Kindergarten Turtles: January 26 - 30, 2026
Greetings, Turtle Families,
We had a wonderful, short week in the forest and our indoor classroom. Many mornings, the temperatures were below freezing, so we spent more time indoors than usual. The children happily worked on puzzles, built with blocks, and engaged in imaginative play with the kitchen and dollhouse toys. Time in our indoor classroom offers a different kind of play and interaction than our more open outdoor spaces. As the year continues, we see evidence of the students’ growth in how they play, communicate, and solve problems together. This was particularly evident in how they thought through challenges and worked together indoors.
While outside, the children spent much of the day playing actively in the forest (running, climbing, digging, loading, moving, building). This active play helps them stay warm in the cold. Several children spent hours digging in one of our class “digging spots” and talking together about the “mysteries” they were uncovering. It is fascinating to watch them create and imagine new and exciting ideas in their play each day.
The children enjoy the changes that the weather brings to our outdoor classroom. Early in the week, there was evidence of the freezing temperatures as they discovered ice in the wheelbarrows and some mud kitchen toys. Thursday and Friday brought rain, and with that, lots of mud! Our time outdoors builds a strong, special connection to the earth, the seasons, and Mother Nature in your children. This connection will provide a sturdy foundation for them as they grow into the people who will care for our world, and it is truly an honor to spend each day with them in our forest classroom building that foundation.
Each spring semester, we are excited for our older students, those who may rise to First grade next year, to begin our Golden Knights program. Those students will attend Golden Knights, starting this week, for an hour each Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for the remainder of the school year. We know they are ready for the new challenges Golden Knights will provide and to spend time building community with the older students from the Honeybee and Chickadee classes.
Announcements and Reminders:
We hope you will join us for the Early Childhood Curriculum Morning on Saturday, February 7 th, at 11:00 a.m. We will finalize our plan, begin work on our auction project, and we will learn about the four temperaments. The Curriculum morning will be followed by the All School Meeting at 12:30 p.m.
January 31: Community Work Day
February 7: Early Childhood & Grade Curriculum meeting at 11 am & All School Meeting (Spring) at 12:30 pm
February 12: Lunar New Year Performance 2:30 pm (all families welcome)
February 16-20: Mid Winter Break (No School)
February 23: Teacher in Service (No School)
Thank you for sharing your children with us and for being part of our community.
Grace and Peace
Ki Kim
