Hello Magnolia Families,

Welcome to our April Blog! You may have heard that we’ve met molly the mosquito, nelly the newt, ollie the octopus, and piggy the pig. Our language curriculum continues to grow with even more invitations to sound out initial sounds, practice letter formation and explore reading. Mitra and Emily have brought out all kinds of interesting Sensorial materials that invite us to listen, feel, measure and count. Our bookshelves celebrate all things Spring and we’ve decorated the classroom with colorful blooming flowers (check out the magnolia flowers on our family tree!)

Emily and some colleagues attended the Positive Discipline Association workshop in Oakland this past weekend, and learned all kinds of new ways to support young children in their social emotional development. We can’t wait to share more about what we’ve learned with you- but i’ll briefly share something that’s stuck with me the most: “Calm Connection before Correction.” It’s such a simple phrase, but i’ve been reminded that in springtime, we might (as adults) notice more challenging behaviors as young children gear up for Kindergarten, Summertime, or are working through challenges of making new friends (to name a few!). This phrase grounds me and makes me consider that before a young child can handle regulating their emotions, they will find the most success when the adult helping them is regulated too. When we can calmly connect with a child before we correct them, share what we might be noticing or ask questions, a young child may be more comfortable managing repair!

Please enjoy checking out what’s new in Magnolia after a few quick reminders!

• Make sure to check your child’s extra clothes bin! Many friends are in need of a restock (espeically pants and underwear.)
• Please help teachers as we are working hard to manage lost/left behind items. Give our porch and the benches by the gate a visual scan on your way out and check to see if any of your child’s items are there. 
• We are looking for *shiny* objects to display in our new dramatic play corner! Think old cd roms, disco balls, shiny beads….etc. Feel free to donate to the class! And if anyone has a connection to a battery company (lol) we are ALWAYS in need of double AA batteries 😂 They help keep our classroom sparkly and inviting and magical with all the twinkle lights etc. Thanks for considering! 

Magic Light Play Corner

If you’ve dropped off this last week you may have noticed our fabulous new “Magic Light Play Corner!” Thank you to Jordan for naming the space. Mitra shared a video all about an immersive light experience in Tokyo that she’s visited. The children were intrigued, and made connections about what it might feel like to experience light through color, reflection and projection. Our sensory bin has been filled with twinkle lights, foil, shiny beads and mirrors. We can’t wait to see how this corner evolves, based on the emergent interests of the children. Here we will share some photos from our investigations.

New and Exciting Materials

We’ve introduced some interesting materials to the shelves these last few weeks! Have you ever heard of a knobbed cylinder? Probably not. Unless you had a Montessori education, you might not know that these fascinating materials support a foundational understanding of measurements including width, length, hight, circumference, diameter, weight etc. The knobless cylinders are just as inviting, if not more! They are fun to put in order of size, and stack to make “birthday cake.”

Practical Life Review

Our cleanup routine has needed a bit of a refresher course here in Magnolia. It’s normal that this time of year comes with less interest in sticking to classroom routines (boredom/K readiness/the approach of Summer are common factors!) Teachers have been reintroducing cleanup routines and have been so pleased to notice that after some review, Magnolia friends have been up for the task of taking good care of our environment. Cleaning with sponges has been one of the most popular cleaning jobs these days, but often have led to very wet and slippery conditions. Teachers have been reviewing techniques that ensure sponges are *damp* vs. *wet.*

It’s common practice for teachers to consistently repeat lessons as the children to reinforce steps and processes. Some children can be observed coming back over and over again to the same activity- and we love to see it!

Upcoming: Rainbow Colors!

Magnolia friends love the colorful lights in the Magic Light Play Corner so much that we’ve been brainstorming things we know about rainbows and colors. Next week, we will begin a unit on all things “color!” We will read books about colors, learn about color theory with Emily and even sing songs about color. We can’t wait!

Around Magnolia

We’ve had a visit from Julianne, Music with Chrissy, a family visit from Sammy’s grandparents, a solar eclipse viewing party, more planet making and so much more!