Goodbye!

As we wind down the school year, the summer is stepping up to meet us. It’s helpful to have the weather turn warmer, as we’ve told kids that school will be ending because summer is coming. Now that the days are warm and the city is in bloom, it really feels like summertime. These days, kids might show up in shorts, with scraped knees from outside adventures, with talk of weekend bbqs or memories of the school carnival.

There is a shift in the air, but what does it all mean for 3, 4, 5 year olds? For little kids, the span of two or three months can seem endless. So much is uncertain, so we like to help them anticipate changes and understand what comes next. Our calendar system with red and green dots has been a good visual symbol to help them make sense of things.

When we first showed them the calendar pages of red dots for June, July and August, there was a mixed reaction. Many cheered to see all those red dots representing time at home with family. We talked about having our last days at school together, and counted down the remaining green dots. Some kids knew about summer camps or family trips or going to a new school. We told them they could ask their families about it, and many have come in with more information about upcoming plans. We tried to help them differentiate between summer plans, and a new school year which would happen after so, so many summer days. You may want to use a calendar to help them track their summer days, too, and give them a visual for the start of school when that gets closer.

As we’ve crossed off each day, kids have helped us count down the green dots on our calendar. We’ve offered time and space for kids to talk about the upcoming changes, and acknowledge their feelings. Some have said they will miss teachers, or friends, or the gym! Some have decided they will just take teachers along with them to their new schools! We acknowledged that we’ll miss each other, and focused on ways we could stay in touch with friends over the summer.

We’ve spent some time singing familiar songs, playing some favorite games and talking about the course of the year. “Remember the first day you came to this classroom? We didn’t know everyone’s name! But, now we know each other so well.”

The calendar pages for the previous months are available for kids to look over, and many will point to Parents Day or a day we played outside and talk about what they remember. We’ve read books about summer activities and books about staying in touch with someone far away. We’ve had kids help us wash toys in the water table, so they can be put away for the summer. We told kids last week that we’d be finishing with our playhouse boat, and this week we’ve had a simpler setup.

On our last day, we had a chance to say goodbye to all the parts of our classroom and gym. At the end of the day we took time after the story to offer each other hugs and goodbyes before leaving the room together for the very last time.

We’re honored to have spent this time with your child and your family, witnessing their growth and watching all these individual personalities come together to form a cohesive group. They’ve come to know themselves a little better, and have begun to know the others in their class, too. These experiences will serve them in whatever new situations they face. Whether they are trying out summer camp, moving on to a new school, or coming back to Park West in the fall, their experiences this year can bolster them when they face new situations. You can remind them that their familiar place, their school and classmates and teachers, was once new, too. Remind them that they met that challenge, got used to a new place, and became a part of it. They and you will always be part of our Park West family.

Thank you for all you’ve done for school. Your participation and dedication make Park West the place it is. Thank you for your generous end of year gifts and cards. Thank you for sharing your amazing children with us. We hope you stay in touch, if you’re moving on, and we look forward to seeing those of you returning in the Fall.

Much love,

Sarah, Chris and Anita

Counting Down the Green Dot Days

Hi, everyone.

Since telling kids that summer is coming soon, we have been counting down our last green dot days together. 9, 8, 7… and now, there are 3 remaining school days.

As we count down, and kids continue to process this information (new schools, lots of summer days with family, summer camps, and no longer being together as this class soon), we’ve heard a few comments here and there: I’m going to miss you when I can’t see you. Oh! We can have play dates at the park! I won’t be at this school anymore. I’m going on a trip. We will continue to keep our comments short and honest as we talk through the changes and acknowledge what we are hearing. We are also highlighting the positives, and providing suggestions (calling a friend, sending mail, looking at our classroom face page and yearbook of photos each family will receive in order to evoke memories). We will again point out that there will be lots and lots of summertime days, and school starting again will be a long time away. Some kids have enjoyed making their own calendars with templates we’ve provided. Green, red and now other colored dot days that kids have thought up, Purple dot days are when there’s swimming.

We’ve continued to revisit some familiar things that we’ve become fond of at school. Teachers have made a new batch of playdough, and kids are reviewing some favorite books after snack. We have also been recalling songs we’ve learned so long ago, and kids have been requesting some group time favorite songs: It rained a mist, The seed song, Herman the worm, Icky sticky bubblegum, I was going to Kentucky, The bed song, Your shoes - my shoes, The nickel song, A tisket a tasket, 5 orange pumpkins, 2 little blackbirds, The tree song, The lollipop song, Aiken Drum (spelling?), Che Che Kule,
And, some favorite group games: hide and seek, chase, Doggie doggie where’s your bone? What’s missing? Who’s missing? What’s the same or different? Back to back.

In order to demonstrate our year is coming to a close, kids have started to help us scrub our water table, and clean classroom items such as art stencils and various toys that will be put away.

Have you been hearing any of this news at home? Do you have a favorite Park West song stuck in your head now, too?

Below are photos from the last few weeks.

We are looking forward to spending our last 3 green dot days together next week.

Best,

Anita, Sarah, Chris

Friends, and End of Year Countdown

(We’ve begun to talk about the arrival of summer, and are now counting down the last green dot days of school on our calendar. This will stir up questions, excitement, maybe anxieties as kids build their understanding of what the end of school will mean. We like to allow enough time for kids to process this change, and offer some concrete ways to think about the past year, the upcoming summer, and a bit about next school year. More next week about how this is going.)

