Learning to Give to the Community…

There has been a lot going on in the news that we have been discussing with the children the past week that has really gotten them to think about others. With the earthquake in Haiti, the children have learned that not everyone is as fortunate as we are to have food, clothes on our back, and a home to live in, not to mention all the material things that bring joy to our lives. Haiti is a country that almost all of the children in the classroom have learned by doing the maps we have in our cultural area in the classroom. This has helped the children be able to have a general idea of where in the world such tragedies are taking place. Not only have the children been so eager to learn the different countries and one child even learning the states of the United States, but they have been asking to learn the different flags of each country. The flags are what symbolizes each country and to have the children recognize them and name them is such an accomplishment.

 

Reading lists are a HUGE deal in the primary classroom. We begin teaching the children the sounds of all the letters of the alphabet. This includes blending sounds such as "oy," "er," and "ch." This prepares the children to start the reading process and once they catch on, there is no stopping them. Sam, the little boy in the picture to the left reads 3 and 4 books a day and is able to mark them off his reading list. They are to be able to read the book with no stops or difficulties before moving on. Not only have the children been excited about their progress but we are ecstatic to see how far they have come from learning the sound "a," creating words with the movable alphabet such as "cat," and then begin to read books with 2 to 4 words on the page: Mat sat. Mat sat on cat. Before we know it, the children will be reading the Junie B. Jones books at nap time instead of me!

 

Just as we have been discussing the tragedy in Haiti with the children, we have talked about the upcoming holiday, Valentine's Day. We have been making Valentine's Day cards for the people in Nursing homes. We do not want those people to be forgotten and so we are sending our love to them this holiday and the upcoming year by sending our personalized cards to them. We are hoping to get a chance in the next few months to coordinate a field trip to a Nursing home where the children would be able to play games, sing songs and do art projects with the residents of the home. We just want to brighten their days and let them know even the youngest of us think of others and their needs.

 

This month is National Dental Month so we are encouraging all children to bring in toothbrushes and toothpaste to brush their teeth in the morning if they haven't done so before arriving, and also after each meal so we can have good hygiene. Dr. Belcher from Belcher Dentistry will be coming over to talk with the children about dental hygiene and what it means to take care of our teeth. We are all looking forward to hearing what he has to say. Please check backwith us for more updates on the progress in the classroom and what else has been happening in the news that affects the world no matter what country it is in. We all want to give back to others that are less fortunate so we will continue to help our community and around the globe as much as we can!