We have been so excited to celebrate Valentine's day next week. The friends have stayed busy making Valentine's to take home, for friends, and for teachers.
On Monday, we painted with gears and spoke about what the inside of robots look like. We also crushed candy hearts, working on fine motor skills and enjoying watching them turn into powder as they were crushed!
Tuesday we were excited to continue making Valentines and to build, build, build with blocks. The friends have been pretending to make a ship and explore the ocean!
Wednesday we had Spanish with Michelle and also started an in-depth conversation and exploration of what an anatomical heart looks like. With all the talk of hearts for Valentine's Day, the children began to make the connection that they also have a heart inside of them. We used droppers to "squeeze" water (symbolizing blood) through a balloon heart!
Thursday we combined both classes and spent all day together. We made hot chocolate to combat the chilly day and read a new book, How Full is Your Bucket (more on this book at the end of the blog in a special note from Carla). We continued talking about Valentine's Day even more, this time turning our conversation to acts of kindness and love.
Friday we had yoga and made more Valentines. The twos are very much figuring out empathy and kindness. See below for a note from Carla describing our new school-wide initiative with acts of kindness.
A note from Carla:
This week we read the book titled, How Full is Your Bucket, which encourages mindfulness and acts of kindness to all. Inspired by the story, we now have a class bucket, which can be filled with drops of water (marbles) when friends show kindness towards each other and their school. Today, we witnessed so many kind acts, from sharing toys to helping to clean up other's messes. When our bucket is full, we will have a reward for all of the children.
At the end of today's reading, we had a conversation about kindness and Valentine's Day. We are having a party with games, dancing and more, however there are children who cannot celebrate Valentine's Day the way we will due to illness. This led us to think of ways to make them feel happy, and we thought to make them beautiful cards and paintings for Valentine's Day. We are partnering with Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center to send a group of children Valentines from the friends. The children were so eager to make them cards today!
More info on how this project unfolds coming soon!
Have a great weekend!
-Miss Alana