Classroom and Curriculum

The Green Group Curriculum

                               

October 2008

The children had a wonderful time on our apple picking trip last week!  Each part was an exciting experience for them: the school bus, on our tractor ride, picking apples, eating them, having a picnic, and then using the great playground. At afternoon snack they had the cider donuts and apple cider we'd gotten from the farm.  We had great weather, and it was a wonderful trip.

This week, we're embarking on our new unit: families. We have many goals for the children in this endeavor, and here is a sampling: emotional safety here at TEDCC, increased understanding of themselves and their context, increased vocabulary and ASL, an understanding of what family members do for them (this is part of a basis for the development of empathy and their outreach to others in words and actions), an exploration of same/different, an understanding that they each have family members who do not live in their home but love them anyway, increased mathematical understanding (e.g., counting, one-to-one correspondence, concepts of more and fewer, sorting, matching), and incorporation of the beginning elements of storytelling.

Naturally, we have several activities and experiences planned for the children (e.g, making a book about their families, using our dolls to re-enact family events, washing our baby dolls, setting up family dinners in our dramatic play area, dressing up as family members, learning ASL for the names of family members such as daddy, grandmother), and we'll create others as we delve further into this and see where the children take us.  If you have any books or songs that you'd like to share with us, please let one of us know.

If you'd like to spend some time with us in the classroom during this unit or others, please let us know that too.  You could read a book to the children, teach us a song, play with us, lead a cooking project, or become involved in some other activity that you enjoy.  Let us know what day/time works for you, and we can set it up.

February 15, 2008

Hello Green Group Families,

 Beginning in early March we will embark on a new unit called Special Days. Special Days is a wonderful tradition at TEDCC, and it is a pleasure for Green Group teachers to be there when the children have their first Special Day at the center. The purpose of Special Days is for each child to have his or her own day to celebrate what is exceptional and unique about his or her family with the rest of the Green Group community. The child’s family comes in on a day, designated by the family ahead of time, to participate in that child’s Special Day group time. At group, the child shares a Special Day project that is worked on at home ahead of time as a lens for celebrating his or her family, and we will display the projects in our classroom for a while.

 Here’s how it works: A calendar will be hung up in the classroom for each family to pick a day and group time (9:15, 12:00, or 3:30) that will be their child’s Special Day. Each child has his or her own Special Day, so please choose a Special Day as soon as possible since the calendar will fill up fast. A few days before your child’s Special Day, you will be given a Special Day kit that contains specific instructions and all the materials that you and your child will need to complete the Special Day project that families work on to share at the child’s Special Day group. 

 This year, our unit will focus on hobbies and preferred activities that families have.  Through this unit, children will see what they have in common with each other – that families have particular things that they enjoy doing together – and although these things can differ from one family to another, they might discover that they have the same hobbies!  Choice time activities on your child’s Special Day will focus on your family’s particular hobby (which we’ll find out from you a few days in advance to plan this component.)  The Special Day project will serve as another way to strengthen the home-school connection in our children’s eyes, which is always beneficial for their development.

 Don’t worry, teachers will explain the project and lead you through the Special Day process as your child’s Special Day approaches. Teachers will have their Special Days during the first week of the unit in order to model what the project looks like and what happens at a Special Day group. The first step is to sign up for a Special Day in the month of March, and later – as your child’s Special Day approaches – you will receive your Special Day kit with further explanation about the project.

 Please be thinking now about what days and times work best for your family, so that you can pick a Special Day as soon as possible.

 We look forward to celebrating each family on their child’s Special Day!

 Thanks,The Green Group Team

 

Hello Green Group families!

Your children did an amazing job soaking in all that was offered to them during our whole-school woodworking unit! They learned about where wood comes from, that there are different types, that many things are made from wood, and that there are many ways to do so.  They had the opportunity to feel parts of trees, play with real and pretend tools, to nail, to hammer, to screw, to saw (with a small jigsaw with my hand on top of theirs), to sand, to measure, to glue, and to create.  They learned the names of many tools and woodworking terms.  They were curious and busy.  They benefited immensely from the whole-school aspect: they were the experts in some situations with their peers and were with experts in other situations.  Their play, symbolic thinking, fine motor skills, language development, actually virtually everything, was enhanced by the influence of the rest of our children and teachers here at TEDCC.

As this unit was drawing to a close, our team considered where to take the children next.  The decision was actually an easy one: a unit on pockets.  Many of the children are fascinated by pockets.  They ask each other if they have any, how many they have, and what's inside.  They count, compare and contrast, initiate conversations, use their fine motor skills, and engage their imagination.  In this two-week unit (our Special Days unit begins March 3), our goals will be to delve into the children's interest in pockets by enhancing all areas of their development: counting and one-to-one correspondence in how many pockets we have; colors, shapes and comparative sizes of our pockets and the associated vocabulary; sensory and tactile experiences with various materials used for pockets and the associated vocabulary; fine motor skills used in buttoning, snapping, or zipping pockets, filling and emptying pockets; community workers who use pockets in their endeavors (e.g., firefighters, carpenters, doctors); animals with pockets; and children's literature and songs about pockets (e.g., A Pocket for Corduroy).

