This week brought us Valentine’s Day activities. We spoke a lot about how giving a heart shape is a way to say “I love you.” I hope you enjoy the heart projects that your children made for you. Some of the stories I read during Circle Time had children and parents saying ‘I love you’ to each other. When I asked the children if your moms and dads say “I love you”, all but one said yes. I was very surprised but the child clarified: “My mom and dad don’t say ‘I love you’; they say ‘Love you.’ Phew….I was worried for a moment. Everyone enjoyed our special visitor, Valentine Bear, this week, but we couldn’t figure out who gave him all the kisses with red lipstick.

We had many classroom Valentine’s Day books to read. Today, Friday, I read a book because of a child’s request. I admit I’ve seen this book every year when it’s in our book bucket, but actually have never read it. It’s a lift-the-flap book about Arthur (the Marc Brown character). On the last page, the family is enjoying pieces of heart-decorated cakes. There are many pieces of cake with flaps to lift. I thought I lifted every one, finding a small heart in each piece of cake. But the children kept yelling ‘you didn’t do the pickle.’ I didn’t know what they were talking about. Sure enough there was one flap I didn’t pick and lo and behold, that piece of cake had a pickle in it! The children know the books better than I do.

One of the activities this week was fun for the children, but just like the hole punchers I wrote about last week, was a pre-writing activity. On the tray you can see small heart cups, colored hearts, and silver tool actually made to take the leaves off of strawberries. The children are encouraged to use the ‘plucker’ to pick up the hearts and sort into the cups. This helps to form a pincer grasp that will be needed for holding a pencil.

Here’s a personal story about the ‘plucker.’ When I was growing up, my mother always cleaned chicken by removing the little pin feathers with this kind of ‘plucker.’ I continue to do the same now. I was an adult when I discovered that this is not called a ‘chicken plucker’ but rather a ‘strawberry huller.’ I had never seen it used to take the tops off strawberries! When I came to work at MWS, no one knew what I was talking about when I called them ‘chicken pluckers.’

I have noticed a change in the way some of the children play in the Big Room. During the first few months of school, many children like to build with the large blocks. It is age-appropriate for them to each make their own structure, whether building up or making a road. When there are no more blocks left on the shelf, they try to take them away from each other. Often, one of the teachers will build with them and direct the play to build one long road that all can use, rather than individual roads. But on their own, they are not ready for this kind of cooperative building. This week, about 5 of the children worked TOGETHER, without any teacher intervention, to build one road for all to enjoy. They talked to each other about where to put the next block. When they were done, they took the trucks off of the shelves. This is the one of the goals of the preschool year……the ability to engage in cooperative play.

Today during Circle Time, many children had the ear loop from their masks come off. Some children are able to put them back on by themselves, but many children cannot. They know that when it happens, they can get up and come up to me or another teacher to put it back. When the 4th child came up to me during Circle Time, I said ‘oh no, we have a disease in our classroom. ‘Mask fall off the ear’ disease needs a doctor to make it go away. Of course, another child then had to come to get the loop fixed. So we called out “doctor doctor” to come to our room. Dr. Gillis (Mrs. Una Gillis in the office) came to our rescue. She waved her arms, said some magic words, and the disease was gone. I never know how many children will understand this kind of humor, but we had quite a few children laughing about the ‘Mask fall off the ear’ disease.

I’ve been hearing from some children and parents that the children have been reciting the monthly poems at home. I’ve even received some videos. Feel free to send me videos during vacation week. Enjoy the February break.