Bi-weekly Letter to the GP Cats Families - 1st in October
We didn’t think we could be more excited about our school experience from the first days and weeks of school BUT we were wrong! There is so much going on every day and we are enjoying the time with your little ones very much. For most of the children we have moved out of the ‘newness’ of every day and come to rely on some familiarity with who we are and how the day unfolds.
Yvette and I are observing ‘friendships’ developing in our Cats community as well as deepening our relationship with each other. People (little and big) know each other’s names and are recognizing each other’s lunchboxes and sippy cups. We are noticing the children creating and playing games with one another. Here is an example of a game during snack time: The children were quietly sitting and eating. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Aurora and Billy smiling at one another. Then Aurora opened her arms wide like when we tell our children “I love you this much!” Billy reciprocated the communication. Then Aurora made the peek-a-boo hand over the eyes movement. Billy quickly followed suit in this spur of the moment game. The moment ended as quickly as it began but I was struck by the sweetness in these gestures. Who is a friend? Is a friend someone who will play a game with me? Is a friend someone who will listen to me and say “hi” back? To put a name on what is happening I would say: our relationships our growing deeper and we are building, building, building trust.
We are also building, building, building ideas. Some of the ideas Yvette and I are exploring include but are not limited to: making our own version of bubble wands out of recycled materials, making a marble mover utilizing the precast Fisher price castle in the classroom and recycled materials, expanding our classroom with walking field trips around the neighborhood and in the wide world. We offer many different experiences to the children daily. We observe what it is that holds their attention and interest. We make decisions on what’s next based on our observations. So, here we grow!
Field Trips to the Botanical Gardens: we would like to take some field trips to the gardens to see the scarecrows our friends at Cabbagetown made for the gardens exhibit. In order to do this we will need chaperones, please let us know if you can drive. One challenge is that field trip drivers need to be CPR certified. Look for upcoming dates for certification classes in the weekly email newsletter.
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS ARE:
Ms. Cathy – October 5 – Thank you, all, so much for a wonderful and memorable b’day party!
Katie Lane (Tu-Thu) – October 8 – Congratulations on turning 2!
Myla Brody (M-W-F) – October 9 – Congratulations on turning 2!
Jack Neil (M-F) – October 17
Katie Pours Blue Looking at Letters
Myla & Jack ‘in the pink’, yellow and blue
Yours Truly, Ms. Cathy & Ms. Yvette