WEEKS 29-32 MARCH 20 – APRIL 14th
Invent, Imagine, Innovate, Expressionism, Basketball and All My Feelings
Over the next four weeks, our Nest Play curriculum will welcome children to engage in experiences that are both new, exciting and continue to promote their sense of wonder and exploration! Our Penguins will be working to promote their language and literacy skills as we identify character feelings while we listen to stories, search for letters hidden throughout fun foam within our art trays, and by placing magnetic letters onto our letter magic wands. Children will also engage in activities that continue to promote creative expression as we paint with materials found in nature, listen to hula music and dance along with hula inspired movements, and by building animals with our freshly made batch of playdough. Throughout this unit, we will continue to support the development of social and emotional skills by checking in with our emotions throughout the day and by looking into mirrors and giving ourselves positive affirmations! We will also spend time enjoying stories with our teachers and peers that support our “Invent, Imagine, Innovate” theme.
In our Paints and Pianos program, our Penguins will dive into the world of fine arts through artists such as Jackson Pollock, Wassily Kandinsky, Francis Bacon, and Edvard Munch as we begin our unit on Expressionism! They will have a chance to observe the artists’ works of art as well as engage in teacher-led conversations about the mediums the artist used while creating. Our Education Coordinators will set out a variety of materials such as a pen and ink set, stamps, pastels, crayons and more for our Penguins to create pieces of Expressionism art of their very own, such as paintings made by swinging paint cups on a pendulum! Our Penguins will listen to stories inspired by the work of Expressionism such as “The Noisy Paintbox” by Barb Rosenstock to further draw connections to the artists and their work.
In Fit Buddies, our Penguins will engage in various hand-eye coordination activities as we begin our “Basketball” unit! Our Education Coordinators will start the unit off by introducing the basketballs and demonstrating how to dribble the ball. Throughout the unit, we will dribble the basketball at different speeds and weave throughout a variety of obstacle courses, and we will practice passing the ball back and forth to our peers. We will round out our week by wearing our mesh jerseys, playing on teams, and working with our teammates to toss the ball into the basketball hoop! To end each class, we will spend time practicing yoga and meditation poses to encourage children to feel connected with themselves and focus on their overall mind and body wellness!
In The Art of Living, we will be talking all about “All My Feelings” where our Penguins will engage in several activities that will help promote important skills such as communicating, recognizing, and managing our own feelings, as well as recognizing the feelings of others. Through small group experiences and explorative play, we will create a class feelings chart, read stories that address a variety of feelings, practice recognizing the facial features associated with various feelings, and more hands-on learning activities! Our engagement in these activities as well as teacher-led discussions, will help promote an understanding of useful self-help skills that will foster independence in their everyday lives in both the classroom and at home.