Osiyo, River Otter families.

We are settling into the second semester and we have learned our new morning circle and started our second folk tale. This week brought a lot of work and discovery in the forest. Together, the students and teachers problem-solved ways to use our wagon safely. The students agreed that it is a lot of fun to use the wagon to carry objects around our area. They took the wagon around our class area, collected large rocks, and used them to turn a hole they had dug into a mountain. Students worked together in teams to move and carry heavy rocks. They now enjoy climbing the mountain and are using the wagon to carry other nature treasures they find.

On Thursday, there were several blue jay feathers near our classroom. When reminded that nature found at school stays at school, the students again used problem-solving to agree on collecting the feathers in a bucket for a yet-to-be-determined use. Once students could not find any more feathers, they explored the classroom looking for tracks to discover which animals have visited recently and think they may have found dinosaur prints! The opportunity to play freely with loose parts in the forest has provided so many opportunities for us to develop our senses and many important skills, such as large motor, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills, as well as to experience math and science concepts hands-on. We are thankful for our forest classroom!

Wednesday was a “winds-day”, giving us the opportunity to utilize our indoor classroom for the day. We painted with red to scare away Nian, the monster in the Lunar New Year story we are hearing. We also drew with chalk and crayons, and we modeled with beeswax. Students developed patience and hand strength as they warmed and then worked the wax into many types of people and creatures. We were able to further exercise fine motor skills using yarn, blunt needles, and different types of beads to make necklaces. Students also used materials indoors to build forts, roads, and other structures and enjoyed playing with felt food and metal dishes in the play kitchen, and peg dolls in the wooden castle.

This Saturday, February 4, is our All School Meeting (adults only, please)! Following our community workday, we ask you to please join us at 12:00 for a faculty-sponsored, complimentary soup bar before we join together to hear about the “State of the School” at 12:30. As an added incentive, each family represented receives 2 volunteer hours.

Announcements and Reminders

Spring Conferences are coming soon! Please sign up for a time here, if you have not yet. If you do not see a time that works for you, please email me and we will find a different time to meet. Conferences are February 15-17, and these days are also early dismissal (12:15-12:30) for all students.
Our class is hosting the next community work day! We will meet at the school at 10:00 am on Saturday, 2/4 to work on projects around the school. While attendance is not mandatory, we encourage you to attend if at all possible. You will earn volunteer hours for each member of your family who attends the workday.