We'll also use this unit to address an issue in our classroom concerning emotional development--that of friendship.  Some of our children have been involved in conversations that include these comments: "You're not my friend"; "I don't like you"; "Are you my friend?" and "I hate you" (yes, that is painful for children, families, and teachers to hear but please remember that our children don't truly know the adult meaning of this word and are not malicious).  Often young children are not ready to understand the concept of double attributes--that two things can be true about one thing--and so they feel that they can be friends with only one person.  If they are playing with someone, that person (and not others) is their friend.  If they have stripes on and so does another child, that person is their friend (and not others).  We'll use the issue of pockets as one of many strategies we are using to expand the children's thinking around attributes (a pocket can be square and red and closed and small), around comparison (you are my friend but I have three pockets and you have five), and around language to use to say what you really mean (e.g, if you want time with your dad without other children, say that instead of "I don't like you" or "you're not my friend".

We'll unfold more about what we're doing around this important issue of friendship in young children and the behaviors of young children in our upcoming Family Forum on Thursday, March 6.  This event will also be a welcome to Jack's family!  We hope you can attend!

Questions?  Ideas to offer?  Please let us know.

Best,
The Green Group Team
 

 

Spotlight on Literacy

 Hello Green Group Families!

 This is the first in a series of “spotlights” we’ll do on various areas of young children’s development to give you a clearer picture of how the children’s development is enhanced in specific and purposeful ways.

 Here are some of the recent experiences that we’ve had in the Green Group that incorporate literacy:

 

  • ∙telling about our home days (recalling past events and relating them)
  • ∙playing sound bingo (differentiating and identifying sounds enhances phonemic awareness)
  • ∙discussing our feelings (using new vocabulary)
  • ∙rereading books over and over again (provides opportunities for children to “own” the story and retell it)
  • ∙labeling the shapes of our blocks as we put them away (visual discrimination skills aid in letter recognition)
  • ∙calling children to wash their hands by the beginning sound in their name (connecting the sounds to the written letter)
  • ∙assembling snap cubes (activities that enhance fine motor skills develop the hand muscles needed for writing)
  • ∙pointing to words in a book as we read it (illustrates how books work: the directionality of the English language, words are separate chunks, print carries meaning, recognition of letters)
  • ∙discussing favorite parts of a story (revisiting enhances comprehension)
  • taking on roles in dramatic play (children make up their own stories)
  • using materials at the writing table (opportunity to make lines and closed shapes—precursors to writing letters)

 We hope these spotlights will be informative and helpful.  As always if you have any suggestions for these or any other vehicles of communication, please feel free to let one of us know.

 Fondly,

The Green Group Team

Monday, February 4, 2008

 

Hello Green Group Families!

Did you ever stop to think about what our world would be like without wood?  Wood serves many purposes; consequently, we are exploring a unit on wood.  Through the experiences provided in this curriculum unit, your lovely children will become aware of the parts of a tree, the types of wood, the safety precautions needed when working with wood, the materials used when working with wood, and that paper comes from wood.

Wood is another medium that Green Groupers find especially attractive.  You can see this by the way they handle wooden blocks.  The fact that wood can be pounded, chiseled, sawed, and sanded into different shapes makes it as creative a medium as paint.  All children love to pound and cut.  This makes wood working an excellent and exciting unit for all.

 Activities planned include sanding with rough and fine sand paper.  There will be some cutting and sawing of wood, hammering with a small hammer and small carpenter nails  (carpenter nails have a larger head for more hitting and less missing), handling and exploring different types of wood, and looking through magnifying glasses.  We will read about and discuss different trees and types of wood.  We will notice the different textures, colors, and smells of the different woods.  Lastly, we will learn how paper is made.

 The children appear to enjoy learning about wood during our whole school choices.  On Mondays and Tuesdays, Green Groupers are in small groups with children from the Red Group, Blue Group, and Kindergarten.  During these groups the children learn about, discover, and work with wood.  From building picture frames to repairing furniture, the Green Groupers are having fun as they learn with friends from the TEDCC community.  On Wednesdays and Thursdays Green Groupers have regular choices in the classroom on wood working and Fridays we have open school choices where the children can visit any classroom and participate in that classroom’s choice activities.

 Important dates:

TAB Meeting Monday, February 11, 2008

TEDCC will be closed on Presidents’ Day ~ Monday, February 18, 2008

 Please help us to keep track of all the Green Groupers clothes by labeling them with your child’s name.  Permanent markers are always kept near the classroom phones for this purpose. 

