Apples, Teddy Bears, and a Peace Rose

Hello Magnolia Families,

We’re happy to share our second blog of the year with you! We’ve been settling into our daily routine and diving into some fun learning moments and play opportunities.

First, here are a few reminders:

We were so thrilled to see many of you last night for Back to School Night! Thank you for your participation, laughter and appreciations 🙂 If you weren’t able to join, here’s a link to a google doc with some questions and responses from our team.
To support the children at lunchtime, we ask that you help your child remove their lunchbox and water bottle from their tote bag. Especially early in the year, it can be tricky for many of them to do this on their own. We ask that you encourage your child put their lunchbox on top of their cubby, and their water bottle in the water bottle tray, located on our porch. (The children can show you where it goes!) That way, children have easy access anytime to hydrate.
There will be no school or extended day on Monday October 9th in observation and reflection of Indigenous People’s Day. Here’s a way to honor the day right here in Berkeley! Berkeley’s 31st Annual Indigenous People’s Pow Wow

a is for apple

This week, we began our sound of the week curriculum. This program is a blend of traditional sound of the week thematic activities and is also inspired by the Integrated Total Language curriculum (called “itl”). itl combines storytelling, handwriting practice and full body movement to promote fine and gross motor skills that support children in their handwriting journey. You will surely hear more throughout the year of itl the inchworm and his friends 😉

Our language program started with practicing the concepts of “go” and “stop.” In handwriting, these terms remind us which direction our line is moving (left towards go, right towards stop.) This group of Magnolians has been loving all the fun freeze dances, games and projects that involve “stop” and “go.”

Teddy Bear Visitors

The children noticed some fuzzy, soft visitors this week in Magnolia. We learned that these special guests are teddy bears! For now, they are here to observe the classroom and notice what children do at school. In the coming week, we will begin our teddy bear curriculum, developed by Leslie Koplow of Bank Street’s Emotionally Responsive Practice. Each teddy will *choose* a child to belong to during a special ceremony. The teddies will whisper into Emily’s ear some hints about who they’d like to be paired with. The bears will serve as comfort objects, help the children articulate their feelings and thoughts, and serve as a bridge to literacy. These bears stay in the classroom and do not go home until the end of the year. In the classroom we will name our bears, make a special home for them, and create Teddy Bear Agreements. We look forward to sharing all the fun and joy these teddy bears will bring us!

A Peace Rose and More Ways to Self-Regulate

Teachers set a beautiful table near our big “hello/goodbye” window. On this table is a basket, and inside is a beautiful flower. Children are invited to sit here at the table when they are experiencing a conflict with someone else. One person at a time holds the peace rose, which signifies their turn to share. They pass the peace rose to the other person, and back and forth it goes as the friends resolve their conflict. Teachers model conflict resolution by using puppets and reading stories.

Froggy and Bat get help from Emily to solve a tricky problem

The Peace Rose

Music with Chrissy and a Visit from Grandpa Clyde

We’re so thrilled that Chrissy has joined us for Music! We learned a hello song, shared silly dance moves and practiced a crescendo and decrescendo. We’ve also been so lucky that Granpda Clyde is back this year to join us for even more singing and dancing! Grandpa Clyde is the grandpa of a student in Mariposa, and visits us here and there to sing, wiggle and groove. During our middle circles, you’ll often find us dancing most everyday.