Washington University Nursery School School Year 2017 - 2018

Classroom Happenings Spring! Amazing, beautiful Spring is here! It really did come again, even though we had serious doubts this year. As Spring arrives, it brings very mixed feelings to the Teddy Bear teachers. The shining sun, the warm days, the beautiful new growth, are all to be noticed and enjoyed. And we do! However, we also notice the growth in our Teddies. Their skills are growing. Their conversations and interactions are filled with negotiating words and agreement. Their focus is more concentrated, and their concentration is more focused. Really! It is fabulous! Nevertheless, it is all happening so very quickly. These Teddies are getting too close to be becoming Bear Cubs. Ahh! The inevitability must be faced. We will let go and let grow when the time comes. We always do. It sure can be difficult.

Now, it’s time for a Teddy Bear Class update. The Teddies have been working on Shapes, Colors, and the Alphabet. They have enjoyed exploring each of these themes. When we were looking at colors, we put the three primary colors at the easel and at the Art Table. As they painted and blended the colors, new colors emerged on their paper. This initiated lots of discussion. “How did that happen?” “What colors were newly formed?” “Let’s try it again! “One fascinating color activity involved putting a piece of white paper on the inside of a sturdy, shallow box. A teaspoon each of red, blue, and yellow paint were blobbed on to the paper. Then, we put marbles in the box and the children tipped their box back and forth, up and down. They watched the colors blend.

TEDDY BEAR NEWS: March 24, 2018

Our philosophy is that children learn most effectively through play. We support and encourage each child’s unique social, emotional and intellectual development in a nurturing, hands-on and safe classroom environment.

Washington University Nursery School School Year 2017 - 2018

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During our Color Week, the children learned the Rainbow Song, talked about the colors they had on their clothes, and looked at and listened to many books about color. One of their favorites is Little White Bunnies Book of Color. Also, Miss Colleen refreshed our lesson on the Spanish words for the colors when she taught Spanish that week.

Shapes week shaped up very well. Yuk, yuk! The Teddies painted giant rectangles, circles, squares and triangles. They made paint print pictures with primary colors and shape cookie cutters. They created collages with a variety of shape papers and glue. We talked about the shapes found on objects around the room…the table top is a square, a rectangle, or a circle. The cup has a circle on top. The children delighted in finding the shapes that they hadn’t previously noticed. The Teddies worked shape puzzles and worked with shapes at the Small Manipulative Table and at the Light Table. At the Playdough Table we had the shape cookie cutters, and at the Writing Table, we placed wooden shapes for the children to trace. We sang the circle part of the Girl Scout Friendship Song…”A circle is round. It has no end. That’s how long I want to be your friend.” We also looked at books on shapes and tried to spy the different shapes on the pages. These activities fostered much discussion and awareness which Miss Colleen reinforced with her lesson on the Spanish words for shapes.

The Alphabet is a great unit of study for the Teddies. They do know the ABC song! We add variations. We might sing it in a little tiny mouse voice or a big, deep hippopotamus voice. We read the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book and looked carefully at the alphabet pages at the beginning of the book. We sang the Alphabet Song slowly while we pointed to each letter. The Teddies looked at and listened to many alphabet books throughout the week. They are still on our shelf for individual perusal.

At the Art Table, we painted giant letters. “J is for Jude. G is for Gus. T is for Tilly. H is for Hal”…. We also used alphabet cookie cutters to make some wonderful pictures. We used the cookie cutters again at the Playdough Table, and wooden letters for the children to explore and work with at the Writing Table. The Small Manipulative Table was available for alphabet blocks, and alphabet puzzles. Once again, Miss Colleen enriched our study by helping us learn the alphabet in Spanish. The Teddies loved it!

We hope you had a fun, lovely Spring Break. We are ready to get back to the business of the Teddy Bear Room. Here are some dates for coming events:

April 6 (Fri.): NO SCHOOL, Conference Prep Day

April 10 (Tues.): Dewey’s Pizza Night Fundraiser

April 19 & 20 (Thurs. and Fri.): NO SCHOOL Parent Conferences

April TBD: WU Family Play Date 3:15 - 5:00 (SLCH Helmet Check)

Until next time,

Miss Marbie & Miss Chona