 

January 10, 2008

Hello Green Group Families,

Green Groupers have shown an immense interest in learning about many different topics, including different types of animals.  Our current curriculum is focused around farm animals, jungle animals, and ocean animals.  Animals are a great way to introduce children to the concept of looking beyond differences in each other.  Just as all the different farm animals have a part in keeping the farm running, all children have a part in helping each other succeed in the classroom.  Their social and emotional development is further fostered through the discussion of hygiene and  animal families.  The topic of animals can also help Green Groupers to explore many other developmentally appropriate concepts.  Through the use of the computer in our classroom, Green Groupers were able to use technology to research what different kinds of farm animals look like and to compare what they saw the animals doing in the pictures.  They have also been using the large muscles in their bodies to practice running coordination through a game called “Animal Running”, where each child pretends to be a different kind of animal; balancing on a balance beam; and pretending to be different types of animals in a song called “Animal Action”.  As many of the children are interested in science, they are excited to hear about the different habitats that these animals live in, the foods they eat, and comparing the adult animals to their baby counterparts.  All of these things can be investigated through the use of books, such as Animal Babies in the Eye Opener Series; toy models of habitats, such as a jungle, farm house, or even the water table; having discussions with teachers; and self-exploration of the plastic animals in our classroom.  With the introduction of new habitats, the Green Groupers are expanding their knowledge of what the habitat is like, whether it is hot or cold, what kinds of animals thrive there, and the comparison between which kinds of animals live where.  The Green Groupers are also using the animals to differentiate sizes, which one is big or small; to sort animals based on their appearance, such as which animals have four legs versus two; and to count animals.  Through their hard work at the writing table, they have also been talking about past experiences with different kinds of animals, i.e. going to the aquarium, identifying baby animals and their names, dictating a story based upon a picture, and thinking/experimenting with the sounds that make up animals names and activities.  Many Green Groupers also really enjoy singing songs like “Old McDonald Had A Farm”, “Old McDonald Had A Jungle”, and “The Name Game Song” with animal names, where they have the chance to use real and nonsense rhymes.

This curriculum unit will also be an introduction to our new classroom pet.  The Green Groupers gave their opinions to what our next pet should be, including seahorses and hermit crabs.  A final decision was reached to incorporate a new fish into our classroom. Next week the Green Group teachers will be introducing this new fish to the Green Groupers.

The Green Groupers have also been enjoying sharing choice time with the Red Group.  Once in a while, the Green Group and Red Group get together to make choices for the children that allow the children to travel between the two rooms.  Some Green Groupers like to show the Red Groupers some of the interesting activities, such as using stamps, that are in the Green Group.  Other Green Groupers see the Red Group as an adventure, where they get to see what is happening in other classrooms.  This allows all of the Green Groupers to teach Red Groupers what they know, to investigate how/what other children are learning about, and to feel comfortable with visiting other classrooms.

The children are anxiously awaiting the return of their Special Friends and the Big Tufts work-study students.  Many of them have begun to ask where these important people are and when they will be back.  Most of the students will be back in the classroom starting the week of Monday, January 21st.

Our next unit will be on woodworking.  This unit will be school wide and will incorporate school wide choices.  More information about this exciting opportunity will come your way.

Reminders:  The next Family Advisory Board meeting is Monday, January 14th.  There will be an exciting discussion about the commercialization of childhood.
Tufts Educational Day Care Center will be open Monday, January 21st, which is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Parent/teacher conferences are approaching as indicated by the date/time that you agreed upon with your contact teacher.  He/she is looking forward to getting together with you to discuss your child’s development in the Green Group classroom.

Sincerely,
The Green Group Team
 

October 19, 2007

 Hello Green Group Families,

 As the children worked through their feelings about leaving home and started to work on interacting with their peers, it was evident that the children had a lot of feelings.  Young children are beginning to look for ways to verbally and nonverbally express their feelings.  Activities in our classroom have been focused on identifying different kinds of feelings, labeling these emotions, learning where to look on a friend’s body to see how he/she might be feeling, and finding ways to communicate with others about how a child might be feeling. 

 One activity that is used to think about feelings is reading books, such as The Feelings Book, by Todd Parr, Sometimes I’m Bombaloo, by Rachel Vail, and When I Feel Sad, by Cornelia Maude Spelman and Kathy Parkinson.  Other ways that we have been looking at feelings include painting with red paint, using play telephones to talk to someone who isn’t at school about how we feel, using the play food to feed the baby dolls who are feeling hungry, drawing pictures of how a child feels or if they feel sad, what could be done to make them feel better, and using mirrors at different times/areas to look at our faces when we are happy, mad, working hard, etc.  Green Groupers also really enjoy drawing; this activity provides a way for the children to talk about how they are feeling and to dictate to the teachers words that belong to the picture.  This is a favorite activity especially when a loved one is being missed at school; the child can let a teacher know what words can be added to the picture to let the family know what they were feeling/thinking during the day.  Some children also really enjoy dancing to really fast/slow music, which allows them the chance to express how they are feeling by moving fast or slow or by doing powerful jumps, powerful stomping, or small clapping.  By participating in these activities Green Groupers are recognizing that their actions can effect how they are feeling and that their friends also have feelings.

