Happy New Year to everyone! We have had a great start to the New Year. All of the children returned ready to see and play with their friends, and anxious to participate in our “winter fun” activities. We celebrated the New Year by making a colorful mural with many different textures and materials. This is displayed in the hall for all to enjoy. We have also made abstract pictures by water coloring, cutting the dried paper into pieces, and gluing them onto a black background. Using scissors will be a fine motor skill that we will be concentrating on the rest of the year.
Signs of winter will be filling our classroom. Snowmen, snowflakes, and mittens are available at the small activity table for your child to choose to cut and/or decorate. We will be making snow by using glue and shaving cream. Your child can have fun making snow scenes, snowmen, and comparing different animal tracks in the snow. This is a fun process to watch as the snow dries and puffs up.
The sculpting center is always a favorite choice for your child to create and develop their fine motor skills. Many winter items have been added. Other centers to develop fine motor skills include tweezers and marshmallows to count and place into snowmen hats, and blue and white play dough with scissors and winter cutters.
On our manipulative shelf, there will be a winter scarf activity that your child can make a striped pattern of their choice onto it by using colored craft sticks. Also available will be a match the mitten game, winter puzzles, and a counting snowman game. Winter animals have been added to our block area, and some winter clothing to our housekeeping center.
“Five Little Snowmen” has been a fun finger play the children have been reciting and acting out until all the snowmen have melted. Soon we will be reading and dramatizing The Mitten by Jan Brett. The children will take turns being the different animals that crawl into the mitten.
“Tell me where the animals go, when it first begins to snow.” The next few weeks we will be talking about and exploring animals in winter. Your children will hear and learn the concepts of the words migrate and hibernate. We will end this unit with a Hibernation Day (date to be announced later). On this day your child may wear his/her pajamas and bring his/her favorite stuffed animal. We will serve hot chocolate and popcorn, and read the book Don’t Wake the Bear. I will send a notice home when the date has been established.
Thank all of you for your interest and support in our classroom and program.
Gentle Reminder: Please be sure your child brings the appropriate outdoor wear on these cold days. Hats and gloves are required to go onto the playground.
Your Red Room Teachers,
Carol and Blanche
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