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Pre-School Monthlies - Cove Room

Ms. Weber & Ms. Rich


April 2008

Hello Cove Families!

What a fun and busy March we’ve had…it’s flown by and we’re already looking ahead to some fun things in April.

*The Art from the Heart project is coming along great!  The kids made veggie print placemats this week, and will be working on a hand-printed pair of aprons.  Thanks to everyone who submitted recipes for the book.  We’ll see you at the Auction on the 26th.

*Ring Mountain will celebrate Earth Day on Friday April 18th!  First a singing circle with the rest of the preschool, then enjoy your picnic lunch out on the front playground.  T/Th children are invited to join us with an adult.

*Spring parent conferences will take place early in May.  Seagull parents will meet with Kari on either Monday, May 12 or Tuesday, May 13; Pelican parents will meet with Linnea on either Wednesday, May 14 or Thursday, May 15.

Our journeys around the world have taken us to some amazing places.  Thanks for coming and sharing parts of your family’s culture with us.  The kids have loved it!
We’ve traveled to:

  • New Zealand with Emanuela, Lesley, and Nigel.  They shared a Maori outfit, pictures of N.Z. from space, and magnetic black sand that became both a science and art project
  • The Netherlands with Liam, Andria, and Opa.  We learned words for Hello (dag) and cookie (koekje), and practiced our polite Dutch words while we sampled cheese and cookies and chocolate
  • Ireland with Jacob & Jen and Bridget & Carol.  We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, chose our favorite letters for the Irish Alphabet Book, read about leprechauns and giant potatoes!
  • Hawaii with Caroline and Kathleen.  Snorkel masks, dancing the hula, mango juice, and Hawaii alphabet were highlights
  • France with Charlotte and Camilla.  We learned polite manners in French with the help of a Madeline book, then practiced please and thank you when Camilla shared a baguette with us.
  • Japan with Morgan and Kristen.  Morgan modeled her kimono that her grandma brought back from a trip to Japan.
  • Poland with Kari.  We marched to Polish music, and froze when Kari called “koniec” (stop).  We found out that Kari had lived in Poland, and she showed us textiles and a teapot from Poland.  We even got to taste some anise tea!
  • Sweden with Linnea.  She shared pictures of visiting cousins in Sweden, dancing around a Midsommar pole, Linnea flowers, and read a little of a Pippi Longstocking story

Other highlights from the month…

  • SPRING!!!  We’ve been enjoying the sunny weather on the playground, making flowers, blossoms, chicks, and playing in the sunny weather (we wrote it twice because it has been SO NICE!)
  • Our caterpillars grew from tiny little ones to big ones, and then over a weekend, went into their chrysalis stage.  We’re waiting to see if metamorphosis is complete before spring break!
  • The kids figured out how to drive the trucks down the hills on the back playground.  We’ve watched them gain skills from just blasting down the hill, to figuring out how to use their “foot brakes” to steering by pushing off with one foot, to figuring out which is the “best” truck (it’s different for each child!)
  • Our egg hunts in the garden were a hoot.  Picture Kari or Linnea hiding the eggs in plain sight of the kids (“hey!  What are you doing? I see an egg!  Hey, there’s an egg over here!  The eggs are going to get dirty!”) but latched inside the garden so the children could only watch.  When it was time to go in, there was much excitement, especially as they found an egg and checked to see if their own name was on the egg (Kari is one smart bunny, she labeled all the eggs to make sure the egg hunt was fair).  If it was, the child kept the egg, if not, they got to hide it again so their friend could find it.  Lots of letter recognition practice!
  • Folk tales from around the world.  We’ve found some great read-alouds at the library.  A lot of them have lessons that are reinforcing our social skills (Coyote gets rude and boastful & the crows won’t play with him any more; the Armadillo who says “No working with Billie, no sharing the chili” ends up missing her friends and likewise, her friends decide to help her in their own way)
  • Pajama Day, complete with bunny ears.  Wearing pajamas put everybody in a happy mood; bunny ears put it over the top.
  • We spent several days painting the tent that’s now hanging over the dress-up area

Last but not least,
THANK YOU
Eggs & Dyes:  Morgan & Kristen, Sydney & Gina, Haydon & Cory
World Map:  Brett & Heather
Spring Flowers:  Abby & Diane

Phew!  What a lot of activity.  We’ve really been noticing this month how much the children have grown and changed since the beginning of the year.  From their size, to their coordination, to writing words, to language, to sophistication of imagination and play, they are really growing and changing.  Thanks for letting us be a part of their world!

Kari and Linnea