Week 18

Dear PS2 Families…

Studying Stories by Jan Brett 

Our short week was packed with fun, laughter and learning! We continued our discussions about the season of winter, with a focus on winter animals and author/illustrator Jan Brett.  Throughout the week we read The Mitten, The Hat, Cozy, The Three Snow Bears, The Turnip, Fritz and the Beautiful Horses, and The Snowy Nap.  Your children loved listening to and discussing these wonderful stories, so much so that the children burst into spontaneous rounds of applause at the conclusions of many.  Each story is filled with interesting animal characters who do some unusual things. Ask your child to tell you about them and some of the interesting animal facts we learned.

Our classroom overflowed with activities inspired by Jan Brett’s stories. We filled hats and mittens with packing peanuts, matched alphabet mittens, counted bears hibernating in their caves, and played character matching games. Miss Michelle demonstrated the art of knitting, and we watched the sample grow with each stitch of soft, cozy yarn. We decided on our favorite animal in The Mitten and made delicious hot soup using yummy vegetables in dramatic play. Ask your child to tell you about who tasted soup that was too hot, too cold, or just right and in which story! As we read, we noticed that in the borders of the beautiful illustrations on each page there are hints about what will happen next. We had fun making predictions about the story line! The children are becoming author/illustrators of their own stories as we fill up our Drawing Journals.

The weekend’s snowfall brought the opportunity for some chilly fun. Although the freezing temperatures kept us inside for part of the week, Thursday saw temperatures climb just enough for us to get outside. The children were thrilled to enjoy the snow-covered playground, digging, making snow angels and footprint patterns in the snow. This also gave them the opportunity to practice our winter dressing sequence. Ask your child to teach you our snow gear dressing song.

After talking about what we do to stay warm in wintery weather, we discussed what some animals do to stay warm and fed when food is scarce, and how some animals migrate, and some hibernate.  Ask your child to tell you about some of them. We also learned about the kind of trees that stay green and don’t lose their leaves in winter, and why their leaves are either thin and pointy or thick and waxy.  Ask your child if he/she remembers what these trees are called and what neat trick the thick flat leaves do in extreme cold.  We had fun painting pine boughs and creating a winter evergreen play dough sculpture.

We wished Darren and Henry – Happy 4th Birthday! Both were excited to “read” their birthday card so carefully signed by their friends and create their own birthday crown. Thank you to their families for coming in to share special stories and provide us with delicious treats! Yum! Now, half of our preschool 2 friend are 4 years old!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. In the spirit of the season, we encourage the children to exchange Valentine cards, but there is no obligation to participate. The children have been enjoying making and receiving wonderful birthday cards during the year. Doing something kind for someone else is very rewarding. We would encourage you to make this a fun, creative, non-stressful activity. Allowing your child to come up with open-ended ideas to express his/her own individuality encourages not only imagination but problem-solving skills and self-esteem. Start early and do a few at a time, there are 18 students in our class.  Creating special homemade cards for classmates is a fun way to spend a cold winter’s afternoon and a great way to practice writing their name. Please only put your child’s name on the cards; this will allow them to “mail” them independently. The children will be decorating bags in class to collect these treasured cards. Sending them early will ensure friends who are getting an early start on vacation week get to enjoy their cards on Valentine’s Day. You can start sending them in on Monday, February 9th.

 

We hope you find some cozy time to read with your child this weekend, perhaps one written and illustrated by Jan Brett.

Have a warm and cozy long weekend!

Miss Penny, Miss Michelle and Miss Kathryn