugs
(dragon flies, lady bugs, worms,
and ants), including the transformation
of butterflies. We had
the opportunity to have a lady bug
farm in our classroom, which we
visited everyday and then released
in the park for them to help our
gardens. During our lesson I asked
each child “what do you think lady
bugs like to eat?” Following is
their responses:
Ava: Marshmallows
Kol: Crickets
Amani: Crickets
Valentina: Their babies,leaves
Dylan: Cheese Doodles
Nicolas: Grass
Paz: Salad
Mary: Lettuce
The children loved to see
them fly away. We also introduced
walking sticks to the
children. They experienced a
walking stick, walking on their
arms and how sticky their legs are.
We read stories such as The Very
Quiet Cricket, The Very Hungry
Caterpillar The Grouchy Ladybug
and The Very Busy Spider all by:
Eric Carle, As you can see, we
spent quit some time on this unit
and the children enjoyed every
step of the way.
Lastly, the children were able to
see the hatching of our chicken
and duck eggs. We would take occasional
walks to the incubator to
view the eggs. We would discuss
their color (of the egg), what colors
they thought the chicken or
duck would be once it hatched, and
what type of food they thought
the chickens and ducks would like
to eat.
Overall, we have had a wonderful
school year with lots of growing,
physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Now it is time for the children
to practice what they have
learned with their friends over
the summer, bloom some more,
until we meet again in September.
May you all have a safe and pleasant
summer vacation. It has been
a pleasure to have you all in my
class.
Sincerely,
Luz, Jean, & Lynn
THREE'S AM
Our eggs arrived on May 11th and
are due to hatch on the 31st. We
have been looking at our science kit
about the changes that happen inside
of the egg every day. It contains
twenty one plastic eggs with a
picture inside of each egg. Our children
are becoming good observers
by describing the difference they see
when we compare the last two eggs
we opened. We went “buggy” in our
class both morning and afternoon.
The walking sticks have
given children the opportunity
to hold one and feel it waking
up their arm.
Pill bugs and ladybugs are
also in our classrooms as
well as caterpillars. The children are
eager to look for bugs when we go
to the both parks. We also had an
opportunity this month to learn
about compost. Stephanie
Surya’s mom gave us a tour of
the Co-Op’s compost bin located
right next to our Tire Park. We
learned how the many bugs we
saw living in there help break up the
leaves and turn them to soil.
The beginning of June will provide
the opportunity for more learning
about birds as we’ll be observing
how our chicks grow. Please come
by and visit both Minia’s and my
classroom. We hatched chicks and
Minia hatched ducks. This is a very
exciting time for all of us. We are
planning to culminate the year with
a unit about the ocean/water play
and will visit the sprinklers at the
Fort Independence Park A.K. “Pigeon
Park” on Sedgwick Ave. We will also
explore with bubbles.
We cannot believe the end of the
school year is quickly approaching.
In the month of March we learned
about spring through a lot of reading
and observations of our outdoor environment.
We looked for signs of
spring and read about many animals
born during this time every year.
We also learned about different
means of transportation. We
charted how many children come to
school by walking, by car, by bus, or
by train. Also, how many of us had
been in a plane, ship, train, or a
boat. They all enjoyed the unit
about boats but enjoyed ships the
most. Playing with water was the
focus as we learned which items sink
and which float. We celebrated St.
Patrick’s Day with readings, art and
cooking. We all enjoyed eating
green eggs and ham.
In April we learned about Easter and
Passover. Easter baskets were
made out of newspaper and the
Matzo covers were decorated
beautifully with their drawings
using fabric markers. We all
enjoyed a piece of Matzo with
butter or plain during snack
time. During the beginning of
May our focus was making the
Mother’s Day present and reading
books about mothers. Are You My
Mother? By Eastman became our
favorite story. We hope you enjoyed
the canvas the children made.
Then, we visited the Firehouse on
Bailey Ave. and our focus was fire
trucks. All the rain this month did
not stop us from going to either trip.
The lighthouse trip was well attended
by parents. Thank you for
all your support. The two class
books are circulating right now. Enjoy
the pictures with your child that
tell the story of our trips and engage
your child in conversation about the
trip.
The moving up ceremony ,June 8th,
is a time to learn new songs and
sing some old songs too. We hope
to see every one there. Before the
end of the school year, we will start
sending two children at a time to
visit Minia’s class. This will help the
children have a smooth transition
into the UPK. They will be the “big
kids” in the school next year.
We had a wonderful year with your
children. It is hard to believe
these are the quiet, hesitant,
children who walked into our
room nine months ago. They
have grown into confident,
verbal, independent children.
It is always a pleasure to see
them grow, form friendships,
and mature during the year.
I would like to thank Alma and
Nicole for your hard work and
dedication. This year in particular
we had a challenging group of children.
You were always there for the
children and for me. Thank you to
Vicki for volunteering in our classroom.
The children enjoy your presence
in the classroom. We all learn
a lot from you. I would also like to
thank Lisa for having confidence in
my role as a teacher. It means a
lot to me.
We would especially like to thank
you, the parents, for your cooperation
and support this year. Thank
you so much for your donations.
Parental support is what makes this
school so especial. Thank you, most
of all, for entrusting your children to
our care. We have enjoyed every
experience while being part of your
children’s growth.
We wish you a wonderful summer!
Maria, Alma, and Nicole
PM UNIVERSAL PREKINDERGARTEN
Chickens, Lighthouses, and The Rhythm of the Rain
Dear Parents,
It’s hard to believe that the school year is
drawing to a close. The time has flown by so
rapidly. It seems as though we were just meeting
the class for the first time, and now they
are preparing to embark on new journeys as
they enter kindergarten and beyond. Time
really does fly when you are having fun.
We spent our rainy spring learning about rain
and water, which made our indoor days more
fun. We played at the water table, listened to
Handel’s Water music and Melissa, our student
teacher worked on making a HUGE rain stick
with us. It was hard work. We had to hammer
lots of nails into the large tube that was going
to be our rain stick. Then we had to paint it and
fill it with beans. When it was done it sounded
awesome! Now we can make it “rain” in our
classroom any time we want!
Our recent trip to the Little Red Lighthouse
was a lot of fun for everyone, even though the
weather was not so cooperative. Traveling on a
big, yellow school bus was fun in and of itself,
but the lighthouse was simply amazing! We went
on a scavenger hunt, searching for interesting
items along the banks of the Hudson River, and
then we climbed to the top of the lighthouse.
What a view! We saw so much from the top, including
boats, geese, and of course the Great
Gray Bridge! We took quite a few pictures and
are turning them into a memory book for our
classroom. Then we can revisit our trip many
times and talk about the things we saw and did.
When we returned from the trip we began
working on our own lighthouses using a variety
of items that we would ordinarily either throw
out or recycle. It was fascinating to see what
the children chose to build their own unique
lighthouses. It’s very exciting watching them
begin to take shape and express each child’s
individuality. I’m sure we’d love to see these
beautiful lighthouses guarding our shorelines
and protecting the boats on the water!
