NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2012

THREE'S FULL DAY

Dear Full-Day Three’s Families,
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 used leaves for sorting, matching, counting and creating art activities in the classroom. 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. After reading these autumn themed books the children used watercolors, eye droppers, and leaf shaped coffee filters to make beautiful fall leaves.
The holiday celebrations stirred up excitement and enjoyment among the children. Together we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukah. To observe Thanksgiving we read Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes 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 and Hanukah we read a variety of books pertaining to the holiday season. We also baked delicious treats and sang Christmas and Hanukah songs. Some of the arts and crafts activities included finger painting, marble painting, decorating beautiful menorahs and picture frames for our families. All of these art activities allowed the children to enhance their hand eye coordination, their creativity, and fine motor skills while having fun.
During the month of December we also began a unit on Bears inspired by the children. We noticed that more and more of the children were bringing in stuffed bears and animals into the classroom to cuddle with during rest time better known as “cot time”. During this unit we read Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, Corduroys Sleepover, Bear Snores On, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Goldilocks and The Three Bears. The books Corduroy, and A Pocket for Corduroy allowed the children to develop a strong connection to literature. The relatable character and settings encouraged much conversation among the children in the classroom and in turn led to our “Bear Picnic”. The bear picnic provided the children with the opportunity to share their favorite stuffed animals with their friends during an indoor class picnic. The picnic was a success; the children were able to talk about their favorite cuddly pals while enjoying a healthy snack provided by parents. We had a great time! Thanks to all the parents for sending in your child’s favorite stuffed animal and special thanks to all the parents who sent in a healthy snack!
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, indoor and outdoor winter activities and winter sports. Throughout this unit, the children developed an awareness of winter activities and learned to identify animals that hibernate during the winter. Some of the learning experiences the children have encountered included experiencing snow in the sensory table, sorting mittens by color and pattern, creating colorful snowflakes, making snowflake prints and acting out winter stories.
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 paint and fold technique. They have also painted a large mitten and used this mitten to act out the story using hand held puppets.
During the month of February we covered topics such as family and friendship and shapes and color mixing. In honor of Valentine’s Day the children wrote and drew special valentines for their friends. They also practiced mixing red and white paint to create various shades of pink. They noticed how the red changed to pink as they slowly added and stirred in white paint. The children also worked on valentine hearts made from yarn and glue and cupcake cards for loved ones. We baked delicious strawberry love muffins to celebrate the holiday and love was surely in the air as the children proudly helped wrap their valentine gifts for family and friends.
The upcoming weeks are sure to be full of indoor and outdoor 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.
We would also like to officially welcome two new members to our classroom: Thomas and Fetun. Both children have been a wonderful addition to our classroom community.
Sincerely,
Elaine, Meg, Nicole, and Kirsty