Kindergarten Chickadees: February 10 - 14, 2025

Feb 14

Osiyo, Chickadee Families,

Welcome back from break! It is wonderful to have the children back on campus, adding their joyful laughter to the beauty of the woods. This week, students will continue working on sewing their stuffed animal snakes. Watching each child focus intently on their work and make careful stitches has been incredible. Each student decided whether the light or dark green felt should be the front of the snake and where the eyes and tongue should be placed. Older students sewed the eyes and tongue onto the felt themselves if they felt comfortable. All students sewed the front and back of the snake together and filled it. The pride the children feel after completing a longer project, such as the snake, helps them develop a strong sense of accomplishment, ability, and independence and fosters resilience and a growth mindset.

This week, the Chickadees will hear a story about Lady Spring. In the story, Lady Spring steps outside each morning, awoken by the sun, but she quickly runs back to bed when she feels the cold winds. Before long, however, the cold wind stays away, and Lady Spring walks across the land, bringing beautiful flowers with each step. The class has also begun a new circle that looks forward to spring and celebrates the birds in our environment! The students will sing songs about and act out what different birds do during winter. They will also play a fun turn-taking game with a beautiful song, Blue Bird. The circle will start with a lovely German song that bids winter adieu in a fun way:

Winter, ade! Scheiden tut weh.
Aber dein Scheiden macht
Daß mir das Herze lacht.
Winter, ade! Scheiden tut weh.

Winter, ade! Scheiden tut weh.
Gerne vergess’ ich dein,
Kannst immer ferne sein.
Winter, ade! Scheiden tut weh.

Winter, ade! Scheiden tut weh.
Gehst du nicht bald nach Haus,
Lacht dich der Kuckuck aus.
Winter, ade! Scheiden tut weh.

Announcements and Reminders for Chickadee Kindergarten:

The weather is very unpredictable this time of year. Please remember to include rain gear daily and dress your child in layers. The temperature on weather apps does not necessarily predict how it will feel in the forest, and it is easier to remove layers when students are warm than to help students warm up when they are cold.

Half-day dismissal begins at 12:15 and ends at 12:30. Full-day dismissal begins at 3:10 and ends at 3:20 for kindergarten (3:20-3:30 for grades). On Thursdays, full-day dismissal is 2:15-2:30.

If you have any unused wide-mouth 32 oz mason jars, we will happily accept them for our March terrarium project.