Mrs. Sargeant: A Peek at the Week

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

On Tuesday, the entire Primary level gathered in the gymnasium for a Diwali celebration. Diwali is a five-day festival that is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It is the triumph of righteousness, knowledge in place of ignorance. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli. People also often wear new fine clothes and jewelry and celebrate with family and friends.

Ms. Paromita and Ms. Hema, along with several parents from our community – including some of our very own students’ Moms -were dressed in traditional Indian attire and provided our children with a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Indian culture. A few students from lower and upper elementary read a book about Diwali.  Our children were mesmerized by the sights and sounds! Ms. Paromita danced to Indian music in her gorgeous attire, and the gymnasium was decorated with beautiful and meaningful items related to Diwali.  The children were able to taste traditional Indian food and decorate diyas to take home. We are so grateful to all who shared their culture!

Earlier in the week, we celebrated Ms. Tima’s birthday. She was delighted to receive so many wishes, flowers, and cards. Hayes’ Mom even baked a delicious coffee cake, which we shared as a group, as Ms. Tima blew out a candle and made a wish. We had a lovely week in the classroom.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love. -Christine & Fatima

Ms. Handibode’s Happenings: Diwali Celebration

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

On Tuesday, the entire Primary level gathered in the gymnasium for a Diwali celebration. Diwali is a five-day festival that is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It is the triumph of righteousness, knowledge in place of ignorance. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli. People also often wear new fine clothes and jewelry and celebrate with family and friends.

Ms. Paromita and Ms. Hema, along with several parents from our community, were dressed in traditional Indian attire and provided our children with a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Indian culture. A few students from lower and upper elementary read a book about Diwali.  Our children were mesmerized by the sights and sounds! Ms. Paromita danced to Indian music in her gorgeous attire, and the gymnasium was decorated with beautiful and meaningful items related to Diwali.  The children were able to taste traditional Indian food and decorate diyas to take home. We are so grateful to all who shared their culture!

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Maria

Ms. Marissa: Weekly Update!

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

On Tuesday, the entire Primary level gathered in the gymnasium for a Diwali celebration. Diwali is a five-day festival that is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It is the triumph of righteousness, knowledge in place of ignorance. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli. People also often wear new fine clothes and jewelry and celebrate with family and friends.

Ms. Paromita and Ms. Hema, along with several parents from our community, were dressed in traditional Indian attire and provided our children with a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Indian culture. A few students from lower and upper elementary read a book about Diwali.  Our children were mesmerized by the sights and sounds! Ms. Paromita danced to Indian music in her gorgeous attire, and the gymnasium was decorated with beautiful and meaningful items related to Diwali.  The children were able to taste traditional Indian food and decorate diyas to take home. We are so grateful to all who shared their culture!

In the classroom, we were introduced to a new way of working with our Sensorial materials. We added blindfolds! Covering our vision adds a whole new component to activities like the cylinder blocks, the pink tower, and the geometric solids. Students found it so fun and quite challenging to complete these tasks without seeing. The classroom was filled with lots of laughter while the children practiced. What a fun game!

Have a lovely weekend.

Marissa & Sue

Mrs. Lopes: A Look at Our Week

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

On Tuesday, the entire Primary level gathered in the gymnasium for a Diwali celebration. Diwali is a five-day festival that is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It is the triumph of righteousness, knowledge in place of ignorance. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli. People also often wear new fine clothes and jewelry and celebrate with family and friends.

Ms. Paromita and Ms. Hema, along with several parents from our community, were dressed in traditional Indian attire and provided our children with a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Indian culture. A few students from lower and upper elementary read a book about Diwali.  Our children were mesmerized by the sights and sounds! Ms. Paromita danced to Indian music in her gorgeous attire, and the gymnasium was decorated with beautiful and meaningful items related to Diwali.  The children were able to taste traditional Indian food and decorate diyas to take home. We are so grateful to all who shared their culture!

This week we concluded our unit on the solar system.  I’ve included the lyrics for the song we have been singing to learn all the names of the planets as well as a video we watched with fun facts about the planets.  Thank you to our guest reader this week, Regine Hooper-Campbell!

The Planet Song

I know the planets, how about you (3x)
Let’s sing this song together,
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
Jupiter and Saturn among the stars
Uranus and Neptune are up there too
All spin around the sun it’s true.

The Solar System Song on YouTube:

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love.

