Airplanes & Rainbows

We are overly joyed with the fact that the children are taking ownership of their classroom by becoming more comfortable with the routine.  We have noticed drop-off has been a little hard for some of the children but we assure you the rest of the day becomes more comfortable and fun for the children.

This week was filled with investigations! The children’s interests and questions are emerging through their play. One interest the children show everyday is role-playing airplane pilots, conductors, and passengers. “We are going to Florida to have a beach party!” shout the children. They engage in this play by lining chairs in a row, assigning roles to each person, and even serve hot food and cold drinks to the passengers.  Perhaps the airplane curiosity has developed due to many of the children traveling by airplane this summer.  The interns in our classroom are already thinking of ways to support the children in their inventive and creative play.

Has your child shared about the rainbow’s that emerge in the block area walls during the day? Clusters of rainbow’s appear in our classroom at approximately 10:00 am and disappear by about 1:00pm.  The rainbows fascinate the children. They try to catch them and wonder where they come from. The children have many questions about the rainbows and we are being very careful about how much information to share with the children. Part of our school philosophy is not giving children answers, but encourage their thinking by asking them questions and finding ways to research together to construct their own understanding. We purposefully want the children to wonder, and continue to ask questions. In case you are wondering how the rainbows are appearing in the classroom, we have a solar powered, spinning crystal that casts the rainbows just as the rising sun hits our window.

This month, we will focus on creating a social moral classroom.  We will be reading books and discussing our classroom agreements; how to be safe, kind, and responsible to others and the classroom. The children will come up with their own understandings and definitions for our classroom agreements. Our goal is to give the children the opportunity to debate ideas, and work together to solve problems that arise in the classroom. Next week, we will have our first classroom fire drill, talk about fire safety, and practice “stop, drop, and roll.”

We want to thank the families who have filled out the parent survey. As a reminder, if you have yet to fill out the parent survey, we ask that you take the time to do so this weekend and bring it to school. The parent survey helps us meet your child’s educational needs as well work with their interests. We have read over surveys that were turned in thus far and noticed many of the goals for the children are mutual; letter and number recognition, child being able to write own name, and beginning phonemic awareness. Throughout our day the children are exposed to these topics and materials during group time, explorations and even during self-initiated play. As the school weeks progress and the children pick up the routine we will start emphasizing literacy, math, and independent skills during small group work. We work at the pace of the children and begin where each child is developmentally ready. Don't forget to help your child sign in their name in the morning. Nothing has to be perfect, trying is what counts. 

Some things you can do at home to help your child is read to them, have them read to you (reading the pictures is reading!) count together, read numbers at the grocery store while shopping, etc.    

Upcoming Events

Please join our school wide family gathering at Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill on Saturday, October 10 from 1:00pm- 4:00pm 10685 Warren Rd, Plymouth , MI 48170. Wagon ride tickets will be sold at the ECEC prior to visit. Donuts, cider and apples are available for purchase at the orchard. Ms. Smith and Ms. Sanchez will be there with their families. We hope to see you there!