Making a friend, having a friend and being a friend are important goals in nursery school, but this is not easy for kids. To connect, they need to join another’s play, with or without asking. In order to maintain a connection to another kid and keep the play going, kids need to be able to verbalize their ideas, adjust, and clarify, repeatedly. They need to be able to give up a part of their own idea to accommodate another.

For both parties to be satisfied, there needs to be a good level of give and take.

Some children came into the class already knowing a friend, or having some experience playing with another kid in class. Others have made a friend or two here. Either way, it can be exciting and satisfying to find that kind of connection, and most children are then very protective of the friendship. They might defer their own interests to sustain the connection. Teachers might need to remind kids, “It’s ok if you want to finish your painting while your friend moves on to another activity. You can tell them you’ll find them again when you’re finished.” Some kids need teachers to help them advocate for themselves and their ideas, and support them in expressing these to their friend.

For those invested in a friendship, the intricacies of how and when to play together require a lot of thought. The give and take can be one sided, or one might feel a need to always accommodate the other. Children this age are egocentric and find it hard to take another’s perspective. Ideally, as they have more experience, and hear friends verbalize their points of view, they eventually begin to understand that theirs isn’t the only idea. Some friends who build together regularly have been grappling with taking turns. After turning down their friend’s invitation to build, a child said, “I’m making my own car. You never let me be the driver!” Another child asked their buddy to come see what they’d built. When the friend wasn’t interested, the first child grew frustrated, and was heard saying to their friend,“You always want me to look at your things, but you never look at my things!” These challenges might give a child pause, and can be something we can reference the next time they want to invite the other to play.

While navigating a friendship can be difficult, trying to incorporate multiple kids can increase the challenge. When one of a pair of friends is approached by or attracted to another child, they might feel conflicted. The loyalty to their first friend might weigh against the desire to make a new connection. When faced with another prospective playmate, some might say, “You’re not my friend! I’m friends with Bob.” or, they might say to the previous playmate, “I’m not your friend anymore - now I’m playing with Sue.” When a trio forms, the balance of power and exchange of idea shifts, and when a small group forms, there are a lot of perspectives and preferences to juggle. Some children grasp for ways to protect their games. “You can’t play! Only kids with pockets (or kids who are 4, or only princesses….) can play.” Teachers look for ways to challenge these perspectives, and help kids talk through how that kind of exclusion can feel. We remind them of times when they felt excluded. Sometimes, kids say mean or hurtful things. “I’m never going to play with you!” or “You’re stupid!“ or “I”m not inviting you to my Birthday!” Teachers remind kids it’s not ok to be mean. We try to help tease out kids’ intentions and motivations through conversations, and support kids as they navigate these ins and outs.

We can say that it’s ok to have more than one friend, and talk over problems as they arise, but kids still need to have many experiences to internalize these ideas.

Kids need help to navigate friendships and all the emotions they stir up. Adults can provide support as kids begin to make sense of things. “I know you have fun with Bob. When you say that he’s not your friend, it sounds mean.” “I know you are playing with Jill now, but will you want to play something later with Bob?” Kids need to have many experiences to begin to understand another’s point of view, and to consider how their words and actions affect the friends they’re trying to make.

Planting

Hi everyone.

Have you heard about any of the planting we’ve done this week?

At the beginning of the week, kids noticed containers of soil, scoops and empty planters. Kids started to help fill up the planters with soil. When that step was finished, kids then went about planting grass and sunflower seeds. A teacher helped demonstrate how to poke a hole in the soil and place the flower seeds. Grass seeds were sprinkled and spread on top of the soil. Spray bottles were available for kids to then water the seeds and soil in the planters. Each day, children have been observing with magnifying glasses and giving the seeds a spritz with the spray bottles. This kind of project usually sparks a universal excitement amongst all of us at school. We imagine that we will continue to observe the growth process and share what we notice with each other on a daily basis! In the days to come, some may want to measure or draw any of the changes they’ve observed.

At grouptime, kids and teachers shared information they know about plants and growing. So far we’ve heard that plants need sun, water, and soil. We talked about the parts of a plant: roots, stem, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Since we know our plants will need the sun, our planters are being placed in the sun on our window sills when kids are not observing or tending to the seeds.

After planting these seeds in our soil on Monday, each kid tried another kind of planting experiment at table time that day. Everyone got a ziploc bag, a damp paper towel and a dragon tongue green bean. After writing their names on their bags, kids worked at folding and flattening their paper towels in the bag. Then, one bean was placed on top of the moist towel. Kids pressed on the bag to flatten and help zip their bags closed. Kids then taped their bags to our classroom window where they will receive sunlight. This experiment is a great way to observe those early changes that occur. On the second day, one child already noticed something interesting growing out of the bean, while others noticed changes in size or cracks in the bean skin! We hope that our seeds germinate successfully and can then be transferred to soil.

As we talk about seeds and growing, kids have been able to look closely at a few different kinds of seeds as well (sunflower seeds, Dragon Tongue green beans and our grass seeds).

To help us think more about the growing process, we introduced “The Seed Song” at grouptime. It’s another Park West favorite. Similar to our beloved “Tree Song,” there is a sequence to be followed, and it takes a lot of practice to get it down. Kids have really enjoyed singing along and doing the hand and body motions that accompany our version of the song! Here are the lyrics we have been singing all week. If you are interested in seeing and hearing a similar version, we are sending along this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzF6E7CgzVc

THE SEED SONG

If you’ve got the sun, and if you’ve got the rain

You can plant a little seed down the old back lane.

