March 2010 Online Newsletter

Exploring natural substances has been a growing interest as children touch and feel rocks, twigs, lichen and leaves. We are learning to appreciate how materials found in nature are used, including reeds and grasses for making ropes and baskets, in contrast to all the plastic and other synthetics in our environment. Making animal habitats this month included the Grasslands (lions, elephants and zebras), the Farm (domestic animals) and the Southwestern Desert. Our water table became a desert habitat with landscaped sand, cacti made from socks, sculpted clay cacti, painted desert flowers and rocks made from egg cartons. Jackrabbits, javelinas, raccoons, pumas, coyotes, hummingbirds and prairie dogs were some of the animals enjoying this habitat.

Observing crystals form after pouring a salt and water mixture over rocks has been an on-going project. You can see the results on our science table. Another recent project is chromatography: dyeing strips of paper filters with drops of food coloring and watching the colors emerge when water is added. And making flubber was a big hit. See attached recipe.

Creating jewelry (rings, bracelets and collars) has been a popular activity and some children enjoyed threading beads and keys with pipe cleaners. Other projects include making sock puppets, painting cardboard boats, cloth scrolls and lanterns.

NEW INSTRUMENTS!

Thanks to a grant from the Haas Foundation, we recently purchased four Orff xylophones to enhance our music program, a long-term goal of Megan’s. The soprano, alto and bass xylophones with removable keys will allow us to expand and fill out our instrumental ensembles. These xylophones are tonal instruments that will improve the children’s ear training, allowing them to hear and play melodies and simples harmonies within pentatonic scales. We do lots of singing at Buen Dia and the children will also be able to accompany the singing with these beautiful tonal instruments in a range from soprano to bass. Importantly, they will have the opportunity to experience the fulfillment of playing in musical ensembles as part of their early childhood education.

First Five Preschool For All provides funding for a number of projects in the field of early childhood education. One such project, The Performing Arts Workshop, is an arts organization that promotes artists in the community. With their funding Buen Dia is hosting Jose Ramirez, a Cuban dancer, who is currently teaching Cuban dance every Thursday afternoon for the next 6 weeks. The children are learning basic steps, rhythm and enjoying the great music. Jose is also an alumnus parent of Isaias who is now a 1^st grader.

Passover Celebration

On Thursday March 25^th we will celebrate Passover with Lila and her mom Diana at a grouptime presentation and eat a special snack of tzimmies, haroset, parsley, eggs and matzah with Julian’s mom Zoe.

Spring Egg Hunt

On Tuesday morning March 30^th we will have our annual egg hunt when a visit from a Spring Bunny is expected. Children will color and dye eggs for the hunt. Each child will make a basket and then look for an egg and bag of trail mix hidden in our yard.

International Women’s History Celebration

We are honoring International Women’s History Month by creating an exhibit representing women who are special in our students’ lives. Please ask your child to select a photo, drawing, story about - or an item of - a special woman in their lives. That person could be a mom, grandmother, aunt, sister or friend demonstrating some activity in work or play to share with us. Additionally parents are encouraged to make mini-presentations about women in their lives or in the larger world. (Moms can describe what they do too!) Let us know if you can participate in this project

Kindergym drivers: Sylvia (Sabella), Michael (Audy), Samantha (Finn), Marina (Giacomo), Vinnie (Chethan), Coline (Lincoln), Carla (Nathan), Carmen (Sebastian), Ula (Lilia), Maia (Mikaela), Steve (Pablo), Martine (Elita), Gina (Emilia), Ken (Cefe’s grandfather) and Liz (Elijah.) More thanks to Steve (Pablo) for reading a special story about Martin Luther King at afternoon group and to Miguel (Emiliano) for fixing our plumbing problems.

Thanks to your participation, Buen Dia earned $7680.00 for the last two fiscal quarters! Current parent and alumni SCRIP purchasers include:, Alisa Clayton, Anne Romero, Annie Jupiter-Jones and Jandro Alcantar, Blair Moser, Carla Gomez, Carmen Cordovez, Coline McConnel, Dan Schwarzlander, Daria Hekmat-Scafe, Devra Miller, Diana Napart, Diane Jones, Elizabeth Sullivan, Gina Perri and Jason Flashberg, Julie Dorf and Jenni Olson, Leslie Wakasa, Lis Worcester, Maggie Blumenfeld, Maggie Perkins, Marina Bianchi, Martine Paquine, Michael Ginther, Phyllida Burlingame, Nico Van Aelstyn, Phern Hunt, Rhodora and Randy Guerrero, Sarah Lawton, Scott Nelson, Steve Arcelona, Sumi Paik, Sylvia Gallegos, Annelise Goldberg, Flo Kelly, Adelina Arcelona, Yvonne Gavre.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Month of March International Women’s Day Celebration

Wednesday March 17^th Erin Go Braugh! We are making Leprechaun hats and will bake Irish soda bread for snack, sing Irish songs and dance a jig with Megan.

