Dear Bears Families,
The Family Curriculum has been in full swing in the Bears Room. The children this week enjoyed some wonderful books: the delightful “The Relatives Came” by Cynthia Rylant and the heartfelt “Love is a Family” by Roma Downey – a book that affirms the diversity of families. The Bears also discussed what they like to do with their family – check out the chart in the circle area – and they discussed the celebration of Hanukkah at circle time, followed by a rousing rendition of “Hanukkah O Hanukkah.”
Aside from books and discussions, the Bears teachers have been weaving the family theme through art and music. The Bears have been singing “Who Are the People in Your Family?” and “I Love You, Family,” plus they recently drew family portraits with crayons in their small groups. Some other art activities this week included doing “wet-on-wet” paintings by covering a piece of paper with water then spreading water color across it; mixing shaving cream and food coloring on the art table, then lightly pressing pieces of paper on top and peeling them off to transfer the design; and making glue and salt paintings by squeezing glue onto a paper to make a design, sprinkling salt onto the glue, and then using an eye dropper to drop food coloring onto the glue (an excellent fine motor activity). The Bears delighted in watching the colors spread across the glue/salt designs, with one child comparing it to a train rushing by. And I’m sure you’ve all seen the body tracings on the stairwell walls, but be sure to look at the photos recently posted next to them to help you get a sense of the process that your child engaged in to make them. It’s so easy to marvel at these wonderful creations, but it’s the process of each child figuring out how to depict oneself that, I think, is most fascinating.
That’s it for now. Enjoy the weekend!
Martha