Class Newsletters » Chipmunks Newsletter - March '10

February happened in a flash! As we continued our pirate expedition, the children made pirate pictures and called themselves One-eyed Pirate, Snake Head, White Beard, Missy, Lady Gold, Captain Hook, Captain Sophie, Captain Rex, and Captain D to name a few. We came across an activity book, “Pirates Fun Activities” and it gave us a great idea to make a diorama. We played the game Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate. Their task was to stick the eye patch on the pirate’s face blindfolded, and we were so surprised that most of them actually were pretty close! We also had fun singing the song “Over the Deep Blue Sea” over and over again. Then, our Pirate Day finally came; we were all thrilled about it! We talked about what a map is and how to use it. With their painted pirate-face, hats on, old map with a tie (they were told to scout the playground, Squirrel and Pony rooms), the hunting began! It was a great pleasure seeing the children untying their map, intently studying them, looking around and triumphantly finding their treasures! When asked if they had a hard time searching their treasures, they said no because they had a map for directions. They all sat on the boat, checked their found treasures and were thrilled to see some gold chocolate coins and pirate’s booty snack! The children were so engrossed in the Pirate Day. When asked to blow his nose, one of the children said, “Pirates never blow their noses!”

The staff had the opportunity to attend a “Language of Paint” Workshop at the Portland Children’s Museum last February 9. The following day we applied what we had learned with the kids. We put water in two glass containers, prepared two cups with different water color and two droppers. Then we took turns putting a drop of water color in each container, and to our amazement, we saw a lot of different shapes formed, including a ring, cowboy hat, bowl, rain, puddle, fire, turning person, web, ghost, highway freeway, crown, wishing bone, spider, eyeball, tire swing, bird’s nest, hammer, tornado, and whale! One child exclaimed that “it works like magic!” This is a cool activity with endless surprises.

For Valentine’s Day, we made a collage of hearts out of various textured materials such as paper (tissue, construction, cardboard, and scrapbook), fabric, foil, sandpaper, bubble wrap, felt and foam. We experimented on how to make a lighter color. Pink is produced when white is added to red, gray when white is added to black, light blue when white is added to blue, and so on. February’s highlight was our trip to Big Air Gymnastics. The “gymnasts” enjoyed all the activities, with the deep pit and trampoline amongst the favorites. We left happy and eager to come back for another day of fun-filled activities.

For the rest of the month, we discovered what is in space. We hung a space-themed fabric on the wall and put lights behind it, and we made a pretend “moon” to walk on (bubble wrap with layers of blanket underneath) and put on our “blue suit” to walk like astronauts. We talked about how the moon seems to change, and finally we learned to say crescent instead of banana shape. We made a marble painting solar system, rocket ship, and telescope. Since the planet earth is very special to us, the first week of March will be spent on meaningful activities on how we can take care of our world in our own little ways.

MARCH CALENDAR: Recycling Theme
African Theme - African Lunch on March 15 (Monday) @ 11:45 AM Class Pictures - March 23 and 24 (Tuesday and Wednesday)

Miss Sonnie, Miss Theresa, and Miss Kristi