We are very excited that our chicken eggs are
going to hatch soon. It will be pretty amazing
to watch them hatch and see the cute little
fuzzy chicks that were curled up inside. Every
day we have been looking at pictures of what is
going on inside the eggs
and how the chicks are developing.
May 31 is supposed
to be hatching day.
We will have to pay careful
attention to the incubator
in the coming days.
After the eggs hatch we
will have the responsibility
of caring for the chicks.
It’s a tall order, but I
think we’re up to the challenge.
We are now raising caterpillars, and if all goes
well, we’ll have butterflies in our classroom.
Taking care of animals and watching them grow
and change gives us a sense of wonder and responsibility.
It’s nice to see other creatures
growing up just like we are.
Our class has accomplished so much this year,
and they eagerly await the new adventures that
kindergarten will bring. Our friends will be going
off to new schools to embark on new experiences.
We know that, wherever your children
are headed, they will be bringing a whole year’s
worth of school experiences that will prepare
them for whatever lies ahead. We have truly
grown this year, not just as individuals, but as a
community of learners. When you consider that
many of these children didn’t
know one another just nine
months ago, it’s gratifying to
see how they have become
such good friends.
Since September we have
seen such tremendous growth
in all our children in all areas
of development. We are proud
of their accomplishments and
are excited to see what challenges the future
holds. We know our children will be more than
ready to meet those challenges.
We would like to thank each and every parent
for your cooperation, help, and the faith and
trust you have in us in caring for your children.
We thank you for the pleasure of their company,
and for the privilege of being their teachers.
It has been a gratifying having them as a
part of our family this year. Have a great summer!
Peace.
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
The Made Up Song
By Emily Bernstien-Dunkel
The Nursery School is very cute and fun because it is full of little kids!!!!!
Every time I come here I just remember being a little kid.
Yaa Yaa, I just like it so much ‘cause it’s full of little kids.
FULL DAY UNIVERSAL PRE-K
Museum of Natural History and the fire house. We went to
the Little Red Lighthouse. We used all these experiences
to inform our work in the classroom. For example
our block corner recreated the firehouse and the
light house and the great gray bridge. Our
loft contained a supermarket and a pond.
Housekeeping was sometimes a pizza shop,
or an office or a bakery,or a fire engine.
All this playing, helped us to expand our language,
as well as develop our artistic,
math, science and social
skills.
We baked a lot of bread and cooked up a
storm. We painted and drew. We made buckets
of playdough. We cut. We read stories
and acted many of them out.
We made a ton of class
books. Many parents came to
visit, and enriched our classroom.
We were lucky enough
The end of the year is always
bittersweet… so happy to
see how much and how well
our children have grown, how
ready they are for their next
steps and so sad to see them
go.
It’s been an incredibly exciting
and stimulating year for
the children. We began the
year with a trip to the lake,
and weather permitting we
are planning to go there one
more time.
We took neighborhood trips
to the supermarket, the
pizza store, the Amalgamated
offices, and the boiler
room. We went to the Muto
have 3 student teachers
over the course of the year,
Kathy, Annet and Sabena who
also helped enrich our classroom.
Many thanks to our great
classroom staff, Kirsty, Lucy,
Jan, Jean and Nicole whose
hard work, helped to keep
the classroom running
smoothly. Thanks to Vicki,
for volunteering with us and
helping out in the classroom.
Thanks to the parents for all
your efforts in maintaining
the school and fundraising
for us. Thanks to Lisa for
always being there to help
Wishing you all a great summer
and much luck and success
in meeting the challenges
to come.
Minia
CONGRATULATIONS to our 2011 graduates
Sky Cumbe
Aniya DeLasNueces
Matthew Fiedorczuk
Madison Frascati
Aaliyah Markman
Ryan Marrero
Elani Montes
Nyah Ortiz
Jaedynn Patino
Ali Saad
Mohamed Saad
Kamand Salehina Sammak
Esmeralda Sanchez
Jeremiah Vaca
Emily Valentin
Niya Valentin
Jose Vinueza
Jad Assaily
Veronica Kanachova
Nadia Pagan
Matthew Singh
Laila Ayala
Keira Burgos
Diana Camilo
Olivia Cosgrove
Tristen Duranti
Michael Farnsworth
Nicholas Frade
Raquel Gomez
Hiram Gonzalez
Christian Herring
Martha Mena
Michael Polanco
Luke Reyes-Whited
Carter Tomlinson
Jade Villafane
Tara Yarahmadi
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming Events
In March
· Open house/registration—Begins on the 5th for the community-at-large or the 2011-2012 school year.
· Extravaganza –Dance Party Saturday 19th.
In April
· Wednesday 13th— Parent/Teacher Conferences from 6:30 P.M.- 9:00 P.M.
· Thursday 14th— Parent/Teacher Conferences continues – classes dismiss at 1:00PM. No Afternoon UPK class – Little Hands Regular schedule.
· Monday 18th— Spring Recess—School Closed.
· April Wednesday 27th— School Reopens after Spring Recess.
· Saturday 30th—Trike – a – Thon
In May
· Sunday 15th— SPRING BAZAAR
· Thursday 26th— General Parent Meeting – ELECTIONS 7:30 P.M.
· Monday 30th—Memorial Day—School Closed.
In March
· Open house/registration—Begins on the 5th for the community-at-large or the 2011-2012 school year.
· Extravaganza –Dance Party Saturday 19th.
In April
· Wednesday 13th— Parent/Teacher Conferences from 6:30 P.M.- 9:00 P.M.
· Thursday 14th— Parent/Teacher Conferences continues – classes dismiss at 1:00PM. No Afternoon UPK class – Little Hands Regular schedule.
· Monday 18th— Spring Recess—School Closed.
· April Wednesday 27th— School Reopens after Spring Recess.
· Saturday 30th—Trike – a – Thon
In May
· Sunday 15th— SPRING BAZAAR
· Thursday 26th— General Parent Meeting – ELECTIONS 7:30 P.M.
· Monday 30th—Memorial Day—School Closed.
HOW TO TALK TO YOUR KIDS (OR YOUR ADULTS) ABOUT THEIR ART...
from Linda Carson
big black pig studio
"Kids are not little adults. But they are professionals. Their job is to play, their job is to experiment, their job is to try different things."
Chuck Jones (the guy who drew Bugs Bunny)
Why do art? | Five tips on talking | What not to say | What to say | What to read
You are the first art teacher
Why do art?
Practicing art, as a child or as an adult, is a joyous activity that awakens our senses in the rest of our
day-to-day life. A few of us may eventually become working artists. But there are many more benefits to be gained doing art.
· self-esteem
· manual dexterity & physical co-ordination
· organization
· self-discipline
· Creativity
(Continues on Page 3)
· risk-taking
· problem-solving & decision-making
· visualization & planning
· spontaneity & responsiveness
· a personal aesthetic
· relaxation
· communication
· emotional expression
· respect for the individuality of others . . . and oneself
What you say to your kids about art can either reinforce these goals . . . or undermine them dreadfully. Who doesn't remember some devastating experience-in grade two, perhaps with a well-meaning adult who "corrected" your painting because "trees have to be green, dear"?
