Dear Turtles Families,
We had a wonderful week in the Turtle’s Forest Classroom. This week, leading up to the Day of Courage, we collected goldenrod flowers. Thank you to everyone who collected flowers over the weekend to add to our supply. We pulled the flowers from the stems and then Ki Ieva used them to make a dye. The children were able to dip silk capes into the dye and stir them. We let them sit for hours to absorb the color, coming back to stir them occasionally. When they were ready, each child hung their cape in the forest to dry. The children were very excited to wear their capes and bring them home. Also, as part of our Day of Courage activities, the children painted with red and yellow watercolors. They cut stars from their watercolor painting and finger chained red or gold necklaces, so they could wear them along with their capes. The colors have meaning, red exudes strength and courage, while yellow/gold represents protection. We had another Dragon story this week and a puppet show of our story on Friday. This week’s story was about a small town that was scared of a dragon who was eating all of the vegetation outside their walls. They asked a brave townsperson to go deal with the dragon. The brave one discovered that the dragon was lonely and wanted to have friends. A brave child in the town volunteered to befriend the dragon and before long everyone in the town came to love the dragon. In the story, the children climb on the dragon’s back and go for a ride. This was the children's favorite part!
In our forest classroom we added a small ladder that the children can move and climb. It has been a favorite activity. They work together to move it around to different trees and then help each other position it so that it is sturdy. Some students climb right up with no hesitation, while others ask a friend to hold the ladder steady for them and climb cautiously. It has been nice to see them work together and problem solve as a team. They are all so willing to help each other! Anytime someone calls out for help, a friend comes running to assist.
We hope you all enjoy your break and look forward to seeing you all in October!
Reminders:
October 3rd–Teacher Workday (NO SCHOOL)
Conferences are coming up on October 12th, 13th, and 14th. You can sign up for a time here. Conferences will be in person at the school, however if you need to meet virtually instead please let me know and we will arrange for that. If you do not see a time that works for you, please let me know and we will schedule a different time. Conferences are planned for 20 minutes. If you feel you may need longer for your child's conference, please let me know before scheduling so we can work out a time that respects your time and that of other families. We ask that children do not attend conferences, allowing us to communicate in confidence.
October 12-14th–Half day, 12:30 dismissal, Parent-Teacher Conferences
October 29th–Kingdom of Halloween. Please save the date for this magical festival.
Thank you for sharing your children with us and for being a part of our community!
Grace and Peace,
Ki Kim
