Polar Bear

Week of 6/3

6/6/2019

Dear Polar Room Families,

It is so hard to believe, but the last day of school is here. We have had such a great week playing all our favorite games, reading lots and lots of books, and getting a sneak peek of summer fun by eating popsicles on the roof!

It has been an incredible year filled with so much fun. There wasn't a single day that your children didn't make us laugh and smile and for that we are forever grateful!

We also want to thank you for being so supportive of the Polar Room and joining us throughout the year for parties, events, and for sharing your holiday traditions and cultures with us. We had a ball and we hope you did too!

Have a great summer and we'll see you in the fall. Remember.... once a Polar Bear, always a Polar Bear!!

All our love,
Karen, Marvin, and Rebecca

Week of 5/20

5/23/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,
Reminders:

• No school this Monday May 27th. Closed for Memorial Day
• Friday May 31st we have our 3’s field trip to Victoria Gardens in central park. Every child must be accompanied by one adult. Montclare T-shirts for the kids, one adult and one child’s entrance ticket provided. Please bring a lunch for you and your child. We’ll have lunch after some fun. We’ll meet at Victoria Garden’s and go in as a group.

Theme: Celebrating the Alphabet
Letter of the week: A-Z

Some books we read this week:

ABC I Like Me!, by Nancy Carlson
Animals A to Z, by David McPhail’s
A My Name is Alice, by Jane Bayer
Eating The Alphabet, by Lois Ehlert

Classroom Activities

This week we celebrated the alphabet by reading lots of alphabet books and playing lots of games. Our favorite was called “Kaboom”. The children pick out sticks with letters on them and keep them. If they get one with no letter, they yell “Kaboom” and get to collect all the sticks taken out so far.
Monday Center time we used to practice writing our letters with our Handwriitng without Tears materials.
During center time on Tuesday we played a game focusing on categories. The children are still learning how to name and organize categories in their thoughts. For example, we asked, “is a pepper a fruit or vegetable?” We continued the game using different categories (fruit, vegetable, animal, flower etc) and continued naming as many things in each category as possible.
During our center time on Thursday we focused on sequencing. In order to learn how to read, it is important that children understand that stories have a beginning, middle, and ending. We divided the children into groups and showed them 4 cards with each with a moment in a sequence of events. The children had to look at all 4 cards, and then decide what happened first, second, third and forth.
For our art project this week we began working on our outside bulletin board. It’s the goodbye board for the year, so we decided to celebrate something we all love that says “summer” to us… Ice Cream!
We also got to celebrate our final Polar Bear who will be turning 4. Mischa’s parents and baby brother came in to help us celebrate her birthday in July.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Best wishes,
Karen, Rebecca, and Marvin

Week of 5/13

5/17/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

Our final Scholastic order for the months of May/June is due beginning of next week. We would like to thank all of you who participated in the Scholastic program and bought books. Every book you bought earned the Polar Bear Room points that we could use to purchase more books for our classroom. And as you know… nothing makes us happier than reading a good book!
Save the Date: The three’s end of year field trip to Victoria Gardens is on Friday May 31st. Details will follow, but we meet at the park and enjoy the fun! Please remember that each child needs a chaperone and that you need to make sure we have the field trip consent form signed before we go.

Theme: Theater Week
Letter of the week: X, Y, Z

Some books we read this week:

Pete the Cat’s World Tour, by James Dean
Pete the Cat and the missing cupcake, by Kimberley and James Dean
Pete the Cat Construction Destruction, by James Dean
I love Pete the Kitty, by James Dean

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was actually three letters this week – X, Y, and Z. We read three Scholastic books as well. “Xylophone for X-Ray Fish, by Liza Charlesworth, “The Yak who said Yuck”, by Carol Martin, and “Zach the Lazy Zebra” by Wendy Lewison.

This week was all about our Pete the Cat performance.

