April Newsletter: Room 5

Our Theme: “Trip-Trapping” through Literature, Storytelling, & Drama

We have been having a fantastic time reading many different versions of the “Three Billy Goats Gruff” tale, comparing & contrasting the story elements, dialogue, & illustrations, which leads quite naturally to the realization that stories can be told in many different ways. Our class has been exploring the “Three Billy Goats Gruff” through listening & participating in read-alouds & re-telling the tale through puppetry. Each student has been invited to create his or her own set of “Billy Goat Gruff” character puppets, which will remain in our classroom this month, to be used for “trip-trapping” across the charming little bridge in our dramatic play area. We’ve also been exploring literature by reading several books by the same author, sometimes about the same character. It is a joy to spend so much time in our “book nook”, reading stacks of books by the children’s request!

Enriching our theme: Can you help us with any of the following?

• Do you have any troll doll or figures to donate or lend?
• Do you have any “billy goat” or “troll” costume elements to donate or lend? (a wild troll wig, oversize troll slippers, etc?)
• Do you feel inspired to create simple costume elements for our class? (3 sets of goat horns, large, medium, & small, etc?)

Assistance Hours are billed in May…

We have many all-school projects available, as well as our classroom projects, to fulfill these hours. An all-school e-mail will be sent out later this month describing these projects, and Michelle will post a sign-up sheet. Please make sure that your hours are logged into the work assistance binder, as this log will need to be current to accurately bill parents.

Upcoming Work Assistance Opportunities:

v   “Theme-enrichment” projects mentioned above…

v   Steam-clean our carpet, rugs, & the upholstered chair & sofa

v   Help us create a “cooking calendar” so that children can check in daily to see if it is their “cooking day”

v   Please see Cathy if you are interested in preparing theme-related art projects

Parents’ Night Out:

Our next Parents’ Night Out will be on Friday, April 27, 5:30-8:30. We will post our flyer & sign-up sheet on our board later this month.

Reminders:

• SNACKS, SNACKS, SNACKS!!!!! Thank you for bringing in your snack items promptly! This makes for happy snackers!

Thank you for sharing your lovely children with us! Happy Spring