Upcoming Dates and Announcements:
January 19th: In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., classes will be selling handmade buttons to benefit flood relief. Stay tuned for more information
February 6th: 11:30 Dismissal, winter long weekend begins
February 9th-10th: No School
February 11th: Class Resume
CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS
Snack helper: Abigail
Welcome back, families!
After a cozy break filled with rest, family time, and a slower pace, our classroom is officially back in the swing of things! We are recharged and are so happy to be together again. The time away from school truly helped our little bodies reset. We missed each other so much! We loved reconnecting and sharing stories about the magical experience we had over break. Jumping back into our routines has filled the room with excitement as we begin the new year together.
To kick off 2026 in the most joyful way, we celebrated with fun New Year photo props, dancing, posing, and laughing as the children welcomed the year. We dove right into our first meaningful topic of the year, inspired by the beautiful story The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi. Together, we discussed the powerful idea of “yet” and talked about all the things we can’t do right now, but are learning, practicing, and working towards. While using Model Magic, drawing materials, or discussing with friends and teachers, the children reflected on their own “not yets” and proudly shared what they hope to learn:
Lincoln- “When I first got on my bike when I was 4, after my dad was working, I fell. Then, after 2 days, I learned to. Yet I wanna learn how to do the Pledge of Allegiance.’
Brody – “ I wanna learn about my camping lunch box. I don’t know how to open it. The colors in the rainbow, too.”
Atticus- “How to ride my scooter.”
Zuri- “I’m learning how to wash the dishes, read books, and every time I get frustrated when I zip my coat.”
Sebastian- “I can do everything, I wanna learn how to camp.”
Audrey- “I wanna learn how to do everything. I want to learn how to be a penguin keeper.”
Clara- “I want to learn how to make a rainbow.”
Kemper – “I want to learn about dragons. I want to learn about getting home.”
Abigail- “I tried to make a museum for my tiny little dinosaurs, and I want to learn how to make one.’
Ripley- “I wanna make a tower for my stuffies.”
Donato- “I tried to do my best riding my bike.”
Maverick- “I want to learn how to ride a dirt bike.”
Nala- “I want to learn how to make pancakes.”
Levi- How to use a skateboard.”
Avery- “To ride a rollercoaster.”
Destry- “I want to learn how to drive a monster truck.”
With just a little snow still lingering outside, we decided to bring the winter magic indoors to our classroom! The children explored painting real snow scenes using watercolors, adding soft hues and colorful splashes to create a snowy landscape. This cozy winter activity was not only creative and fun, but also helped strengthen fine motor skills and encourage artistic expression.
But our snow fun didn’t stop there! When the children asked for more, we got extra creative and made our very own “snow” using baking soda and hair conditioner. The children’s little hands scooped, molded, and explored the fluffy, cool textures. After we explored each type of snow, the children had the opportunity to vote on which type of snow they liked best, real or fake. Fake snow was the clear favorite! Great news for us, because that means we can keep the winter wonder going anytime we’d like. Snow day, anytime!
This week in math, the children explored numbers 1 through 10. Each child selected a number card, identified the number, and then counted out the matching amount of bingo dobbers scattered across a big brown piece of paper. They carefully circled and grouped the correct number of dots. Then, we created a number road together! The children worked as a team to build a block road, placed number cards 1–10 in order above it, and then drove cars down the road, counting each number along the way until they safely parked in the garage.
In phonics, we reviewed all the letters we have learned so far using a colorful and multisensory approach. The children practiced forming letters by writing them in shaving cream dyed with food coloring, sealed inside plastic bags. This engaging activity strengthened fine motor skills and reinforced letter formation in a playful way. We also proudly introduced a brand-new letter “Gg.” We worked on exploring both sound, for example, the soft “g” in Gemma and the hard “g” in goat.
This week in Junior Kindergarten, we learned that germs, germs, germs are everywhere! After reading “Those Mean, Nasty, Dirty, Downright Disgusting… but Invisible Germs” by Judith Anne Rice, the children learned about germs and where they might be found, especially around their classroom. Then the children went on a classroom search to find a “real-life germ” (a silly germ finger puppet!), which quickly became the star of our lesson. Once found, each germ was brought to a washing station where the children practiced cleaning their germs using warm, soapy water and good handwashing habits. But the fun didn’t stop there! The children then had the chance to get their germs dirty again by painting and placing them on dollhouse props like a toilet, sink, and bathtub, places where real germs love to hide. This helped reinforce healthy hygiene habits in a fun way!
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gina and Miss Liz