Good afternoon JK Parents!

This is the time of year when a teacher is reminded daily why she/he loves their vocation.  It's when the progress begins to show and children have learned the routines of the classroom so are better able to concentrate on the materials and activities more.  There are two instances where children are unable to learn.  One is boredom, and the other is anxiety.

The anxiety of worrying about where they are suppose to go and how they are suppose to navigate the different components of JK keep them from learning to the best of their abilities at the very beginning of the school year.  (For most children it is merely stress and not anxiety in the clinical sense, but for some children it is anxiety.)  It's a natural process that all teachers work to make as smooth and easy as possible.  All children experience stress to some degree as they are introduced to new things.

We all experience stress when we are reaching for something and scaffolding our learning to build upon things we know to be true, and augment that learning with concepts that are not familiar.  The key to JK is ensuring while the learning is happening it is done in such a way that it feels comfortable enough that children are excited to try...it's a daily challenge and one this program does very well!

Centers this week focused around our theme of the four seasons.  We asked the children to talk about things that are keys to the different seasons.  Showing them items and letting them categorize those items into seasons to which they belong makes it real and meaningful, opposed to learning that autumn is the season when the leaves turn colors and fall to the ground. Teaching children that animals prepare for the seasons as should they, is another way to personalize the learning of seasons.

What will you need when the weather becomes colder?  Should you try on your snow boots to be sure they still fit you, so when it snows you will be ready?  Do you have clothing that will keep your body warm as the weather grows colder?  Will you make travel plans to visit people for the holidays?  How do your parents plan for trips for the holidays?  What do you need to do when you plan a trip? 

All of these questions are higher level thinking and require children to make sense of things they previously might not have considered.

Our centers are multi-disciplinary and each has a different objective.  Some art is specific to working on three step instructions, and some are for practicing placement of items (such as above, below, horizontally, vertically, etc.).  Depending on the project and objective, the materials and tools will vary.  Not all projects will use glue, not all projects will require cutting with scissors.  Each skill we practice is part of a list of multiple skills necessary to master.  Please do not hesitate to ask if there is an art project or other center/activity you would like more detailed information about.  I am always happy to provide the research and data that has become such an integral part of the intentional teaching strategies used in the Early Childhood Program.

Music class and Ms. N is a highlight of the week on Mondays and Wednesdays, as she teaches the JK children the basics of music theory and engages them with instruments, games and singing.  We are so fortunate to have such a talent sparking their interest in music. 

Fine Arts:
We made turkey calendars and discussed the components of a calendar and how the children can use a calendar for planning.  It is also great "one to one" correspondence, in learning that each number in a square represents an entire day of your life!  We also watched a turkey hatching from it's egg.  The children were overwhelmed with the struggle these small birds experience as they crack their way through the eggs to begin their lives! 

The children carefully study their features as they draw self portraits in our art center.  The details of our unique characteristics are looked at as the children draw their interpretation of themselves.  It is a delight to see the different things they begin to notice about themselves as the year progresses! 

Physical Education:
Mr. Linkhart is such a gift to these children.  He has them acting out various scenarios as they laugh their way through fitness. 

Math and Science:
We have been playing a counting game where we travel around our circle to reach 100.  The tens are difficult and provide many opportunities for friends to assist when a peer is "stuck".  JK'ers love to help their friends.  They are also growing in their abilities to allow a friend time for their thoughts to be communicated without answering for them.

Please remember that more important than counting to 100 (which for most children becomes part of a "song" they learn initially) is understanding that each number means something, and represents a place in the sequential order.  Helping children count items as they move each one to another designated group is more helpful than memorizing a song of numbers.  Piling items on top of a number is also a great exercise with a clear visual to help children understand the meaning represented by each number.  Use cheerios to place on top of numbers.

Nature provided may science moments as we talked about what happens to the leaves as they fall and are buried in rain and eventually snow...and how that entire process helps the spring grass grow greener.   Fertilizing the ground and discussing composting are semi new concepts for most 4 and 5 year old children.  It's helpful to provide big picture cycles for thought as they realize that even when the plants die they are helping other plants...

