Splish, Splash and Smiles!

Dear parents,

Welcome to this week’s edition of our classroom blog! This week was all about splashes, smiles, and sunshine as we enjoyed our special water activities together. The children had a wonderful time engaging in playful, hands-on experiences that not only kept them cool but also brought lots of laughter and joy. Whether they were pouring, squirting, or jumping through the water, it was heartwarming to see their excitement and teamwork during our fun-filled moments. The classroom was also buzzing with excitement as we continued working on various literacy, math and science concepts together.

Happy Birthday Alen

Large group

This week during our large group sessions, we had an exciting time exploring new concepts and building on our skills! We continued our journey into letters by focusing on the digraph Q and U, learning how they always stick together to make the /kw/ sound. The children enjoyed discovering and practicing new Q words such as queen, quiet, quilt, and question. It was great to see them using these words during our discussions and activities!

For math, we introduced the cuboid shape. The children observed and discussed how the cuboid is different from other shapes they know, noticing its rectangular faces and how it can stack easily like a box. This added a fun, hands-on element to our shape explorations. Furthermore, our morning discussions were lively as we played with rhyming words. We started with the word hen and the children enthusiastically came up with rhymes like men, pen, and ten.

Their growing confidence with rhyming is helping build a strong foundation for early reading. We also spent time talking about our upcoming water fun activity. The children shared ideas on how they could get ready—like bringing their swim clothes, towels, and remembering to stay safe while playing in the water. Many expressed excitement about splashing with friends, pouring water, and playing games. In math, we practiced our addition skills and focused on the important concept that when we add zero to any number, the number stays the same.

 Literacy 

This week in literacy, the Pre K has been doing fantastic continuing to build on their skills! The first group did a worksheet, where they were tasked with writing the middle sound of words (all vowels). After looking at the illustration for a helpful hint, they wrote down the middle vowel letter. This worksheet helped further solidify the concept of CVC and vowel letters. For the second group, the students completed a worksheet on all the digraphs they have learned so far: sh, ch, wh, and ph. They cut out the digraphs and matched them with pictures. This activity helped them practice reading words and also developed their fine motor skills. In general, our literacy sessions in the Pre-K class have gone very well so far. Our students have made a lot of progress in each of their learning steps, and we are very proud of them!

Math

This week, our math session continued like previous weeks, focusing on addition to continue practicing our skills. We provided the class with a worksheet featuring addition problems without pictures to challenge them to solve the problems independently using their minds and fingers, and they did an amazing job at this! We also taught them the concept that any number added to 0 will result in that same number. They clearly understood this concept, and we challenged them to practice even with larger numbers. The concept of addition in our class becomes more and more interesting as their understanding continues to deepen!

Science

This week in our science session, we continued on the same concept from last week. First, we sat in the classroom and discussed how plants grow and what they need to thrive. During this lesson, our students raised many insightful ideas. After our discussion, we went outside to observe different plants and flowers, feel the soil, water the plants, and explore all the plants we have in the school compound. We also discussed what plants do not need; for example, plants don't need sand, but rather soil, along with some other concepts. In general, the students were excited about exploring outside and having a practical learning session.

Journal

Journal time in our class is one of the students' favorite activities, allowing them to express their feelings and interests on paper through drawing. This week, before they started, we gave them two minutes to think about what they wanted to draw. After they finished their drawings, we asked them what they had created, and we wrote their explanations on the back of their papers. It was a delightful time, as usual and we love getting to know more about our students through their journal entries!

Water Fun Activities

This week, we had an incredible water-themed party that turned our school into a mini water park! Our children had an absolute blast as we set up various fun activities. We started the day by making refreshing lemonade together, which got everyone excited. Right after that, we moved to our unique version of Duck Duck Goose. This time, the "ducks" had to balance a cup full of water. If they were chosen, they got splashed with water, adding an extra layer of fun to the game!

Next, we transformed our school slide into a water slide! With the help of water pipes, we poured water from the top of the slide, allowing our children to slide down onto the grass. We also had two pools set up in the sand area - one filled with water and small beach balls, and another play pool. Our children enjoyed tossing the balls around and splashing in the pools.

To add to the fun, we organized a sandbox activity where they could dig and build in the sand, creating their own little beach paradise. After all the excitement, our children enjoyed a well-deserved nap, followed by the lemonade they had made, along with refreshing watermelon and cookies. It was an amazing day filled with smiles and unforgettable memories!

Next Week’s Schedule:

Small group

Monday: Science

Tuesday: Math

Thursday: Literacy

Our Specials

Monday: Ethiopian center

Tuesday: Library

Wednesday: Art

Reminders and Notes:

● Every Tuesday is our library day, so we will be sending a book that your child picked from our library, which will be returned after a week on library day.

● Every Wednesday is our art day so please send your child with art-appropriate clothing.