Hello Magnolia Families!

Welcome to our February Blog! Last week we welcomed our new friend, Dylan to Magonlia. Dylan, we’re so glad you’ve joined us!

Magnolia friends have had the opportunity to build in the block area for a while now and are ready for a new challenge. They have been interested in building tall skyscrapers, airports, parks and more. Teachers observed their play and asked the children: What do you know about cities? What is a city? The children came up with all kinds of ideas like:

A city might have boats in the water
A city has big towers and bridges to go across
There are snow plows and streets
There are places you can do work
There are people in a city
There is love in a city and a balloon
It might have a grocery store 

Let’s imagine a city that is livable for anyone and any living thing! Imagine a teeming metropolis where everyone has what they need to live and thrive and be happy!

Brainstorming “What is a City?”

In the coming weeks, we will become city planners and create a bustling city complete with skyscrapers, parks, buildings and homes. We’ll be using recycled materials to create these structures (you’re welcome to donate things like boxes, shiny material like tinfoil for windows, artificial grass for the park etc). We are planning to take a walk in our neighborhood to notice different types of buildings too! We will keep you posted on our plans. 

Around Magnolia and Lunar New Year Highlights

Last week we met jack the jackrabbit. When jac jumps he makes a “j-j-j-j” sound. We noticed that jac’s initial is very close to itl the inchworm’s! They are almost the same, but jac’s initial has a little hook at the bottom. We met kelly the kangaroo too. We ate kale, kiwi, key limes and kumquats. Some friends even made some kites that really fly! You’ve likely seen paper puppets and sand letters come home as we continue to explore letter sounds and letter formation! Next up we met lit the ladybug who’s initial we all enjoyed as it is simply- one standing line!

This week, teachers introduced the mathematical concept of addition. There are so many ways to engage in mathematical thinking in the classroom- one way is to use small manipulatives (like pattern blocks, small plastic teddy bears, seashells, rocks etc.) to demonstrate addition. Part of this curriculum will come in handy for Friendship Day when we talk about how addition happens when we invite friends to play with us!

Dramatic play continues to be a popular spot this week as the children perform the duties of a doctor, nurse or patient. Our light table has been a great addition to the space and thanks to Kai’s dad Freddy, we have some real x-rays to look at. Teachers introduced a oversized book all about the human body and in small groups we’ve been sharing what we know about how our bodies work.

Finally, although it rained on our Lunar New Year parade, we still enjoyed our lion head dance, noise makers and watching Mariposa’s giant dragon puppet chase a gleaming white pearl.

Here’s a quick video of some our rainy parade, music with Chrissy and some Madonna freeze dancing for good measure.

♥ Emily.Mitra.Darius