MIS 3/4 Preschool

We made up for being snowbound over the weekend.  What an active week! 

On Tuesday we enjoyed a yoga class with Julien’s mom.  Gracias, Nikki!  Preschoolers snapped like alligators (caimanes), rolled up (arriba) and down (abajo) like yo-yo’s, and walked like bulky gorillas (all without leaving their yoga mats!)  We continue to practice yoga in class using the book My Daddy is a Pretzel.

We practiced gross motor skills including forward rolls (vueltas canelas) and long jumps(saltos largos.)  As students develop the ability to get two feet off the floor at the same time and coordinate bending their knees and swinging their arms, they jump further and further.  Preschoolers put those skills to use today in a jumping frog race during Friday’s movement class.  We also read Salta, ranita, salta this week. 

Selena’s mom taught an energetic movement class. Muchas gracias, Jen!  Selena helped her mom demonstrate some dance positions, and then they popped like popcorn (palomitas orcrispetas), rolled like logs and chugged like trains.  They practiced galloping and a pattern that looks a lot like the early stages of skipping!  Teachers will be watching for more opportunities to encourage preschoolers to explore patterns with toys, sounds, images and movement.

We began work on some crazy masks.  Perhaps we’ll have a parade soon. 

Teachers did a bit of cleaning this week.  (We even had some help from our friends.)  We are excited to welcome important visitors from the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools next week.  Please let your child know that teachers from another school may visit our classroom briefly to see what we do at MIS.

LOOK AT THESE FUN PHOTOS from the last two weeks.  ¡Gózalos!

This week we created obstacle courses that allowed preschoolers to explore space and the vocabulary that describes positions in space such as encima, debajo, al lado, alrededor (on, under, beside, around.)  We read Chico se esconde and played with a small dog named Chico who hides under things. 

Preschoolers played animal charades and demonstrated that they can communicate using gestures and movements.  When Jenny’s group asked to dance the Hokey Pokey in group time, they were presented with the problem: How can we do it so we don’t interrupt Itzel’s group?  They immediately proposed that we dance the Hokey Pokey without singing or by just mouthing the words.  We did the whole song with no noise but the hand claps!  It was amazing!

 We enjoyed reading The Colors of Us this week and admiring all the beautiful (and tastey!) colors of skin (cinnamon, pizza crust . . . )  We mixed our own skin colors and used pictures to compare our colors to everything from the colors of sloths to the color of the Mona Lisa.  See our display in the hallway. 

We reflected on how we feel when we are included and how we feel when we are excluded.  Students in one group saw that each dancer in a group can bring new kinds of moves and each musician brings a sound.  Inclusion is fun!  Preschoolers know how to include.  As one preschooler modelled, all you need to do is say, “Come on!”

PLEASE LOOK FOR PHOTOS TO BE POSTED ON MONDAY!

Felíz año and welcome back!  Everyone came back taller and so happy to see each other again!

We are starting a dynamic new unit around the idea ”We express ourselves through movement.”  (If photos seem blury, you’ll know why!)  For details click on the “Unit” page.  We’ve already learned a couple of new songs.  Una sardina is about a food chain in the ocean and allows us to make large and small gestures as we move like sardinas and tiburones.  Las hormigas marchan (not on the “Songs” page yet) is an abbreviated version of The Ants Go Marching.

During this unit we focus on gross motor skills.  We are working on balancing on one foot and jumping forward with both feet together.  We also play with things that move! 

Through play we are building our movement vocabulary and our awareness of different kinds and qualities of movement.  This week we predicted which objects would roll (rodar) and which would slide (deslizar) on the new ramp.   Some preschoolers experimented to see what kinds of objects slide faster (más rápido) or roll further (más lejos) than others.  We explored slinkies that stretch (estiran) and go down stairs (bajan las escaleras.)

As we approach Martin Luther King Day,  we will be talking about inclusion and exclusion using books and games.  We will also be observing and talking about differences such as skin color and hair texture.  If you haven’t had this kind of conversation with your child, enjoy!  Children at this age are curious and so open about sharing their observations.  They notice differences and may even show preferences for characteristics that are similar to their own, but don’t be alarmed by this.  They are so ready to learn about about the diversity in their world. 

Related to our renewed attention to inclusion, we would like to propose a challenge to parents.  Could you, when making social plans outside of school, consider inviting a child of the opposite gender to play?  Sometimes we don’t consider the potential for friendships between boys and girls at this age, but there are many!

Thanks to everyone who came and helped with the class party!  Your children love having you in the classroom!  Thanks, too, for all your warm wishes and generous gifts!  Your appreciation of our work as teachers means a lot to us, and I hope you know how much we appreciate the work you do as parents!

