Kindergarten Turtles: October 27 - 31, 2025
Greetings, Turtle Families,
The week was cold and rainy, and our weather gear was put to the test. Please check your child’s backpack each evening for wet clothes. If you notice that your child’s clothes are particularly wet, or wet in certain areas, it may be a sign that their rain gear is no longer fully waterproof. Over time, raingear can lose its water resistance and may need to be re-treated or replaced. Thank you for sending them to school in their rain gear on wet days. Even if it is not raining, our classroom remains wet for several days after rain, and rain gear is required when the temperatures are chilly. We are teaching the children to pull their rain pants over the tops of their boots when they put them on. This helps to keep their socks, the inside of their boots, and their feet dry. Please help them remember this important step when getting dressed in the morning.
Our story is about Witchamaroo, a tiny witch who lives in a pumpkin house at the back of a pumpkin patch. She is clever and wise, and she is not afraid of anything. One day, she sees the farmer’s family working on something in the field. She waits until they have gone home to see what they were doing. She walks, in the dark, across the field and encounters a pair of shoes that go “tippity-tap, tippity-tap,” and she says, “Shoo, shoo, I’m not afraid of you!” She sees a pair of pants (“Hobbldy-bobbldy”), a shirt and mittens (“Clippity-clap”), a straw hat (“Whiskity-whisk”), and she shoos them all away. Finally, a glowing Jack-o-lantern says “Boo!” and Witchamaroo runs all the way back to her pumpkin house. The next day, she goes back to the field in the daylight and finds a smiling scarecrow. They become friends, and Witchamaroo spends the winter in the Scarecrow's cozy shirt pocket. The children enjoy the silliness and scariness of this story. They loved the play, where they each got to act out the parts of the scarecrow.
To complement our story, we carved our own Jack-O-Lantern on Tuesday. The children were very excited to design our Jack-O-Lantern and then to cut the pumpkin open and scoop out the guts and seeds. We took our time to separate the orange pulp from the white seeds so that the seeds could be saved for roasting. Each child had an opportunity to scoop seeds and also to carve the face. Our Jack-O-Lantern has a smiling mouth with triangular teeth, a triangular nose, one circular eye, and one triangular eye. The children voted on the design of the face, and when the Jack-O-Lantern was complete, we voted on its name. There were many names offered for consideration, but in the end, its name is Gooey “Buzz” Punkin-Stems. We will enjoy the seeds together with our snack this week.
Thank you to the parents who volunteered on Wednesday to help with finger-knitting handles - our lanterns are now complete. The children always enjoy sharing time at school with you, and your help is very much appreciated.
Announcements and Reminders:
We are looking forward to seeing you at the Lantern Walk this Thursday at 6:00 pm. Please drop your child off in the sanctuary between 5:50 and 6:00 pm, then continue to our class picnic table for some information and singing practice. We will begin the story directly at 6:00 pm, so please allow time for traffic.
November 6: Lantern Walk at 6:00 pm (Kindergarten and First Grade)
November 21: Grades Presentation in Sanctuary at 10:30 am
November 21: Thanksgiving Luncheon at 11 am (All families and students are invited)
November 24 - 28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)
Grace and Peace,
Ki Kim
