Dear Parents,
We have been working on a new schedule in our classroom and the Acorns seem to like it! In addition to passion projects, we’ve added small focused math groups in the morning, discovery centers after lunch, and one on one skills based playtimes with me.
Personal project time, in the morning, is offered as Free Play Centers and they have the opportunity to revisit passion project/deep learning/free play Centers in the afternoon before we go home. Personal project time is built around the TKG values of learning through play, experimentation and reflection.
Discovery centers is a time for our Acorns to work with intention (a little more focused than free play) – so Heather and I provide provocations or challenges to be the guide us during that time. We will be working towards our Acorns keeping track of how they have used discovery centers time by using a checklist and build stamina toward doing a reflection.
Leticia has been joining us in the 10 o’clock hour for snack, math meeting, and math small groups. I asked her to share about her time with us:
Our little Acorns are growing into their bones, muscles, and brains! We have began to explore our bodies inside the classroom and during our P.E sessions. In our morning WOD’s (Workout Of the Day) we have learned about our resting heart rate and how it can feel like it’s exploding from our chest after a few laps around the courtyard. We have been working on our hand eye coordination by dribbling a basketball around cones with both our left and right hand. The Acorns have been exploring different ways of balancing by hoping on one foot, two feet, and even trying to jiggle, bound, and bounce up and down the stairs.
Our muscles and our bones aren’t the only body parts doing the growing, we are working on expanding our brain and fine motor skills wile learning how to count and write our numbers and letters. The Acorns have been working on different techniques such as free drawing, connecting the dots, or simply copying numbers onto their own documents.
A lot of hard work is happening and these little guys are super fast at both running and learning. So be careful parents, try not to blink, and maybe hold your breath for a second, we will be adding and recognizing letter sounds sooner than you know. Try to keep up!
We had so much fun at the Gratitude Feast with you! We worked very hard on our cooking project of skewering fruits and vegetables in a rainbow pattern. Each student commented about what hard work we were doing. Some took needed breaks, and most continued until we had finished all 38 fruit and veggie kebabs. We also had an experiment making a vegan fruit dip with coconut cream, cacao powder, and maple syrup. While the dip didn’t make it to the feast, it was a messy and fun learning experience for us all.
I am ever grateful for our special dedicated community at TKG! I look forward to many more celebrations with our school family. I hope you had a wonderful week connecting with friends, family, and especially your little Acorns!
With a grateful heart,
Lacey
COMMUNICATION STREAMS
Lacey LaCour, Lead Teacher
Heather Kornman, Co-Teacher
Lena Garcia, Head of Education – Teacher Mentor
Trish Valdez, School Business Manager
Shannon Minor, Board President
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