 Through this unit, we are introducing the children to the three laws of TEDCC: we cannot hurt another person’s body, another person’s feelings, or another person’s hard work.  Since these laws can be abstract for young children, we talk about ways that we can keep each others’ bodies safe, make sure their feelings don’t get hurt, and to look at people’s hard work, and to join their play without hurting their hard work.

The children are also working hard on a method of putting on their own coats, which we call “Dip and Flip”.  This requires that the child stand facing his/her coat with the hood (or top of the jacket) very close to their toes.  The jacket will look upside down at this point.  The child then dips down to a crouching position and puts his/her arms inside the jacket.  When his/her hands are halfway in the sleeves, the child stands up and at the same time flips the jacket backwards over his/her head.  This puts the jacket on the child’s body the correct way and is a satisfying experience due to the fact that they put the jacket on themselves.

 You may also have noticed that there are many other adults in the room during the day.  We are delighted to have three work study students, Becca, Kristina, and Julie, who greatly help us in our classroom by putting together materials or playing with your children.  We also have Thalia, a field work student.  She has recently returned to school to pursue a Master’s in Teaching.  She is looking forward to an exciting semester.
 

Reminder: The next Family Advisory Board meeting will be November 12th.

 Sincerely,
The Green Group team

 

 

September 17, 2007

 Hello Green Group Families,

 The young children continue to settle in and feel even more comfortable in the classroom, with teachers, and with classroom routines and schedules.  During the few weeks, some of the children already knew the teachers’ names, others knew their favorite area of the classroom and were able to find their favorite toy or book, while others quickly learned the routines such as where to get a cup and napkin for snack.  Imagine the amazing things the children will be doing as they continue to settle in and become even more of an expert in the Green Group!

 The first few days of the Green Group are always a struggle for each child to figure out how to enjoy his or her new classroom full of toys, new friends and activities, but still make it clear that they miss their family.  By playing with activities that allow the children to talk about their family or perhaps, act out their feeling about missing mom or dad, the children are then able to feel more comfortable about those feelings.  For example, when the child uses the cars and little people to pretend that “mommy is driving to school” the child is then able to act out his or her own morning ride to school.                           

 Some activities we have planned for the Dramatic Play area are family breakfast, picnics, and dinners.  For this activity families are welcomed to bring in empty containers of their favorite foods from around the world for the children to play with.  For example; Macaroni and Cheese box, Oatmeal container and any other food containers that are not glass or metal.  Please give all containers directly to teachers.  Through this unit, the children will develop an understanding of various family patterns.  They will also discover what family members do for each other, as well as activities that families can participate in together.  The topic of family allows us to address another issue that we talk about all year long: the rich diversity of our classroom.  We all have a wonderful family that loves us and keeps us safe.  However, not each child’s family is the same.  This is just the beginning of the important topic that “we are all alike, and we are all different”.  Two books in particular that we will be using are Families are Different, by Nina Pellegrini and The Family Book, by Todd Parr. 

 

SOME IMPORTANT DATES

 

Pajama Day in the Green Group

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Children can come to school in their PJ’s

 

TEDCC beginning-of-the-year Pot-Luck Supper

Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 5:30pm

Green Group families please bring main dishes the children will enjoy

 

Family Advisory Board Meeting                                                                                     Monday, October 1, 2007 from 5:30 – 7:30

Please sign up on forms posted on the main lobby bulletin board

 

 From all of us,

Green Group Team

 

July 2, 2007

 Hello Green Group Families!

 We hope that you all enjoyed the cooler summer weather this weekend and the time with your children.  This week our classroom will be filled with some more “hellos” to our new children Jacob and Timothée and our new summer alum, Josh.  Please join us in welcoming our new Green Bubble Machines and their families.

 

In the first couple of weeks of our summer trips, we noticed that many of the children were quite interested in butterflies we’d see on our journeys.   Naturally, we’re incorporating this curiosity in our curriculum and now have caterpillars in our classroom.  In a few days, chrysalis will form and we’ll transfer them to the butterfly pavilion we have for them.  After they emerge as butterflies, we’ll set them free outside.  Last week, the children were fascinated by the caterpillars and seem quite excited about this focus.  We’ll incorporate information about butterflies’ life cycles, images of them (e.g., in their natural habitats), vocabulary about them (e.g., metamorphosis), dramatic play (e.g., pretending to be butterflies or flowers that butterflies land on), gross motor activities (e.g., flying like a butterfly) and opportunities to create our own into this investigation.  Coincidentally, the Green Group team for next year chose butterflies as our door theme a few weeks ago.  As we do each year, the children will be involved in creating our new door for the incoming children.  This will be a nice way for our current children to have their explorations into butterflies remain as a work of art for the coming year.  If you’d like to add anything to this unit, please let one of us know.

