5-Day: Fabulous 5-Day!
Dear 5-Day Families,
What an exciting time of the school year we are enjoying together! While it is very busy and the children are full of excitement sensing the coming transitions, it is wonderful to look back and observe the incredible progress that has taken place since September. We want to share with you some areas of growth we have noted:
*Independence in the classroom: The children can assess their options, make choices, and participate in productive play and learning with their peers or on their own. They need less teacher intervention and are more responsive to gentle guidance or ideas, rather than requiring specific direction. It is incredible to see them express their creativity in all areas of the room! They take greater ownership over managing their needs and following through with class routines and responsibilities.
*Building friendships: As the children have matured in their abilities to try new things and make independent choices, they have strengthened existing relationships with their peers as well as discovered new ones! It is a joy to see them smile, laugh, explore, discover, plan, build, create, and PLAY with their classmates!
*Problem-solving skills and language: This is an ongoing learning opportunity throughout each school day! The children have gained greater confidence interacting with one another, expressing their thoughts and feelings, and working through challenges or disagreements in kind and respectful ways.
*Patience: Developing the ability to wait in a calm manner is a life-long challenge for many of us, and the children have taken steps in understanding what this feels like. They are learning how to respond to uncomfortable feelings of impatience. They have gained experience taking turns, sometimes not having a turn (such as at meeting or with a desired material), sticking with a task for a set amount of time or to completion, and listening respectfully during meetings or showtime.
*Managing emotions: Though our emotions are more intense right now during our final weeks wrapping up, overall, the children have come a long way in learning how to cope with feelings in safe and positive ways. They have strengthened their abilities to work through frustration, anger, sadness, and disappointment by expressing themselves verbally, taking a break in a different space to calm their bodies, problem-solving with peers and teachers, and removing themselves from a situation by making a new choice. The children can work through difficult moments more quickly and continue with their day.
*Alphabet awareness: The children have grown in their understanding and recognition of many letters and numbers! They enjoy participating in our daily meeting activities, especially completing our “Morning Message,” creating and writing words together, and discovering similarities and differences in one another’s names. They are learning how to recognize and form letters with “sticks” and “bumps” and many can associate letters with the correct letter sounds.
*Science and numeracy skills: Each day, we count the days in the month and determine the number for the day as well as the color or shape needed for our calendar pattern. We’ve learned how to make the number “7” in multiple ways as we sing our “Days of the Week” song. The children have been introduced to the concept of graphing as we chart the weather throughout the month. Our current nature collection showtime has drawn the children’s attention to the world around them. It is so exciting to observe our tadpoles slowly change into frogs! The children have each kept a science journal to record their personal observations of the changes.
It has been a joy to be a part of your child’s journey in 5-Day! We are thrilled to see how far they have come and look forward to watching them take their next steps to Pre-K and Kindergarten!
Reminders:
*On the last day of school, we will gather together in our classroom at 11:45 p.m., following Creative Movement. Parents are welcome to join us as we sing some of our favorite songs, present the children with their All About Me books, and say goodbye!
*Please remember to clean out your child’s baskets in the coatroom (including extra clothes) and any artwork in the classroom!
Sincerely,
Kristi and Cathy
