SHOW AND TELL
Bring a picture of weather.
Topic: Weather
The what and why of weather
The value is justice, which means fairness and equality for all people.
For science we’ll study warm air/cold air, tornado in a bottle, and how to make a rainbow.
Outside we’ll run figure 8’s.
The songs we’ll be singing are Frosty the Snowman, You Are My Sunshine, Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Singing in the Rain, We Shall Overcome, and It’s Raining, It’s Pouring.
Our art activities are rain sticks, bird treats, macaroni snowflakes, frosty shapes, and peace doves.
Creative dramatics will be the weather game.
For motor development we’ll build strength with pushups, squats, and sit ups. For body development, we’ll work on motor planning with cotton ball blow, chimp race, walking blind, and hip hop.
Thinking Big
When we get into the every-dayness of our lives, it is hard to remember that our dreams of family were more than whether the green peas were eaten or how many pairs of underpants were soiled during potty training. It’s also stopping to consider that it doesn’t have to keep being something that’s not right. But it’s the small things that add up to the big dreams we have for our families. It’s being mentally focused and clear on our top priorities. Getting to the next level of our favorite video game or posting a great craft on Pinterest doesn’t get us closer to having creative children. Being emotionally confident, optimistic, and resilient keeps us oriented toward achieving the happy family we envisioned when we committed to having children. Physical fitness gets us toward having the energy and stamina it takes to meet the incredible challenges of parenthood. Spiritually centered connects us to a courage and support to stay in the game for the long haul.
A couple of tips have come across my desk recently to give me some concrete actions to keep me moving in the direction I want:
- From the Pixar concept of plussing comes the proposal to accept and build on every idea. It’s a “yes . . . and” practice of taking an idea and building on it. An example is standing at a bus stop. The first person says, “It’s a great day at the beach today.” The response of “We’re not at the beach. We’re at a bus stop” is such a downer. What if the response had been “Yeah, and what a strange place to put a bus stop”? You might have to get really creative to develop this skill, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. It means accepting every offer, going deep with it, and understanding that collaboration gets to ideas we never thought of.
- It also presents the suggestion of using “I wonder” solutions to situations. If you enter difficult situations with if, why, how, where could it go? Try “I wonder if these socks might help you jump really high” with a two-year-old who doesn’t want to get dressed. How about “I wonder what magical dinner we could have tonight?” as you stop by the market on your way home. You can use this strategy in countless ways. Holding up an object in front of your children and musing “what if the box bounced?” Stopping in the middle of a storybook and asking “why did the giant ask the harp to sing?” It develops creative and scientific thinking and piques curiosity. It’s also a lot of fun.
All of us need to cultivate the habit of positive self-talk. We may not be there – yet, but challenges are normal and change is possible. Growing children to productive adulthood has got to be one of life’s greatest challenges. If we want to develop the uppermost humanity in our children, we have to begin with small things to add up to our big dreams. To quote, “This is America. And here, right matters.[1]” Bigger humanity is a thing to which we can all aspire.
[1] Lt. Co. Alexander Vindman
On the Calendar
Martin Luther King Holiday – The school will be closed on Monday, Jan. 20, in honor of the man who said “no more” to injustice. He truly thought “big”.
Stone Snack Day – On Thursday, Jan. 30, we’ll come together as a community to contribute to a hearty snack. It comes from the story of soldiers returning from the war. As they came to a village, they were hungry and asked for food from the townsfolk. Everyone claimed they had nothing to eat. Taking pity on the poor villagers, the soldiers set about making stone soup for everyone. Finally, one villager allowed as how he had a cabbage. Another volunteered some carrots, and another had a few onions. Eventually, there was more than enough to make a fine soup. We.ve put a twist on this tale instead of soup we are all bring something (please, only a handful) to add to our Thursday morning snack. The children delight in finding their c
Toddler Class – Please join us in welcoming back Ms Esperanza, she worked at our school years ago and now she is back and brings with her many years of experience working with preschool children.
ontribution in the bowl.
classroom news
In the toddler class Ashlyn is indirectly preparing for reading and writing by doing the water transfer work where she transfers water from on container to another moving from left to right. Jasritha worked with the knobbed cylinders which helps develop dexterous muscle control which is important for holding a pencil. Jenna enjoys the lacing frame this work helps to improve fine motor skills and her attention span.
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