 

In other news—here’s a reminder about our trip to the Fogg Art Museum on Thursday, July 12.  Lucy’s grandmother, Betty, is a docent there and has generously arranged this trip for us.  It promises to be a delightful and developmental experience for our children!  We’ll travel by subway and have a picnic before we return for a nap.  The following week, we’ll take a school bus to Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester—details to come.  This beach has soft sand, an expanse of shallow water, and quite small waves.  In other words, it’s perfect for Green Bubble Machines!

 

Enjoy the lovely weather,

The Green Group team

 

 

 

May 10, 2007

Hello Green Group Families,

Starting this week, we have been exploring hair. Many of the children have been quite interested in their hair and other friends’ hair. They are quite interested in styling their hair in barrettes and ponytails, they have been talking about their experiences getting their hair cut or styled and some even joke that they have “rock star hair” when they wake up from nap with messy hair.

Many topics can be addressed as Green Groupers learn about hair. First, each child has hair that is unique in color, texture, style, length, etc. It is always important to give the children opportunities to recognize and respect those things that make themselves and others individuals. In some cultures, hair length and style can mark important milestones. For example, getting your first hair cut when you speak your first word or styling hair in a particular way for particular events. Some classroom activities will include, discussions about hair, books on hair, matching game with hair accessories, switching hair on the pictures of Green Groupers and play with wigs and hair accessories.

FYI -- Monday, May 14th @ 5:30 is the next Family Advisory Board meeting.

Thanks,

The Green Group Team

April 24, 2007

Hello Green Group Families!

Here are some recent activities and experiences the Green Groupers have had that explicitly support their emotional development:

--Use of photos to enhance perspective taking. The ability to take someone else’s perspective is a piece of the foundation that enables children to negotiate rather than refuse to share and to develop empathy for others.

--The language of emotional expression. Recognition of emotions, labeling of emotions and identification of other people’s emotions provides children with oral language, sign language, and visual icons to communicate emotions and to understand them.

--Creation of a new classroom book entitled, If I Want to Play with a Friend, which has a page that each child creates. A teacher records the children’s ideas and they draw on their page. Our community-authored books are read at group times and individually to provide children with more strategies to use and to appreciate each other’s ideas and hard work.

--Job Chart. This chart assigns Green Groupers to be the fish feeder, the bell ringer, and the caretaker. The responsibility for classroom life enhances the children’s self-concept and their feeling of belonging.

--Special Day groups. Our focus on one child and family at a time fostered the development of perspective taking in our children. The children learned to ask questions of others and to focus on someone else.

--Whole-school small groups. Our photography small groups composed of children from each classroom and with teachers from each classroom enabled our children to be risk takers—to try something new and to do it with new people. This experience also enhanced their ability to react to change in a neutral or positive way and to have support if it felt hard.

--Discussion about home days. When we talk about our home days at group time on Monday, the children focus on their peers. When they have their own turn to talk, their self-concept comes into play.

--“I Just Saw”. This display above the water table has pro-social moments captured on paper. These anecdotes relate specific actions of children, such as getting a tissue for a friend, putting books back on the shelf, asking a friend if she wants a turn, are read at group time and celebrated. Our goal is that these celebrations and the visual reminder of them will foster more pro-social behaviors and heighten children’s awareness of each other’s positive actions and words. These enhance the children’s self-concept and incorporate positive ways to get one’s needs met.

We hope that you enjoy these snapshots of some of the ways in which we specifically support and guide the children’s development. As always, let us know if you have questions or contributions.

Fondly,

The Green Group Team

February 1, 2007

Hello Green Group Families!

Your children have been enjoying the unit we’ve been doing on feelings and emotions. As we build on what has captivated them; what they know; what they don’t know; what they want to know; and the many different associations they make with our discussions, experiences, and activities we are turning toward additional aspects: what to do with our emotions in a prosocial way and how recognition of our own emotions and those of others can be a tool in building a safe and caring community. Some of our upcoming activities include creation of a homemade book entitled, If I am Mad at Someone I Can . . . ., puppet play with a problem to solve, looking at large photos of interactions with a discussion: “What do you think is happening?” and “How do you think you could help?”, masks with various facial expressions and mirrors, community worker dolls in our dollhouse, taking care of our baby dolls, and creation of a map of TEDCC with Green Group figures moving through the day care center. We will also implement a job chart to foster children’s pride in their responsibilities in our classroom and “I Just Saw . . . .”--a way to encourage children to notice the friendly and appropriate behaviors that their peers exhibit. In this new endeavor, children will approach teachers and each other to share interactions or events they have seen, such as “I just saw Karmyn give a marker to Duncan” or I just saw Maddox give Tabatha a hug!” We will share children’s observations at group times and display them. Some of the books we have been focusing on include Talk and Work It Out, Sometimes I’m Bombaloo, and Go Away Big Green Monster. This week we will add That Makes Me Mad and Do You Want to Be My Friend? as well as some of the music of Red Grammer. Our unit will culminate in a celebration that we will create with the children’s ideas—stay tuned! As always if you’d like to add any books, music, or ideas, please let any teacher know.

