FROM MS. KRISTINE
This week, to welcome the new month, we made our final calendar for June. We wrote our numbers and did ocean art. The children had various materials to choose from and could do any combination to make what they wanted, staying in our ocean theme. Everyone had fun being creative and unique. For our June art, we painted an underwater scene. We first made a handprint, and the children added the detail to make their hand look like a clownfish. We started the year with a handprint for the first day of TK, so I thought it was fitting that we end with one as well. However, at the end of TK, we made individual and detailed art out of that handprint. We had 18 proud artists who were excited to hang their work. We also did our June creative writing for our books. The writing prompt was, During Summer, I love to..... The children had amazing ideas of going to the beach, attending summer camp, swimming in their pool, eating ice cream, staying in hotels, and flying on planes. Everyone also had the same wonderful idea of getting more family time. We have some adventurous kids. They have big and exciting ideas, but I am sure they will love whatever comes their way. The children did bright and detailed illustrations and everyone wrote their own words. We also wrote about what we loved about TK. The children recalled great memories about projects we made, science experiments we did, and games we played. They were all so happy about making their ‘year long books’ and ABC books as well. I hope their great memories stay with them. For literature, we read A House for Hermit Crab, by Eric Carle. This book lines up with our ocean theme and it is a classic book for this age. However, as we come to the end of the school year.... the end of preschool.... we made a more personal connection. As the children saw that the hermit crab was happy in his small shell and he made a comfortable home with his friends, after a year, he grew too big for that shell and he had to leave it behind. As he gave his happy home away to a smaller crab, he was excited and ready to set out for a bigger home because he knew he was ready. We talked about how we are getting ready to do the same thing as we move over to the big school and enter kindergarten. We have spent this past year growing, learning, making friends, and doing great work to prepare for our next exciting step. And when we make that step, we will be ready. When the story ended, the children were surprisingly quiet and I got a few extra hugs. Next week, June 12, will be my last day for the school year. I will be sending the progress reports home top of next week. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me before June 12, so that I am available to answer any questions. Next week, the BIG books we have been talking about and working on all year will also go home. I hope you get time to look at them with your children because they are very proud and they worked very hard on them. It is a nice reflection of their year, showing all the growth and progress they made. Have a great weekend, This week went by so quickly! The children are enjoying each other’s company and are engaging in creative interactive play. There were police games, hospitals, good guys, and bad guys. The sky is the limit when you're using your imagination. Some of the books we read this week were Wherever We Go by Chanie Altein and We Can Find a Way by Dina Rosenfeld. The stories led to interesting discussions about how we can behave appropriately and not give up when things get difficult. The children are excited for their performance next week! Best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom,
