Notes

February is a short but busy month here at Parkside, and it begins with the legend of the Groundhog. The winter so far has been cold, but we were all hoping that the groundhog would not see its shadow thereby signally an early spring. As mentioned last month, we reenacted the legend here at school using our special props (large stuffed groundhog, piece of brown rug and a flashlight). On circle we show our furry friend emerging from hibernation on February 2 to check out the weather conditions above the ground. According to the legend, if the sun is shining and the Groundhog sees its shadow (our flashlight shining above it on the rug in a darkened room), he becomes frightened, not realizing it’s just his shadow, and scurries back down under ground. This means that there will be 6 more weeks of winter. However, if the day is cloudy or stormy and the shadow is not seen, the Groundhog is unafraid and begins to wander about searching for food. With this scenario, as legend has it, spring will be early. The results were inconsistent. Punksutawney emerged from his burrow and saw his shadow. And so, according to legend, winter will last for six more weeks. However, Staten Island Chuck and Lady Edwina did not see their shadows, and so supposedly spring will be early. Since Edwina and Chuck are more local, then we will go with their prediction! However, we do recognize that there is probably no correlation at all between the events of February 2 in all of the different locations and the actual onset of spring. In fact, statistically the Groundhog has been correct in his or her prediction less than 50% of the time. But in early February we have some fun dramatizing the event in our classrooms as we have for many years, although our students seem far less concerned about an early spring than we adults.

As with every month, Practical Life includes a variety of new exercises including color mixing using first a whisk and then an eyedropper. The children are prepared to use eyedroppers as we have already done basting with both a large and then a smaller baster. Other fun activities include shoe polishing, celery cutting and using an egg beater to mix suds. We have begun dishwashing and, as expected, it is very popular. The good news about being indoors is that classroom work time is a little longer, and dishwashing does take some time, and so more children are able to enjoy it during the course of both the morning and the afternoon. Two children set up basins, soap, brushes and towels to wash and then dry real dishes and silverware. Our students enjoy this work, but it is also an important exercise in cooperative learning. In Sensorial, the third and fourth color boxes will be introduced and each enhances visual discrimination as the children work on challenging shading activities, arranging the color slides from darkest to lightest.

The picture/label matching exercise will be placed on the Language shelves. We have taken pictures of every student and placed them on 2 x 3 inch laminated cards. We have also made laminated mini labels of their first name, exactly like the names they take off the banner every day. The children lay out the pictures of their classmates on a mat and match the mini name labels with the picture. The teacher usually provides help, especially when we first introduce the activity, and often 2 or 3 children can work on it together. They do love to find their own pictures and those of their friends.

In February we will be telling simple stories and reading books about two of our most famous Presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln whose birthdays are commemorated this month. There will be president puzzles and books on the shelves as well as a couple of art projects. A special exercise in Language is President matching work. This includes a large poster with pictures of all 47 Presidents and identical picture cards to place on the poster pictures of each President. This activity can take some time, and so it is well-suited to participation by 2 or more children.

Another February special celebration is Valentine’s Day, and it is a good time to continue to encourage the children to be kind, caring and helpful to each other and to their families as well. We will be placing labeled white bags outside of each classroom. If your child wants to send in valentines for friends, please bring them in a bag with your child’s name on it. Do not address the envelopes, but you can or have your child sign his or her name on the cards. The teachers will distribute the cards into the bags of his or her classmates, and 20-25 cards should be enough.

February is Black History Month. We will be telling stories and reading some books about famous African-American men and women who not only taught us important lessons of leadership and courage, but who also who greatly impacted our history in a positive way.

In February we begin our study of Birds, another indication that we are looking ahead to spring next month. As with all of our monthly themes, the learning materials are concrete and colorful. We will bring in baskets of Audubon Society stuffed birds which are true to life in color, shape and even the calls that each bird makes. We will talk about birds that migrate and birds that don’t. We will learn about the nesting, feeding and flying habits of many kinds of birds including the robin, our announcer of spring and messy nest-maker, the acrobatic chickadee who can hang upside down, the tiny and colorful hummingbird who can fly long distances and also fly backwards. We will also discuss the raucous blue jay who will sometimes protect smaller birds, the beautiful cardinal who adds color and a lovely song to the dull winter days, the noisy and hard-billed woodpecker who can balance on the side of a large tree by using his claws and strong tail, the petite and gentle sparrow, the mysterious night-hunting owl and quite a few others including the Baltimore oriole, the goldfinch (our state bird) and the hungry and sometimes aggressive sea gull.

A special game that we play once we have introduced several different birds is to identify the sounds of each. The children close their eyes and the teacher squeezes the bird which emits the call of that bird. The children then have to guess which sound belongs to which bird. They really like it and traditionally have become remarkably good at bird call identification. As with each of our learning themes there will be fiction and non-fiction books in our library as well as bird puzzles and matching and counting exercises. Art projects will also relate to bird study.

Also in February our favorite Parkside bird, the Robin, begins his northward journey back to New Jersey after last fall’s migration to the warmer and sunnier south for winter. This will be a fitting finale to our February theme. As many of you remember, the children will be creating books at the art table, one page at a time (probably weekly), which will illustrate the progress of the Robin as it moves up the east coast from Georgia to New Jersey. Our weekly art project will include discussions of geography, regional weather and the significance of the important cities of Washington and Philadelphia. This series of lessons is based on a children’s book by Marjorie Flack, “The Restless Robin” published in the 1930’s. In March we hope to see the Robin and friends hopping around our Parkside lawn, our parks and our yards thus signaling the true arrival of spring. However, it seems that as the years have passed our robin shows up earlier and earlier, and some have already been spotted! So there may be some time adjustment we need to make as we create our Restless Robin books!

During February we will be reaching the mid-point of our school year, and we are encouraged and gratified by watching the progress our students continue to make as active learners, productive and happy workers and kind and considerate friends.