We’re excited about planning our Green Group Forum for Thursday, February 8, and have appreciated the survey responses we’ve received. Please keep them coming!

Fondly,

The Green Group Team

October 13, 2006

Dear Green Group Families,

As a segue way from our exploration of families to a focus on community, we have chosen to begin a unit on fish and water creatures. There will be much discussion about taking care of our classroom pet Ariel, keeping her safe, taking care of ourselves and each other. Through participating in the activities provided by this theme, the children will learn the color, size, kinds and parts of a fish and other water creatures. Our Green Groupers will also learn where fish live and the role fish play in our lives and on our planet. As always if you have anything to contribute please see any of the Green Group teachers.

Our Green Groupers have done a great job of learning each others’ name, respecting each others’ space and taking care of our classroom. You may have noticed them use the “dip and flip” method when putting on their coats. Also, morning transitions are going smoothly with few tears and more smiles. Lastly, the children are very excited about meeting Jayne Clark and learning their names in American Sign Language.

At School

A few of the learning activities that have been planned to meet the goals we have for our young children include:

At Home

P.S. We look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Monday.

Sincerely,

Green Group Teachers

 

 May 25, 2006

Hello Green Group Families,

This letter is to inform you about the summer teaching staff in the Green Group. Every summer, the full-time classroom teachers have four weeks of vacation. The vacation schedule is carefully timed so that children still have two or three full-time teachers here, while the others are on vacation. When teachers begin their vacation, there will be three summer teachers who will be joining the Green Group. These summer teachers are students who are interested in working with children and bring a breath of fresh air to the classroom.

We are very excited to have Keala Tateshi, Eva Eichen and Emma MacNamee joining us this summer. Keala is a Tufts student and was a wonderful Special Friend in another classroom. She is eager to be in the classroom for longer periods of time. She will start in the Green Group on June 1st.  Emma attended TEDCC as a child and was a summer teacher in the Green Group last year.  She enjoys the summer routine of extra time on the playground and the frequent field trips. Eva also attended TEDCC as a child and was a summer teacher in the Blue Group last year. Emma and Eva will begin July 5th. Over the next few weeks, please take a moment to say hello and welcome them to the Green Group community.

The children will hear all about the new summer teachers in the next few days and will have lots of information about them before they begin their time in the classroom.  To help the children with the day-to-day schedule of their "old" teachers who are on vacation and their "new" teachers for the summer there will be a new teacher schedule posted outside the classroom door with the pictures of all the staff. 

 As always, your thoughts, questions, and comments are appreciated.

 Here's to a great summer!,

The Green Group Teachers

 

March 30, 2006

Hello Green Group Families,

This letter is to inform you about our next unit, which is a special unit each classroom does every spring. The unit is called Special Days.  Special days is a wonderful tradition that has happened at the center for years and it is a pleasure for Green Group teachers to be there when the children have their first special day at the center. The goal for Special Days is for each child to have his or her own day to share what is exceptional and unique about his or her family with the rest of the Green Group community. This is done when the child’s family comes in on a day, designated by the family ahead of time, to participate in that child’s special day group. At group, the child shares a special day project that is worked on at home as a lens for celebrating his or her family.

Here’s how it works: A calendar will be hung up today in the classroom for each family to pick a day and time for families to choose what day will be their child’s Special Day.  Each child has his or her own Special Day, so please chose a special day as soon as possible since the calendar will fill up fast. A few days ahead of time, you will be given a Special Day kit that contains specific instructions and all the materials that you and your child will need to complete the Special Day project that families work on to share at the child’s Special Day group.

The Green Group’s unit this year is “What’s your favorite thing about your home”. The comfort of home is a universal feeling for all the Green Groupers. The uniqueness of the physical space, the special people who share that space with you, and what you do in that space is what the Special Day project will help each child capture. For example, some children may want to talk about sharing a room with a sibling. Others may want to share how sitting at the kitchen table for dinner is special to them. Maybe others like riding bikes in their neighborhood or bath time is particularly enjoyable for them. These are all examples of what may be a favorite thing about home to a Green Grouper.

Don’t worry, teachers will explain the project and lead you through the special day process as your child’s Special Day approaches. Also, teachers will have their Special Days during the first week of the unit in order to model what the Special Day project looks like and what happens at a Special Day group.  The first step is to sign up for a Special Day in the month of April and, as your child’s special day approaches, you will then receive the Special Day kit with further explanation about the specific project.

Please be thinking now about what days and times work best for family, so that you can pick a Special Day as soon as possible.