If you rake, and you hoe, and you keep the weeds down.

You might find, you might find…..

A root coming out from the seed in the ground.

(Repeat chorus: If you’ve got the sun, etc.)

You might find, you might find……

A stem coming out, with the root,

from the seed in the ground.

(Repeat chorus)

A leaf coming out, with the stem,

 with the root,

from the seed in the ground.

(Repeat chorus)

A flower coming out, with the leaf,

with the stem, with the root,

From the seed in the ground.

As we continue to explore this topic, we will bring in some books and other materials as well.

Happy Spring!

2West

A BOAT PLACE

(We started a new chapter book this week, but we hope you won’t rush out and get it to read at home. “My Father’s Dragon” is a story of a boy who helps a dragon, and each chapter ends with a cliffhanger. If your child already knows the book, or reads ahead, it can be really hard to resist giving away any information. We hope to help kids anticipate and think about what may happen in each chapter, so will appreciate if you refrain from reading at home until we’ve finished the book. It has 10 chapters, and we have six to go, so we’ll let you know more after it’s done. Thanks!)

Remember when we voted between creating an Office or a Boat Place in our playhouse? Last week, kids were reminded about the Boat Place idea, and we began talking and planning. This week, we’ve begun construction. We like to involve kids in all aspects of these kinds of transformations, from brainstorming to planning to executing ideas. The problem solving, collaboration, and fine motor work to create the space are as valuable as the imaginative play that happens there.

We started by asking kids in both our morning and JK groups more questions: What do we need in or on a boat? What do we need around a boat? What will we do on a boat? Kids had many ideas and we had several good grouptime discussions. Once we created the lists, we started to talk about how to create their ideas. Some could already imagine how to create the sky or water or sand, with ideas about tape or paint or paper. Here are some photos as we begin to transform the space.

We talked about defining the space, and whether the top or bottom of our playhouse should be our boat. Would the water or the boat be on top? We all decided the bottom could be the water and the top would be the boat. Teachers brought out some blue paper to hang in the bottom, and invited kids to decorate it with stencils and drawings of various fish and sea creatures. We asked kids to help draw and make plans of their ideas. We offered new items at the light tables to add to our underwater look.

Kids were keen to use the space, and arranged and rearranged the seats upstairs to create driving spaces and additional seats. Some decorated cardboard from our recycling bin to look like steering wheels, and some taped them on to the rails. Others wanted maps and spent time making and coloring those, then used them in their navigations. A group was taking turns to drive and to decide where to go on the boat. A few pretended to catch fish or collect treasure from the light tables below. We decided to use a piece of our paddle ball painting paper from the previous day to create the sun, and a teacher helped one child hang it.

We expect to add more elements in the coming days, including more paper water that kids painted in our Paddle Ball Painting project.

New things, familiar things

Hello.

This week, kids have noticed a few new activities, and a few things we have tried before. At this point in the school year, we often like to revisit some of the activities we’ve tried throughout the year. Childrens’ approaches to the activity are usually influenced by being a few months older and applying what they’ve discovered from their previous experiences. Some children fondly remember what they liked so much about the activity: the feel and texture, experimenting with the materials, or having particular imaginary play ideas. It’s also a way for us to recall some of the things that we’ve liked doing together all year.

At one table, we are revisiting “Floam,” one of our favorite tactile activities.

We are also trying watercolor painting again. This time, we’ve introduced springtime and animal stencils.

In our blue (sand) table, we are trying a new “fishing” activity. In the table, there are paper fish with paper clips, artificial seaweed and small wooden pieces to help create an underwater scene. Kids have been using fishing poles (small wooden rods with a rope and a magnet) to attract a fish’s paper clip, and then place the fish in their pails. Throughout the week, kids have helped decorate, cut out and attach a paper clip to the colorful paper fish. Some of these fish have been left in our “pond” for all to use, and some have been taken home. A few kids have taken stencils from the watercolor painting project to create fish and frogs for our pond as well. After some practice, we hope to expand this idea to fishing from a farther distance away.

Another new activity that’s been causing quite a stir is our paddle ball set up in the emptied water table. During the first few days, kids had opportunities to pass a ball back and forth to each other using ping pong paddles. Teachers also created targets in the table by using tape. Some kids were attempting to adjust the ball’s speed and direction to get the ball to land in or on the targets, or watch the ball ricochet off the sides of the table. Teachers explained that a goal was also to keep the balls from bouncing out of the table. After kids had some experience with this, teachers mentioned that we could dip the ball into paint and try “paddle ball painting!”

At group time, a teacher introduced two new “take-apart” toys: a race car and airplane. Both vehicles are held together by screws that can be screwed and unscrewed with one’s hands (great for fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination!) The teacher modeled how to follow the instructions in order to put the vehicles back together.

And lastly, there has been a resurgence of easel painting for some kids in JK. Here is another area where we’ve seen the progression of kids’ work throughout the year!

Here is a collection of our watercolors and easel paintings:

Best,
2West

OOBLECK and OUR FIRST WALK TO THE PARK

Who was that group walking up and down Webster, chatting and laughing and holding hands at the crosswalks? After a fun time playing at the playground, JK capped our first walk to Oz Park with this chant:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0fax9BqiGOdphVdIddnEYrJMg

This week we have a new sensory mixture, Oobleck, in our classroom. What is Oobleck? Well, it is a simple mixture of water and cornstarch. Is it solid? Is it a liquid? It actually behaves as both.

