Dear Rainbow Families,
The Rainbows continue to delve deeply into their curriculum of “All About Me” and “Family.” I’m sure you’ve seen the extraordinary body tracings above the children’s cubbies, but what is even more extraordinary is the process by which they were made. First each child lay down on a piece of cardboard and the teachers traced their heads and torsos, then cut them out. Then on another day the children lay down on butcher paper and the teachers traced their arms and cut them out; and on another day (yes, this was a process), the children lay on butcher paper again and the teachers traced their legs and feet and cut them out. Next the children looked closely at their facial features in a mirror and first worked on drawing their eyes, especially the pupil, the iris, and the eyelashes, then cut them out. Next they cut pieces of colored paper for their ears and noses; and finally they cut their mouths out of red oak-tag circles. Once they had all their features cut, the children glued them on to their cardboard faces, then chose yarn to match their hair and glued that on just the way they wanted as well. Once all their heads were completed and the legs and arms were glued to their torsos, the Rainbows had a circle time to look at the bodies and decided that they needed to add clothes to make them complete. Once the clothes were selected – from home and our extra clothes bins – the Rainbows dressed their bodies and the teachers mounted them on the wall. I love how they are all standing together, displaying the togetherness of the Rainbow class. Another wonderful togetherness moment was the “Bring Your Favorite Food to School Day” as the Rainbows told their classmates about their favorite foods and the children ate lunch together at one long banquet table.
International Food Day was a wonderful way to begin looking at “Family” (thank you so much for creating the Family posters with your children and sending in a special dish), and the Rainbows have continued with this focus the last several weeks. They have read many books and followed them up with group discussions, including: “All Kinds of Families!” by Mary Ann Hobermann (illustrations by Marc Boutavant), a delightful rhyming book that celebrates the different ways families are put together and affirms how they are all bonded by caring and love; and “The Family Book” by Todd Paar, a vibrant book that also celebrates the diversity of families. Some of the Rainbow discussions have been responses to such questions as “What is your favorite thing to do with your family?” and “Who are the people in your family that you live with?” The latter discussion spring-boarded into an art project in which the Rainbows drew these family members inside a house – please take a look at these dear drawings just outside the classroom door.
Words of the Week:
family – familia
celebration – celebracion
home – hogar
friends – amigos
Some important dates:
Friday, December 19th – Pizza lunch for the children (provided by the teachers – please do not send in a lunch)
Monday, December 22nd – Pajama Day. Please be sure to dress your child in: PAJAMAS! However for safety sake, we ask that you NOT dress your child in nightgowns (children can trip on the hems) or footie pajamas (children can slip). Also, please have extra layers of clothing (e.g., sweaters, sweat pants) to put on over the pajamas so the Rainbows will stay warm, especially if we go outside. The teachers will be making breakfast for the Rainbows on Pajama Day, and they ask that everyone please arrive by 9:30am at the very latest.
IMPORTANT: If your child does not attend the Collective on Mondays, s/he is invited to join us from 9-1 for the Pajama Day and breakfast celebration. Please just let the teachers or me know.
VERY IMPORTANT: Please be sure your child washes her/his hands BEFORE entering the classroom in the morning. We are trying to keep the germs out!
Finally, if your child is starting his/her vacation early and will be missing any school days, please be sure to let us know as well.
Thanks very much,
Martha