Notes

We are close to completing our first full month of school as we happily report that with our students have settled in and are enjoying each other, the classrooms activities and their outdoor play time. We have been fortunate with the beautiful fall weather which has given us the opportunity to visit the playground almost every day.

The beach and sea life materials on the shelves will remain a little while longer. The ages of our students represent the peak time for the development of vocabulary, and they have shown us that they are capable of absorbing countless new names and terms from the jackknife clam to the humpback whale to the hammerhead shark. Now in October, as we begin to see some of the changes that autumn brings, we will be talking about and experiencing all things fall, and learning the words describing what is characteristically autumn.

We will begin by learning about some different kinds of apples. There will be trays of red delicious, honey crisp, macintosh, granny smith, golden delicious and gala apples in the classrooms. Some children have gone apple picking, and so there is some familiarity with these apples. We have occasionally heard that a child, in the produce section of the grocery store with a parent or caregiver, may be able to identify an apple that he or she has seen at school.

On circle we will be talking about transitioning from summer to fall including the changes in the color of the grass and trees, the cooler temperatures we are feeling, and the changes we see in the light of the sky, both in the morning and the evening. We will then focus on the many kinds of trees in our area and the leaves they produce, including the very commonly seen oak and maple, the sassafras, tulip, gingko and sweet gum. As we walk to the playground, we will be able to observe more and more autumn color and also watch the leaves fall. We have found over the last few years that the color changes come a little later, and so we have adjusted our expectations and the timing of our lessons! Should you have any special leaves in your yard, the children are welcome to bring them in.

Some of the exercises coming to the Practical Life area are funneling (dry and wet), napkin folding and place setting (always popular). We added sponge squeezing last month which prepares the children for all of the various water activities that include a sponge such as table scrubbing and baby washing. In keeping with our October theme, we will bring in apple cutting as well as pumpkin scrubbing. In Sensorial we will begin work with our geometric solids. We also have a great assortment of fall-themed puzzles, large and small, and we have brought to our library shelves some lovely autumn books, both fictional and non-fictional. We will also do apple tasting on circle and at snack. In Language we will be naming, sorting and matching leaves, and in Math we will count tiny apples, pumpkins and leaves. At the Art table there will be apple, leaf and pumpkin projects using rubbing plates, glitter, paint, tissue and of course markers and crayons.

The highlight of October for many children is Halloween. It falls on a Saturday this year. Our children do not wear their costumes to school any day before or after Halloween. It makes what is already a very exciting day a little too long for the very young child. We will, however, be celebrating with pumpkin carving and lots of Halloween songs and movement games, and we will have a few treats as well. On the shelves will be many Halloween stories, and we will have several art projects.

Another traditional October project is our bulb planting which will be happening towards the end of the month. We first demonstrate this activity inside on circle. We will be planting the tiny crocus, the smooth-skinned tulip, the large and jagged daffodil and the hyacinth with its purple skin. Using a large plastic container of dirt, we show the children how first to prepare the soil (the flower bed), and then using our special tools (claw, spade, bulb planter and watering can), we place each bulb under the soil. Then, when we go outdoors to our actual planting area behind the playground, the children will have a good idea of how to do the planting. We explain that our bulbs will not be blooming for a long time, but will stay in their “cozy beds” all winter, unaffected by cold, wind, snow, ice or rain. What we do need to be concerned about is the hungry squirrels digging up our bulbs. Since the squirrels do not like the smell of the pine straw, adding it over the beds can deter them. Hopefully in spring we will have more beautiful color in our garden to add to what we have planted over the last few years.

Again, we thank you for your positive support and cooperation as we move through these very important early weeks of school. We feel grateful that things are going smoothly. Our students together form the heart of our program. They, with their individual gifts and personalities, are shaping and transforming their classrooms into vibrant spaces of mutual growth, respect, learning and fun.

“Children are the world’s most

valuable resource and its

best hope for the future.”

John F. Kennedy