Revised rhythm of the day and meeting schedule. Here is a link to revised nursery information. It includes the addition of a nursery meeting on Tuesday, January 20, from 6 to 7:30pm. We will join the kindergarten families as Bonnie Freundlich, our Eurythmy teacher, talks about and demonstrates our Eurythmy curriculum. I will let you know the exact location of this meeting. It also includes a revised rhythm of the nursery morning. As parents may have noticed, we gather for a puppet show or Eurythmy at about 8:45am, or when all children have arrived. I moved this group time to early in the morning when I discovered that my puppet shows tended to occur when the elementary grades were rushing out to recess and it seemed counterproductive to try to compete for our nursery children's attention. The early gathering for a puppet show or Eurythmy also helps the children feel welcomed to class as a group and may help may the play more inclusive after the show. If you arrive when the door is closed, help your child into class as peacefully as possible. In the past, this has not disrupted our puppet shows or Eurythmy. The children have shown an excellent ability to concentrate.
As the year has progressed , we have spent more and more time outside. Many children enjoy a long circle of singing games at the ropes course shelter. The outdoor snack takes time, and having close to 2 hours outside allows time for play, walking, and exploring in addition to a circle and snack. If the weather is particularly frosty (as it was right before the break), we will do our best to make the outside time a bit shorter without creating a stressful environment indoors. Indoor work and play is nourishing when the time is just right--too short and the children do not have time to develop imaginative scenarios; too long and children's natural inclination for vigorous movement begins to rub up against the confines of an indoor space.
Mittens still working well. Our blue mittens work well for all children and simplify the transition from inside to outside and from outdoor snack to circle. Please save your own mittens for play at home. Most days I collect the blue mittens before we come to the closing circle. On very cold days, I will let the children continue to wear the mittens at the closing circle. Please return the blue mittens if they make it to your car or home.
Mailboxes in the classroom. I will make new mailboxes for our 3 new students. I will be in conversation with a family about building more permanent mailboxes. Please check these; they are just inside the classroom door. Right before break two children produced a great deal of mail for many of their classmates.
Requests from the Ropes Course Shelter. The stewards of the ropes course shelter have graciously allowed early childhood classes to gather there for snack and play. They have asked us to do our best to keep the shelter tidy. Raisins and small seeds such as sunflower seeds tend to fall between cracks in the table and are hard to clean up. As much as possible, choose larger items such as dried apricots and nuts as alternatives to seeds and raisins. Fruits and and vegetables still work well. Remember that when it is cold, juicy fruits such as oranges can be a bit uncomfortable on cold hands (clementines and mandarins tend to work better).
New puppet show. For the coming weeks, I will be presenting a puppet show in the round (children will sit in the circle while I guide the show in the middle). It tells the story of Little Rabbit on a snowy day. He finds two carrots, eats one and decides to bring the extra one to Curly Sheep, who must be hungry. Curly Sheep brings the carrot to Grey Donkey, who brings it to Swift Deer. Swift Deer brings the carrot back to Little Rabbit, who is hungry again and glad to see the carrot back.
Mondays. Remember that school will be closed on January 19 and 26 for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and for a teacher out-service day. Weather permitting, we will have normal 3 day nursery weeks (or weeks off for school closure) for much of the rest of the year until Memorial Day.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
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