Five tips on talking to your kids about their art
"Right" or "Wrong" applies only to the use of tools & materials, not to the artwork or subject matter.
Creative folks try to practice divergent thinking (where we get lots of different answers and ideas) instead of convergent thinking (where we're trying to conform by arriving at the one correct answer). It's usually a good thing when your kids' paintings don't look like any of the others in the class.
P.S. Give them more blank paper, fewer colouring books.
Focus on the process, not the product.
What you're trying to do is feed back their explorations to them--being neither too critical nor too gushy--and leave lots of room in the conversation for them to talk, too. What they think about their artwork is more important than what you or I think.
What you're trying not to do is impose adult standards on kids' work. You probably know, from your own childhood experience, that the most crushing thing you can say is "What is it?"
Let your kids decide which works are the best for display.
Sure, you may save everything (dated) in a box so you can look back on their progress, but you obviously can't show it all off. The latest work can go on the fridge door. Then buy a clip frame (easy to change the artwork) and encourage your kids to select their favourite of the month to decorate the front hall. Doing art is one of the only opportunities kids have in their week to exercise, explore & develop their own judgment. At the easel, they're in charge of what's right, what's best, what's next. Instead of learning & conforming to an external adult standard of excellence, they're discovering their own.
Don't over-praise.
If you gush all the time, your kids stop valuing your praise and may eventually doubt that anything they do is praiseworthy.
Praise them for doing, not being.
Focus your praise on the work accomplished, not on your kids' innate brilliance. ("What a great idea!" or "You really worked hard on this painting!" rather than "You're so clever.") Get it? Kids who are rewarded for "doing" (working hard & making progress) continue to thrive. Kids who are congratulated for "being" smart--or artistic or imaginative--often start playing it safe to protect their image.
What NOT to say . . .
Even "Tell me about your painting" can embarrass young or non-verbal kids. For example, here are some of the most notorious things never to say to an artist of any age or experience.
· "What is it?"
· "Is it done yet?"
· "Who ever heard of a green cat?"
· "Next time, try to be tidier."
· "Let me do it for you."
Honourable mention goes to the great classic, "It's so . . . interesting."
What to say . . .
Focus praise on the effort, not the product. For example:
· "How did you do this?"
· "You seemed to be having fun."
· "You were really concentrating."
"What an interesting way to use the brush."
Talk about the shapes, colours & marks you see. For example:
· "What I notice first about your drawing is . . ."
· "What I like most about this is . . ."
"Isn't it interesting how you've used lots of . . . "
Promote self-evaluation. For example:
· "Have you put in everything you want to show about the subject?"
· "Do all the parts of the picture look like they belong together?"
"Which of your paintings from today do you like best, and why?"
Encourage effort, enjoyment, & risk-taking. For example:
· "It's fun to try it different ways."
· "We learn a lot from our mistakes."
· "Can you think of other ways to use this tool?"
· "Let's try anyway."
· "It's okay to get dirty."
· "I'm proud of you when you try hard things."
What to read . . .
Buy ‘em, or read mine while your kids are in class. I am especially indebted to Peggy Jenkins for most of the suggestions on "What to say."
Doing Art Together
by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer with Mablen Jones ISBN 0-671-43428-4 Pbk.
Art for the Fun of It: a guide for teaching young children
originally published as Art Principles and Practices by Peggy Davison Jenkins ISBN 0-671-76151-X
The Creative Spirit
by Goleman, Kaufman & Ray
especially Chapter 2--Creativity in Children
I'm not a fan of Mona Brooke's Drawing with Children.
You are the first art teacher your kids ever know
Your interest & informed praise contribute daily to your kids' creative development.
M y own parents never studied art or teaching. (My mother says she was actually excused from grade five art because it was too damaging to her self-esteem.) But Mummy always got the movers to leave behind big heaps of the blank newsprint paper they used to wrap our dishes, and she never bought me colouring books. Daddy said, "Of course you can learn to run a jigsaw" and everybody said it was okay to get dirty. I thank them every chance I get.
Linda Carson
owner/operator of the big black pig studio
AKA
the person behind the pig
This article was written by Linda Carson owner/operator of the Big Black Pig Studio in Ontario Canada. The article can be found at http://www.bigblackpig.com/howtotalk.html.
big black pig studio
"Kids are not little adults. But they are professionals. Their job is to play, their job is to experiment, their job is to try different things."
Chuck Jones (the guy who drew Bugs Bunny)
Why do art? | Five tips on talking | What not to say | What to say | What to read
You are the first art teacher
Why do art?
Practicing art, as a child or as an adult, is a joyous activity that awakens our senses in the rest of our
day-to-day life. A few of us may eventually become working artists. But there are many more benefits to be gained doing art.
· self-esteem
· manual dexterity & physical co-ordination
· organization
· self-discipline
· Creativity
(Continues on Page 3)
· risk-taking
· problem-solving & decision-making
· visualization & planning
· spontaneity & responsiveness
· a personal aesthetic
· relaxation
· communication
· emotional expression
· respect for the individuality of others . . . and oneself
What you say to your kids about art can either reinforce these goals . . . or undermine them dreadfully. Who doesn't remember some devastating experience-in grade two, perhaps with a well-meaning adult who "corrected" your painting because "trees have to be green, dear"?
Five tips on talking to your kids about their art
"Right" or "Wrong" applies only to the use of tools & materials, not to the artwork or subject matter.
Creative folks try to practice divergent thinking (where we get lots of different answers and ideas) instead of convergent thinking (where we're trying to conform by arriving at the one correct answer). It's usually a good thing when your kids' paintings don't look like any of the others in the class.
P.S. Give them more blank paper, fewer colouring books.
Focus on the process, not the product.
What you're trying to do is feed back their explorations to them--being neither too critical nor too gushy--and leave lots of room in the conversation for them to talk, too. What they think about their artwork is more important than what you or I think.
What you're trying not to do is impose adult standards on kids' work. You probably know, from your own childhood experience, that the most crushing thing you can say is "What is it?"
Let your kids decide which works are the best for display.
Sure, you may save everything (dated) in a box so you can look back on their progress, but you obviously can't show it all off. The latest work can go on the fridge door. Then buy a clip frame (easy to change the artwork) and encourage your kids to select their favourite of the month to decorate the front hall. Doing art is one of the only opportunities kids have in their week to exercise, explore & develop their own judgment. At the easel, they're in charge of what's right, what's best, what's next. Instead of learning & conforming to an external adult standard of excellence, they're discovering their own.
Don't over-praise.
If you gush all the time, your kids stop valuing your praise and may eventually doubt that anything they do is praiseworthy.
Praise them for doing, not being.