Thursday March 25^th Passover Group and Snack

Friday March 26^th Pre-K Story Group with Xiara’s Dad Darick, an actor, who has been creating characters for his on-going group presentations.

Tuesday March 30^th Spring Egg Hunt

Wednesday March 31^st School Closed for Cesar Chavez Day

Thursday April 1^st and SCHOOL CLOSED FOR SPRING BREAK

Friday April 2^nd

Tuesday April 13^th Preschool Trip to Slide Ranch

Wednesday April 14^th Pre-K Trip to Slide Ranch

Friday April 23^rd ECO-LUNCH

Friday May 21^st PARENT BREAKFAST

Monday May 31^st SCHOOL CLOSED FOR MEMORIAL DAY

Friday June 19^th GRADUATION

Wednesday June 23^rd LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Thurs/Fri June 24/25^th STAFF WORK DAYS

Monday June 28^th First Day of Summer School

Note: More information coming for activities in April, May and June, including fundraising.

International Women’s History Celebration

We are honoring International Women’s History Month by creating a display of women who are special in our students’ lives. Please ask your child to select a photo, drawing, story or a representative item of a special woman in their lives – a mom, grandmother, aunt, sister or friend – demonstrating some activity in work or play for our display. Additionally parents are welcome to make mini-presentations about women in their lives or in the larger world. (Moms can describe what they do too!) Let us know if you can participate in this project.

Please let your child select and bring an item to school

as soon as possible for our exhibit

Check the group room to see the display so far.

We have enjoyed the puddles and the rainy outdoors by putting on our boots and opening our umbrellas during this stormy season. We continue to care for our worms (in our wormbox), watch snails and slugs move along the composting leaves and observe our daffodils peek through the earth in our front planter. Take a moment to view the science table where Cecropia moth cocoons are in the metamorphic stage of development. The children have been keeping count of the days on a colorful grid.

Some children have shown a strong interest in boats. We have many library books about boats and pirates, and the children made boats out of coreboard that actually float. Their constructions involved experimentation with volume, density and design. Activities that are based on the interests of the children encourage focused learning. We will be documenting this on the social studies table with photos and drawings.

NUESTRAS FAMILIAS

This is a time to learn about the important people in each child’s life and to talk about the many kinds of family structures. We will have a display in the front room with photos of our current families. Please encourage your child to select photos of his/her family (pets welcome too) for our display; you can describe each photo using your child’s comments or let the teacher write a description with your child at school. Each child will have the opportunity to talk about his/her family.

The resters each have their own journals and we have introduced this concept with the Resters. Each child has an 8 ½” x 11” journal to use independently. They are focused and very excited about drawing and writing words in their books, creating their own worlds, ones that are relevant to them.

COUNTING FOR FUN

At Afternoon Group Trini is teaching the children how to count in Quechua, an indigenous Andean language, still spoken in Peru by 80% of the population. At the beginning of Nap, Tess is teaching the children numbers in Italian and Japanese too. The numbers from one to ten are:

QUECHUA ITALIANO JAPANESE

uck uno ichi

iscay due ni kimsa tre san

tawa cuattro shi pischka cinque go

sogta sei roku

janchis sette shichi

posag otto hachi

esjon nove ku

chunka dieci ju

ECO-LUNCH: On Friday April 18^th we will make an “ecologically-healthy” lunch at school. We need each of you to help your child select and bring to school an untreated (no sprays or waxy coatings) fruit or vegetable for our lunch by Wednesday April 16^th. We will make a meal with your child’s help. You can also send whole grain breads or other pesticide-free, whole foods for our lunch.

DO NOT BRING LUNCH ON FRIDAY

APRIL 18^st

Key Words is another project for the Pre-K’s who want to have their own special words. Each child has his/her own envelope filled with paper strips. With a teacher’s help they are writing words they want to learn – any words – silly or personal ones. The intention is to let the child choose words and become familiar with how a word looks and how letters sound.