Hello Wonderful Families,
Happy Friday! We’ve had such a wonderful first full week of school, and I’m excited to share some highlights with you.
We enjoyed making a few special projects this week—each one gave us the chance to have fun, be creative, and learn something new along the way.
Our Projects
- Name Collages – Each child decorated the letters of their name using markers, crayons, yarn, cotton balls, stickers, tissue paper, and alphabet cards. This project helped the children strengthen their fine motor skills while also recognizing the letters in their names. We also used name cards, magnetic letters, and puzzles to build and read names. Friends who already knew how to write their names were so proud to share them with others!
Self-Portrait Project – The children looked carefully in the mirror, drew their faces, and decorated their portraits with loose parts. This activity helped them notice details about themselves, express creativity, and celebrate what makes each person unique.
Life-Size Body Tracing
In groups, one kid would lie down on a big piece of paper while another traced around them. Then, everyone got creative and decorated their outlines with yarn, buttons, paint, cotton, and tissue paper. The kids really enjoyed sharing stories about what they made, and we all labeled different body parts together. Some even tried writing the names of the body parts themselves
We connected this activity to the book “From Head to Toe” by Eric Carle, which led to some fun movement and stretching as we noticed how our bodies worked. Using measuring tapes and blocks, the kids compared their heights and sizes. The younger ones counted fingers and toes, while the older kids compared measurements and wrote down the numbers on a chart. We also discussed what makes us look similar and different, helping everyone see that each person is special in their own unique way.
We had so much fun exploring some exciting new art techniques! First, we used painters’ tape to create the first letter of each child’s name on paper. After that, the kids painted over the entire page, and when they peeled off the tape, their initials popped up like magic!
In another project, the kids wrapped rubber bands around their paper and painted over them with watercolors. After everything dried, they took off the rubber bands and uncovered some really cool abstract designs. We connected activity to the book “The Game of Shadows,” which helped us unleash our creativity as we played around with shapes, lines, and patterns to make awesome masterpieces!
Math popped up everywhere this week! As we decorated our projects, we counted materials like pasta, buttons, and cotton balls. One group discovered something very funny: they had 8 cotton balls on top and 4 hidden underneath. At first, they shouted, “8 and 4 makes 84!” But after some group thinking, they figured out that 8 and 4 really make 12. It was such a fun and memorable way to practice math together!
We enjoyed many wonderful stories this week:
Ms. Filitsa read us the wonderful book “The Magical Yet” by Angela DiTerlizzi, which is the theme for our whole school this year! This charming story reminds us that when we feel like we “can’t do it yet,” it simply means we need a little practice and effort to achieve our goals. After the reading, the kids had a great time coloring their own “Magical Yet,” and we helped them write about all the amazing things their “Magical Yet” can help them accomplish!
“The Buddy Bench” by Patty Brozo tells the story of how children create a special place at school called the “Buddy Bench.” This bench serves as a spot where anyone can sit if they want a friend to play with. The story teaches valuable lessons about kindness, inclusion, and the importance of ensuring that everyone feels included.
“The Big Cheese” by Jory John. A funny story about a cheese who loves being the best—until a new kid shows up and wins everything. In the end, Big Cheese learns that cheering for others can feel even better than winning.
We also read the book “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold, which reminds us that our classroom is a place where everyone belongs, feels included, and is valued.
And “From Head to Toe by Eric Carle, which we connected to our body tracing project, moving and stretching just like the animals in the story.
“I Am a Rainbow” by Dolly Parton. This colorful book shows how our feelings are like a rainbow—sometimes we’re happy and bright like yellow, other times sad and blue. Dolly Parton helps kids see that every emotion is okay and part of who we are. It reminds us that all feelings are natural and it’s good to share them.
“That’s Not My Name!” by Anoosha Syed. Mirha can’t wait for her first day of school—until no one says her name right. She almost wants to change it, but her mom reminds her how special it is. The next day, Mirha proudly teaches everyone to say it correctly. A sweet, colorful story about confidence, identity, and the power of names; it teaches us to be proud of who we are and to respect others by saying their names the right way.
Our Classroom Promises
We also worked on creating our classroom promises. This week, we added a new one: “We keep our hands to ourselves.” These promises help children understand how we can take care of each other, create a safe and kind space, and make sure everyone feels respected.
We had our first music class, where the children sang, moved, and played with so much excitement.
Outdoors, the children loved exploring our wonderful playground, and we even went on a walk to the nearby park. The highlight there was the zip line—children encouraged each other and shouted joyfully, “I did it!” as they accomplished new challenges. I was also very proud of how responsibly they walked to the park, listening carefully to directions.
Enjoy your long weekend!
Love,
Ms. Yana