The rainy season has started early this year! As a friendly reminder to parents, we will be doing drop off upstairs via the Brown Cottage kitchen when it is raining outside. We have had huge support for our "sound of the week" program and we encourage families to continue contributing, next week's sound is "e". We had a wonderful time decorating the GNO Camellia class project last week and we look forward to seeing families on Oct. 15th!   

This week In Ginkgo we are learning about the parts of a fish. There are many varieties of fish other then our goldfish friends in our classroom tank. We are practicing being in control of our bodies, using our walking feet in the classroom and our inside voices. Another way we are practicing is lighting the "Peace" candle. When the flame is lit, we are totally silent and still. It takes great control of our bodies to be silent and still. It may only happen for a short time but our friends are learning to appreciate the silence. 

Fall has arrived! On rainy afternoons in Jacaranda the much loved "Rainy Day Toys" come out of the box. The children played with them a lot this week! Other things that happened in our class: a lesson on using a compass identifying north, south, east and west. We also learned that if you don't have a compass you can still identify north using the position of the sun. We are learning survival skills in Jacaranda too! In honor of Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day we have been reading Iroquois stories this week.    

 The Juniper children have been really busy immersing themselves in all the activities of the classroom especially language. Many of the children are eager to learn the sounds of the alphabet through tracing the sandpaper letters. We familiarize them with the letters by tracing the sandpaper symbol and emphasizing the sound each symbol makes. The children become familiar with the fact that words are made up of sounds. Once the children master the letters they are encouraged to write them in a shallow box of fine sand to continue refining their muscle memory and prepare them for writing with a pencil.    

After learning about the difference between land and water in September, the children will focus on, among other topics, learning the continents throughout October. With the rainy season starting early, we wanted to remind you to please label all rain boots, jackets, and other wet weather gear. Many items look alike and this helps the children and adults keep track of what belongs to who! Please note that Live Oak's parent/teacher conferences will take place on 10/31 and 11/1, with 30 minutes slots throughout the day. You will receive a link via email next week for the sign-up sheet.

Magnolia has been learning the value of team work, yet also the importance of individual concentration. We have gone outside in small groups to search for interesting leaves all over GLM. Inside the classroom, we have been discussing the needs of plants, observing the various leaf shapes, and feeling the different textures of each leaf that we've collected.  Magnolia friends then did leaf rubbings and we will combine all of them to decorate our Grand Night Out auction project. Please look for (and bid on) our beautiful table and chairs on Saturday, October 15!    

Mulberry children finished their individual painting to be framed for the class project for the live auction at Grand Night Out.  Last Friday the children celebrated Rosh Hashanah. Mae's brother Oliver blew a shofar (rams horn), which was loud. The children then shared apples and honey to have a sweet year. The children's gardens are really starting to sprout up especially the peas. When it is not raining the children are enjoying watering our plants.