Focus your praise on the work accomplished, not on your kids' innate brilliance. ("What a great idea!" or "You really worked hard on this painting!" rather than "You're so clever.") Get it? Kids who are rewarded for "doing" (working hard & making progress) continue to thrive. Kids who are congratulated for "being" smart--or artistic or imaginative--often start playing it safe to protect their image.
What NOT to say . . .
Even "Tell me about your painting" can embarrass young or non-verbal kids. For example, here are some of the most notorious things never to say to an artist of any age or experience.
· "What is it?"
· "Is it done yet?"
· "Who ever heard of a green cat?"
· "Next time, try to be tidier."
· "Let me do it for you."
Honourable mention goes to the great classic, "It's so . . . interesting."
What to say . . .
Focus praise on the effort, not the product. For example:
· "How did you do this?"
· "You seemed to be having fun."
· "You were really concentrating."
"What an interesting way to use the brush."
Talk about the shapes, colours & marks you see. For example:
· "What I notice first about your drawing is . . ."
· "What I like most about this is . . ."
"Isn't it interesting how you've used lots of . . . "
Promote self-evaluation. For example:
· "Have you put in everything you want to show about the subject?"
· "Do all the parts of the picture look like they belong together?"
"Which of your paintings from today do you like best, and why?"
Encourage effort, enjoyment, & risk-taking. For example:
· "It's fun to try it different ways."
· "We learn a lot from our mistakes."
· "Can you think of other ways to use this tool?"
· "Let's try anyway."
· "It's okay to get dirty."
· "I'm proud of you when you try hard things."
What to read . . .
Buy ‘em, or read mine while your kids are in class. I am especially indebted to Peggy Jenkins for most of the suggestions on "What to say."
Doing Art Together
by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer with Mablen Jones ISBN 0-671-43428-4 Pbk.
Art for the Fun of It: a guide for teaching young children
originally published as Art Principles and Practices by Peggy Davison Jenkins ISBN 0-671-76151-X
The Creative Spirit
by Goleman, Kaufman & Ray
especially Chapter 2--Creativity in Children
I'm not a fan of Mona Brooke's Drawing with Children.
You are the first art teacher your kids ever know
Your interest & informed praise contribute daily to your kids' creative development.
M y own parents never studied art or teaching. (My mother says she was actually excused from grade five art because it was too damaging to her self-esteem.) But Mummy always got the movers to leave behind big heaps of the blank newsprint paper they used to wrap our dishes, and she never bought me colouring books. Daddy said, "Of course you can learn to run a jigsaw" and everybody said it was okay to get dirty. I thank them every chance I get.
Linda Carson
owner/operator of the big black pig studio
AKA
the person behind the pig
This article was written by Linda Carson owner/operator of the Big Black Pig Studio in Ontario Canada. The article can be found at http://www.bigblackpig.com/howtotalk.html.
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - ROOM 2 - 3's AM
Welcome back to a new year in Room Two. The children enjoyed the fall season. We watched as the leaves turned beautiful shades of red, yellow, brown, and gold and then fell from the trees. Our class tree followed the same pattern. Apples were replaced by beautiful leaves the children painted with water color which have since fallen and sent home. Now beautiful snowflakes the children decorated adorn the classroom tree.
We started our preparations for Thanksgiving by reading books about families. We learned that families come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. We looked at pictures of real turkeys and sang turkey songs. We had our own Thanksgiving feast. Our menu consisted of pumpkin corn bread, corn on the cob, and cranberry orange relish. They had a blast pulling the husk from the corn. At the art table each child made his/her own funky turkey and at the tactile table children had many opportunities to scoop cranberries from the water table. The true meaning of Thanksgiving was demonstrated when we brought the cans of food you donated to the collection center in Vladeck Hall.
The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us. We sang songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and read many stories. The children requested the book Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani numerous times. It presents the words of the familiar Christmas song, plus extra verses and brief descriptions of the Christmas traditions of Mexico, Sweden, the Philippines, Poland, Italy, and Kenya. This book introduced the children to how other cultures celebrate Christmas. Plus they got to talk about their traditions at home. The children were very proud of the holiday gifts they made for their families. We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. We made potato latkes and since then kept a potato in a jar with some water. The children are observing as the potato’s eyes are forming and growing.
During November and December the children enjoyed listening to the book Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington, The Door Bell Rang by Pat Hutchins, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond. In January we are cooking with potatoes. So far we tried potatoes boiled, baked, and fried and we made potato rolls. We planted potatoes and will be watching our viewing nursery box as the potato plant grows roots and shoots start to come up.
January will be a time to explore the winter season. Included are the environmental changes that take place, freezing, melting, and how animals adapt. Hibernation and migration will be discussed. We will be reenacting the story The Mitten by Alvin Tresstle, The Enormous Potato by Aubrey Davis, and The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. Our celebration of Chinese New Year which falls on February third will be a perfect introduction of other vegetables. We will get a unit on transportation started towards the beginning of February and will continue with our winter unit exploring the sports people enjoy in the winter months.
The children had formed friendships and are getting along very well. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another. They enjoy coming to the writing table and the art table; some are starting to write their names and all can recognized their names as well. The weather chart is a very popular activity during circle time. A few children participate daily to check the weather, tell the class what the weather is like and count how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, or snowy days we had so far in the month.
The parent of the day program has started please try to find a day (or even an hour) to spend with us in our classroom. The children enjoy having their parents visiting the classroom. We missed Vicki in our classroom the children enjoyed her presence. Thank you Vicky for volunteering your time, we look forward to having you back in our classroom soon.
We would like to stress how important it is for children to feel comfortable while playing in the snow. Buying a pair or two of water prove mittens is one thing you can do to assure their hands are always dry. We also recommend to clip them to their jackets.
Looking forward to the rest of the year,
Maria, Alma, Nicole, and Vicki
We started our preparations for Thanksgiving by reading books about families. We learned that families come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. We looked at pictures of real turkeys and sang turkey songs. We had our own Thanksgiving feast. Our menu consisted of pumpkin corn bread, corn on the cob, and cranberry orange relish. They had a blast pulling the husk from the corn. At the art table each child made his/her own funky turkey and at the tactile table children had many opportunities to scoop cranberries from the water table. The true meaning of Thanksgiving was demonstrated when we brought the cans of food you donated to the collection center in Vladeck Hall.
The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us. We sang songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and read many stories. The children requested the book Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani numerous times. It presents the words of the familiar Christmas song, plus extra verses and brief descriptions of the Christmas traditions of Mexico, Sweden, the Philippines, Poland, Italy, and Kenya. This book introduced the children to how other cultures celebrate Christmas. Plus they got to talk about their traditions at home. The children were very proud of the holiday gifts they made for their families. We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. We made potato latkes and since then kept a potato in a jar with some water. The children are observing as the potato’s eyes are forming and growing.
During November and December the children enjoyed listening to the book Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington, The Door Bell Rang by Pat Hutchins, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond. In January we are cooking with potatoes. So far we tried potatoes boiled, baked, and fried and we made potato rolls. We planted potatoes and will be watching our viewing nursery box as the potato plant grows roots and shoots start to come up.
