This month I thought I’d update all of you on the classroom. The children have been enjoying the unusually warm weather. Getting outside and working in the sand has been really fun, especially for the children who stay in the afternoon. Many of the children have been working on their practical life skills. Watering the plants and easel washing have been the favorites along with window washing. 

I did want to share with all of you that our pet hamster, Cece, died in February. The children haven’t said much about it but we have been talking to them about it. The classroom will get another pet after spring break.

We had a nice small group experience with the children when Arianne’s mom brought in challah bread for us to eat. We talked about Ari’s family tradition of eating this bread every Friday with her family. The toddlers love to eat. They really enjoyed the bread and I really enjoyed telling Ari’s story about her Jewish family tradition.

Back in January, we learned about Chinese New Year. Terence celebrates this holiday with his family. His mom was kind enough to put some information together about the holiday. We put red decorations on our windows and learned about the animals on the zodiac calendar. We learned that families come together to share a meal and get ready of the coming of spring.

Spring is the time of year that we start to see changes in the toddler’s growth. Talking with my staff, we have already seen these changes begin. Many children are toilet training successfully. Some of our children are speaking more clearly and their vocabulary is getting bigger. The children are finding work and focusing a little longer. It is clear that some of these children are getting ready for primary. I look forward to talking to all of you at conferences. It will be nice to share your child’s individual milestones. Please sign up for conferences if you haven’t already on Ivolunteer.

I would also like to welcome Britanie to our classroom. She is our newest afternoon staff member of the toddler community and works with Maddie in aftercare.

I look forward to a few more family traditions coming up in April. Dishan’s family will be sharing a dish for us to taste for the Sri Lanka New Year.  If any of you would like to share part of your culture with us, please let me know.

Peace to you and your family,

Kristy, Chandrani, and Leslie