The School for Early Excellence's Blog!: Week of February 16-20, 2015!

Thank the snow gods that we have not had any snow that impacted our learning this week! The end of winter is in sight! Phew! Here's what we were up to this week:

We had a blast celebrating the year of the sheep! In celebration of Chinese New Year (one of our favorite holidays!) the children learned a lot about Chinese culture and traditions. Did you know that the Chinese New Year celebrates the coming of spring? Right before the start of the new year, families clean their homes to remove the old and welcome the new. Fireworks are also important as they drive away the evil and red envelopes with money are given to young children to keep them healthy and give them a long life. What's not to love?! (To our Chinese families, I hope my info is accurate!). And the year of the sheep (pronounced "yang" in Chinese) heralds a year of promise and prosperity. We are off to a great start!

At the start of the week, the children made lanterns to decorate the classroom. They carefully cut slits in their paper to create the body of the lantern. The children are proudly displaying them, hanging beautifully in our classroom to help us light the way. We also practiced writing the Chinese character for "sheep" using a red crayon or marker because red symbolizes good fortune and joy. And because no holiday is complete without a yummy meal, the teachers cooked up rice noodles for snack. The children were offered kid-friendly chop sticks to practice eating with and they all gave it their best attempt. They all did very well!

Yoga class on Thursday incorporated Chinese traditions into the children's practice. We began class by pretending we were fireworks to scare off the evil, we listened to the sound of the Chinese gong and used our bodies to quickly jumped up into the sky. After the evil was gone, it was time to clean the house. The children reached up high to clean the ceilings and bent down low to clean the floors, we also made sure to clean the dishes and our shoes and, of course, under the beds! After all that stretching it was time for us to make noodle soup! The children imagined adding in their favorite foods such as chicken nuggets, chocolate, eggs, and so much more. The children had their final savasana (rest) to the beautiful and relaxing sounds of a bamboo flute. Namaste!

To round out the week, the children had a new year parade led by a decorated dragon while the children made the sounds of firecrackers by walking on bubble wrap.

What's happening next you ask? The children will be exploring ice and water all next week. Since we have an abundance of snow, why not bring it inside and use it! Our activities will include painting with colored ice cubes, water and ice experiments and snow in the sensory table. Stop by our blog next week to hear all about it!

Friendly reminders:

- Please try to drop off you child no later then 9:15am. The children gather for morning meeting promptly at 9:15 and curriculum follows right after at 9:30. We have noticed families arriving late. Please remember, if you arrive after 9:15, we ask that you enter quietly and quickly. Because our day has already started, a teacher may not be available to help your child. Parents are responsible to help their child quickly join the group. Remember, morning meeting sets the tone of the day and gets the children excited for the morning's activities. We appreciate everyone arriving to school on time!

- Our fundraiser has one week left! All profits will go directly to creating a larger garden for the children and for additional playground equipment. The Butter Braids are just delicious and super convenient for holidays. They arrive frozen and are baked up when you are ready for a fresh, yummy treat. Don't forget to ask your family, friends and neighbors!

- And a huge thank you for all of the families who voted for us in Hulafrogs's "Most Loved" contest! Our school came in second place in the Burlington/Winchester division! Not too shabby!

Here are some pictures from this past week: