Winter Holidays & Winter Through the Senses

We hope you have a lovely, nourishing Winter Break!

❄️☃️

Updates/Reminders

December 23-January 6- Winter Break: No School or Childcare
Thank you for taking rains suits home to wash. Please bring them back to keep at school as the Winter rains will (hopefully) visit again soon.
Friday, 1/17- Report Writing/PD Day-No School; Childcare available for ExDay eligible children with sign-up
Monday, January 20- Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day: No School or Childcare

🌱🐛

Winter Holidays

We have been learning about different celebrations that happen during winter. We noticed that similarities between some holidays, like how Hanukkah and Kwanzaa both light candles in special candle holders (the hannukiah/menorah and the kinara). In honor of Hanukkah, we made potato latkes with the help of Sam’s friend Harry. Books have been a wonderful gateway to us to learn about the winter holidays (see book list below).

Winter through the Senses

You may have seen the big black tray out on the porch. This is called a tuff tray and recently we have been filling it with wintery sensory experiences: gum tree seed pods the wind blew off the tree across the street, pine needles branches, pine needles and paintbrushes to sweep them, oranges/cinnamon sticks with water and vessels, and cranberries and pine needles frozen in ice. Through these experiences, we are practicing our fine motor skills (pincer grasp, scissor hands), enhancing our practical life skills (pouring water, using tongs, passing bowls to each other without spilling the contents), satisfying urges of transferring, pouring, and squeezing, exploring cause and effect, making and sharing observations, practicing taking turns and sharing space/materials, using our imaginations, making connections between past and current experiences and applying that knowledge, being curious, taking risks, trying something new, and having fun! We also put together some wintery scented and tasty gifts and delivered them to all the classroom and substitute teachers and admin 🙂 We made some spiced apple cider for ourselves using cloves, cinnamon sticks, and dried oranges.