Week 20
Dear PreSchool 2 Families:
As we delved into our topic this pre-Valentine’s week, “Exploring Emotions” (Week 1), it was fascinating to see how much our students knew about their emotions, especially when they are BIG. After some lively discussions and stories read, the children were not only able to identify many emotions but could also think of ways to handle them. Discussing our emotions and how they affect us is a helpful tool in regulating our social/emotional development. Learning to manage our feelings takes us a long way down the path in making and keeping friends. We are proud of our PS2 students concerning their growth in identifying and managing their emotions. We observe this as they enjoy and benefit from the friendships they have created, and continue to build new ones. Thank you to our parents for supporting us as we explore our emotions.
Dramatic Play continued to be a blast this week as we packed up our pizza shop and opened up our PS2 Post Office. We packaged boxes to send, letters to mail, and items to be delivered to their recipients. We noticed a great deal of brown paper packaging and tape involved as each box, envelope, and letter needed sealing to prevent their contents from escaping. The children took turns being mail carriers and delivery people, and we even gave Amazon a run for its money with our speedy package delivery service. Each classmate became involved in the action at the PS2 Post Office during the week!! There were also many manipulatives for us to use to explore and distinguish feelings, facially. The children enjoyed using puppets, puzzles, and masks as they examined a variety of emotions and feelings with their playmates.
Process Art this week helped us further explore the emotions we have discussed. We created a HAPPY collage by securing many fun yellow finds on a paper plate and used a paint roller to cover bubble wrap (with angry, red colored paint) to fashion a MAD painting. Pounding our hands and fists on the back of our printing paper to demonstrate an angry emotion made awesome prints. Finally, we used watercolor to drop SAD tears on paper secured to a tabletop easel. The result was stunning. We hope you enjoy seeing your children as they demonstrate their artistic abilities in the photographs on our website.
We spent time drawing faces in our journals to represent emotions we may be feeling. We also made some great progress in writing the emotions we expressed on our faces – HAPPY, LOVE, SAD, and MAD!! The children are learning to recognize the letters in words they may write, which are also in their names. We changed our seasonal classroom tree from winter snow hats to hearts. When these come home at the end of the month, be sure to ask why the hearts have stickers on them… (Hint: It has to do with being kind, helpful, and polite!!)
We have decorated our Valentine’s bags, and the children are anxiously awaiting “delivering” their Valentine’s to each classmate’s bag with their messages of love and friendship. If you have already sent your child’s cards to school, thank you!!! If you still need to do so, please be sure they are in our classroom by Thursday, February 12, at the latest. Valentine’s bags will go home with your child on Friday, February 13, as we begin our week of February vacation.
We closed out our week together with Miss Elaine and Music and were able to spend several days of the warmer weather sliding, romping, building, and shoveling on our playground in the snow.
Although it is difficult to believe we are at the point in our school year where February vacation is fast approaching, we recognize how far our students have come – both as individuals and as a classroom community. It makes us cherish and look forward to the weeks and months ahead as we continue to learn and grow.
A quick reminder… Wednesday, March 11, at 11:00 is our next (and last) Fun with a Parent with springtime birdhouses on the menu!!! We can’t wait to see you all there.
Enjoy the weekend!!!
Most Sincerely…
Miss Michelle, Miss Penny, and Miss Kathryn