We concluded our animal care unit with a full week of llamas, yaks and camellos.  We also transformed our gallinero into an avión.  Pets like to travel, too!  Heathe’s grandmother finished the week with a dramatic story of reindeer helping Santa.  Please take a moment to see the water buffalo they made with Feather and the camels on display in the hallway.  The camels are a wonderful example of the importance of process over product in creative work.  Their interactions while drawing demonstrated how much they are learning from eachother and providing each other with new perspectives.  It was a pleasure to watch! 

Our next unit is about movement as a form of expression.  We welcome visitors who dance, do yoga, speak sign language, ride unicycles . . . and play musical instruments (not while riding unicycles.)  Let us know if you have something you’d like to add. 

Enjoy the photo, sing a round of El conejo corre, but most of all, enjoy your lovely children for the next two weeks!  We look forward to seeing you all in 2012!

Saludos!

This week we offer a photo page treasure hunt.  Can you find una cabra, una oveja, una gallina, dos gallineros, dos conejos, un burro, una vaca, nieve, bloques,veterinarios y unos NIÑOS BONITOS?   Do you need some help?  Ask your child!

Enjoy.  Check your email for a party reminder!

“What is in here?”  “It’s an octopus.”  “No, that’s your imagination.”  “They eat wires and rocks.  They like rocks.” 

Six fish are visiting our classroom.  Students curiously investigated the new tank (acuario.)  When a child tried to touch the fish in the fishbowl, Jenny stopped him.  When she asked the group why we can’t touch the fish, a child tried this explanation: “He’ll bite you!”  A small debate about fish teeth and biting followed.  They all fed the fish.  No one was bitten.  “He’s not biting me!  I don’t like fish.”  “No?” “I like monsters!”

We made fish prints and learned the names of fish parts: tail, fins and scales (cola, aletas, y escamas.) Many students did not know the words for fins and scales in English so they learned the words first in Spanish!

On Wednesday, we enjoyed a visit from Seléna’s Tío Joshua who introduced us to two fun dogs, Brodie and Cosmo!  We continued playing with dogs and other animals in what began as a pet store (tienda de mascotas.)  Students transformed the center into a house and then an airport/airplane and travelled with their animals.  In the afternoon, we played at walking our dogs.  We practiced commands: “Siéntate.”  “Quédate.” (“Sit.”  “Stay.”)  We also asked, “¿Puedo tocarle al perro?” before petting other people’s dogs. 

We finished the week with snakes.  Before visiting Boots, the corn snake who lives upstairs, we wondered about what snakes eat, where they sleep and where they live.  When we visited Boots, Itzel fed him a mouse.  We learned from his owner, Maestro Ted, that the snake eats once every three weeks.  The snake had shed it’s skin the day before so we were able to see the old skin as well. 

Itzel taught us a fun dance about a snake:

 Este es el baile

de la serpiente

que baja por el río

en busca de su cola.

She replaced “cola” with chidren’s names.  Preschoolers joined the line until everyone was part of the snake.

There will be no update to the blog next week as we have just two days of school.  Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday!

Our animal unit has begun!  See the PYP Unit page for an outline.  We’ve started the unit caring for familiar animals.  We’ve been playing with perros who need agua, comida, camas, correas, collares, casas y amistad (water, food, beds, leashes, collars, houses and friendship.)  We fed our horses zanahorias, manzanas, paja y pasto (carrots, apples, hay and grass) and gave them water before we rode.

We’ve had some lovely conversations about what people and animals need.  Maestra:  “¿Dónde duerme el caballo (horse)?”  Niño: “He sleeps outside.” Maestra: “¿Y cuándo cae la lluvia (rain) . . . ?”  Niño: “He lives in the woods.  He hides from the rain!”  Niño 2: “He will melt!”  ” Niño 3: “No.”  Maestra:”¿Necesitan ejercicio?” ( Do they need excercise?)  Points to a drawing of a bike.  Niña: “(Its’) too tiny!”  Niña 2 : “They eat and drink and sleep just like we do, only they don’t have a house and they don’t change clothes.”  Class dismissed!  Maestra: “And what is the fence for?”  Niño: “Jail.”  Hmm.

Yesterday “Newman the Peace Dog” visited our class.  Before the visit, we discussed animal safety and how we can help prevent animals from becoming scared and possibly biting or scratching.  During the visit we learned from Newman’s owner, Betsy, how important it is to treat animals well.  Animals can teach people to treat others well, too.  Betsy read us the book she wrote about Newman.  Look for Newman at the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center where he greets visitors.   

