CHIHNESE NEW YEAR CONTINUES

February 7, 2013

Dear Parents,

We continued our Chinese New Year Celebration this week by reading Max Celebrates Chinese New Year, by Adria Klein and Lion Dancer, by Kate Waters. We then created red collages.  Red is a popular color for Chinese New Year.  Homes and businesses are dressed with red decorations and flowers.  Children are given money for good luck in red envelopes.

The children worked hard on their cutting skills by cutting many slits in various colored paper to create lanterns. They had the best time decorating them with stickers and glitter glue.  We then attached yarn to them and hung them up in the creative dramatic play area of our classroom.

The children also water-colored Happy New Year signs (Gung Hay Fat Choy) and made  Chinese Flags, which they decorated with  red tissue paper and  gold stars.

Notes from Lisa:
In music class we have been exploring how to write simple rhythms.  We use fruit names and Popsicle sticks to make quarter, eighth, triplet, and sixteenth note rhythms.  They love it and are really quick at picking it up.  All the children continue to sing and dance and generally have a great time!  I'm always please when students are finally comfortable enough to sing short solos in class.

I'm also excited that so many are starting lessons on instruments!  Preschool is a great time to start lessons because kids usually have fewer demands on their time. I find that it is good to establish a practice routine before kids start Kindergarten.  I am currently trying to start an early beginners violin class on Mondays at noon and need one more student.  If anyone is interested in starting violin lessons, or just has questions about it, please let me know ASAP!  I also have afternoon times open if that time doesn't work.

We look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day  next Friday.  Please send your child to school with valentines for each child in the class.  We have 10 children in the class. It is not necessary to write each child's name on the valentines.  Please send them in by Thursday. 

Making new friends at school

Note:  We need someone to volunteer to take Nori, the fish home next Friday for a week. 

Love, 

Ms. Bonne and Ms. Barbara.