Dear Families,

So good to be all back together again! The children returned to school eager to discuss their vacations and how they travelled there. The teachers, in turn, tied in this theme of travel by reading “I Fly” by Anne Rockwell, a wonderful book all about a child’s airplane trip to visit his cousins.

Now that we are back, the Rainbows have turned their curriculum focus to their homes. Early in the week the teachers explained to the Rainbows how New York City is made up of 5 boroughs. The children discussed how they live in Brooklyn, with some sharing that their parents work in Manhattan or that they have grandparents in Queens. They also talked about their favorite places to visit in Brooklyn – answers included the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Coney Island, the Prospect Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Prospect Park, Chuck E. Cheese, and BAM. They also read “Greetings from Brooklyn,” which includes photographs of many of these wonderful places (though maybe not Chuck E. Cheese :-). You may also have been asked by your child this week to help write down your home address on a piece of paper. The children are sharing these addresses with the class – if you haven’t already, please send in your address with your child next week. And a new song that the Rainbows have learned is “Where Do I Live” sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice. With all the thinking that the children have been doing – about Brooklyn and the boroughs – the teachers also read “Your Brain” by Ted Martell, a non-fiction book about how the brain works.

Some exciting news in the Rainbows – Tillie became a big sister on Tuesday! She shared with her classmates in circle on Wednesday that her new brother is named Reuben, he weighs 8 pounds, and he bites but has no teeth (which she experienced firsthand when she put her finger in his mouth). She also showed them all her photo necklace of herself holding baby Reuben. Congratulations to Tillie (and Margaret and Peter)!!

Some new Spanish words in the Rainbows:

arms – los brazos

legs – las piernas

feet – los pies

hips – las caderas

And thank you all for sending in your children with their favorite gloves on Wednesday. The Rainbows had such fun showing off their gloves and wearing them during the school day.

That’s it for now – have a great weekend!

Martha