Cat and Dog Project Part 2

The students began sharing personal stories about dogs and cats they have in their lives or have come into contact with. Many drew pictures of what they already knew about having pets, using library books for reference. “Dogs don’t walk the same as us, you know.” Sid told his peers as he drew. “They walk on their four legs and sniff.” Olivia added her input, “Yeah, cats do too and they curl up and sit to stare at you. And when they lick you, it tickles!” Renee came to school wearing ears with whiskers on her face, which inspired Samay to start drawing cats of different sizes, colors and shapes.

“You know, when I first came to visit SAS before I started, there was a cat in the front, sitting on the sidewalk!” Sanaa shared this insight during one of our reflections.

“We have seen that cat too! It’s Orange!” Marcus added to Sanaa’s thought.

“Where is it? We want to see!” Several other students became excited.

Clipboards, paper and pencils in hand, we walked down to the front of the administration block to find the orange cat, affectionately nicknamed by some of the faculty as “Garfield.” Our students joined two middle schoolers doing a photoshoot with the cat, and respectfully sat down to observe and draw. Garfield posed for a few minutes before strolling away, and the students were left to finish the details of their drawings.

Observational drawings help students notice and reflect upon what they see. They allow children to organize knowledge and understanding, and develop new theories and ideas. Taking the time for observational drawings allows time to  see what children are paying attention to and focusing on, and helps in retention of learning.

“Look how his paws are all curled in!” –Ein

“So many different colors of orange!” –Mei

“Do you think he is purring because he is happy to see us?” –Renee

“He looks big, so where is he eating his food at school?” –Arunika

To enhance our observational drawings, we decided we needed an expert to help us! We asked A.J.’s dad Mr. Matthew to give us some drawing tips. We visited his high school art room, and he showed us how to pretend there is an ant crawling all around the object and then draw that line to get the outside shape. We practiced using fruit and then wooden movable people.

Friday Update December 9

It has been a great week of learning! Just a note about sick kiddos in the ELC—in all of the learning hubs we have had a lot of sick kiddos going through-there has been a tummy bug, as well as a fever/flu (coughing, runny noses etc.) We ask that parents really watch their kiddos over the next few days and keep them home if they seem unwell, really tired or are not acting like themselves. A lot of our cuties are pretty run down in this last part of the semester, so despite our vigilant hand washing, they are still picking things up. We also ask that you please do not give your child fever medication and then send them to school because around lunch time that medicine starts running out, the child is feeling horrible, and the other kiddos have been exposed. Thanks on behalf of the entire ELC. J

This week some of our learning included…

*being a part of impromptu Christmas concerts above our courtyard. The high school singers and band students have been playing, and wow do our kiddos LOVE it! We have some amazing rhythm in our class! Love watching their appreciation of the music, both singing and instrumental.

*continuing to delve into the student’s interest and passion of cats and dogs.  

*various explorations involving Christmas and winter. The students wanted to draw and paint pictures, make ornaments and play in the “snow.”

*patterning and shapes.

*much much dramatic play!  Inspired by some sparkly hats placed in the dramatic play area, there was an entire storyline about a big storm happening and the possibility of Santa not making it to all of the children. So our kiddos took it into their own hands and using their “superpowers” saved Christmas! Ask your child about this-almost every single student was involved in this at some point!

*singing holiday songs and reading holiday stories.

*getting our song books ready for the sing-along.

*writing stories

*talking about anger and ways to breathe—see Ms. Sarah’s explanation below.

*and much, much, more!

REMINDERS / UPCOMING DATES

*Thursday, December 15^th: HOLIDAY PARTY and Sing A Long 8:00-9:15- Our wonderful room parents will be organizing the party (similar to Halloween) and then we will end with a cuddly Sing-A-Long. Students are invited to wear holiday dress of some sort or alternate dress.

*December 17^th to January 8^th: NO SCHOOL-WINTER BREAK

*January 9^th: Late Start—10:00am start for school.

