What’s Going On This Month Mrs. Fleming’s classroom April 2018 Stories this month: --”I Don’t Want to be a Frog!” by Dev Petty --”Bear Wants More” by Karma Wilson --“When Sophie Gets Angry” by Molly Bang --“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle What we’re learning: --We will be learning more about how to cope with not getting your way (“I Don’t Want to be a Frog!” story) --We will be practicing how to identify and what to do with emotions. --We will work on sequencing of events from what happens first, next and last. --We will be counting objects and making sets of objects to practice --We will encourage longer interactions with peers. What’s Going On This Month I am so happy to be “springing” into one of my favorite seasons! There are so many opportunities to practice language skills and build vocabulary as we watch the weather change, and see things grow. We will be raising butterflies this month, an activity that helps the students practice sequencing, i.e. the life cycle of a butterfly. We will be reading some stories and doing activities to learn about feelings, using words to label those that our story characters are displaying. The frog in the above story does NOT want to be a frog…and we will be using the repeated line of “because you can’t always get what you want…oh drat!” With the Sophie book, we will be doing art activities to decorate our “break” area of the room, with the scene that she has that makes her feel better. Teacher Tip See if you can talk with your child about their feelings…label what you think they are feeling and give them a special space (a pillow, bean bag, chair) to go to feel better. Even if you need to be in the space with them. We do that in the classroom…if a child is feeling upset, we ask if they need a hug. (we wait until any screaming subsides first!) and then we both move to the break area to model how to feel better. We have glitter jars and squishy balls to use while there, too. (DIY glitter jar directions here) REMINDERS: --Keep practicing putting on coats, AND using the zipper or Velcro! It’ll be difficult at first, but it’s time to start trying! Important Dates April 2—no school for students April 9—no school for students