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june 14

ART

As the year winds down we have been taking time in the art center to gather round the art table in small groups to revisit palette watercolors. This soothing open-ended drop-in activity promoted warm familial conversation as we explored what we have learned this year about color, shape and line.

DRAMA

Last week, we introduced a classic game - baseball!  While an indoor game of baseball does have a few limitations, it also provides incredible opportunities to take turns, move muscles, cheer on your friends, and provide encouragement.  The children each got an opportunity to be the batter (there were so many home runs!) and a member of our rowdy crowd of sports fans. We enjoyed singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as well!

LITERACY

This week in literacy, we finalized our literacy folders by making them into books.  We added a front and back covers, and we reviewed the contents, which reflect our work over the past year.  We talked about our favorite things from literacy this year - favorite author, favorite book, and favorite activity, so we can incorporate those into next week’s activities!

MATH

This week in math it was kids’ choice! The children got to choose from all the different math games we have played over the year. Some popular choices included shanuca, wormy apples, the snake game, and the name game. The games included all of the math skills we’ve been building over the past year including counting, patterns, turn taking, and measurement.

MUSIC

This week in music, we were proud to present our End of Year Sings to you! The children’s hard work was evident at the show. They made us very proud. Look out for a recording of our original “Kindness Song” next week.

SCIENCE

At the science center we continued working on our science folders. We had time to read some science books and participate in discussions about the books, and we talked about what we liked doing in science this year. Some children did drawings about their favorite activities or discussions in science.

TWOs

This week we started talking about the school year coming to an end. The concept of “summer break” is very abstract so the kids most likely do not understand what it all means, but we like to talk about it anyway so that the transition won’t be as jarring. The kids wanted to share what activities they are looking forward to doing over the summer. Some kids said they were traveling, others said they were going to the beach and to visit family. A few even said they were not doing anything which sounds quite lovely! We will miss the kids so much over the summer but are excited to see them in September.

June 7

ART
Our prints for dads and/or other significant caregivers are nearly completed. Through this work we have been developing design skills, fine-motor skills and an awareness of the value of gifting art.

DRAMA
Last week in drama, we had a great time playing some group games to build concentration, spatial awareness, and play skills. Some of the younger children learned the classic version of Duck Duck Goose and older children played a more challenging game called Kitty Wants A Corner. This game involves switching places in a circle while the kitty in the middle is occupied going from person to person to ask for a seat. The kitty tries to catch players mid-switch to get a chair. The person left without a seat becomes the next kitty. The children have to make eye contact to signal one another and also interact with the kitty to send him or her to the next person.

LITERACY
This week in literacy, we worked on our kindness rocks! We came up with messages and ideas of how we can be kind. We decorated our rocks with illustrations and messages to pass on kindness in our neighborhood and beyond.  This project is particularly fun because just as we leave our kindness rocks in special places around our neighborhood, we also find kindness rocks left by students in the neighboring preschools. We also continued working on our Kindness Book, where we are the authors and illustrators. We voted on a title for our book, “The Big Book of Kindness!”

MATH
This week in math we pulled out the name game that we played in the beginning of the year. It was great to come full circle and the kids loved to show off their skills and point out all the friends they’ve made over the year. We also played some favorite activities from the year like shape puzzles and counting cars.

MUSIC
This week in music, we put the finishing touches on our Spring Sing songs.  We can’t wait to share our songs with our families next week.

SCIENCE
This week at the science center, the children continued to work on their caterpillar/butterfly books, sharing their ideas, observations, and predictions about the amazing transformations we were able to witness.

TWOs
This week we introduced a new park rule! The sprinklers are now on and are super tempting to play in, especially when it is hot out! We talked to the kids about how we don’t have waterproof shoes on or bathing suits on and that we are not going to go in the water at school. The kids understood and have been doing a fantastic job implementing this new rule. They do love watching the water and talking about coming back to the park with their grown ups when they can go in the water!