CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS
- Friday, January 24th is an 11:30 am dismissal. Aftercare will be available until 3:00 pm.
Dear JK Families,
Brr, the weather outside was a bit chilly this week but that did not stop us from continuing our explorations of all kinds of winter elements. Two stories got us even more in the mood for braving the cold. Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman took us on a speedy race down a mountain with 10 different animals. As each one tumbled and whirled off, the students helped us countdown until there was only one left. The best part is that they all came back together at the end for some snowy fun. We also read Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Connor that showed us what it looks and feels like to live in a snow globe. Can you imagine?! The students took on four different wintery provocations. We had a frozen Arctic with glaciers and ice caps made of frozen baking soda and water that fizzed and popped as the students squeezed vinegar from pipettes. They were sure to save the animals from the icy waters. A big tub of snow made its way into our space, adorned with ladles, scoops, buckets, and snow cone cups. The students quickly felt the cold and grabbed their gloves and mittens so that they could keep their play going. We created own own version of what looked like the colorful Northern lights using ice cubes and watercolors. The color mixing was full on and brought so much joy to a grey day. Some even discovered that the ice cubes had holes in the middle and could not only slide onto a paintbrush, but could also be colored on the inside. Lastly, a tub of InstaSnow brought squeals of delight at the fact that it still felt cold without being real snow! The children used spoons and plastic containers to make their own snow globes, as well as other snowy treats. Here is what some of them had to say about this fun material:
“When you squish it, it feels so interesting.” -Sophia
“This feels so good.” -Heidi
“Oh, it’s squishy!”- Ollie
“I made a snow cake.” -Bria
“I made a snow globe. I put a water bottle in it. The family is under there.” -Bodhi
“Uh oh, the baby is getting stuck in the snownado!” -Bradford
We also started Focus Groups this week. These smaller groups of students give us the opportunity to meet each of them where they are, honing in on certain skills that might need a little extra support. This might include letter recognition, handwriting, and phonological awareness. We continued our letter explorations as we practiced the letter Cc. The students talked about how it is just made with a curve and came up with quite a list of Cc words. We also explored the number 7 and practiced counting and writing it. To give ourselves a little more of a letter review, we invited the students to two different literacy provocations. First they practiced writing their lowercase letters in trays of oatmeal. Then using our names written on long paper along with our identity blocks, each student practiced tracing the letters in each of their friend’s names. Loose parts were also given to trace the letters.
We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and see you on Monday!
Sincerely,
Miss Claire and Miss Liz
