Dear Families,
I hope you are enjoying the long weekend with an added Snow Day! Preschoolers certainly had a lot of fun this week as we explored how nature changes around us when snow arrives. They loved looking at trees that were no longer red, yellow, and brown – but covered with freshly fallen, fluffy white snow!
We’ve also observed what happens to snow when we bring it inside. We filled a clear plastic container and kept our eyes peeled. After concluding our findings, students discussed whether the sparkling, white, clean-looking snow is suitable (and healthy) for eating. All students have decided it is not – so feel free to remind them whenever that is needed in the future!
Snow and winter weather also mean a lot of snow gear in preschool. Please make sure your child’s clothing is labeled with their name so they can identify gloves/mittens that belong to them. Small items often end up in other children’s cubbies, and some families find it helpful to attach mittens/gloves to jackets.
A few of you have asked if children typically go outside when it’s snowing. In general, we go by school expectations, so if the school (as a whole) decides that we’ll have indoor recess, we won’t go out for Outdoor Play either. We will not venture out there when the roads are snowy, and the playground is covered with freshly fallen snow. However, we typically DO go out when the playground equipment is accessible, and the temperature is above 32°F, although windy weather and precipitation might play into the picture. Long story short: if it snows and the temperature is not reaching 32°F, we will stay inside.
Weeks are flying by, and we are already at the end of our Trees unit! As part of our celebration of learning, students will create a bird feeder for the trees near our school, to care for the tiny creatures living in our environment.
Our next unit will also be exciting – Clothes, starting on November 18th! We’ve already noticed children are very interested in clothes. They talk about clothes, put on and take off dress-up clothing, try to zip jackets and button pants and compare outfits. Clothes will be an interesting subject for study. We would appreciate your help gathering a collection of (new or gently used but clean) items to investigate. We need clothes of various children’s (even toddler/baby or doll) sizes, types, colors, and fabrics. A list of suggestions includes dress-up clothing (firefighter, nurse, etc.), sports jerseys, shirts, vests, dresses (the princess ones, too!), pants, skirts, shoes, hats, belts, suspenders, scarves, bags, accessories, etc. You may also send in other clothing/accessories as well. Please label the clothes with your name so we can return them to you at the end of our study, or let us know if it’s okay to keep them. We promise to take good care of them!
We are also asking for additional donations that include the following items:
- Chunky yarn
- Fabric scraps (we are looking for different colors/textures)
- Ribbons, ties, etc.
- Lacing sets (to help children practice pretend “sewing” and enhance their fine motor skills!)
- Magnetic dress-up doll sets
- A toy iron
- A foldable drying rack
- Books/magazines about clothes and fashion
- A dress form (this is probably a long shot, but someone might have one we can borrow!)
Some of the items are included on our Amazon wishlist.
We will also need a larger pretend (toy) washing machine where children can practice washing their clothes. Such things can be very pricey, and we would like to know if there could be a (very) kind volunteer to create a pretend (cardboard, perhaps) washing machine for preschoolers to practice caring for their clothes. It does not have to be working – just big enough for children to put a few clothes in and press some (pretend) buttons. Preschoolers can then generate their very own humming sounds and pretend water . Here is a picture for inspiration.
As we study clothes, preschoolers will learn concepts and build skills in language and literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology. They will also use thinking skills to investigate, ask questions, solve problems, make predictions, and test their ideas. Your support is invaluable as we create a play-based environment that mimics the natural world and teaches skills children will utilize for the rest of their lives.
Thank you for being our partners on this exciting learning journey!
With appreciation,
Annie