Greetings, Turtle Families,

We had a beautiful, short week in the forest and our indoor classroom.  On Wednesday, the temperatures were below freezing for much of the day, as a result, we spent a lot of time inside.  The children happily engineered marble runs and played with the kitchen and doll house toys.  This time in our indoor classroom offers a different kind of play and interaction than our more open outdoor spaces. As the year goes on, we see evidence of the students’ growth in how they play, talk, and work things out with each other. This was particularly evident in how they thought through challenges and worked together to build and successfully get the marbles through their runs.

We began a new story, the Ukrainian folk tale, The Mitten. The students love this sweet and silly adventure story; with our recent snow, it is even more beloved this year.  One of our winter circle songs also finds deeper meaning for the children with the recent snow experience they all had:

The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow,

and what will the robin do then, poor thing?

She’ll sit in the barn to keep herself warm 

and hide her head under her wing.

The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow, 

and what will the dormouse do then, poor thing? 

He’s curled up in a ball, in his nest so small 

and that’s where he’ll sleep until spring.

The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow,

and what will the rabbit do then, poor thing? 

She’ll jump and she’ll hop, she won’t want to stop

 ‘cause that’s how she’ll keep herself warm.  

The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow,

 and what will the raccoon do then, poor thing?

He’ll waddle around, leaving prints on the ground, 

and find a warm burrow to sleep. 

Thank you to everyone who attended the parent night (for real this time) on Tuesday evening.  It was nice to spend time with you, sharing about your children and our school and creating with each other.

Announcements and Reminders for the Turtle Kindergarten:

Conferences are coming up on February 6th and 7th. You can sign up for a time here. Conferences will be in person at the school.  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.

• 1/28: Early Childhood Curriculum Night - 6:00 p.m.

• 2/1: Community Work Day 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

• 2/1: All School Meeting - 12:30 p.m. (adults only, community encouraged to attend)

• 2/6: Lunar New Year Performance - 11:30 a.m.

• 2/6: Half Day - Parent Conferences

• 2/7: No School - Parent Conferences

Thank you for sharing your children with us and being part of our community.

Grace and Peace,

Ki Kim