Please find within: school news and activities, family participation information, and last week’s lesson review.  This update has general information only; for all child-specific information and pictures of students’ play and work from last week, please go to Avalon’s private parent Facebook page.

SCHOOL NEWS AND ACTIVITIES

Thank you to all the families for helping the children dress up or style themselves “wacky” for our Dr. Seuss week!  We are now beginning our World Cultures unit along with exploring colors.

Living in the Bay Area, children have a rare opportunity to be exposed to an extensive amount of the world’s cultures within a 100-mile radius!  My objective for this unit is to explore some of the different ethnic and cultural traits children may come across in their day-to-day lives so they can understand and become familiar with them. Children will be receiving passports this week to glue in pictures of their cultural experiences along with the highlighted country/region.

Because one of the best learning experiences for this age group is hands-on activities, we will be be eating/wearing/creating/dancing/singing and otherwise personally experiencing these cultural traditions within an educational capacity and with great respect to each tradition.  My own educational background is in global studies, so I have planned these lessons to be culturally appropriate for this age-group and in this educational capacity; however, if at anytime there is a concern, please always feel free to speak to me in person or through text/email.  Your feedback is always valued.

FAMILY PARTICIPATION

This week, each child will come home with three arm and hand print templates (the colors will be chosen by each child) for mom, dad, and your child.  The take-home project’s objective is to have a group activity with all three of you at the same time (ideally, but one-on-one is great too) as mom and dad each decorate their respective hand prints to reflect their own cultures and/or heritages while your child designs his/hers freely alongside you.

I will include crayons in the packet, but please feel free to be as creative as you like! This could be using textiles, pictures, dried foods, et cetera.  The handprints will be going home early this week for return late next week or whenever they are done.

LAST WEEK’S LESSON REVIEW

Circle Time

Each morning we have read a different Dr. Seuss book–all of them interactive with comprehension and enunciation of silly, tongue-twister words!  We also have a new calendar pattern this month practicing the order of the rainbow with pictures of clovers for each day.

Music and Performance

Per the above lesson plan, we have explored a range of sounds and movements through silliness as an homage to Dr. Seuss.  Each child was able to take a turn in directing the group through song, sounds, or movements.

Recess 101 and Sports

Children have continued to choose catch, soccer, basketball, and tag as their favorite group activities.  I let our sports program be directed by their choice, facilitating only when necessary or when I feel they are ready to progress with a skill.

STEM / Arts and Crafts

What was originally planned for one day, Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the national school participation of Read Across America, extended into a week full of reading and crafts/activities to review the stories–and will become a yearly tradition.  We even had a special treat one late afternoon of watching the movie, Horton Hear’s A Who, with baggies of popcorn (we had already read the book twice).

Nature-Based Learning

Our new garden beds are built and filled with new soil! Woo hoo! I have held off on the planting to make a “garden day” for this coming Thursday as a surprise to celebrate Miss Jaime’s (observed) birthday as gardening is one of her favorite hobbies.

Sensory bin: Kinetic sand with building molds.   Water table: Water tools—sieve, funnels, droppers, pouring cups, etc.

Afternoon Story Time

All of our stories last week were Dr. Seuss books: Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax, Dr. Seuss ABCs, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Red Fish Blue Fish, Fox in Socks, Oh Say Can You Say Dinosaurs, Cat in the Hat in Outer Space, Hop on Pop, Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You?, and Wacky Wednesday.

Have a wonderful week families!