Today we sent home pet books.  We will be sharing them in class next week.  If your preschooler did not bring a book home, please pick one up on Monday.  If you do not have a pet, we would welcome the opportunity to hear about a less common pet.  Do you have a neighbor who has a pet lizard or a cousin with a pet bird?  Please take time to talk about the pet with your child using the questions in the book to guide your “story.”   The story can be very simple.  Perhaps you can write, and your child can dictate and/or draw.  Some Spanish vocabulary is listed in the back if you’d like to include it.

Did you know that some animals make different sounds in Spanish?  The cat says, “meow, meow, meow.”  ( El gato dice miau, miau, miau.) but  ask your child: “¿Qué dice la rana?”  (What does the frog say?”)

Paz. (Peace.)

Thank you all for your support of our classroom Day of the Dead celebration.   We thoroughly enjoyed hearing children’s stories and descriptions of their departed pets.  Early in the week, preschoolers tried their hands and making papel picado (cut paper) and flower decorations.  On Wednesday proudly presented their photos to unusually attentive classmates and then worked with Itzel to assemble the ofrenda.  They admired their work and the sugar skulls (calaveras), reminding eachother they were not for eating.  Visitors came and observed the ofrenda, too!

We are asking for your participation once (or twice) again!  If you have a pet at home that could safely visit school for our new unit, please let us know so we can schedule a visit.  On Wednesday, we will send home our first (and final!) homework assignment.  We are asking you to co-author a book with your child about a household pet.  We will give you the format and some vocabulary to get you started!  If you do not have a pet, please try to ‘borrow’ one for the book (observe a neighbor’s pet, visit one in the pet store, have grandma send photos via e-mail. . .) 

Enjoy the photos!   In addition to making our Day of the Dead preparations, they show us playing drums (tambores), playing school (escuela), painting with watercolors (acuarellas), exploring the bizarre properties of gak, and reading with our new 4th and 5th grade friends .

We reviewed the features of the face this week while making monster masks (mascaras de monstros.)  We played with toys that allowed us to explore and to talk about making connections (conexiones.)  Using paper figures to represent our family members, we looked at family connections.  We also compared a few people to a lot of people (poca gente, mucha gente) in different groups.  We connected figures representing all classmates (compañeros) to form one big circle (un circulo grande.)   Long on the Songs page for the lyrics to Un elefante, a song that allows us to make connections in forming a spider’s web.

And then of course, there was the giant box that appeared in our classroom.  Look at those photos!  (Gracias, Michael, a.k.a. papá de Dylan!)  Our crew of painters worked hard to transform it into a house (casa.)  We hope it will continue to transform to set the stage for our imaginative play in our next unit! 

The week of 10/31/11 we will celebrate Day of the Dead.  Because preschoolers are often aware of the death of a pet, we will create an “ofrenda” in the classroom to celebrate pets who have died.  Please bring a photo or sit and draw a little picture and talk about a pet, perhaps even a pet you had prior to your child!  (We will focus on our living pets and other domestic animals throughout the next unit.)  Look for an office update about the Day of the Dead all school performance/celebration at 2:00 on Wednesday.  The performance will be brief so if you want to see it, please arrive promptly.  Also, if you have never seen Missoula’s Day of the Dead parade, it is impressive!  My son and I like to take warm clothes, a thermos of cider and a little pan de muertos (dead bread) to watch the parade downtown. 

Parent teacher conferences will be the week of 1/7/11.  (No school 1/11/11.)  Please consider whether a time before school, during the noon hour, or in the afternoon works best for you and sign up for a time slot.  We look forward to having time to connect with you and gain insights into the unique and vibrant beings you bring to school each day! 

If your child plans to attend the Middle School’s Food Drive Halloween Party on Monday, please plan to bring food for the Food Bank and bring the costume after school.  We will have no costumes during the school day.  Thanks for your support!

We continued to focus on our body and clothing this week.  We used our eyes and ears (oidos) with some new tools and found inspiration in Eric Carle’s Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahi?  Our practice naming body parts came in handy on our visit to the doctor’s office.  We used our hands to make playdough and our noses to smell it!  Preschoolers put on winter clothing such as coats (chamarras) and gloves (guantes.) 

 Next week we will finish our current PYP unit with a focus on the concept of connection, making connections in our class and in our school.  Find information on our next unit, under the theme Sharing the Planet, via the PYP unit page.  We look forward to hearing about the animals who live at your house! 

Parent teacher conferences will be held during the week of November 7th.  (We have no class Novemeber 11th.)  Itzel and I will post a sign-up sheet with our available times by next Wednesday. 

Enjoy these photos!