Dear Bud Families,
Happy New Year to all of you! This past year has blown by, and we are so excited to start 2024 with all of you and your children!
December ended with our curriculum crammed with different ways to think about and use boxes! We started by decorating our small boxes; then, we used boxes to stack, measure, count, and play. We also worked on our pre-reading skills by opening our imaginations and using ideas from the book “This is Not a Box.” The children created art with squares and then told us what they had made, and we wrote down their words.
There is no lack of imagination in the Bud classroom, and these 2-3-year-olds can take the simplest of things… a box and turn it into a world of creativity. It was fun to watch them explore and grow. Their favorite area was the block area, where we traded the usual blocks for many different-sized boxes for them to build and construct.
We also had a unique visitor, “The Elf.” The Buds first came up with his name: Candy Cane, which, in short, was Mr. Cane. He left us a treat for our fabulous performance at the Christmas Sing-Along; He left us a rainbow of colors with Skittles and even editable reindeer droppings. This was so much fun, with many more creative things throughout December before he returned to the North Pole.
As we begin the new year, we are excited to learn about our next topic– Exploration and Arctic Animals! It is a beautiful time for the children to actively explore the world during the cold that January hopefully brings us. We believe that some fantastic learning comes through the encouragement of exploration.
We will also start an “All About Me” process where the children will use their imaginations and pre-writing skills. They will tell us about their favorite things, and we will celebrate them! We love the saying “new year, new me,” especially for this age as they enter new stages of self-expression and exploration!
Reminders:
- Mark your child’s clothing items to help us keep them all where they belong, as we see many identical items, such as gloves and hats.
- Take home your child’s bag with nap time items to be washed the last day of the week that your child attends and bring back the next week so your child has everything they need.
We’re so grateful to celebrate the New Year with you and your children! All our love,
Mrs. Stephanie, Ms. Sidney, Ms. Maci
