YOUNG INFANTS:
Dear Parents,
The infant room babies have been very busy exploring, creating, and developing. Last week we added a new piece of furniture in our room to encourage gross motor exploration– a large set of wooden steps with a platform. Wow, have we observed some amazing movement! Crawling, climbing, and cruising along the piece. The other piece in our room that has been popular lately is the pullup bar. This bar invites the babies to crawl over, kneel, reach, and pull up. The reward is seeing their own image in the mirror above it! Learning to cruise along the bar is excellent strength building practice for learning to walk. Unlike walking a baby around, cruising along the bar is exactly at the child's pace and for the distance they are ready for.
As they develop their fine and gross motor skills, they will have much more variety in their activities. To encourage fine motor development, please continue to send table foods/ finger foods. Foods like sauteed or steamed veggies, avocado, scrambled eggs, and frozen peas give your baby nutrients, exposure to various textures and flavors, and the opportunity to feed him or herself, rather than be spoon fed. It is such fun to practice using the pincer grasp at mealtimes too!
We are putting together pieces for the Art Show and starting to learn about Pesach (Passover). Passover starts at night on April 12 and ends at night on April 20. The children will be hearing Passover songs, participating in crafts and having stories about Passover read to them.
Have a great week!
Morahs Sarah, Marla and Leslie
OLDER INFANTS:
Dear Parents,
Last week we discussed giving time and space to children to encourage independence and mental toughness, which help build self esteem. This week we want to share with you a phrase we give the children to use when they have attempted a task on their own, and yet still need assistance.
“Help please” is a simple request the children may say or sign (help = one flat palm facing upward, with the other hand nestled atop in a “thumbs up” position and rising upward). We encourage this phrase when needing assistance with everyday tasks such as squeezing the remainder of a pouch, opening a water bottle, or putting on shoes. We will wait until the child has attempted to do the task on his/ her own before reminding them to say or sign, “Help please.” Try it at home!
New works alert! On a regular basis we trade out old works for new items. And as the children work toward mastery with certain materials, we add more pieces to a set to increase the level of difficulty. We have added a maraca to our music shelf. Shake, shake, shake! A new spatula has now joined the kitchen tools basket. Time to flip pancakes! The land vehicle language cards have been replaced with air vehicles: hot air balloon, airplane, and helicopter. Our sorting work now has two additional cups and balls for an added challenge. And lastly, we’ve added two additional wooden animals to the existing set - a camel and a tortoise have joined lion, zebra, monkey,and giraffe.
We have observed the children’s own unique personalities and what they each gravitate to in the classroom. Miriam especially enjoys the clay work— rolling and pinching the play doh is so satisfying. Maris and Eliana like to express their creativity painting at the easel- sometimes with two colors, taking care to keep the brushes in the correct jar. Julian tackles the puzzles with determination, maneuvering his hand in different directions to make the pieces fit. Robert is a voracious bookworm who hasn’t yet met a book he doesn’t like! Chana likes to sort the balls into the cups. Such satisfaction when the balls roll perfectly into the cups! Enzo likes to play a variety of musical instruments, dance, and clap his hands with gusto. We have the best community of older infants!
Have a great week!
Morahs Rachael, Kathy, Pallavi