April has been buzzing with activity in the classroom and the outdoors. We’ve enjoyed some of the warm weather and had the opportunity to plant seeds and sort for worms during Earth Week activities. In the classroom, our popular “I Had a Little Turtle” song, turned in to a book that could be colored, cut, and stapled to be taken home. We’ve enjoyed several Spring Birthdays and welcomed parent guests to our celebration circle. It has also been a good time in the school year to refresh and review work that has been introduced earlier in the year, practice it, and work towards mastery.
Our first years are working on increasing their range of numbers, practicing letters, further exploring the Sensorial materials, and beginning to prepare their hand for writing. The second years are actively “writing” which includes making books, tracing, coloring, and the excitement of being able to start putting pencil to paper, while working on their beginning reading skills. The Kindergartners are delving into math operations, parts of speech/language, journaling, telling time, and coming up with their own creative projects like sewing!
The idea of practicing to become better at something has been a big theme this month. Ms. Katie let us borrow a book called, “Try and Stick With It “, that really connected with the children. We talked about what it feels like to try something and not get it quite right the first few times. We also shared experiences of practicing a skill and finally learning how to do it. Some of the responses included buckling a shoe, playing piano, tracing and watercoloring a map, reading, and climbing up high on the climbing structure. Sometimes that skill requires a little help from a friend and other times it is best practiced at an independent level.
With a little over a month left in the year, we are looking forward to the arrival of chicks and butterflies to tend to, Grandparents and Special Friends day, and the anticipation of the children’s completed Auction Artwork. I hope to see some of you at the Annual Auction Event on May 12th! We also had a surprise visit from Mr. Och and his baby, Sage. We hope to see them again before the end of the year.
Warm Wishes,
Ms. Anne & Ms. Cara