Self Portraits and Sculptures

Dear Parents,

We began our week playing with blue kinetic sand. The children waited impatiently for their turns. Everybody got one turn. We will have more chances in the coming days. 

We drew self portraits after reading When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry. In the book Sophie draws a family portrait. We looked at the cover of Martha And George which has portraits of each of them too. We looked at our faces in mirrors, and at each other, to see what shapes we see in our faces. The children said they saw circles, ovals, triangles, squares, half circles, straight lines, and curly lines. While half the class played in the big room, the other half drew self portraits. Later, one person said his was crying but he forgot to put tears. 

On Wednesday in gymnastics we heard a little music. While half the class tumbled, the other half drew with pencils. A few friends drew more self portraits. Some drew train tracks, and one person drew a tiny Pluto, a big Pluto, a huge Pluto, and Saturn. 

We created sculptures using oven bake clay. Everyone got a piece of red, yellow, blue, and black clay to roll and squeeze. Someone said it felt warm as we rolled it. The children created spirals, long snakes, a heart, a tiny bowl, a circle, and more. We put them in the oven and went to play in the big room. 

In the big room we are riding tricycles, climbing in the jungle gym, building castles with blocks, and preparing meals in the kitchen. 

We are working on speaking up for ourselves if someone is playing a game we don’t want to play, and having our listening ears on when a friend is talking to us. 

On Friday we played in a rice bin. We used cups and funnels to pour and measure the rice. We also played with our kinetic sand again. Someone asked, “How do you make kinetic sand?” and “Why is it blue?” 

In the big room three friends put on a show on the stage. There was some dancing, twirling, and a monster who hopped on stage. Several children sat as audience members and ate pretend popcorn during the show. 

Have a near-the-end-of-winter weekend,

Therese

Tether Ball and Pajama Day

Dear Parents,

We started our week playing with our train set, drawing with crayons, and playing with magnets. During circle we read Mooncake, Trash Trucks!, and Trashy Town. Trash Trucks! has been on repeat all week. 

After snacks we played in the big room and everyone took turns playing with our tether ball. The children were excited for their turn, with many wanting two turns. The game uses hand eye coordination and encourages awareness of body space. 

On Wednesday when the children returned from gymnastics they told us Larisa had changed the balance beams and course to make it “spicy". In the classroom, while others tumbled, we played with magnets. 

Pajama Day was sleepy. We pretended to sleep during circle. When we woke up, we read The Snowy Day and  Why Do Grownups Have All the Fun?  The Snowy Day sparked a conversation about the difference between big kids and little kids. Children talked about their older siblings and cousins. One person reminded us that her cousins are “crazy”! They also compared themselves to younger siblings. Someone said the boy in the book was a toddler, like them. 

On Friday we played with our parachute. We sang London Bridge Is Falling Down as friends took turns sitting in the middle of the parachute. We sang I’m Being Swallowed By A Boa Constrictor and pretended that the parachute swallowed us all up. We bounced balls and bean bags in the parachute until they flew out-- which produced lots of laughter and shrieks. 

Have a marvelous weekend,

Therese