Water, Weather and Storms

Hello everyone,

We have had a busy week playing and exploring with water, mud and weather. On Monday we read the charming book If Frogs Made Weather, and talked about the different types of weather that different animals enjoy, and what our own favorite types of weather are. On Tuesday we looked at some beautiful photos in the book A Drop of Water, and talked about some of the different aspects of water and what happens to water as it changes states and moves through the water cycle. We did some guided imagery and went through an imaginary journey as water drops. On Wednesday we read The Storm, had a lively discussion about storms, (lots of people had stories and strong feelings about stormy weather), and we did a group activity of making a sound storm. Today Arielle is leading the group in some experiments with water flow and watersheds, and tomorrow they will observe water moving from ice to liquid to boiling and evaporating and then they will take the boiled water and make oatmeal for cooking day :) We did some drippy and colorful art activities painting with colored ice cubes and making colored water drop paintings with droppers.

We have been having some fun with water and mud in the mud pit. We've been playing with ice in the sensory bin. We've had some fun with mud and puddles and rain at the park. We've been starting to hear the sounds of spring! Woodpeckers have been calling and drumming. Winter wrens and robins and song sparrows have started singing. The red tails hawks are out and busy soaring over our heads and being mobbed by crows and jays. The camellias are slowly starting to open. One of the beauties of being outside so much and so consistently is that we really get to notice these small and subtle changes. They have time to infiltrate into our consciousness and our daily experience and as we reflect on our inner and outer worlds, we can draw connections between the two. This is at the heart of what we do at Fiddleheads. Through this regular exposure and reflection, we encourage a connection that enables students to draw on and come back to the enduring generous simplicity of this human to earth relation throughout their lives for solace, guidance and inspiration. We certainly recommend that you think and talk about personal and seasonal earth connections at home when you can as well.

Next week begins our unit on friends and cooperation. This unit is more about our inner world than our outer one, but it is nature based in that it is drawing on the natural inclinations at the heart of every preschooler's experience. So much of what this age is learning about and what we do here at school is about making friends, being friends, and all of the important learning that comes along with that. We will hold our "friends day" family potluck at lunchtime next Fri Feb 14th. Please come if you can even if your child does not attend school on Fridays. Every child will have a friend valentine bag and we will be exchanging valentines. Please either bring or send a valentine for all other children at the school. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. If you can't attend we will help your child pass them out.