January will be a time to explore the winter season. Included are the environmental changes that take place, freezing, melting, and how animals adapt. Hibernation and migration will be discussed. We will be reenacting the story The Mitten by Alvin Tresstle, The Enormous Potato by Aubrey Davis, and The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. Our celebration of Chinese New Year which falls on February third will be a perfect introduction of other vegetables. We will get a unit on transportation started towards the beginning of February and will continue with our winter unit exploring the sports people enjoy in the winter months.
The children had formed friendships and are getting along very well. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another. They enjoy coming to the writing table and the art table; some are starting to write their names and all can recognized their names as well. The weather chart is a very popular activity during circle time. A few children participate daily to check the weather, tell the class what the weather is like and count how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, or snowy days we had so far in the month.
The parent of the day program has started please try to find a day (or even an hour) to spend with us in our classroom. The children enjoy having their parents visiting the classroom. We missed Vicki in our classroom the children enjoyed her presence. Thank you Vicky for volunteering your time, we look forward to having you back in our classroom soon.
We would like to stress how important it is for children to feel comfortable while playing in the snow. Buying a pair or two of water prove mittens is one thing you can do to assure their hands are always dry. We also recommend to clip them to their jackets.
Looking forward to the rest of the year,
Maria, Alma, Nicole, and Vicki
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - UPK FULL DAY
What a winter! More snow than ever, and more fun and excitement for the kids and what could be better than soup on a cold, snowy, day. Matthew’s mom Josie, came in with former nursery mom, and professional chef Sandra Nachman to make vegetable soup with the children. That’s why we asked all the children to send in a vegetable. The children enthusiastically helped with all the dicing and chopping and many of them loved the soup. We now have a class book circulating about this experience. We acted out Stone Soup We sang AikenDrum using only vegetables. Not only did the kids learn that soup can be made from scratch, they have also learned that their experience can be represented on paper and they had the opportunity to connect literature to real life so that it can have more meaning for them. We’ll be pursuing a bread theme as the year goes on. We’ve already made pop top bread, pita bread and soft rolls. We’ve done some experiments to watch the yeast burp, and then we’ve watched our dough rise. Soon we’ll be going to the pizza store and watch how they do it there. The children will discover how pizza begins with dough, how the pizza man shapes the dough, various ingredients that are used, the types of ovens that are used, the fact that we purchase pizza and it is a service the pizza shop provides in the community, the cooking utensils that are used to make pizza etc.... Back in school we’ll make our own pizza Not only will this provide a tasty snack, but it will give us the opportunity to put our trip on paper, and draw our experience for our pizza book. These are the children’s first experiences with the symbolic representation of their ideas on paper. .. a precursor to writing and reading. The children will also be setting up the dramatic play area as a pizza shop, reenacting what they learned on the trip and having the opportunity to extend the development of language as well as developing social skills as they interact and take turns being customers and servers. All this while they’re having fun playing and making friends. Our next big theme will be dinosaurs ( to run parallel to bread), and will be highlighted with a class trip to the Museum of Natural History. Again it will be an opportunity to extend children’s language and symbolic representation. It will be the foundation for a lot of art and music and literature. It will provide the opportunity for much dramatic play. It will give us a fun way to sort and classify and extend mathematical knowledge.
My thanks to all the parents who have come in to visit our children. We love seeing you.
Looking forward to a winter wonderland.
Minia, Kirsty, Lucy, Jan, Jean and Nicole.
My thanks to all the parents who have come in to visit our children. We love seeing you.
Looking forward to a winter wonderland.
Minia, Kirsty, Lucy, Jan, Jean and Nicole.
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - UPK PM
Winter finds us really in the thick of our classroom routine. The school year is going so fast, mostly because we’re so busy. We have plenty to do in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between. Having so many choices means that the day flies by, and before you know it, it’s clean-up time. Next thing you know we’ll be heading into spring…. hopefully!
The fall and winter holidays have taught us about the joy of giving and sharing. At Thanksgiving we shared a special feast, full of goodies that we made ourselves. We studied the various holidays and made gifts for our families. We also talked about the importance of kindness and caring, both at the holidays and every day. Our classroom affords us opportunities to share in many different ways. For example, we share food and stories at snack time, and we work together throughout the day on the various projects and activities that we do in school. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We have had some big challenges this winter! The extreme cold and sloppy weather have made getting around very difficult, but we have made the best of it. We enjoy going out to play in the snow as often as we can. Snow is so much fun. It even makes the teachers feel like little kids. We enjoy running around and chasing each other and throwing the snow all around. We even made a snowman! The way the season has been progressing, it looks like we’ll have more opportunities like that. We hope so. To that end, please remember to dress your children for the weather. We like to go outside as much as possible, especially in the snow! Boots and snow pants are essential for snowy days, as are hats, scarves, and mittens.
We have done some other enjoyable and educational activities in the past few weeks. We have “winterized” our classroom by creating an igloo and an ice fishing pond. We go ice fishing every day because it’s so much fun. We made some snowy pictures using shaving cream and glue. We also celebrated winter by making white, glittery playdough and white flubber. Are you sensing a snow theme here?
Two “Parent of the Day” helpers came to visit our classroom recently. Matthew’s mom came to spend time with us and help us out, and Nina's Aunt Sarah came to make paper with us. Thank you to both our Parents of the Day for your time and support.
We have turned into paleontologists for the next few weeks while we study dinosaurs! We’re having a great time in the classroom digging up dinosaur bones and creating our own fossils and dinosaur eggs. We even made dinosaur nests that we can eat! In the next few weeks we will be examining different species of dinosaurs more in depth.. We may even BECOME dinosaurs! But we promise that when we come home, we will not eat you.
When you walk into our classroom it is very gratifying to see that everyone is busily interacting with one another. There are many things going on at the same time, and we have a great deal of free choice in choosing our activities. There are many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication are encouraged and modeled by the teachers. It’s great to see a group of strangers become a class of good friends. All of these interactions will lay the groundwork for future relationships and successes in life.
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
The fall and winter holidays have taught us about the joy of giving and sharing. At Thanksgiving we shared a special feast, full of goodies that we made ourselves. We studied the various holidays and made gifts for our families. We also talked about the importance of kindness and caring, both at the holidays and every day. Our classroom affords us opportunities to share in many different ways. For example, we share food and stories at snack time, and we work together throughout the day on the various projects and activities that we do in school. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We have had some big challenges this winter! The extreme cold and sloppy weather have made getting around very difficult, but we have made the best of it. We enjoy going out to play in the snow as often as we can. Snow is so much fun. It even makes the teachers feel like little kids. We enjoy running around and chasing each other and throwing the snow all around. We even made a snowman! The way the season has been progressing, it looks like we’ll have more opportunities like that. We hope so. To that end, please remember to dress your children for the weather. We like to go outside as much as possible, especially in the snow! Boots and snow pants are essential for snowy days, as are hats, scarves, and mittens.
