Upcoming Events:
Week of October 14th – 18th:
October 15th – Reminagine Middle School Night 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. (4th & 5th Grade Families Only)
October 18th – Talent Show Videos due to Mr. Alex!
We are excited to announce that our WCDS Tallent Show will be shared as a Viewing Party during our 29 Hours of Giving November 13th – 14th! To ensure we have videos in and compiled in time, please send all submissions by October 18th. Videos should be no longer than 60 seconds and sent to talentshow@wcdsedu.com. Please email Mr. Alex at ahill@wcdsedu.com with any questions!
October 18th – 9:00 am Coffee Conversations on Main Campus
October 19th – 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, Fall Campus Refresh! Volunteer for a few hours by swinging by 8 Park Road with gardening gloves to help freshen our campus. Lunch and refreshments will be provided!
October 31st – 9:15 Whole School Halloween Parade. Students should come to school dressed in costume and bring a change of casual clothes to change into afterward. Following the parade the children will return to the classroom and enjoy a special treat and a few fun activities. This will just be for the students and teachers. If you would like to provide some items for the party, you can sign up here. Please only choose one thing to allow for multiple families to help.
Hello JK families,
We returned from fall break with excitement for the new season! Although it’s technically not fall yet, the temperature and the sights outside, have the children ready to embrace the changes. The story Full of Fall by April Pulley Sayre displayed beautiful real images of nature transitioning into fall. We asked the kiddos to share some things they noticed happening outside and this is what they had to say:
“Ummm that when you wake up in the morning it’s dark because it’s fall and squirrels are out and chipmunks.” -Sophia
“The squirrels.” -Heidi
“I like the leaves.” -Noah
“I like the smell of the flowers.” -Lola
“When I wake up, for a short amount of time, it’s dark.” -Dax
“We can’t go jumping in the leaves yet because we have to wait for them to fall. When they are brown, they fall, and they get crunchy.” -Lucas
“The squirrels come out on the trees and collect nuts.” – Kipton
“The leaves are falling from the trees to the ground.” -Mylah
“I like to jump in the leaves. There were lightening bugs on the fence and I can’t jump in the leaves because the lightening bugs are in the grass.” -Henry
In the story, Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka the children were given the challenge to find 28 things that were wrong in the fall themed story. When the story was finished, they quickly recalled that the fall months are not called Septober and Octember, pumpkins are not red, bears don’t collect nuts, wolves don’t say “meow” and cats certainly do not howl! What a better way to kick off their curiosity about fall then letting them explore a variety of things from nature. Gourds, corn, walnuts, leaves, sunflowers, and pumpkins were all presented alongside magnifying glasses, tweezers, and mallets. As they investigated, here are a few things they had to say:
“I’m going to try and get these seeds out!” -Emma
“I’m going to plant these seeds and grow a pumpkin!” -Forrest
“I found a caterpillar!” – Forrest
“Corn stops growing so we can eat it.” -Lucas
“There are brown spots and black ones deeper down. (in the center of the sunflower)” -Wendell
With the fall season front of mind, the kiddos are also anxiously awaiting the upcoming holiday, Halloween. They continue to love dramatic play involving superheroes and zombies. Last week they gave their superhero identity a name, this week they were invited to create their disguise. But it wasn’t limited to just superheroes. This time they could transform into anything they could imagine! They were given a black and white picture of themselves covered with clear transparency paper. Using Sharpies, they drew their disguise on the plastic. They really enjoyed drawing on their faces and lifting the plastic to discover their normal selves underneath! Here’s what a few had to say about their disguises.
“Is it magic? I think it is magic.” -Stylee
“I’m making myself a wolf. Do you see my sharp teeth?” -Lola
“I’m making myself rich.” -Kipton
“I want to color my head a different color.” -Leonardo
“I’m giving myself sunglasses. Now I’ve turned from sunglasses to a zombie.” -Rory
“I’m turning into into a pink zombie.” -Heidi
“I’m turning into a stomach bug.” -Bradford
“I’m making myself a bat!”- Henry
“I’m making myself a creepy dog.” -Forrest
“I just want to be Spiderman for real life.” -Lucas
“Umm a superhero.” -Bodhi
“I’m making myself a monster.”- Ollie
“I’m Minnie Mouse.” -Noah
“I maked myself Elsa.” – Hailey
“I’m making Taylor Swift, she has bangs!” – Emma
This week we also celebrated the completion of our superhero identities by donning our capes and masks (made with Mr.Alex!) and playing in the upper amphitheater! With the whole class in attendance, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take an epic group picture. The kiddos ran full speed, collected buckeyes to make pies and cakes, hid inside the trees and even climbed them! It was a super fun fall morning celebrating our superselves!
Some other curiosities emerged this week including, measurement (using markers connected by their caps), cause and effect (what happens if I dump walnuts down the stairs?), and connect the dots (what can I trace?) We love watching them discover and interact with their world!
Lastly, letter Ff and the number 3 took center stage this week. The children did a wonderful job practicing the formation of both. We will continue working on these two next week so be sure to look for words that start with /f/ and groupings of 3 when you’re out and about this weekend!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Miss Liz & Miss Claire
Exploring Fall
Disguise Faces
Superhero Celebration
More fun in the classroom