We look forward to celebrating each family on their child’s Special Day!

Thanks,

The Green Team

 February 10, 2006

Dear Green Group Families,

Each day, the Green Groupers are working hard and succeeding at many tasks and skills. Not only is it wonderful to see this growth in the development of each child, but as teachers, it is quite rewarding to see the sense of pride and accomplishment that each child receives from their new abilities.  After being quite brave and attempting a difficult part of the playground structure, one Green Grouper ran over to teachers and said "I did it! I did it!" Another Green Grouper was smiling from ear to ear as he put pee in the potty, something that he has been working hard at recently. As another friend handed over some of his dinosaurs to his friends at the games table, he said proudly, "now we both have some." Many of the children have been insisting, "I'm a big boy" or "I'm a big girl," and this indeed is true.  In order verify these feelings and to point out just how amazing each Green Grouper is we have started a unit on babies.

Many of the children are quite interested in and have a great deal of affection for Carley (Maille's sister) and Oliver (Griffin's brother). Each day, when the children see how hard Carley is working on walking independently and when they realize that Oliver is so young that he does not have words yet, it helps the Green Groupers set themselves apart from babies. This week, the children have been dressing, feeding and diapering the babies in the dramatic play area. They have been reading the book Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keates at group time and then painting cribs like the characters do in the book. All week long, they have been making baby food, taste testing and voting if they liked or did not like the flavor.  Next week, the children will be making rattles and experimenting to see how much water diapers can hold. They will also get a laugh when they see baby pictures of their teachers on display.

Over the last two weeks, the Tufts students who we love and missed so much are all on a regular schedule and back into the routine of the classroom. Aside from the Special Friends and Work Study students, we also have the pleasure of having a Field Work student in our classroom this spring. Laura Crook, a senior Child Development major, will be in the classroom Wednesday and Friday mornings. She was a part of the TEDCC community as a Work Study student last year. Laura has also worked at another day care center near her home during the summer with children who are the same age as the Green Groupers and spent last semester abroad. We are excited to have her in the classroom. Please say "hello" when you see her.

Have A Great Weekend!

The Green Team

 

November 8, 2005

Dear Green Group Families,

This week, our curriculum will continue to evolve as the children explore activities based on nighttime. First, by studying nighttime, the children will be making simple, yet very important observations about the world around them. By taking note of the sun shining or commenting on how dark it is when they leave the Green Group, Green Groupers are tuning into what is happening in the environment around them.

One way that we will explore the difference between night and day is to learn about nocturnal animals. Whenever the children study something living, it enables them to have the discussion about what we need for our bodies, such as food, sleep and shelter. Some of our bodies have a particular need. For example, a sloth’s body hangs upside down to sleep. This allows discussion about what each child’s body needs to be safe and comfortable. 

There are many great reasons for the children to study nocturnal animals. One is the chance for perspective taking. The Green Groupers will be experiencing the idea that just because they are sleeping, does not mean that everyone is sleeping. It is an important developmental task for a child to understand that their experience is not necessarily everybody else’s experience. How silly, yet thought provoking it will be for the Green Groupers to have a discussion about how bats, raccoons and skunks eat, play and go to the bathroom at nighttime, while they are asleep.

Green Groupers have less knowledge of nocturnal animals than they do of regular household animal such as a dog or cat. In fact, some children may have never seen the likes of a skunk, bat or raccoon. This will allow them to begin to do more abstract thinking since they will be learning and gaining knowledge about something even when they can’t fully experience it by “really” seeing it or touching it.  

In the art area, children have already been exploring various shades of the night sky by painting with navy blue and black and noticing the subtle differences between the two dark colors. In the dramatic play area, the children will get to act out their own bedtime routines with blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. The children will begin to recognize the various nocturnal animals by playing a matching game. Teachers will help facilitate this activity by giving the children knowledge such as “you found the two animals that are black with wings, those are both bats”.

Monday, November 14th @ 5:30 is the next Advisory Board meeting. Betty Allen, a professor in the Child Development department, and June will discuss/present issues around problematic situations that children may have at home. A sign up sheet is on the classroom door so that childcare and dinner can be planned for accordingly.

Friday, November 18th at 12:00 in Kindergarten is the next Let's Get Together. At the all school gathering, the Blue Groupers will take their turn to perform, and we will sing a thank you song to a former parent who has been more than generous with donation of gift certificates for L.L. Bean clothing and supplies for the Learning Pantry in her support of the community here at TEDCC. Feel free to stay for lunch afterwards.    

As usual, we would love to have you join us in the classroom to share songs, books, games or activities!

