Dear Blossom Families,
“Construction is the art of making a meaningful whole out of many parts. Buildings are witnesses to the human ability to construct concrete things.” — Peter Zumthor
April highlights our Building study, and our classroom has been under construction as we learn about the tools, materials, and machines used in construction. We started our study by discussing what we already know about construction and by drawing the building we are most familiar with: our own homes! This gave us a foundation for discussing how different each building can be and for discussing how buildings are made.
Next, we explored the different materials used in construction. We had a hands-on experience when making our cement oobleck. We focused on some of the children’s questions, such as, “Why do we build in holes?” “What do you use to build a house?” and “Why are buildings so different?” We looked at buildings around the world to compare their similarities and differences with those we see every day.
Building on our earlier discussion about materials, we explored various heavy machinery and tools used in construction. We then examined blueprints and created our own—covering everything from houses to schools! We saw everything, from reimagined Eiffel Towers to haunted houses. The class was especially excited to discuss and learn more about construction machines—ranging from excavators to cranes—making these Blossoms into machinery experts.
To conclude our Blossom Building study, we dedicated our final week to creating a city of our own. We first discussed the different types of buildings found in a city and considered which ones we might want to make. Each child then built and decorated their structure. We had everything from a fire station to a “child-sized Burj Khalifa.” After a thorough naming committee, the class voted to call our city Construction Town. A wonderful place to visit!
May will begin our Gardening Study. We are excited to start planting again and watch our flowers from previous years blossom once more! As always, if you have expertise in our study and would like to share it with our class, we would be delighted to have you. It is always a joy to hear from someone new.
As warmer weather approaches, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately. We will be spending a lot of time outside, and the temperature will keep rising. Please consider your child’s shoes, as many open-toe shoes restrict a child’s ability to play safely. Consider closed-toe sandals over flip-flops so little feet don’t get hurt while biking and during regular play.
If you haven’t already, please take your child’s snowsuit and snow gear home. Hopefully, the snow is gone! Please ensure that your child has some extra clothes in their basket for unexpected accidents or spills.
Thank you for everything you do! All the love,
Miss Madeline and Ms. Stephanie
