Some News, Sponges and Sticks

Weekend News

Natey- I went to the movies. I went to a dragon movie with my daddy and my mommy.

Vivian- On the first day, I went to my grandma's house and we played with a sewing kit. On the second day, grandma came over again and we made some gloves that we could hang up on the wall. We drawed a little Christmas tree on them.

Jaylen- I went to the Y and there was a pool and I swimmed there. Our whole family go to the Y and swimmed and nanna came. We ate dinner downstairs at home and watched TV when we were eating dinner.

Asha- Guess what! We got locked out outside yesterday. Nobody opened the door for us. We were going to buy two doorbells on each side and then that would be better, then we can ring them and then somebody can come open the door.

Dylan- I ate breakfast. Yesterday, pop pop was there. The other day we played a painting game and my brother Barrett went to school first and then I did.

Thea- I went to the store to get a chocolate snack. Mommy and daddy buy a snack.

Henry- I built a a lego brachiosaurus and a baby lego brachiosaurus. I went to a castle playground and then went to Doylestown to have lunch. We went to the restaurant and it was called Blue. They had a lot blue stuff there and I got french fries and chicken. There was a lot of food there and I made stickers. Then I slept at Bertucci's and after I went to the castle playground, I went back home and played a yoga game and I won the yoga game. Then I went to bed.

Jessica- I played with my sister and daddy and mommy. It was my sister's birthday yesterday. We had a celebration like swinging all day. Then we played with oma and today Amy is going to babysit us because Buster is getting picked up.

Zev- My weekend news is that daddy told me to be kind to mommy. After the school day tomorrow, if I be kind to mommy and wake up, then I'm going to be able to own one of the PJ Masks things that I want. That's all.

Millie- I played with Ethan under the tunnel.

Lincoln- I watched a movie in the house. I have snacks. I watch with Toby. It's funny. When it was time, we ate dinner. We had cheese pizza, it was good.

Last week the Sparrows voted to turn the extra large box in our classroom into a house, similar to that of the one friends saw in the video about the Maasai tribe. Today friends started the remodeling and decorating process. Using brown paint (to represent mud) and sponges, friends sponge painted the exterior of the house. Friends held the stick part of the sponge and pressed it gently onto the box. This was a fun and creative way for friends to paint as well as exercise their tiny and large muscles.

Later on this morning, the Sparrows prepared to go on a nature walk. The next part in building and decorating our house is putting on the roof. We decided to use straw and sticks since those are some of the materials Maasai houses are made of.

The Sparrows were wonderful at collecting sticks and twigs! Friends did a great job sticking together as a group and going off when it was time to look for natural materials.
Tomorrow we will start to assemble the roof.

Ask your Sparrow what exterior means.

Identidad y La Ropa en Primera Infancia / Identity and Clothes in Early Childhood

Identity and belonging are about children developing a positive sense of who they are, and feeling that they are valued and respected as part of a family and a community. In Spanish class, opportunities and activities are provided to help nurture these concepts so that each student can feel that they have a place and a right to belong here at AFS.

A most recent activity offered is one I call the “Identity Persona Project”. To start the conversation, we began by discussing the many ways we are all the same and different. We all have a cuerpo (body) but the shapes, sizes, and shades are different. That is true for our ojos (eyes), pelo (hair), piel (skin) and other attributes. To guide our conversations, we read various books.

We then focused our attention on something we all share the same yet our choices are different; the clothes we wear. The young learners were introduced to the Spanish words that describe basic items worn to cover our body; ropa (clothes). To help with vocabulary retention, many games were played.

Vocabulary:

camisa de manga larga - long sleeves shirt

camiseta – t-shirt
blusa – blouse

vestido - dress

falda- skirt

pantalones - pants

pantalones corto - shorts

zapatos - shoes

botas - boots

tenis – tennis shoes / sneakers

To culminate the study, I collaborated with our talented art teacher, Amanda, and combined Sparrow's art and español classes. Each student was given the opportunity to “dress” their own Wonderfoam Body©, “Identity Persona”, that come in multicultural colors.

 A highlight of the project was pairing the students with their 4^th grade buddies.  After picking the one they felt came closest to their piel tone, the students were invited to dress their persona with their choice of ropa. As the students (with a little help from their 4^th grade buddies) designed their attire from a variety of fabric prints, they were encouraged to apply their new vocabulary by stating what piece of garment they were constructing. Putting their fine motor skills to work, the students traced stencils onto fabric pieces and then cut them out.

Los Gorriones (the Sparrows) had so much fun decorating these body shape durable foam pieces. Stay tuned for location, as soon they will be displayed for all to enjoy the incredible array of Identity Personas in the Sparrow's classroom.

PJ's Party and Pancakes

 Sparrows were very excited today! 

Coming to school in Pj's is the best! Friends really loved it. As soon as they came into the classroom, Sparrows greeted each other and showed off their Pj's.

During choice time some friends were building together with magnatiles, others decided to make bracelets with beads. The rest chose marbles. 

After Morning Meeting, the whole classroom enjoyed a beautiful and delicious snack. Chocolate chip and plain pancakes, colorful berries, syrup and whipped cream! The excitement didn't end there! After the snack, friends pretended to be in a slumber party. They laid down on their rest mats to watch a short movie.

When the movie finished, friends listened to a wonderful story named, "The Journey Of Sheeshaw the Elephant." The author and illustrator of this book is Sam, she wrote this book when she was in junior high school! 

Ask your Sparrow about Sheeshaw and its incredible adventure!