Welcome to April, Bud Families,
April is upon us, and we wish for a few days of warm weather to warm our spring spirits! We look forward to seeing the leaves and flowers bloom on the trees!
Our “Dinosaur and Paleontology” study in March was fabulous! The children engaged with our dinosaur activities and had a fun and fascinating month of learning about the different types of dinosaurs, their fossils and rocks, and what they eat. We started our research learning about different dinosaurs and identifying them by their distinctive characteristics. We discussed fossils and created our own, which was fabulous! We became paleontologists and dug for dinosaurs, which was by far the most popular activity we continued throughout the month. We learned that by examining the type of teeth they had, we could determine what they ate and how big they were. We also followed the children’s lead on what books and stories they wanted us to read and what they were interested in learning about.
We spent some time with questions that the children had, such as… How gigantic the dinosaurs were, and compare the sizes of different dinosaurs. We spent many moments roaring like dinosaurs and learned what they may have sounded like. It was for sure our loudest Study! The Bud class now knows the difference between being a carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore. We carried over last month’s study of the food we eat and discussed what we ate during our meal times, and whether it fit into the carnivore or herbivore category. We also discovered that most of us are omnivores, as we like both meatballs and broccoli. We talked about what scientists thought the dinosaurs may have eaten!
We also had a surprise visitor, Riley the Leprechaun! Oh boy, did he make a mess of our classroom? He turned over chairs, left toys scattered about, and sprinkled glitter all over the classroom and onto the children while they were napping. He also gave us green milk, a special over-the-rainbow snack, and hid gold coins for us to collect and place into his empty pot to take back home with him. He also asked us to put one of our shoes in the hall before we napped and placed a special gold-covered piece of chocolate for us to enjoy. We had a lot of fun and said our goodbyes… until next year, Riley!
We are excited about our April study of Art. We already have several young artists in our classroom. Art is one of the most excellent tools for learning and self-discovery, and we look forward to exploring this new topic! We will explore Eric Carl’s collage art, including its various textures and color mixing techniques.
Thank you all for being so helpful as we continue to help our children, “Bud,” while learning here at The Growing Tree. We work hard to keep your children engaged in our monthly studies, growing their minds and bodies. Your Buds continue to learn independence as they walk independently into the classroom, unpack their belongings, and place them into their cubbies. Soon, we will work on them packing their end-of-the-week bags to go home and bringing their cots to the closet.
Reminder:
- April 18th -Conferences -No School
All of our love,
Ms. Stephanie, Ms. Maci, and Ms. Gale