Other familiar substances, like water, change states from solid to liquids to gasses by changing temperature. But Oobleck is a pressure dependent mixture. Oobleck changes states from a solid to a liquid by changing the pressure placed upon it. Applying pressure on the mixture of Oobleck increases its viscosity (thickness). A quick tap on the surface of Oobleck will feel hard and wet. The pressure from a finger pushes the cornstarch particles together. But, if you slowly slide your finger into the mixture, through the water, the corn starch particles have time to move out of the way, creating a smooth liquidy path. This pressure (created through a child’s hands playing) physically changes the Oobleck from a solid to a liquid.

Back and forth, fingers and hands poke, drag, squeeze and drip. It can be soothing to some children, almost meditative, who want to spend all of playtime with their hands moving around, exploring the different states of this mysterious mixture. Sensory play stimulates learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. Nerve connections in the brain are built through sensory play and language and motor skills are strengthened

For others, it can seem a bit disconcerting. Is it slimy? Will it get on my clothes? Will it come off of my hands easily? And while teachers don’t ever insist that a child play with Oobleck, we do try and model how wonderful it can be. And we offer tools like spoons and glue paddles, for those who really don’t want to get their hands into it.  

Feel free to make some Oobleck at home. Just mix equal parts water and cornstarch in a container that allows enough room for a child to move their hands around freely.

New Gym Arrangement

Hi all.

Welcome back!

After our Parents’ Day gathering in the gym, Park West teachers used that clean slate to create a new set up in our gym space. Kids have been excited to try out the various parts of our new arrangement.

 There is now an obstacle course that encourages balancing, going under, climbing over and jumping down. All of these maneuvers are great for building gross motor skills and awareness of their bodies in space.

There is an area dedicated to rolling in a barrel, or putting the round blue insert in and rolling around on the red barrel.

There’s a long, high mat space for tumbling and jumping down onto crash pads.

There’s an area of dots and dice. Kids can roll the dice to see how many spaces they will move or hop on during their turns. Or, they can create their own game!

And bowling! Kids have been helping each other set the pins, remove any pins that have been knocked over and cheer on their fellow bowlers.

There has also been a resurgence in our climbing wall. 

It’s been great to see children challenging themselves, talking themselves through how to approach an obstacle and encouraging each other. 

Here are photos from this week:

Best, 

Anita Chris Sarah

Boundary Setting and Consent

At our staff meeting last week we discussed a recent document released by the Chicago Public Health Department that focuses on boundary setting and consent for children of all ages including those in their early childhood years. We found that the language and approach described in the document reflects the way we communicate and work with students at Park West. We thought it would be informative and helpful to share the document with you. Please find it here.

In the beginning of the year at the Parent Orientation, we talked about the transference of trust that takes place during the Separation process. Not only do we want children to feel safe with teachers, we also want to provide students with the tools to make their own environment a safe and comfortable one for themselves by setting boundaries and advocating for themselves. 

Teaching children the words they can use when they want another kid's action to stop, whether it’s a classmate taking a toy, offering a hug or hitting, is one way we help students advocate for themselves and set boundaries with others. We might say to a child You can say No or Stop if you don’t like what ______ is doing. Sometimes children aren’t ready to use those words on their own. In those situations, a teacher can help in a variety of ways depending on what actually happened including modeling the language and saying the words for the child.

Teachers can also help seek consent from a child during play. It looks like ______ wants to put their car on the road you built. Is that ok? Or It looks like ______ wants to touch the sparkles on your shirt. Can they do that? We also prompt kids who are seeking the interaction to do the asking as well. You can ask _____ if you can put your car on the road they built. Throughout these back and forths, we hope to normalize setting boundaries as well as giving children the tools for how to do it.

As teachers we are mindful of the power differential between us and the students we teach. We want children to feel as safe as possible and to be able to practice as much autonomy as they are able. When a child needs to use the bathroom, for example, we have a number of questions we may ask a child: Do you need help? A child may let us know what kind of help they need in the bathroom, and if they don’t, we’ll ask. Do you want me to help pull your pants down? If they don’t respond, and they don’t pull their own pants down, we’ll let them know we will help. It looks like you need help with your pants. I can help you. We want to make sure children know what to anticipate from an adult and give them opportunities to voice what they need from us.

We also pay attention to what comforts children. There are some children who do respond well to a hug if they’re missing a parent or if they got a bump or hurt in some way. There are also children who just need a quiet moment to recover and don’t want physical comfort. We take note of those children and make sure they have a book to look at if they’re sad or a quiet spot to sit until they feel better.

If there are times, and there are, when a teacher needs to help a child stop an action after asking them to stop, we will let that child know I’m going to help you now and remove them from the situation. Again, it’s helping children anticipate a teacher’s behavior in our effort to both keep that child safe as well as those around them, depending on the circumstance. 

Our main goal is to help children begin to understand how to set boundaries with others and seek consent as well. It’s a first step in building a foundation for these children’s ability to communicate clearly as a means of self-advocacy. 

We were reassured by the approach taken by the Chicago Public Health Department. We hope you have a chance to take a look at the document they released this month as this is an important topic for families to address with children throughout their lives. 

Best, 

2West

Marble Ramps and Gear Coasters

This week we introduced two new activities: Marble Ramps and Gear Coasters.

Both activities incorporate spatial awareness, physics and gravity. As kids have experimented with both activities, they’ve noticed a few things. Marble Ramps and Gear Coasters both need their track pieces to be placed in certain ways in order for the marbles or gears to move about successfully. If the open holes in the tracks all line up, the marble or gear will fall right through without traveling on the tracks first. If the track pieces are level, the gear or marble won’t roll down. And, the bigger the slope, the faster the objects will roll! 

