Week of November 2-6, 2015!

Another month has come and gone! Can you believe it's November?! With weather like this it is hard to believe the holidays are approaching.  Here's what the kiddos were up to this week:

We introduced the children to our artist of the month, Henri Matisse!  The children learned that Matisse was a great artist who loved to paint beautiful masterpieces.  However, when he got older, he wasn't able to use his hands to paint anymore.  One day, while he was sick in bed, he picked up a pair of scissors and began cutting shapes out of colored paper.  Matisse called it, "drawing with scissors."  The children LOVE using scissors so this was a very easy way to invite the children to the art table to create artwork with me. Cutting with scissors is new for many children and it was fun to watch the them concentrate while using the scissors.  To make our art more meaningful, we read the books, "Henri's Scissors" by Jeanette Winter and "When Pigasso met Mootisse" by Nina Laden.

As I sat with the children making their Henri Matisse inspired art, I was able to capture some of their language while they created their masterpieces.  Now, many of you may be puzzled by the art your child brings home and you may wonder, "What can this be?"   With  language samples, it all makes more sense! For example, a little girl was making her masterpiece and she said out loud, "So right here is the head and that's the body and these are the legs and I'm doing the hair.  She's going to be Rapunzel so I better make long hair!" My favorite part of the whole process is hearing about their creation.  Many times I can say to myself that, yes, in fact, it does look like Rapunzel!  I invite you all to come into the classroom next week and view your child's Henri Matisse inspired masterpiece.  These works of art will be placed in each child's portfolio after being displayed on the bulletin board this month.  

During morning meeting this week, the children learned a lot about fruits and vegetables and how we categorize them.  We talked about fruit vs. vegetable, grows underground vs. grows above the ground and grows on a vine vs. on a tree.  

To end the week, we discovered that there was a nest inside of our birdhouse out in the playground.  Assuming that the birds have flown south for the winter, I decided to open it up and show the children the nest.  As I carefully pulled it out, I suddenly saw two eyes looking back at me! I don't know who was more frightened to see who, me or the MOUSE! I slowly slid his nest back into the bird house that we now refer to as the mouse house! Sleep tight little mouse! 

What's up next:

Next week the children will be introduced to a novel animal, the moose! They will learn about the types of tracks they make, their habitat and the foods they eat.  

Lastly, don't forget to check out our little free library in the front of our school! The way it works is take a book, leave a book!  Don't forget to donate to the library to keep all of the books rotating!  Also, the library is not just for the kiddos, it is for adults too! 

Important Dates and Reminders:

November 11: SEE will be closed for Veteran's Day
November 22: Monthly Gathering at Winchester Gymnastics

November 25: SEE will close at 3:00pm

November 26-27: SEE will be closed for Thanksgiving break
December 1: December tuition is due
December 24 - January 3: SEE closed for winter break
January 4: SEE back in session and tuition is due

Some pictures from the week:

"I'm making a making a horsey, well actually, it kind of looks like a cow!"

"I'm cutting the lightening"

"So right here is the head and that's the body and these are the legs and I'm doing the hair.  She's going to be Rapunzel so I better make long hair!"

Inside the Mouse House!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Joanna