We have done some other enjoyable and educational activities in the past few weeks. We have “winterized” our classroom by creating an igloo and an ice fishing pond. We go ice fishing every day because it’s so much fun. We made some snowy pictures using shaving cream and glue. We also celebrated winter by making white, glittery playdough and white flubber. Are you sensing a snow theme here?
Two “Parent of the Day” helpers came to visit our classroom recently. Matthew’s mom came to spend time with us and help us out, and Nina's Aunt Sarah came to make paper with us. Thank you to both our Parents of the Day for your time and support.
We have turned into paleontologists for the next few weeks while we study dinosaurs! We’re having a great time in the classroom digging up dinosaur bones and creating our own fossils and dinosaur eggs. We even made dinosaur nests that we can eat! In the next few weeks we will be examining different species of dinosaurs more in depth.. We may even BECOME dinosaurs! But we promise that when we come home, we will not eat you.
When you walk into our classroom it is very gratifying to see that everyone is busily interacting with one another. There are many things going on at the same time, and we have a great deal of free choice in choosing our activities. There are many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication are encouraged and modeled by the teachers. It’s great to see a group of strangers become a class of good friends. All of these interactions will lay the groundwork for future relationships and successes in life.
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - 3's FULL DAY
Over the last three months the children have enjoyed celebrating holidays as well as the change of season.
During the month of November our class took part in several neighborhood walks. The children explored the wonderful sights and sounds of nature and together identified different leaf colors and made leaf comparisons. The children also quietly observed squirrel’s and birds, paying close attention to their movements and behaviors. The children took a particular interest in watching very closely at the squirrel’s eating. They were also surprised at how high the squirrels could climb and how far they leapt.
Inside the classroom the children created “nature bags” by rubbing leaves on brown paper bags.
The “nature bags” were later used to collect leaves during our neighborhood walks. We then used the leaves for sorting, matching, counting and creating art activities in the classroom. The children also used water colors, eye droppers, and leaf shaped coffee filters to make beautiful fall leaves. Some of the books shared in class during this time were: Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco, Red Leaf Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert and We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger.
The recent holidays have stirred up more excitement and enjoyment among the children. Together we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukah. To observe Thanksgiving we read Thanks for Thanksgiving and talked about the importance of giving thanks for those you love. During our discussion the children referred to being thankful for family, friends and pets. We also learned of the different foods families eat for Thanksgiving dinner including the infamous turkey. The books Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon and 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston created lots of laughter and counting fun for the children during story time. The children also enjoyed creating colorful handprint turkeys on their Thanksgiving place mats and singing Thanksgiving related songs and finger plays.
To celebrate Christmas we read a variety of Christmas themed books including Get Well Santa and Shhh! (Santa) both written by Julie Sykes. These stories provided the children with engaging opportunities to join in during each read aloud. The children enjoyed reading together out loud “Achooo!” and “Shhhhh Santa!” Both books contain repetitive wording which allowed the children to feel confident
to “read” along. The children also sang many Christmas songs and baked delicious treats. Some of the Christmas arts and crafts activities included finger painting, painting acorn ornaments, and creating a collage with torn wrapping paper. All of these activities allowed the children to enhance their hand eye coordination, their creativity, and fine motor skills.
During the month of January we began a curriculum unit on winter. The children have been learning about the coldest season by taking a look at winter clothing, weather characteristics that occur during this season indoors and outdoors, and winter sports. Throughout this unit, the children will develop an awareness of winter activities and learn to identify animals that hibernate during the winter. Some of the learning experiences the children have encountered include experiencing snow and ice in the sensory table as well as outdoors, sorting mittens by color and pattern, setting up a winter clothing store in dramatic play, painting with colored ice cubes, creating colorful snowflakes, and enjoying stories about winter.
The story The Mitten written by Jan Brett has become a class favorite. The children have enjoyed reading the book over and over and have come to understand the sequence of events in the story quite well. As a literacy extension to the story we have placed the book, picture story cards and white mitten on our flannel board for the children to retell or act out the story. The children love working together to name and place each animal into the mitten. As an art extension to the story the children have created their own mittens using a splat paint technique. These mittens are displayed on the bulletin board in the big room.
To experience winter at home, try this activity- snow in the bathtub! Bring in some snow from outside and place in your bathtub. Also place some plastic measuring cups, spoons, and scoops in the bathtub and let your child use mittens to play in the snow. In addition, a spray bottle filled with colored water (made with food coloring) will allow your child to make colorful sculptures. This is sure to keep your child busy and will help develop an awareness of the senses.
The upcoming weeks are sure to be full of indoor and outdoor winter fun and adventure. We would like to invite parents or caretakers into our classroom to take part in our Parent of the Day program. Please feel free to share a favorite story with our class or even lead an art or cooking activity with the children. If you are interested in spending an afternoon with us, please sign your name on the calendar placed outside of our classroom. We look forward to sharing our daily activities with you. We also ask that parents sign up for our afternoon snack calendar in order to provide your children with fresh fruits and vegetables for snack.
Thank you,
Elaine and Meg
During the month of November our class took part in several neighborhood walks. The children explored the wonderful sights and sounds of nature and together identified different leaf colors and made leaf comparisons. The children also quietly observed squirrel’s and birds, paying close attention to their movements and behaviors. The children took a particular interest in watching very closely at the squirrel’s eating. They were also surprised at how high the squirrels could climb and how far they leapt.
Inside the classroom the children created “nature bags” by rubbing leaves on brown paper bags.
The “nature bags” were later used to collect leaves during our neighborhood walks. We then used the leaves for sorting, matching, counting and creating art activities in the classroom. The children also used water colors, eye droppers, and leaf shaped coffee filters to make beautiful fall leaves. Some of the books shared in class during this time were: Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco, Red Leaf Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert and We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger.
The recent holidays have stirred up more excitement and enjoyment among the children. Together we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukah. To observe Thanksgiving we read Thanks for Thanksgiving and talked about the importance of giving thanks for those you love. During our discussion the children referred to being thankful for family, friends and pets. We also learned of the different foods families eat for Thanksgiving dinner including the infamous turkey. The books Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon and 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston created lots of laughter and counting fun for the children during story time. The children also enjoyed creating colorful handprint turkeys on their Thanksgiving place mats and singing Thanksgiving related songs and finger plays.
To celebrate Christmas we read a variety of Christmas themed books including Get Well Santa and Shhh! (Santa) both written by Julie Sykes. These stories provided the children with engaging opportunities to join in during each read aloud. The children enjoyed reading together out loud “Achooo!” and “Shhhhh Santa!” Both books contain repetitive wording which allowed the children to feel confident
to “read” along. The children also sang many Christmas songs and baked delicious treats. Some of the Christmas arts and crafts activities included finger painting, painting acorn ornaments, and creating a collage with torn wrapping paper. All of these activities allowed the children to enhance their hand eye coordination, their creativity, and fine motor skills.