The gear will fall straight down when the holes line up

Kids have been moving the coaster tracks around on a magnetic dry erase board in order to help the gears fall onto specific destinations. Similarly, kids have been moving other marble track towers closer or farther away from each other when utilizing a launching track piece. This piece looks like a swoop or a slide and allows the marbles to launch off of the track set up. Kids have been figuring out how to project marbles off of one track set up onto another tower of tracks nearby. 

The yellow launching piece

We’ve seen a combination of quiet thinking and chattering with friends to figure out how to arrange the marble and coaster tracks. 

We hope you’ll be able to come have a turn on Parents’ Day!

Parents’ Day is a time-honored Park West tradition when parents & caregivers gather to visit their child’s classroom, participate in activities, and join in songs led by teachers together with other classes.

Parents and children will arrive at school together for a shortened afternoon at school, and then leave together at the end of Parents’ Day.

Thursday, March 30th, 1-2:30pm

(Platemaking: 2:30-3pm)

Teachers will have the room set up for children and parents/caregivers to explore together. It is important that an adult is present for each child, so if you are unable to attend, please ask a loved one to come in your place. You can choose to have one or two adults join your child for Parents’ Day. No siblings please!

Best, 

2West

MIXING IT UP IN JK: KIDS WORKING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

Marching Bands circling the room……

…..and a “clapping band” circling the gym

Wrestling in the gym, and the rules are: two at a time; wait until the other is ready; no necks or faces; no punching, hitting or kicking.

Negotiating an ambulance rescue game

Around the classroom

Watching “TV”

The floor is Lava

Experimenting with plastic chain links:

"Snow"

Hi, there.

A few weeks ago, we introduced “pretend snow.” Teachers mixed together water and a powder that grows fluffy and slushie as it absorbs the liquid. Kids found the snow in four bins (acting as trays) at our tactile table. During the first week of having this snow, kids had imaginary play ideas with small dinosaurs, scoops, cups, and small paddles and spoons for stirring. The next week, kids noticed the dinosaurs were gone. The scoops, cups and paddles remained. In each container there were now clear containers of red, blue and yellow liquid watercolor. Each container also had a pipette to use for extracting the color. Kids very quickly noticed that they could squeeze out the color and apply it to the white snow! For some, it surely felt magical! All of a sudden, a spot of blue snow was turning green, turquoise or purple! Throughout the week, many kids returned for more experimenting, wanting to refine their shades of color or remember how they made that lovely peachy orange color they concocted the day before. And what happens when you pour snow directly into the cup of color? Kids were then serving up snow cones and slushies! After a few days, teachers added more supplies to support that play: small plastic ice cream cones, ice cream scoops and silicone cupcake molds. As kids were done mixing colors onto their snow, teachers set aside that snow. The bin was rinsed and a fresh set of watercolors and snow were added for the next person’s turn. On the last day of this week, kids saw the blue, yellow and red watercolors go away along with the white snow. Now they found teal and lime green watercolors with colored snow from earlier in the week. As they mixed these colors onto the snow, some kids created oceans for the sea creatures set out on the table. 

This past week, that snow was transferred into two larger bins in our water table. All of that colorful mixed up snow is now serving as a swampy area for snakes, reptiles and rocks! 

In other news, teachers also changed up our gym configuration this week. We moved our mats and jumping area to provide a large space to play hockey. During these first few days, we’ve had 4 turns at a time and have created a sign up list for anyone waiting. Each child has a stick and a puck, and there are 2 nets set up. This offers each child some time to explore the sport and practice on their own. In upcoming weeks, can then touch upon other concepts such as passing the puck to others.

Best, 

Anita Chris Sarah 

Zoom The Cat and Jamming with JK

This week we read a chapter book to JK, called “Zoom the Cat,” by Tim Wynne-Gunn. It may be out of print, but teachers have had a copy for decades and like to read it to JK kids when they’re ready. With more text and less pictures, a chapter book can challenge kids to maintain attention and track the story in a different way. Zoom is exciting and suspenseful, with rich, complex language and with stories taking place in settings like the North Pole and Egypt. We read one story each day, and after we finished all three stories in the trilogy, a child asked where Zoom would go next. We invited everyone to think of Zoom’s next adventure, and wrote their ideas in their journals during table time. 

If you’re interested in hunting up a copy to read at home, here’s a link to one source. You may be able to find the trilogy in one book, or the three separate books: Zoom at Sea; Zoom Away; and Zoom Upstream.    

https://www.thriftbooks.com/series/zoom-trilogy/75209/

Lately music has been on our minds, and in our hands and in our feet! Recently we brought out some percussion instruments: tambourines, various types of shakers and maracas, a rain stick, a cabasa, circular xylophones, ridged wood blocks, thumb pianos. 

In JK, this happened after a child who had been bringing his own harmonica was invited to play a bit for us at a grouptime. A teacher had brought a  harmonica, too, and surprised kids that day with a simple tune. We talked about whether it was the ABC song, or the Twinkle song, and spent a few rounds listening and singing and noticing that they’re the same tune, and could be sung either way. We talked a little about how blowing different holes could produce different sounds and that we could play songs by following the notes she pulled up on her phone. When kids asked to try, we let them know that harmonicas weren’t ok to share but that we could bring out instruments another day. The child with the harmonica said he didn’t know how to play that song, so we told kids that musicians sometimes try to play the same song together, but sometimes they have a “jam session,” when they listen to the sounds that the other musicians are playing, and add their own sounds. JK was game to try a jam session that day. As  the harmonica players played their own tunes, kids used their bodies to play along. Some were making up beats with their mouths. Some were playing pretend instruments, some were clapping, snapping fingers or drumming on their legs or the floor. Bodies started to move, and the beat went on for a few minutes. It was a real hoot!

