I can’t believe we have already finished our second week of school! Here is a brief over view of each week:
Week1:
Welcome back and a very happy new year to everyone! We are happy to welcome all the children, old and new, back to school. We, Teacher Tegan, Teacher Clarissa and Teacher Emma, are so excited to be part of your child’s very important year of school. Although it’s been some time since your children were at school, they were happy to be back and enthusiastically explored their new class, feeling right at home there! Welcome to our new friends joining the Eco Kids family we know you are going to love every experience you have with us.
In a lovely long morning ring time, the Curious Crew told us all about their adventurous December holidays and fun activities they did on their holiday. We heard a lot about beaches and animals as well as so much swimming. I love seeing how creative they can be when telling us these stories.
Later on in the day we all sat down for a picture colouring session, where beforehand we explained to the Crew how to use their new twisty crayons and to share with the person next to them…Teacher Emma and I were SO surprised at how well the Crew worked together and really looked after the new stationary! Well done you big boys and girls.
Our moral conscious “story” for the week was School Rules and Teddy’s first Day of School, we had a lovely chat with the Crew on all their new classroom rules as well as old rules that we just needed to remind them of. One of the most important rules in our class is keeping their hands to themselves.
In the weeks ahead parents can look forward to new rhymes, interesting theme discussions and the start of Reggio Emilia artwork. We look forward to getting to know these precious little souls better, helping them to be the best little people that they can be.
The Curious Crew were very chuffed when we told them that they will now be picked each day for special classroom jobs. This week we started with our line leaders and as time goes on, we will introduce lunch helper duties as well as a plant waterier.
In our first week back, we started off with a free drawing of ‘My first day of school’ and the Crew traced over their name to start practicing this coincept. Name writing in something we will focus on this year, and we encourage you to practice this at home.
I think we can give the Crew an A+ on their first week of school.
Love Teacher Tegan
Next week’s theme: My body
Week 2
I absolutely love this theme! Our bodies are so complex and fascinating, and there’s so much to explore. The Crew have confidently identified their visible body parts and limbs, so we’ve moved on to learning about the parts we can’t see.
The Crew discovered some fun facts, like how their fist is about the same size as their stomach or heart, and two fists together equal the size of their brain. We discussed the stomach and small intestines and the important roles they play. The Crew now knows that our lungs breathe in oxygen, which our organs and muscles need, and that the heart, a muscle itself, pumps blood throughout the body. They also learned that the brain controls everything—from moving our arms and legs to things we don’t even think about!
We talked about our bones and how they keep us upright; otherwise, we’d be like floppy spaghetti and unable to walk! The Crew also learned where the smallest bones in the body are located and how many bones we have in total.
This week, the kids had a blast drawing with chalk outside on the deck. They were asked to draw the shape, letter, and number of the week—but, being kids, they couldn’t resist drawing extra pictures, letters, and numbers, too. I was so impressed with their creativity!
As part of our body theme, we also did a body image activity where the Crew drew themselves and added details with color. I must say, the level of detail in their drawings was amazing. Well done, Crew!
To focus on fine motor skills, we practiced a simple cutting activity to get used to scissors. These will gradually get more challenging in the weeks ahead. The Crew also practiced number formation and letter formation with some tracing activities.
Our letter of the week was “A,” and we worked on a fun worksheet that included tracing, circling, and coloring. It was a big hit! Everyone was so excited to show me the apes they had colored in.
We also did a video reading of a wonderful storybook about our personal space bubbles called “My Body has a Bubble” by Neil Harris. Through the story, the Crew learned what to do if someone invades their space or if they feel uncomfortable. This tied in beautifully with our discussions on respecting others’ personal space.
Our art for this week was a collaborative piece where the Crew outlined Teacher Hayley and then everyone got their own section to decorate. This demonstrated the different parts of our body and how they are all connected.
Helpful Tip of the Week:
The most important rule in our class is “Keep your hands to yourself.” (We use an action for this by giving ourselves a hug.) While it’s tempting for the Crew to hold or hang onto their friends, it often leads to tears instead of smiles. If you could kindly chat with your child at home about respecting their friends’ personal space, it would help make class time and playtime much smoother.
Well done Crew for another amazing week!
Next week’s theme: My Senses
