Dear Families,

This month love is all around.  Having just celebrated the prosperity that comes with The Chinese New Year, we will next turn our attention to the nature of love and friendship as we usher in Valentine's Day.

We begin our celebration reading The Kiss That Missed, a charming book about a prince whose kiss misfires.  The story not only introduces the concept of suspense (we will discuss how the author builds the feeling of "what's next" in his audience), it will also spur a conversation about what makes a story a "fairy tale." Students will get the opportunity to re-enact the fairy tale themselves when they don costumes as a knight, king, queen, or prince. 

Our math stations will include asterisk shaped kisses (similar to those in the book's illustrations) that will be used in a counting game.  Each child will be asked to count to a number of 'kisses' and will be prompted with questions like: If one of Alina's kisses floated away (missed) then how many kisses would she have left?  If two more people blew Lisa kisses how many would she have?

Next we will read I Love You More, the story of a mother and child comparing how much they love each other. The story reinforces quantitative and superlative adjectives like 'more' and 'most,' 'further' and 'furthest.'  But one of the most unique things about this book is its physical construction.  Ask your child what happens when you reach the middle of I Love You More.

We will discuss the meaning of love and Valentine's Day before everyone creates a valentine with their favorite phrase from the book.  While we explore the concept of sending someone something through the mail, students are encouraged to give a valentine to one of their friends at the end of the class.

With all of this discussion of love and hearts, our science topics will naturally focus on the cardiovascular system.  Instructors will explain the function and interdependence of the heart and lungs as everyone finds their pulse and blows up balloons.   After learning the two ways that blood can enter or leave the heart, students will be assigned a bracelet to designate them as 'oxygenated' (red) or 'unoxygenated' (blue) blood.  A large paper heart will be taped to the floor and instructors will guide the students through the heart to model the blood flow through the cardiovascular system.  Once students understand how blood travels through their body, we will concentrate on getting our own blood pumping with some cardiovascular exercise in the gym.

We are thrilled to learn, laugh and play with such a vibrant group of students, and we wish you and your family a Happy Valentine's Day full of love and friendship.

 
Warm Regards,