The next day, kids were playing instruments and one asked about walking around with them. A teacher put on some music and almost everyone joined in, playing and marching around the room. Now we’ve had several marching bands, with varying members. They’re usually announced by a child during play time and many JK kids like to pick out an instrument and follow along, snaking through the playhouse and past the tables where kids who are busy playing or drawing get the chance to watch and listen. 

We’ve also had some Dance Sessions at group time. Recently a teacher shared a new song she’d heard on the way to school, and invited kids to get up and dance during grouptime. “I Feel Like Dancing,” by Jason Mraz inspired all kinds of moves, as kids grooved to the sound and even followed some suggestions in the lyrics. Another day, kids voted between dancing again to that song, or trying a new one, and we had a chance to dance to a song called,  “Sunshine” by One Republic. Now we’ve used those songs for a transition song the last few days,  to offer kids their own turn to dance on the way to washing hands. 

We’ve begun using a speaker in the gym to play some music for our end of gym transition as well.  Sometimes it’s quiet music, and we do some yoga poses together. Other times, we stand up and try action songs, like “Che Che Kule” (the Susan Salidor version)  or “Silly Little Ostrich,” by Bill Hooper.

We hope you all find some opportunities at home to put on those dancing shoes and shake a leg!

Best, 

Anita Chris Sarah 

Card-making

Hi there, 

We wanted to expand upon our cardmaking process that we mentioned in a previous bulletin. This week at the art table, we’ve been spending some time decorating cards to give to people we love. Kids have been able to choose from various colors of folded paper that say TO_____ and FROM_____. We’ve also had index cards available  with various words and phrases: MOM, MOMMY, MAMA, DAD, DADDY, DADA, FAMILY, SISTER/SISSY, BROTHER,  I LIKE, I LOVE, THANK YOU, I ❤️ U, and so on. At grouptime one day, teachers showed how to address the card and send a message to someone. An example was a card to JK. On the inside it said “I LIKE” followed by a drawing of playing with our office supplies in the playhouse. On the other page, it said “THANK YOU” and “I ❤️ U” formed with a combination of letter stampers and stickers. This was to demonstrate that writing, drawing, stampers and stickers could be used together to convey one’s message. This is a great literacy activity we introduce around this time of year because so many kids already want to share what they know about Valentine’s Day. We take their enthusiasm as an opportunity to encourage writing and show that it is useful. Similar to Halloween, it’s a “holiday” or “celebration” of sorts that most children are already familiar with and this can bring about lots of discussion. For some, it may be a holiday about love and gifts and treats. Our focus has been about taking some time to express how you feel about those you love. What better way to do so than to practice writing our names, drawing and using stamps!

We looked on or offered support as kids learned to write out family members’ names and practice their own letters in the FROM space. Some found really creative ways to utilize a combination of letter stamps and their own writing. Some chose to just decorate or just use the first letter of their names as they were cranking out cards for loved ones, hehe, Daddy will see my first letter and know who it’s from. Don’t worry. We had our face page out so they could find peers’ names and address cards to them as well. We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing or hearing any bits about this from your child at home. 

Here are some photos of JK spreading the love!

All the best, 
JKWEST

At Table time one day, kids found a hidden face page photo under a blank card at their places. We made a surprise card for another person in JK! The next day at story time, each kid presented the card they made to the group and then gave it to the recipient. This ensured that everyone received a card and helped promote love for our community. It also helped us think about those we may not spend lots of time with and pointed out how much we really do know about each other! Kids were heard secretly chatting and sharing advice on what their friends would probably like to see in their cards: flowers, semi trucks, animals, favorite colors, rainbows,etc. JK seemed to really embrace this experience!

And lastly, thank you to families, kids and teachers for all working together to make cards for one another. On Tuesday at group time, each child had the opportunity to distribute the cards that were made at home or at school with teachers. Kids waited with their bags, excited to see all of the deliveries coming by! There was lots of chatting, viewing cards with friends and thanking each other for all of the things being delivered. We hope you had a chance to peek at them as well!

Thanks, everyone, for all your support as we both recover from illness. We are so happy that Chris is well, and continues to be at school with your kids, and that Jenna and Byl could also step in to help. We’re grateful they can  provide consistency for all your kids as they carry on in our absence. How lucky we feel to have such a supportive community! We can’t wait to see you all on our return. 

One new item we have added to the gym is noise-canceling headphones. Despite our soundproofing, the gym can be a noisy place, as children run, jump and exuberantly shout. Many young children exhibit sensitivity to loud noises or can only tolerate them for so long. This is common and to be expected as children develop their ability to recognize and process sounds. On top of that, there is a lot to process in the gym. Children are not only processing sounds, which are harder to distinguish and filter over background noise, but there is constant movement. Having some power and control over noises can help sensitive children to better tolerate them. Our headphones lower the decibel level of background noise, but still allow for children to hear conversations. While some choose to wear them to give them a break from background noise, others enjoy hearing the difference between wearing headphones and not wearing them. Several children have experimented with making loud noises themselves when the headphones are on while others pull them off their ears in order to better hear language. Having these tools available for all to explore allows those that might become overwhelmed by noise levels to have a sensory break and others to explore how the headphones change sounds.