During the month of January we began a curriculum unit on winter. The children have been learning about the coldest season by taking a look at winter clothing, weather characteristics that occur during this season indoors and outdoors, and winter sports. Throughout this unit, the children will develop an awareness of winter activities and learn to identify animals that hibernate during the winter. Some of the learning experiences the children have encountered include experiencing snow and ice in the sensory table as well as outdoors, sorting mittens by color and pattern, setting up a winter clothing store in dramatic play, painting with colored ice cubes, creating colorful snowflakes, and enjoying stories about winter.
The story The Mitten written by Jan Brett has become a class favorite. The children have enjoyed reading the book over and over and have come to understand the sequence of events in the story quite well. As a literacy extension to the story we have placed the book, picture story cards and white mitten on our flannel board for the children to retell or act out the story. The children love working together to name and place each animal into the mitten. As an art extension to the story the children have created their own mittens using a splat paint technique. These mittens are displayed on the bulletin board in the big room.
To experience winter at home, try this activity- snow in the bathtub! Bring in some snow from outside and place in your bathtub. Also place some plastic measuring cups, spoons, and scoops in the bathtub and let your child use mittens to play in the snow. In addition, a spray bottle filled with colored water (made with food coloring) will allow your child to make colorful sculptures. This is sure to keep your child busy and will help develop an awareness of the senses.
The upcoming weeks are sure to be full of indoor and outdoor winter fun and adventure. We would like to invite parents or caretakers into our classroom to take part in our Parent of the Day program. Please feel free to share a favorite story with our class or even lead an art or cooking activity with the children. If you are interested in spending an afternoon with us, please sign your name on the calendar placed outside of our classroom. We look forward to sharing our daily activities with you. We also ask that parents sign up for our afternoon snack calendar in order to provide your children with fresh fruits and vegetables for snack.
Thank you,
Elaine and Meg
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - LITTLE HANDS III
We are now half way through the year and the children have made great growth. They are now interacting with one another, as opposed to playing alone, which is very common at this early age. Sharing is still a challenge that we practice and enforce everyday.
We have explored several themes through the past couple of months. During October we explored with pumpkins. We carved a pumpkin, planted pumpkin seeds, and even made pumpkin muffins which were a hit. We read books about pumpkins, such as Where Is Baby's Pumpkin? : A Lift the Flap Book by: Karen Katz, Karen Katz (Illustrator). We took this pumpkin theme and proceed right into Thanksgiving, making turkeys out of paper plates.
December welcomed in our “Winter Wonderland Theme”. The children created a bulletin background of clouds and snow. To this we added houses, created by the children, which opens the door up to a picture of the child whom created that house. They truly love walking up to the bulletin and saying “hey, that’s my house!!!” as they swing the door open. We then added some snowmen and stars.
In January now we are learning about bears, teddy bears, polar bears, and brown bears. We began by working with teddy bears. We created a teddy bear with moving limbs that the children were just fascinated as they saw it all come together. I wish all the parents could have shared in that moment when the children put the pieces together. The glow in their eyes was phenomenal to see as a teacher. To this project we focused on Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear: A Traditional Rhyme by: Timothy Bush.
We then created a bear cave (lots of children went home that day with white paint in their hair, including myself), but I must say they had a blast as did I helping make it!!!! We read books such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by: Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by: Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle . These are great books to have at home. The children enjoyed reading and acting out the parts to these stories. We also
There are many more great project themes coming in the next couple of months so please check those cubbies at dismissal.
Luz, Jean, & Lynn
We have explored several themes through the past couple of months. During October we explored with pumpkins. We carved a pumpkin, planted pumpkin seeds, and even made pumpkin muffins which were a hit. We read books about pumpkins, such as Where Is Baby's Pumpkin? : A Lift the Flap Book by: Karen Katz, Karen Katz (Illustrator). We took this pumpkin theme and proceed right into Thanksgiving, making turkeys out of paper plates.
December welcomed in our “Winter Wonderland Theme”. The children created a bulletin background of clouds and snow. To this we added houses, created by the children, which opens the door up to a picture of the child whom created that house. They truly love walking up to the bulletin and saying “hey, that’s my house!!!” as they swing the door open. We then added some snowmen and stars.
In January now we are learning about bears, teddy bears, polar bears, and brown bears. We began by working with teddy bears. We created a teddy bear with moving limbs that the children were just fascinated as they saw it all come together. I wish all the parents could have shared in that moment when the children put the pieces together. The glow in their eyes was phenomenal to see as a teacher. To this project we focused on Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear: A Traditional Rhyme by: Timothy Bush.
We then created a bear cave (lots of children went home that day with white paint in their hair, including myself), but I must say they had a blast as did I helping make it!!!! We read books such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by: Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by: Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle . These are great books to have at home. The children enjoyed reading and acting out the parts to these stories. We also
There are many more great project themes coming in the next couple of months so please check those cubbies at dismissal.
Luz, Jean, & Lynn
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - LITTLE HANDS II
Pizza is happening in Little Hands 2. Our youngest group has settled in and is now ready to embark on some themes in the classroom. Recently we enjoyed a “study “of pizza. We began by making pizza with English Muffins. We found children had particular tastes – some liked lots of cheese or some didn’t care for sauce. It was great to hear them express their likes and dislikes and act on them.
In keeping with the pizza theme we turned our dramatic play area into a pizza shop. The children were fascinated with the toy cash registers. A few children understood the concept of buying and selling and soon “money” was changing hands for pizza. It was wonderful to see the children who are a bit older setting the stage for dramatic play and encouraging the younger ones in the play.
Although we connected some art to a pizza theme, the purposes of art in these very young years (and well beyond) is to encourage another means of expression, to discover textures, sensations to be used as a medium to encourage language, to gain experience in using/manipulating the materials like glue, various types of paint and collage materials that can be used to create three dimensional art. It is about the experience of planning and organizing materials and sharing perspective with others. It’s the process of the art experience, not the product that matters. In this newsletter I have noted an article found on the internet by an artist and art teacher from Ontario, Canada, Linda Carson. The article gives pointers on how to talk to your child about their art and why art is such an important part of education. Please take a look at it.
We have planted an Amaryllis bulb and have been watching its amazingly rapid growth. We hope to see it bloom into a large red flower just around Valentine’s Day!
It has been a long cold snowy winter and it has often been hard to get the children to our playground as a group in the time we have in school. I do hope families try when they can, to get the children out in the snow or to the park even for short periods. Big muscle exercise is crucial to young children’s development. Please remember that children do not catch colds from cold weather. Colds are purely the work of viruses! Thank you to parents for sending all the clothing we need to get the children out when we can.
In the next few months we hope to take our first field trip – downstairs to the laundry room. We will turn our dramatic play area into a laundry room by making some cardboard box washers and dryers. We will sort our clothes and match socks which are fun math activities. Then as the weather gets warmer we’d like to take a field trip to the grocery store (perhaps with a parent or two to help us navigate the big streets) and create a supermarket in our dramatic play area.
Can’t wait for Spring!!!
