Ms Ashley's Classroom 1

Hello, Classroom 1 Families!

Let me start off by saying that Ms. Halle and I deeply miss every single one of you. We cannot wait to be back in the classroom with each of our students and give each a big hug! We hope that you and your families are staying healthy and safe during this difficult time.

Now that we are heading into the month of June, I am excited to spend more time outside. Being outside with nature is an amazing and healthy daily activity. There are several research studies that show spending time outside benefits both physical and mental health as well as to help develop several life and motor skills. I am not sure when we will all be together again, but when we do come back together, I would like to focus on the Early Learning Guidelines of Science.

Young children are naturally curious and learn through exploration and using their senses. They are looking, touching, smelling, tasting, and listening to everyone and everything in their surroundings. Observing the fish in a fish tank, digging in the sand with a pail and shovel, and making discoveries about a worm in the grass are all activities related to scientific thinking and problem solving. These experiences will assist children in acquiring knowledge on which to build a better understanding of the world. Through play, children use their senses to explore, experiment, invent, design, test solutions, and form ideas about how the world works.

The transition back to the school will be hard for some children to understand after staying home with loved ones for so long. Ms. Halle and I hope to make the transition to a new daily schedule for the children as easy as possible. Some activities we are going to do this month will consist of spending more time in our outdoor classroom. We will be engaging in a lot of water and mud play, so please, when you can, bring a bathing suit and/or a change of clothes for your child. We will also read lots of books and create other activities that will be tailored to strengthening our excitement and understanding of nature and science.

Ms. Ashley