Ward Hobbs December News

Welcome back!  January is always a wonderful time in the classroom.  The children are eager to explore all the possibilities after a long winter rest, free from the distractions the holidays always bring.  This is a time for amazing learning and we love watching it all come together!  Please join us in welcoming three new classmates: Quinny, Eloise, and William.  They recently moved up from the Toddler Class.  The older students have been great about helping them to feel welcome in our community and we hope that all of you will reach out and welcome their parents as well.

The past six weeks has meant plenty of opportunities to have parents in the classroom.  We had a great turn out for Grandparents Day.  The children enjoyed sharing their class and favorite works with everyone who showed up.  We teachers enjoyed meeting with all of you for Parent-Teacher Conferences soon after that.  It is always nice to sit down and talk about who your child is, coming together as a team to make sure that every child’s developmental needs are met in the best way possible.  Soon after that, fathers came in to spend an evening playing student to their teaching children.  We enjoyed watching the children share their knowledge.  Finally, we saw many parents at the Holiday Open House, where we drank hot cider and nibbled on tasty treats.  Thanks to all of you who brought in decorations and food to help make this party extra special.

Several parents found time during the day to come in and hang out in the classroom.  Thank you to Christine T. for coming in to make moon crafts, Annika W. for coming in to read, Susie S. for demonstrating how to play the flute (and for gifting all the children with their own flutes), and to Fara B. and Jenny H. for just coming in and hanging out with us.  The children all love to spend time with parents, both their own and other children’s.  Please look for opportunities to come in over the next months.

December was a busy month.  The children loved making a plethora of different ornaments and decorating the room with seasonal crafts, including but not limited to paper chains, snowflakes, menorahs, and candy canes.  We spent time studying the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, listening to the music and talking about the ballet.  We had a few, brief opportunities to frolic in the snow and talked at length about skiing in the mountains.  On a sadder note, one of our dear guinea pigs died.  We were sad to lose Bumpy, but the children took it in stride.  They continue to care for Nibbles, sharing apples and carrots and taking many photos of him.  Thank you to Emma and Bella’s families for taking such great care of Nibbles over the long winter break.

Over the next few months, we will be studying Asia with an emphasis on Japan.  Please let us know if you have any personal experience that you could share with the children.  We will accumulate our studies with a celebration in the spring, combining Boys Day and the Doll Celebration into an Asian Children’s Celebration.  Hopefully, you will be able to join us and help out with the big festival.

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