Greetings, Turtle Families,

Welcome back, it was so nice to have the children in class again. They were all so excited to play and talk with their friends; we had a lovely short week together. The Turtles started a new circle about winter weather. Our songs and verses introduce us to King Winter, Jack Frost, some busy woods folk, and several animals preparing for the cold. It was very cold outside, and as a result, we spent more time in our indoor classroom than usual. Over the coming weeks, our class may spend more time indoors due to below-freezing temperatures. While we will still play outdoors as much as possible, mornings, lunch, and rest may be indoors if the air feels very cold.

We also began a new story, The Magical Porridge Pot. A child helps their family by gathering food that grows in the forest. It has been a long and very cold winter, and the child cannot find much food. One day, when they are out foraging, they meet an old woman who gives them a magical pot. They take the pot home. When they say, “Little pot, little pot, make some porridge piping hot.” The pot begins to boil and bubble with porridge. When they have enough, they say, “Stop pot, stop. Thank you for the porridge, that’s quite a lot.” And the pot stops making porridge. One day, when the child is away, the mother makes porridge, but she cannot remember what she is supposed to say to stop the pot. The pot boils over, and eventually, the whole town is covered with porridge until the child returns and stops the pot. The children loved hearing the story. This week, we will have a puppet show and play of this story. In the play, the children will perform the role of the pot and the bubbling porridge. To complement our story, we had porridge for a snack on Wednesday. The children enjoyed it very much, so we will have porridge again this week on Wednesday.

We hope you will join us for Early Childhood Curriculum Night on Tuesday, January 21, at 6:00 pm. One of the things we will do is brainstorm ideas for our spring auction project. If you have ideas, please bring them with you. We are looking for a project that can be a collaborative effort utilizing the skills and talents of parents, children, and teachers. 

Announcements and Reminders:

• 1/17: Southern Train Museum visit

• 1/20: MLK, Jr Day of Service: No School

• 1/20: CAB Service Project: 10:00 a.m.

• 1/21: Early Childhood Curriculum Night: 6:00 p.m. (adults only, please)

• 1/22: Grades Curriculum Night: 6:00 p.m. (adults only, please)

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

Grace and Peace,

Ki Kim