We are also offering a few enclosed spaces in the gym where children can retreat if they’d like. We have had a tent up for much of the school year, which children enjoy huddling inside. Some prefer to crowd in together while others like to be in the tent alone. We now also have a “dark den” in the gym, which blocks light. There is a flap in the front to enter and on a window, but when they are closed, it is very dark inside. Children have enjoyed retreating to the dark den and marveling at how dark the space is before popping a head out of the window to again see the light.

These materials offer children the opportunity to take a break from the sensory stimulation at school and explore physical properties in a new way. We look forward to continuing our exploration of these materials in the coming days at school. 

Our playhouse is now an office!

Hi, all.

A few weeks ago, teachers posed a question to our JK class. We were noticing that we’ve had the babies in the playhouse for a while now. We also had a doctor’s office, restaurant food, bakery supplies… We thought kids are ready for some new ideas, but we need your help deciding what to do in the playhouse next. What do you think we could try playing in the playhouse? (Another opportunity for children to take ownership of our classroom environment and participate in the decision-making process for our community). During the next play time, a teacher brought around a list and asked each child for their input. Some children had ideas right away, Trucks! Unicorn dress ups! Office! Jungle! Some children thought about it for a few days and then gave an answer, Bakery again! A Boat Space! Moving our blocks into the playhouse! Teachers shared these answers at various group times as they trickled in. We said that teachers would look at the list of amazing ideas and look in our supply closet to see what kids and teachers could use to change up the playhouse. (Teachers also wanted to narrow it down to some ideas that would be longer-lasting with ways to extend play for both our morning and JK groups.)

Next, we presented two ideas. We noticed our closet had some interesting supplies that kids and teachers could use for two of the ideas: OFFICE and BOAT SPACE.

We then asked kids to think about what things we might need and what we could do in either of those spaces, in a way “campaigning” for either idea. Well, in an office you could use suitcases, a chair that moves around, and type! Answer phones, look at calendars to make appointments! In a boat space you could have rides, get a boat there, or park your boat if you need to go do other stuff, fix the boat/jobs with tools or look for sea creatures down below! We need blue cardboard with sand on top! Here’s the lists from our group time:

In the meantime, we also chatted with our Morning Class. We told them that teachers had been talking with JK to think of new ideas, and many of them had suggestions as well. Fire truck! Store! Bookstore/library! Construction site! We wrote down their ideas. Teachers wanted to lay some general groundwork on how decisions could be made together, and so that they would be privy to the changes happening soon.

Within the next few days, JK kids were told that they would be voting to help us decide. We talked through the voting process. Each JK child would get a cut out of their photo from our Face Page, and that would be considered their “ballot” (what people use to show their choice). During the next play time, teachers showed two voting boxes: OFFICE and BOAT SPACE. JK kids were then individually asked if they were ready to place their vote. If so, they could enter the voting booth and cast their ballot! Once finished, they had the option to wear an “I VOTED TODAY!” sticker. (2 children voted via e-MAIL IN BALLOTS!)

Once the votes were in, the results were displayed at group time! A teacher took out ballots one at a time, and placed them in their correct section on a chart. After each ballot was pulled from the box, teachers asked if that person had anything to say about why they voted for that idea.

Well, I was just on a boat so… I voted for Office. My mom’s office has a candy bowl (x8 JK kids!) I drink coffee with my dad at the office. We heard a lot about office snacks, and typing and using IPADS. We even heard about a desk display of a dancing cactus! Others chimed in about doing a lot of office work already or visiting an office recently, being on a boat could be a nice change! And looking for those sea creatures! Kids were noticing the close race as the ballots were coming out of the boxes and placed on the chart. Eventually, we noted that 9 is more than 8. Alas, OFFICE had won the vote.

The OFFICE opened this Monday, and things surely have been bustling! Placing orders for picture frames, calling to set up appointments, marking appointments on our calendar or in our planner, assisting in trouble shooting for Mario Kart, calling fellow colleagues and inviting them up to the break room or “lounge” for a coffee or water, a game of tic tac toe or looking through catalogs! This week, we’ve heard many familiar phrases, How can I help you? Yes, this is He speaking. Would you like to schedule a time for talking? Would the number 10 day work for you? Great! And even, And here’s your ticket to the movie theater! (Wow, what a bonus for scheduling an appointment!) We hope you’ve been hearing about this process and now all of the work being done in the Park West Office.

Best,

Anita Chris Sarah

Looking toward February: Parent Visits, Valentines, Class Project

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We will begin offering Parent Visits in JK starting in February. This will be a chance for you to sign up to spend the day, or a portion of the day, with your child in JK. We’ll be sending an email with more details early next week. 

We also wanted to let you know that our JK group will have a Valentine exchange this year. While we don’t generally observe holidays at Park West, we really like to share the  literacy and community building aspects of exchanging Valentines with kids. If you want your child to participate, they should bring one card for each child on February 14,  with each child’s name marked on the outside. These can be simple store-bought cards or hand made, but please don’t include treats or candies. If your child is interested in doing some or all of the writing, that’s great. Some kids are really motivated to write their friends’ names. Others may not want to write any of the names, or may want to just write one or some of the names. 

Any approach is fine. We want this to be an enjoyable experience for kids, and don’t want them to feel pressured to do more writing than they are ready for. We thought it might be helpful to let you know now, so you have time to spread out the task in a manageable way for kids. Some may like to work on all of them at once, but others will benefit from spreading it out over more days. See what works for your child.