Amanda & Hema

Ms. Handibode’s Happenings: Welcome To Our Pumpkin Patch!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Welcome to our pumpkin patch!  There are pumpkins everywhere in our class. Having pumpkins in the classroom provides many opportunities for the children to observe and introduce basic science and math concepts.

In Practical Life, we have pumpkin spooning, pumpkin pouring, pumpkin scrubbing, and pumpkin grasping. In Science, we learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin’s life cycle. We compared pumpkins and categorized them as small, medium, and large. We are using our five senses to determine what pumpkins look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like.

Last week, we carved a pumpkin and then took part in our Harvest Celebration. Each child had the opportunity to visit our “pumpkin patch” and pick their own pumpkin, make a spooky craft, and have a fun snack.  Last but not least, meet Skelly, our veggie skeleton prepared by the kindergarten students.  It is always so wonderful to hear the children say they don’t like this vegetable or that one and then devour all of it!

All of this was possible because of parents helping behind the scenes.  A huge shout out to everyone for sharing their time and energy with us to provide these wonderful opportunities for the children.  It takes a lot of time, effort, and organization for all of this to be possible, and we are truly grateful and blessed.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Maria

Mrs. Lopes: A Look at Our Week

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Welcome to our pumpkin patch!  There are pumpkins everywhere in our class. Having pumpkins in the classroom provides many opportunities for the children to observe and introduce basic science and math concepts.

In Practical Life, we have pumpkin spooning, pumpkin pouring, pumpkin scrubbing, and pumpkin grasping. In Science, we learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin’s life cycle. We compared pumpkins and categorized them as small, medium, and large. We are using our five senses to determine what pumpkins look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like.

Last week, we carved a pumpkin and then took part in our Harvest Celebration. Each child had the opportunity to visit our “pumpkin patch” and pick their own pumpkin, make a spooky craft, and have a fun snack.  Last but not least, meet Skelly, our veggie skeleton prepared by the kindergarten students.  It is always so wonderful to hear the children say they don’t like this vegetable or that one and then devour all of it!

All of this was possible because of parents helping behind the scenes.  A huge shout out to everyone for sharing their time and energy with us to provide these wonderful opportunities for the children.  It takes a lot of time, effort, and organization for all of this to be possible, and we are truly grateful and blessed.

This week we started our unit on the Solar System.  The students are excited to learn facts about each of the planets and the unique characteristics each planet has.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Amanda & Hema

Ms. Marissa: Weekly Update!

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

This week we explored many different sewing and handwork activities! The simplest activity in our sewing sequence is stringing large beads on a cord. From there, they get increasingly more difficult – stringing small beads on a pipe cleaner, cutting yarn, threading a needle, tying a knot, embroidering on burlap, sewing a button, and so on!

The children have been excited to get new lessons on as much as they are capable of. In the beginning, sewing is done side by side with a teacher, but as skills slowly emerge, the teacher starts to pull away little by little. We never let the inability to thread a needle or tie a knot get in the way of the joy of sewing – those skills will come! In the meantime, we practice, practice, practice.

Sewing works so beautifully in the classroom because it exercises four very important skills: concentration, coordination, independence, and order.

Mrs. Sargeant: A Peek at the Week

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

The children were thrilled to return this week to kick off a brand-new month. Every day upon arrival, the children come inside to see who the “Helping Hand” is for the day. The “Helping Hand” is the child who will ring the chime to let the class know that it is time to “clean up their work and join us at the Circle.” This helper is also responsible for the calendar, and they are the “line leader” for the day.  

This week, Emma’s mom joined us to read The Gruffalo, captivating everyone. Plus, Katie’s mom recorded a reading of Never Let a Dinosaur Scribble, which the children have loved listening to on the Yoto player.

We’ve spoken a lot about Hawaii, inspired by a friend’s beautiful Sharing Bag photos of his family trip there. 

In the afternoon, we’ve been reading Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson series. This week, we started book number 6. I have never seen a group of children more excited to gather each day, so eager to find out what will happen next!

The kindergarten students each sewed their own finger puppets, of which they were all so proud. 

We’ve been making the most of the unseasonably warm weather, making it a point to get outdoors as soon as possible. The children love to hunt for acorns and leaves. This week, a group of us was surprised and excited to get a peek at a low-flying red-tailed hawk!

I’ll include a link to a song that has been a favorite all month: Stephanie Leavell’s Bitty Bat –  I’m sure the children would love to share it with you at home!

Looking forward to the week ahead, Christine & Fatima