Winter 2020 Newsletter
Love & Trees
During Week 5 at Elements we celebrated love by thinking about how love feels, what it looks like, and how we can show love for different people and things. Thank you all for your participation in our Valentine's Day Celebration. It was great fun!
During Week 6, we welcomed some visiting friends to do a winter tree study with us. We explored the different ways to identify trees in the winter and tried out our skills with the trees around Sandywoods.
Nature Lessons
Week 5 - At Elements we celebrated love by thinking about how love feels, what it looks like, and how we can show love for different people and things. In addition to Valentine's making the children demonstrated love and caring for the Earth by cleaning up litter. In addition, they showed themselves love by nourishing their bodies with healthy snacks and good outdoor fun and movement! As we studied the anatomy and function of our real human heart, it was exciting to see the children make the realization that their heart beat can change due to their breath, movement, and thought. Through Qigong, we practiced speeding up the heart and slowing the heart down.
Week 6 - The children distinguished between the deeply furrowed bark of an oak tree, the smoother bark of a beech tree, and the more shallow grooved, lichen covered maple tree. They discovered, during the winter you can look for leaves on the ground, rather than on the branches. Through scavenger hunts, loose material exploration, and art the children enjoyed learning about tree bark identification. We also enjoyed discussing why we "loves trees" and some special trees in our lives. And of course we hugged a lot of trees.
Books We Read
Cute Kid Quotes!
What is love?
"Love comes from your heart. My heart is working just fine." Gavin, Age 4
How do you show love?
"I show my mom love by doing sweet things for her, like opening doors." Kaysen, Age 6
"Give cards and presents, kissing, spending time with mom and daddy." Calun, Age 5
"I hug them or play with them." Gavin, Age 4
"I show people love by saying 'I love you.'" Laine, Age 7
"I help mom cook." Gavin, Age 4
How do people show you love?
"My mom respects me by love by bringing me to different places." Charlie, Age 5
How do you show yourself love?
"I play nicely with my sister." Gus, Age 4
"I build legos with myself." Gavin, Age 4
"I hug myself like this." (demonstrates hug) Will, Age 4
"I make myself lunch." Gloria, Age 7
"I cook with mom and grandma because I'm really good at making eggs." Gideon, Age 3
Discussion Questions to Ask Your Child
How do you show someone you care about them?
How do you show someone you love them?
In what ways does your family show you they love you?
Where is your heart?
Can you count the beats?
What will happen to your heart beat if you jump up and down for 20 seconds? Let's try it!
What are some ways you can identify a certain type of tree?
What do you love about trees?
What kind of trees did you find around Sandywoods?
Did you find evergreen trees or deciduous trees?
What is a deciduous tree?
Yours Truly,
Cristy, Rachel, Amy & Erin