We’re hard at work finishing up our (surprise) Mother’s Day cards – and they are beautiful! I hope all of you enjoy a special Mother’s Day at your homes this weekend.
We are also busy practicing for our Grandparent’s Day performance on the stage. The children decided that they wanted to act out one of our perennial favorite stories, Abiyoyo. We are in the process now of getting used to the roles, figuring out the action on stage, and practicing lines and movements. It promises to be a terrific skit, and I hope you’ll all be able to join us that day (Friday, May 20).
Please remember that ticks are increasingly present now that the weather is warmer, and we are spending more time outdoors. Our school nurse recommends using insect repellent, in addition to wearing long pants and shirt sleeves, especially when we are in the woods and on the hiking trails.
Some of you have responded to Jane’s request regarding the baskets we are putting together for the Spring Auction event. If you have not yet taken a look at the sign-up sheet over the cubbies, please check it out – and choose an item(s) that you would like to contribute to the baskets. I believe that the organizers of this benefit would like to have these baskets finalized as soon as possible. Thanks you!
Today we will join the other grades for a special percussion workshop offered by The Wanmu Percussion Trio and Yellow Barn. We’re looking forward to learning about rhythms, patterns, tempos, and more – and to banging on some big drums. We’ll have a performance at this afternoon’s All School Meeting. Should be fun!
I’d like to call your attention to a special film being shown at The Putney Public Library tonight, Mother Nature’s Child, from 7:00 to 9:00 (including discussion led by the film maker and producer – more information from Transition Putney and the Putney Public Library). This wonderful film promises to spark some great dialogue regarding children’s development. A description from the director reads:
Mother Nature's Child explores nature's powerful role in children's health and development through the experience of toddlers, children in middle childhood and adolescents.
We’d like to make a couple of requests that would make life a little easier here in the preschool:
First, children are bringing lots of items in for their special sharing ritual, which results in a much longer sharing time and a loss of attention on the part of the audience as the sharer takes a long time to set up all the items on the stage. Please help your child select one, two, or three items to bring in for sharing.
Second, the whole issue of desserts in the lunchbox has become something of a struggle. Our approach is to save these treats till the end of lunch. That doesn’t mean that ALL the other items must be eaten first – but we’re looking for a reasonable effort towards eating some healthy foods first. It would be great if you could reinforce this practice at home, or at least reiterate what our expectations are here in the preschool.
Third, all the preschoolers should have a pair of indoor shoes or slippers to change into after going outside. This will go a long way towards helping to keep unwanted dirt and grit out of the classroom. Thanks!
Our annual Spofford Lake outing is scheduled for June 7th. This is a fun end-of-the-year trip with the kindergartners, 1st grade, and 2nd grade to swim, play on the beach, and have a cookout at Weir’s Beach on Spofford Lake. There’ll be more information to follow!
That’s all for now!
--Ken and Leelee
