Dear Parents,
I would like to add my thanks to all the parents and families that attended our spring graduation! I was especially proud of all the hard work our River and Forest students and teachers did to make this program such a success.
As you might expect, the last month has been devoted in these two classrooms to preparing for their graduation. We took a small break from rehearsal during the snowy day to pretend it was really still winter and do some winter activities. One of their favorites was, “A Winter Walk,” which is a creative movement activity set to music where they imagine a walk in the snow and then ski, sled, or snowboard down the mountain.
While all this was going on, in the toddler-preschool classrooms we did a lot of extra singing learning nursery rhymes. It is always exciting for the children to be able to tell me, “we have that song in my car!” or “my mommy sings that song.” I have the nursery rhyme book that my mother read to me when I was young so many years ago and the pictures from long ago have a special appeal. We also used some farm animal finger puppets and five finger puppets for “Hey, Diddle, Diddle,” “Old McDonald Had a Farm,” and “I Had a Little Turtle.” The teachers in the toddler wing reported that the children were singing these songs spontaneously even when I wasn’t there. That is when I know I’ve done my job.
This last week has been especially fun for me because it was “choice week,” where they get to decide the activities. I use choice week to reward their hard work and to inform me about what “stuck” with them. The favorites in Forest were: “Hot Potato,” “Star Wars (dancing with scarves),” “Puff the Magic Dragon,” and “Waking Up is Hard to Do.” River had more varied choices but “Hot Potato” was still high on the list. Dogwood, Cedar, Birch and Aspen enjoyed singing with my guitar. The all-time favorites there are: “A,B,C Song,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Traffic Light,” “Itsy, Bitsy, Spider,” and “Old McDonald.” We also learned today, “How Much is that Doggy in the Window.”
During the summer it is fun to look forward to family and travel time and so I know our numbers are going to vary a lot. I have several fun units planned that will help your children explore their voices and explore the wide world of music. I wish you all a happy and safe summer and as always I look forward to hearing from you.
Ms Kathleen