We experienced dry ice one day I brought in (I order it from an ice-cream store in Lincoln Park), and we made a small witch's brew for each table at snack time.  We pretended we were casting "smart spells" to improve our writing!  While the term "smoke" is often used to describe what you see, it's technically a cloud of water vapor fog.   

Social/Emotional:
We began playing a "Yes please, no thank you" game.  We take turns asking a friend if they would like the food item we are offering them, to have for Thanksgiving dinner.  They may either accept or turn to their friend and ask them if they would like to have it.  The children build a meal for their dinner and practice their manners at the same time.

Ms. Floyd keeps the children engaged as she asks questions about the days of the week and the sequential order.  They love their Spanish time! 

This month will be a short one, as we have parent-teacher conferences, professional development, and Thanksgiving Break all shortening our time in the classroom.  For professional development, I will be attending the following workshops on next Friday.

Understanding the Brain
Improving Motor Skills to Enhance Learning: Early Childhood & Lower School
Disrupting Schools: Challenges & Opportunities of Innovation - Keynote & Luncheon
Meaningful Movement in the Classroom Unwrapping the Gifts of ADHD

I will share some of the things I learn but if you have any specific interests in these topics, please feel free to contact me!  I have a plethora of workshops and professional development in my resume of learning, and love to share it with parents!  I have implemented many of the theories and also learned which are better in theory than in practice.  Every child is different and each moment provides an opportunity to make a difference.

Happy November!

Ms. Massey

Good morning JK parents!

This week has been packed with spooky stories, witch's brew singing and dancing  and activities in anticipation for Halloween!  We have read multiple Halloween books and visited the Science Lab for "Spooky Science"!  Our fall backpacks have been making their way home with some of you, and will be visiting your house soon if you haven't yet see them.

Literacy:
We played a game which required each child to fill in the missing letter beside the pictured item.  This exercise helps children learn that letters make words and have meaning, as well as providing an opportunity to practice writing lower case letters.  We talk about letter sounds each day as we sound out our morning message.  It's fun to see the progress as the children begin to make the letter-sound connection, and some begin to recognize sight words and common words.  Our reading groups took turns reading pages and doing picture walks to guess words that were unfamiliar.  We also raced to find letters on the page, differentiating between the upper and lower case letters.  We read Mouse's First Halloween, The Best Halloween Hunt Ever, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything, The Classroom Pet, Click Clack Boo, Shake dem Halloween Bones.

Math and Science:
We visited the upper school Science Lab and used Golden Rod paper to detect an acid-based reaction with baking soda.  The children colored on the paper and were able to observe their writing getting darker and darker as the transformation happened.  They witnessed other chemical reactions as a jack-o-lantern exploded with foam, and watched the process of chemiluminescence much like what happens to glow sticks when you break them and the two liquids are mixed together.  They enjoyed mixing colors to make their own slime.  Most of all, they loved all of the help the upper school students provided.  They were so kind and patient, and were full of compliments as they fell in love with this amazing class of JK children!

We have been practicing our teen numbers and learning that "the one always comes first" in teen numbers!  We are also working on finding numbers not in sequential order, as we talk about adding and subtracting and the symbols that stand for each.  Our calendar provides a great way to discuss patterns daily and to study the sequence of numbers as well as the one to one correspondence.

Fine Motor:
We completed group drawing Halloween pictures as each group completed drawing a list of related creatures.  This allowed for compromise as each child chose what they wanted to draw, and shared space on the rug as they each completed their part of the mural.  They also told a story based on their illustration and shared it with the class.  We made patterns on witch's legs and worked on colored pencil self portraits.  We also worked in groups to complete paper chains for the classroom, sticking to an ABCD pattern of colors.

We had such a wonderful time at our classroom party, playing "Pin the Nose on the Jack-o-Lantern, trick or treat slime bucket, cookie decorating, candy corn counting game, bozo bucket spider toss, Halloween Bingo, and dancing, singing and playing with our friends.  Thank you for all of your donations and assistance in making it the most fun day ever for JK!

Have an amazing week, and please sign up for a conference slot if you haven't already done so!  We will have no school on Friday to allow for conferences!

Ms. Massey