SHOW AND TELL
Bring something made in the Far East.
Topic: The Orient
We’ll explore the Far East
The value we’ll be studying is wisdom, which is the power to judge rightly and to take the best course of action.
For cooking, we’ll make stir-fry.
Outside, we’ll play jan ken po (rock/scissors/paper).
The songs we’ll be singing are Happy Talk, Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Let There Be Peace on Earth, Getting to Know You, and Puff, the Magic Dragon.
For creative dramatics, we’ll act out a couple of Oriental folktales.
Our art activities will be lucky money, dragon dance dragon, festival lanterns, tissue cherry blossoms, and fish banners.
For motor development we’ll work on coordination by jumping. For postural response, we’ll play limbo rock, spider walk, and island hopping.
ABOUT THE PLAYGROUND
The playground sometimes seems to be an in-between holding place for when we really don’t have other things going on in the school. In fact, play is what children do to learn about their worlds and to construct their own worlds. The playground is an integral part of our children’s experience. They need physical challenge from a playground; the opportunity to literally reach new heights and to run free. They need the stimulus of risk. They need choices in climbing, sliding, and swinging so they can determine the excitement and challenge for which they are ready. Structures are necessary that allow derring-do with which to build self-esteem. Equally important are break away places for those who change their minds or need time to act – alternate routes up and down, graduated challenge, and a range of opportunities to build self-esteem without pressure.
American children with their sterile playgrounds are tremendously behind European and Japanese children physically. Children in Europe have more extensive experiences in climbing, jumping, swinging, balancing, judging, perceiving, and in risk-taking than our children, who typically have 20 to 30 minutes on the playground at a time on fixed, uninteresting equipment. In Tokyo, Japanese children three- to five-year-olds engage successfully in unusually challenging climbing activities involving ropes, ladders, and climbing platforms at heights forbidden on American playgrounds.
The other advantage of playground time is the opportunity to be out of the air conditioning and the things people control into the world of varying temperatures, humidity, animals, and light. Our children need to learn how to adapt to lots of conditions, and more than to adapt, to enjoy. Learning for adults and for children is not something to be poured into them. It is an active, intellectual, and hands-on process. Our children need to learn that there are very few, if any, right ways to do things, but that there are lots of ways that work. On the playground, they get a chance to try some of those ways in a noisy, sometimes push and shove way.
We really work to have our children on the playground at least four hours out of the twelve that the school is open each day. If rain is not actually falling from the sky (and if we have on bathing suits, even if it is), we are outside that day. Our staff are there to share cold and hot, wet and sunny. The children can do things at the school like dig in the dirt, move equipment around, and share with their friends. Our staff only keep a watchful eye while the children are given the opportunity to learn to construct their own world
For Your Information
Stone Soup Day – The children love acting out this story. It comes from the folk tale where hungry soldiers returning from the war convince villagers to share what they have for a warming feast. We’ll ask every child to bring something to contribute to the morning snack and we’ll call it Stone Snack Day. This will be on Friday January 29.
Valentines Celebration – Our celebration of Valentines is very low key. Each child will bring a valentine for every child in the class, and they exchange the valentines in a little ceremony on the circle. This will happen on Friday, Feb. 12. The main focus is expressing our affection for the people in our environment. If your child can write her name, you might want to begin letting her put her name on the backs of all her valentines.
CLASSROOM NEWS
Kenneth has been working with the small knobbed cylinders to help develop his fine motor skills to further help him develop his pencil grip Kenneth was introduced to the all four large knobbed cylinder blocks, Each block contains ten knobbed cylinders of varying dimensions. The cylinder blocks also helps develop the concept of visual discrimination of size. Luka in now showing interest in walking he smiles lights up the room as the teacher assist him in walking in the classroom and from the classroom to the front door and also on the playground. Luka is also participating in putting things back at home and also while at school
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