The Honeybees have had twelve days of preschool! We know each other’s names, and we can find our place in the circle. We started off sitting on our school buses, and this week our spots turned into rocket ships.
The Honeybees are starting to get comfortable with their new routines. I’m sure you saw the list of agreements the children made at lunchtime last week. Their most important “rule” was that we EAT. The Children’s Garden strives to be a gentle transition from home to school, but suddenly school seems very BUSY. The Honeybees are learning to navigate a room full of toys and how to get their needs met. Has your child told you how they can ask for a toy that another child is playing with? They just have to ask to play with it next…. and then WAIT. That waiting is so HARD, but the teachers are there to support them.
These Honeybees love playdough, painting, cars, truck, and especially dinosaurs. We’ve been painting with rainbow colors and now we have an elusive rainbow man living in our room. I suspect there is also a rainbow woman and of course a rainbow child. This rainbow person jumps out of paintings and hides in our room. In the afternoon when the light comes through our window and strikes the crystal prism, our room is filled with tiny rainbows. When the time changes this will happen right around rest time.
The Honeybees are still learning about each other and what it means to be a Honeybee. We have been focusing on what it means to be safe and kind. We are working on not running in the building ( We run outside) and not throwing anything in our classroom (We throw balls outside). I love seeing these growing friendships and seeing these kids help each other. I saw one Honeybee lean over during play and kiss another Honeybee on the back of the head.
I’ve posted a lot of pictures on our Instagram so that you can see what we have been up to, and I’ll try to show you some of the books that we read and the songs that we sing. I don’t show them the videos. We just sing the song. We have also been learning some fingerplays like Two Little Blackbirds and the hand movements to go along with We Are Going on a Bear Hunt.
The teachers are still working on new routines in the school, and our new Covid policies have created many changes for us and the way we would like to support each other. In years past we could use playground time together as a way for two teachers to work in the building setting up lunches, snacks, or rest time, but now each pod is on their own. In the Honeybee class I’m still figuring out the best way to do many of the small things that keep our class flowing through the day. We have never had cubbies in our room before, and I’m thinking of moving our shoe boxes to the interior hall so that the kids could have more space for changing their shoes. Please make sure that your child can take off and put on their own shoes. Not being able to do things for themselves and having to wait is causing some frustration. If we can get our shoes changed quickly, we can get to the playground or to our next activity faster.
While I’m talking about shoes, I’ll also mention clothes. Your child should wear clothes that they can work themselves to go to the bathroom. We are always there for support, but some kids can’t get their pants up and down. I think this is a consequence of GROWING.
Our monarch caterpillars really put on a quick show, and now we have five chrysalis’ in our habitat. Next week we’ll read a few more books about butterflies and metamorphosis and do a two more butterfly art projects. While we are waiting for our butterflies, we may start with some fall and apple themed activities. I like to have an apple tasting with several kinds of apples and have honey for them to dip their apples in. We are the HONEYBEES.
I am loving being able to use the Remind App to communicate with you. Remember that I’ll text you if you aren’t at school by 9:30 just to check on you. You can text me if you know that you are going to be later than that or absent. I’m going to use remind to communicate with you as a group instead of that honeybeethrees email so I have fewer accounts to check. I’m trying to simplify.
I appreciate everyone’s patience with our check in process. I’m really looking forward to inviting you back into our building next fall. It’s such good community time.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and I appreciate all of you who signed up to sub for us if necessary.
I hope you are having a Happy Honeybee Weekend.
One last thought!! If you know of anyone looking for a preschool we have 2 full time spaces in our wonderful Friendly Fox class. If I post something on the Children’s Garden Facebook page, would you be willing to share it with your friends? It’s a pretty amazing class over there with Clayton and Marci.