From Ms. Sarah, Our Pre-K Counselor:

Ms. Sarah and Carl the Counseling Cat had so much fun visiting each of the pre-kindergarten classes. We reviewed our last lesson, which focused on feelings. Ms. Sarah then introduced two of Carl’s friends to the students, Giraffe and Zebra. The students watched Giraffe and Zebra playing ball on the playground.  Carl asked to join, but Giraffe and Zebra said “no” and teased Carl about his long tail.  Carl became angry, picked up the ball and threw it at Zebra which knocked him over.  Afterwards, Carl felt bad about how he had acted. Ms. Sarah asked the students what they observed, and asked them how Carl felt when Giraffe and Zebra said he could not play with them and they teased him. He felt angry. Ms. Sarah then introduced the feeling of “anger.” She said it was okay to be angry or mad, and that we all get mad sometimes, but it is never okay to yell, hit, kick, or say hurtful words. She asked the students to show their angry faces, and she talked about how our faces and bodies feel and look when we get angry. Ms. Sarah then read the book, “I Was So Mad” by Norma Simon. The book gives several examples of what makes a little girl angry (someone knocks down her blocks, she can’t tie her shoe, her older brother gets to stay up later than her). After the lesson, Ms. Sarah showed the students three ways to calm down when they feel angry.  Breathing is a wonderful technique to calm down, and these three ways are fun as well! Ms. Sarah showed the students:

· Hot chocolate breath

· Box breathing

· Puffer fish breath

Parents, here are some tips to help you when your child is angry:

· Recognize and acknowledge your child’s feelings: By validating your child’s feelings, your child doesn’t need to defend those feelings. Avoid saying, “Don’t be mad.”

· Practise empathy: Listen without interruption, and your child will not feel defensive.  Also, by listening and speaking in a calm voice, you will allow for cortisol to drop and will model how to react less emotionally.

· Teach your child problem-solving skills:  After your child has calmed down. Talk about how they can solve the problem the next time they are triggered by a similar event/situation (going to bed, fighting with a sibling).

· Establish clear standards of acceptable and unacceptable behavior:  What are your family rules?  No hitting, yelling, breaking things, arguing?

· Teach your child relaxation techniques:  Model how you calm down when you get mad, try breathing together.

· Teach your child anger cues:  Help your child recognize when they start to get mad.  Does this happen when your child is hungry or tired? Anger often follows other emotions (shamed, rejected, stressed, misunderstood).

· Give your child lots of love: We all get angry at times, and by providing love and consistency your child will know that you will always be there for them. This will help them feel secure.

Our next lesson will be on be on the SAS Core Value of Responsibility.  Ms. Sarah and Carl the Counseling Cat will be back in the ELC after the holidays in January.

Week 17 Dec 5 to 9

Friday Update December 2

Another wonderful week! How is it already December?!  Does anyone else feel like our first semester has just flown by!? This week we celebrated another new 5 year old!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIDDHARTH!!!  We also had a visit from Jamin’s dog Kyan. Thank you to Missi for bringing him in! Our project is amazing because of these special moments.

A couple of things:

1)     Please let me know if you would like to take Mango and Oreo Cookie over the 3 week winter break. My family is going to Canada, so we won’t be able to take them home. If no one can house them for the break I will ask around the school as well, but they are always happiest with people they know. J

2)    Also please let me know if you are leaving before Friday, December 16^th (The last day before the winter break) if you haven’t yet.

3)    Please let me know if you have any songs or books that you would like to share about any of the holidays that are happening around this time. Many of the sing-a-long songs are Christmas songs, but we can include any that you would like for that day!  Just let me know as soon as possible. We want to make sure to celebrate all of the holidays that our part of our class family!

This week some of our learning included…

*continuing to delve into the student’s interest and passion of cats and dogs.  We had Kyan visit, and asked many questions, as well as did some observational drawings. Kyan was a hot topic of conversation! We have continued to read about cats and dogs in both fiction and non-fiction texts.

*talking about winter and Christmas. Many of the kiddos came in this week excited to talk about putting up Christmas trees, seeing the many beautiful lights and singing songs. (I think many of our families are getting ready for the holiday season!) We have been singing holiday songs (suggestions from the kiddos) and reading some favorite holiday books.

*deciding to make a Christmas tree!  The students painted the outline of a tree, and collected green items from around the classroom. They constructed a beautiful tree, and of course shook some (glitter) snow all over it! We will prop it up under the beautiful snowflakes we made. It is always fun to see that even though we live in a very warm place, during the holiday season snow still makes an appearance!!!

*participating in a lot of writing and reading activities. The students are on a roll this week, and keep coming back for more!

*counting and ordering numbers in various ways

*and much, much, more!

REMINDERS / UPCOMING DATES

*Thursday, December 15^th: HOLIDAY PARTY and Sing A Long 8:00-9:15- Our wonderful room parents will be organizing the party (similar to Halloween) and then we will end with a cuddly Sing-A-Long.

*December 17^th to January 8^th: NO SCHOOL-WINTER BREAK

*January 9^th: Late Start—10:00am start for school.

Week 16 Nov 28 to Dec 2