Marci, Meryl, Christina, June and Melissa

 

September 23, 2005

Hello Green Group Families,

What a wonderful start we have had to our school year. Each day we are getting to know each other better, and we are forming a lovely community of children who enjoy learning and laughing together. It has been a joy to see each child finding his or her niche in the classroom. Some children have already learned the names of every other child, other children are experts at the classroom and know exactly where to go to find their favorite book, while others are experts at the routine and can remind other children that Green Groupers need to sit at the green wall so teachers can take attendance before we go onto the playground. Each day, the individual strengths of each and every child come to the surface, and it is amazing to see each child flourish among his or her peers. How incredible considering it is only September!

We are continuing to focus our curriculum unit on families. We have focused on what makes each family similar and what makes each family unique. Next week our book entitled  What Green Groupers Like to Do With Their Families will be in the book area. Each child is working on his or her own page that will be put together into one book. Please take the time to enjoy and appreciate the hard work the children did while completing the book.  In many ways, the Green Group community is like a family, taking care of each other, spending time together and keeping each other safe. As a way to represent our community, all the children have put their handprints on the fabric that will cover our wall in the block area. The fabric will stay up all year as a reminder of the community that has been formed.

With all the talk that has been happening around families, it is important that each child have a picture of his or her family to hang up in his or her cubby. It is helpful to have a visual reminder of your loved ones when you are feeling sad or just want to show a teacher or friend the people who are important to you. There is no better way for our community to learn about each other than by spending time together. We are always thrilled to have family and friends come in and share music, stories, hobbies or anything that may be important to them. Please, let a teacher know if you are able to share anything that is important to your family.

We have welcomed another grown up into our community. Hillary Marino will be our field work student on Thursdays from 9:00 to 1:00.  Hillary is joining us as a part of her graduate work here at Tufts.  Hillary has many experiences working with children of varying ages and abilities.  We are so excited to have Hillary join our community and bring with her a new set of experiences to offer.  Please join us in welcoming Hillary.

Here are a few important dates to please mark your calendar…

The first Family Advisory Board meeting will be on October 4th from 5:30 to 7:30. It is a great way to meet other families in the TEDCC community and keep up to date about any important issues that are happening at the center. Childcare and dinner will be provided.

On October 8th the Green Group will be going pumpkin picking! The Green Meadows Children’s Farm in Wellesley, Massachusetts has a pumpkin patch and over two hundred and fifty animals for the children to see and pet. The bus will leave early so please have your child in the Green Group at 8:30 that day. We will be traveling there with our Blue Group friends and return to the center around 2:00. We will bring a picnic lunch of sandwiches, vegetable sticks and lemonade with us to enjoy while we are there.

On October 19th from 5:30 to 7:30, we will have our Green Group curriculum night. Dinner and childcare will be provided to help make it easier for each family to attend the meeting. Siblings over two-years-old can also come to childcare. At this very important meeting we will discuss what it is like on a typical Green Group day and what learning happens at each activity during our daily routine. We hope to see you there.

Thanks for the wonderful beginning of the school year,

The Green Group Teachers

 

September 12, 2005

Hello Green Group Families,

Thanks for a great first week in the Green Group. Your support during the first two half days helped the children to settle in and feel even more comfortable on Thursday and Friday. During the first week, some of the children already knew the teachers’ names, others knew their favorite area of the classroom and were able to find their favorite toy or book, while others quickly learned the routines such as where to get a cup and napkin for snack. Imagine the amazing things the children will be doing as they continue to settle in and become even more of an expert in the Green Group!

The first few days of the Green Group are always a struggle for each child to figure out how to enjoy his or her new classroom full of toys, new friends and activities, but still make it clear that they miss mommy and daddy. For this reason, the first curriculum unit of the school year will be about family and community. By playing with activities that allow the children to talk about their family or perhaps, act out their feeling about missing mom or dad, the children are then able to feel more comfortable about those feelings. For example, when the child uses the cars and little people to pretend that “mommy is driving to school” the child is then able to act out his or her own morning ride to school. Another activity we will complete this week, in order to mark our coming together as a classroom family, is our handprint wall. The Green Groupers will place their handprints on one mural that will be displayed all year. It will be hung on the wall between the cubbies and the block area.

The topic of family allows us to address another issue that we talk about all year long: the rich diversity of our classroom. We all have a wonderful family that loves us and keeps us safe. However, not each child’s family is the same. Some families have mom and a child, other families have lots of brothers and sisters, while others include extended family such as grandparents or aunts and uncles.  This is just the beginning of the important topic that “we are all alike, and we are all different”. Two books in particular that we will be using are Families are Different, by Nina Pellegrini and The Family Book, by Todd Parr.

~Please check your child's mailbox and art file each day. They fill up quickly.

~Check the white board outside our classroom each morning for daily information about the Green Group.

~The Nap/Lunch chart behind the door will tell you if your child took a nap and how much he or she ate.

~When you take your child from the playground or the classroom, please let the classroom teacher know.

~Ask a teacher to show you how to sign out a book for the night.

Throughout the year, we welcome your thoughts, comments and questions. Please feel free to share them with a classroom teacher.