This week we will be continuing with the topic of Autumn and planting bulbs, as well as focussing on our emotions for the week. Sometimes young children can find it hard to express how they are feeling, and naming and discussing those feelings, and how it is appropriate to deal with them, can be very helpful to them. For this reason, we will firstly be looking at different emotions (e.g. happy, sad, angry, lonely, loved, jealous) and talking about what we do when we feel like that. We will be focussing on relaxation techniques like yoga, and deep breathing, and expression of emotions through using puppets.
Later in the week the children will do self-portraits, as well as making a worry box that we can put our worries into and mentally let go of – some children are more anxious than others, and making an abstract thought into something concrete is very beneficial – these worries can then later be torn up as they are dealt with, which is very satisfying! And at the end of the week we will plant daffodil and crocus bulbs; gardening is a very relaxing and grounding activity that children really love to take part in.
Note: We have been holding observation days in the classes at the moment, where family members are invited to come in and observe the children at their work, to give an understanding of what they are doing while at school (as we hear that some children are less communicative at home about what exactly they do than others!) Following this we will be scheduling parent teacher meetings, which is a great opportunity to meet up and review the observations, to discuss any questions there may be, and to have a chat about your children’s progression throughout the year in general and how you can be involved in that as much as possible. We value your input and will be inviting you to come in throughout the school year, whether to observe in the classroom, join in activities, or demonstrate/talk to the children about your own specialised skills! Also, please remember that if you ever have any issues or concerns, we are always here to talk to.