We are excited to share some pictures of our Class Project in progress. Last week, we explained to kids that we would be creating a “decoration” for a party the grownups would be having soon. (We didn’t tell them that one family would ultimately take it home, but focused on the idea that we would all make it together, and all the parents would see it.)

We have been using glue sticks often throughout the year, and recently had collage items out at a table. Teachers explained that we would be using some glass pieces for  collage. A teacher showed the supplies at a group time, including some gloves kids could wear to protect their hands. We explained that the glass was not very sharp, but if they wanted the gloves they would be available. Most kids wanted to try them, but many found it difficult to pick up the small pieces while wearing them, so opted to be “extra careful” with the glass. They signed up for turns, and worked two at a time, with a teacher nearby. Over a couple days, every kid who was here last week was offered a turn to work on the project. As each child added to the design, it was fun to see how beautifully their ideas meshed. It’s now ready to send to the Glass Collective to be made into a platter.

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Hello, everyone.

Here’s what we’ve been doing this week!

The water table has turned into that sunny beach getaway we mentioned. Kids have noticed the sand has gone back to feeling moist or dry in most areas. We may experiment with adding a bit of water to observe that transformation again:

We’ve added cardboard tubes to the cars in our table. Kids have helped tape them together to experiment with longer routes! We’ve also incorporated various widths of clear plastic tubes as well.

After creating our own designs with circles and glue sticks last week, we’ve brought in other shapes to manipulate and create designs in other ways. These activities have been a way to introduce the concept of making a collage or mosaic, and have practice with such shapes to get ready to work on our class project for the Gala.

Kids have been interested in the board game Hoot Owl Hoot we recently added to our game shelf.

Several weeks ago, kids were really interested and excited to form letters with their bodies based on a book that shows how to do it. This week, a few kids have felt re-inspired to try making letters together:

And, at group time, we’ve been changing up our greeting a bit. Kids have noticed when it doesn’t say “HI JK” or “HELLO JK.” Last week, we noticed “HOLA JK” (in Spanish) and this week, “BONJOUR JK” (in French).

Thanks for catching a glimpse,

Anita Chris Sarah

Switching the Sand

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Hello and Happy New Year! We hope you all had a good break, and enjoyed time with your families. We are so grateful for the gifts we received in December. Thank you for the beautiful cards, lovely treats and generous gifts.

Before our break, we had a baking activity in our sand table, and used shakers of glitter to create sprinkles and spices. The sand became so full of glitter that you are probably still finding some on your children when they return from our classroom! After the glitter, we asked kids to help us transfer our sand into the water table. They were surprised and excited to make the switch, and pitched right in with small shovels, funnels and scoops. Having just a bit of water in the water table allowed them to notice the transformation from dry to wet, and there was much conversation around the process. “I’m keeping it dry.” “You have to mix it!” “Look how it’s getting darker!” We like to include children in the process of making these changes, to give them some ownership over things and to help them foresee and anticipate changes.

Having sand in the water table allows us to work with wet sand without ruining our wooden sand table, and we often use the empty sand table for other activities and large art projects. Some kids love the texture of wet sand and others are put off by the way it sticks to their hands. We offer tools for those who would rather not touch it, and most are interested in exploring it at least a little bit. Using wet sand, kids can create the mountains, sand castles and molds they’ve been trying to form with dry sand. Before the break, we kept the sand just damp, and it was just perfect for patting together and creating shapes from molds. This week we’ve added more water and some boats and people, gems and tongs. Adjusting the water level offers different experiences, and kids are exploring the ways water moves over and around the sand. The glitter can make these movements more visible, as it floats and swirls in the water. Some are creating pools or dams or using large scrapers to manipulate the sand and water. Others are collecting gems or burying them and rediscovering “treasure.” Some like to fill vessels with sand, and are then noticing how difficult it is to empty the vessel. Next week we’ll add more beach accessories and kids can continue exploring the properties of wet sand, along with revisiting (or dreaming of) sunny days and beach vacations.

WINTER BREAK

We showed kids all of the days of Winter Break on our classroom calendar, and also the green dots of our return in January. Still, it’s a pretty long time for them. While we may expect that all the excitement and presents and time together will be fun, holidays are often difficult times for children. These can be challenging times for adults, too. Routines are upended, travel has us stressed, family visitors take up residence in our homes. There may be new rules, new expectations, more personalities to accommodate. You might find your child is in tears more than usual. 

As best you can, help them know what to expect. Spend some time talking over what their day will look like, even if it’s mundane. Make a calendar to show when guests will be arriving, and when they will be leaving. Children often find reassurance the same ways we do, by knowing what’s going to happen, and when. By choosing what feels good to them, even if it isn’t on the schedule. They (and you!) will need to refuel and have some down time. Try to allow time for those quiet, unscheduled moments when your child can set the pace - when you can just be together, reading or singing or watching the snow fall. 

You might want to use a calendar for them at home to mark off the days until our return. Some kids might be a bit reluctant to return to school after all that loving family time. Don’t worry if this happens for your child when we return in January. Even if they have some reluctance then, you can be assured that they will be okay once they get inside and back to our routines. Remember that they now know all about school, trust teachers to help them and have many good experiences of playing here together. You can remind them we will be eagerly awaiting their return, and look forward to playing together again! 

We hope you all have a warm, relaxed and happy time at home together.  

Happy New Year!