Dear families, It's hard to believe that we have reached the end of the semester but here we are: after months of language arts and math lessons, fun in the gym and science experiments; we are happy to report that our 3s Clubbers are just about ready for graduation. But before we bring on the pomp and circumstance, we will be tackling two classics, Caps for Sale and Where the Sidewalk Ends. Caps for Sale, the story of a hat peddler and a group of mischievous monkeys, will lead to a series of counting and sorting games as students practice making sets, distinguishing patterns and counting the many different colored caps that instructors have on hand. We will discuss the differences between cities, towns and villages (referencing the town we built during our week with Horton Hears a Who) as we create a large in-class mural complete with a city, town, and a village. Where do we live? What do you find in a city that you would not find in a town? Our rhyming muscles get a workout in these final weeks as we delve into Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends with Hector the Collector, Love and One Inch Tall. Silverstein's humorous scenarios develop memorization skills, while his fanciful language introduces new vocabulary and helps us practice isolating individual sounds in words (junk, chipped, vases, thimble). We will play a game alongside Hector the Collector, challenging students to create different collections and patterns of blue and yellow items (0 yellow, 5 blue/ 3 yellow, 2 blue). We discuss what collecting means, and the good that can come from donating some of your extra things. As we read One Inch Tall, instructors will introduce the concept of measurement with a ruler, explaining the inch, and the fact that there are 12 inches to a foot. We distinguish between a foot of measurement and the foot at the end of our leg before measuring the height of every student. How tall are we? What makes us grow? With that in mind, everyone will draw their body complete with lungs, esophagus, muscles, and heart (after reading Love and reviewing the letters in the word, students will spell "love'inside their heart). We discuss the importance of sustenance, energy, and exercise as we trace our body's intake of food, water, and oxygen. Though we do have another two weeks of classes, we would like to remind you of the upcoming 3s Club Graduation Ceremony dates:
Battery Park: Friday, June 3rd at 4:00pm
Brooklyn Heights: Friday, June 3rd at 11:45am So with the passing of another school year, we would like to say thank you for entrusting your children to us. We understand the many factors that go into choosing a school for your child and we appreciate your support of both our program and our philosophy. We strive to create an open, exciting, safe environment for your children to learn, explore and most importantly play, so we consider it an honor to have such a wonderful group of students and families in our own New York Kids Club Family. Thank you for a truly terrific year, we hope to see you in camp over the summer!
Warm Regards,
Gair Morris |
