Upstairs Neighborhood

January 27, 2023

Hi There, Neighborhood Grown-ups!

The Neighborhood has been busy, busy, busy and we’re excited to give you our first update of the new calendar year!

For these colder, wetter mornings typical of the season, the Neighborhood has moved Morning Work time indoors (for now). Starting our days in the Sun Nook (Kittens’ indoor space) and Rainbow Room (Robins’ indoor space) have allowed us to continue building those all-important small motor muscles in our hands, without worrying about freezing fingers and losing track of mittens, through tons of writing and drawing in our journals, using small tools and manipulatives (dice, rulers, cards, Unifix cubes, etc.) for math work, working on puzzles, and finger knitting. It has been such a productive time of day for the Robins and Kittens. Their academic skills are showing the fruits of their labor, not to mention the self-esteem boost and pride they feel in the work they’re accomplishing.

Ski Vocabulary and Addition Practice With Scrabble Tiles

Our Favorite Math Games: Domino and Dice Addition, Subtraction, or Multiplication!

Figuring Out a Complex Math Story Problem Using Unifix Cubes

Making Snowflakes and Other Symmetrical Images Using Shape Blocks

Building an I Spy Puzzle and Using a Table to Keep Track of What Was Found

While we’re loving our little bit of time indoors in the morning, we’re still wildly committed to being outside the majority of the day! By Snack Time, we’re heading to the Cubby Room to get gear up for the rest of the day outdoors. Your children have been working hard following “The Steps” to getting dressed in all their layers of outdoor gear.

Thank you for continuing to send your children to school dressed appropriately for the weather! This time of year it’s super helpful to have two pairs of water-resistant mittens at school. When one pair soaks through, kiddos can switch to their extra pair, while a teacher makes a run to the dryer with the wet batch of mittens. Eating times are still outside. It’s also a good idea to pack a pair of those thin knit gloves right into your kiddo’s lunchbox to keep fingers warm but more dexterous during eating times.

Check out some of what we’ve been working on outside:

On a pouring wet afternoon we gathered together under the relative dryness of the Studio’s porch to practice a little rain meditation. For two minutes we sat quietly, closed our eyes, and focused our ears on the rain sounds, trying our best to block out noises from other groups, road sounds, or other distractions (big executive functioning work right there!). Then we took turns sharing what we heard. As we were sharing we decided our words were sounding an awful lot like poetry! So we wrote it down. Here is our poem:

Rain Poem by The Neighborhood

Mist

Drizzle

Riffle

…fffffffffffffffffff…

Patter pitter sprinkle

Tick, tick, tick, tick

Waterfall unicorn

Run

Pip pop

How hair would sound if it made a noise

Creek

Drizzle drazzle

River rushing

Sounds

Rain

Rain stick

Dark clouds

Air blowing

Soothing sounds

Splashing in puddles

Trickle…

Rainbow!

Keeping the momentum going from Slope Day!
Cooperative Ring Rolling Games and the Catamount Slope Wall – A marble run built on a bulletin board based on the Catamount Trail Map.

Working hard and enjoying building with the little bit of snow we’ve gotten. Hoping for more!!

Last but certainly not least, the Neighborhood is delighted to welcome our new friend, Natalie! You might have seen her at Winter Celebration taking a hearty womp at the piñata. The Neighborhood children have been so welcoming and friendly to Natalie and it already feels like she’s been with us since September!

Page updated

Report abuse