January 2024: New year, new friends!
“I love my body from my head to my toes!”
Mindful Focus: Talking + Listening
Explorations: Body Systems
January was filled with new topics of learning, building new friendships, and creating many projects! For our cooking and cleaning day we made mini pizzas! We encouraged the children to try new foods that may not be their favorite. We provided olives, pineapple, and mini pepperonis for them to try on or off their pizza. At school, we say, “I’m still learning to like this food.” Did you know that a growing child’s taste buds can change every two weeks?! Exposing children to new foods and encouraging to smell, lick, or even have it sitting on their plate are steps towards eating a variety of foods! Some foods are healthy for our minds and bodies and some foods are maybe no-so-healthy, but make our hearts and souls happy!
Our mindful focus helped the children understand the importance of listening to others. We all want to be heard when we speak, so we need to give others their turn. We learn so much and build deep connections when we listen to what other’s have to say. It’s just as important to speak your mind and tell others your opinions and feelings! We all deserve to be heard!
New songs we sang this month:
I Love My Body by Mother Moon
Bodies Exploration:
Understanding how our bodies function helps us gain awareness of our needs and feelings.
The children had so much fun playing doctor clinic in our downstairs classroom! We learned how to use the different instruments, wrote doctor notes, and cared for our baby dolls and friends. We used our five senses to explore how different things taste, smell, hear, feel, and look. We used blindfolds to enhance the experience. We practice drawing the different body systems on small models and large after learning about each one. There’s so many ways to take care of our bodies! What’s one of the ways you have taken care of your body today?
Winter and Nature Explorations:
Unifying Art, Nature, and Mindfulness.
With intentional activity planning, we strive to create experiences for children that allow them to be curious, creative, and caring! This month we used dried mint from the garden to make mint flavoring. Children got to taste the flavor in some warm water and honey, and then some hot cocoa! Creating a connection to their prior experience of cutting, bundling, and hanging the mint. We utilized the snow as a blank canvas to create nature art! Using nature materials, children got to choose to make either an abstract or representational picture within a frame. After making “ice sculptures” the children painted their sculptures then went on a gallery walk, admiring their classmates creativity. A learning experience for children and teachers, ice ornaments was a journey! Unfortunately it got too warm and they melted, we are excited to try again if the temperatures allow us.
Freedom Celebration:
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
By lightly touching on MLK, we share with the children how awesome it is that we can all go to school together no matter what we look like! We encourage children to resolve conflicts with peace and compassion. We read a book about how all bodies are different and that’s a great thing! The children really enjoyed making a paper people chain representing racial diversity.
We marched around our school, clapping and chanting celebrating inclusion! The children enjoyed taking turns holding the flag and being the leader.
All bodies are important and worthy.
Art Exploration:
Wood Sculptures, color mixing finger paint, and large easel paintings
One of the most admired art project among the children is the wood sculptures. Often young children are either obsessed with doing art, or don’t show much interest. It takes time to find their in between. Wood sculptures provide engagement for all types of learners and empowers the children to use “grown up” materials to build and create.
We had fun getting our hands messy by mixing colors and doing table top finger painting! We then got to create something with the paint on a large easel. The children have been working hard cutting and glueing, writing, and drawing during table time.