Lisa, Jean and Meg
In keeping with the pizza theme we turned our dramatic play area into a pizza shop. The children were fascinated with the toy cash registers. A few children understood the concept of buying and selling and soon “money” was changing hands for pizza. It was wonderful to see the children who are a bit older setting the stage for dramatic play and encouraging the younger ones in the play.
Although we connected some art to a pizza theme, the purposes of art in these very young years (and well beyond) is to encourage another means of expression, to discover textures, sensations to be used as a medium to encourage language, to gain experience in using/manipulating the materials like glue, various types of paint and collage materials that can be used to create three dimensional art. It is about the experience of planning and organizing materials and sharing perspective with others. It’s the process of the art experience, not the product that matters. In this newsletter I have noted an article found on the internet by an artist and art teacher from Ontario, Canada, Linda Carson. The article gives pointers on how to talk to your child about their art and why art is such an important part of education. Please take a look at it.
We have planted an Amaryllis bulb and have been watching its amazingly rapid growth. We hope to see it bloom into a large red flower just around Valentine’s Day!
It has been a long cold snowy winter and it has often been hard to get the children to our playground as a group in the time we have in school. I do hope families try when they can, to get the children out in the snow or to the park even for short periods. Big muscle exercise is crucial to young children’s development. Please remember that children do not catch colds from cold weather. Colds are purely the work of viruses! Thank you to parents for sending all the clothing we need to get the children out when we can.
In the next few months we hope to take our first field trip – downstairs to the laundry room. We will turn our dramatic play area into a laundry room by making some cardboard box washers and dryers. We will sort our clothes and match socks which are fun math activities. Then as the weather gets warmer we’d like to take a field trip to the grocery store (perhaps with a parent or two to help us navigate the big streets) and create a supermarket in our dramatic play area.
Can’t wait for Spring!!!
Lisa, Jean and Meg
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2011 - DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Director’s Corner by Lisa Wenz “Be careful what you wish for” –I remind myself now when I complained about the hot summer we had!! What a snowy January it has been and it seems there is still more to come. The children however have been enjoying the snow and we thank those families who send appropriate clothing. Outdoor play is so important to young children’s experiences and gross motor development. Throughout the school these outdoor experiences have been extended and built upon with cardboard box snow caves, art that reflects the climate, bins of snow in the water tables and literature about winter, cold, snow and arctic animals. There has also been lots of warm cooking like pots of soup or hot cocoa after being outdoors.
Our plans, if they are not hampered by continued snow, are to begin getting out into the community for a few local and perhaps one or two not so local field trips. Classes (depending on their theme of study) will be visiting the library, the grocery store, the pizza shop and other very local destinations. The goal of these trips (and some of them may be to places your child is already familiar with) is to seek further or specific experiences. At the pizza shop children will have an opportunity to watch the pizza man make a pizza; he will share his expertise with them and show them the equipment he needs to do so. Children may have specific questions they want to ask about the process or children will be looking for particular materials found on a check list the teachers have provided. Back in the classroom, this shared experience will lead to discussions, dramatic play scenarios, storytelling (via a class experience book) and enriched block or art experiences.
We had a great turnout for our January Maintenance Weekend. The school got a good cleaning and a few repairs. Thanks to all the families who were able to attend. Remember each family is responsible to work at two maintenance sessions during the school year. We will be having another one evening “make-up” session early in March for those families who could not attend the past two sessions and then a final one on June 24th.
This past Sunday was Parent Child Sunday. I’d like to thank all the families who came out on to spend time with your child in school. It was nice to see everyone. Thanks to Juan Antonio Perez (Valentina’s Dad), for once again leading us in song. Please also try to come in as “Parent of The Day” in our three year old and UPK classes. It can be a fun, enlightening experience for parents (or grandparents) to spend time with your child in the program. Do not feel you need to come with an activity, or that you need to stay all day. Visit, meet your child’s classmates, get a sense of the curriculum, and enjoy! For Little Hands families, having parents in the room sometimes begins separation issues for your child or another who is missing their families – so although it may be fine for some children we do not have “Parent of the Day” for this age group.
I’d like to remind families that it is time to register for the next school year. Internal registration, that is registration for children that are currently in the school is going on now until February 14. On February 15th, registration will be open to children who live in the Co-op who do not currently attend the school. We give priority to our current families, but cannot do so after February 14th, so please be sure to register on time.
Please remember to check your child’s cubbies for extra clothing. In all this snowy weather, children often get wet and extra clothing gets used. PLEASE label everything with your child’s name. I’m sure you know how hard it is to keep track of 2 or 3 children’s clothes at home. Here we have 20 children dressing and undressing and often things get separated from their owner. It is so much easier to get look inside a pair of snow pants and see a child’s name and quickly get them back to their child.
Thanks again for sharing your children with us!
Lisa
Our plans, if they are not hampered by continued snow, are to begin getting out into the community for a few local and perhaps one or two not so local field trips. Classes (depending on their theme of study) will be visiting the library, the grocery store, the pizza shop and other very local destinations. The goal of these trips (and some of them may be to places your child is already familiar with) is to seek further or specific experiences. At the pizza shop children will have an opportunity to watch the pizza man make a pizza; he will share his expertise with them and show them the equipment he needs to do so. Children may have specific questions they want to ask about the process or children will be looking for particular materials found on a check list the teachers have provided. Back in the classroom, this shared experience will lead to discussions, dramatic play scenarios, storytelling (via a class experience book) and enriched block or art experiences.
We had a great turnout for our January Maintenance Weekend. The school got a good cleaning and a few repairs. Thanks to all the families who were able to attend. Remember each family is responsible to work at two maintenance sessions during the school year. We will be having another one evening “make-up” session early in March for those families who could not attend the past two sessions and then a final one on June 24th.
This past Sunday was Parent Child Sunday. I’d like to thank all the families who came out on to spend time with your child in school. It was nice to see everyone. Thanks to Juan Antonio Perez (Valentina’s Dad), for once again leading us in song. Please also try to come in as “Parent of The Day” in our three year old and UPK classes. It can be a fun, enlightening experience for parents (or grandparents) to spend time with your child in the program. Do not feel you need to come with an activity, or that you need to stay all day. Visit, meet your child’s classmates, get a sense of the curriculum, and enjoy! For Little Hands families, having parents in the room sometimes begins separation issues for your child or another who is missing their families – so although it may be fine for some children we do not have “Parent of the Day” for this age group.
I’d like to remind families that it is time to register for the next school year. Internal registration, that is registration for children that are currently in the school is going on now until February 14. On February 15th, registration will be open to children who live in the Co-op who do not currently attend the school. We give priority to our current families, but cannot do so after February 14th, so please be sure to register on time.
Please remember to check your child’s cubbies for extra clothing. In all this snowy weather, children often get wet and extra clothing gets used. PLEASE label everything with your child’s name. I’m sure you know how hard it is to keep track of 2 or 3 children’s clothes at home. Here we have 20 children dressing and undressing and often things get separated from their owner. It is so much easier to get look inside a pair of snow pants and see a child’s name and quickly get them back to their child.
Thanks again for sharing your children with us!
Lisa
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