On Monday we made the scenery for our show. We used dot markers to paint a beautiful background showing the buildings Pete the Cat saw as he was “walkin down the street”.
Tuesday we took our show on the road for the first time and travelled across the hall to the Sky room. We put on our costumes and got to find out what it was like to perform for a real live audience.
On Wednesday we went to Rainbow room and performed for Rainbow and the Star room kids.
On Thursday we went up to Gym 3 and had a final dress rehearsal. We figured out where everyone would stand, got into our costumes, and performed our show for the Blue Room. It went so well and the kids were all so excited to be “on stage”.
Friday was the big performance. Our thanks to all the parents and caregivers for being such a great audience! We hope you had fun.

Have a great weekend.
Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week of 5/6

5/10/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

Save the Date:

The Polar Bear Theater Week production of “Pete the Cat and his 4 groovy buttons” will be at 9am Friday May 17th. Caregivers and siblings are welcome to attend. Following the performance there will be a short cast party in the Polar Bear Room from 9:30-10am. See you all there!

The three’s end of year field trip to Victoria Gardens is on Friday May 31st. Details will follow, but we meet at the park and enjoy the fun! Please remember that each child needs a chaperone and that you need to make sure I have the field trip consent form signed before we go.

Theme: Theater Week Letter of the week: W

Some books we read this week:

Pete the Cat. I love my white shoes, by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat, Rockin’ my school shoes, by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat and the bedtime blues, by Kimberley and James Dean
Pete the Cat and his magic sunglasses, by Kimberley and James Dean

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “W” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “Worms Wagon”, by Samantha Berger”. We also got to watermelon and vanilla wafers in honor of the letter W.
This week was all about rehearsing for our big show. We rehearsed every day and worked on using a big speaking voice that wasn’t shouting, saying our lines all together, and using our bodies and faces to show emotion and add excitement to our performance. We even practiced up in Gym 3 and pretended we had an audience
On Monday we got to watch the Panda Room practice their theater production of Peter Pan. The kids loved being an audience and we had such fun being the audience.
This week we also made our costumes. We used tissue paper and glued it onto cardboard to make our groovy buttons. On Friday we put them on our Pete the Cat shirts and practiced in costume for the first time.
On Tuesday we went up to gym 3rd with the whole school for assembly with Noel. We got to sing all our favorite songs and spend time with friends we usually only see in the hallway.
We also worked this week on a super secret art project for Mother’s Day. We want to wish all our Polar Bear Moms the happiest of days!

Have a great weekend!

Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week of 4/29

5/3/2019

Hi Everyone!

Reminders:

Save the Date: The Polar Bear Theater Week production of “Pete the Cat and his 4 groovy buttons” will be at 9am Friday May 17th. Caregivers and siblings are welcome to attend. Following the performance there will be a short cast party in the Polar Bear Room from 9:30-10am. See you all there!

Theme: Theater Week and Seeds in spring
Letter of the week: N

Some books we read this week:

I’m a seed, by Jean Marzollo
The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Kraus
Growing in a Garden, by Mari Schuh
Animals in the Garden, by Mari Schuh

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “N” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “The Nicest Newt”, by Heather Feldman
We continued getting ready for our theater production of Pete the Cat and his 4 groovy buttons and began the week by watching the performance the Polar Bears gave last year of “Pete the Cat”. We wanted the children to have a better idea of what a theater production would look like. They loved the show and were very excited to start their own rehearsals.
We talked more this week about what a “character” in a play or book is, and how we can use our imaginations to figure out their “motivation”. For example, why was Pete walking down his street wearing his four groovy buttons? Where was he going? Why did he choose the shirt with the groovy buttons? How did he learn to count? These things aren’t in the book, but as readers or audience members we can make up our own story to go along with the one we are reading about or seeing.
We have a brand new bulletin board that we worked on this week. In addition to Pete the Cat May is a month we talk about planting flowers and gardens. Each child made their own flower out of paper plates and dot markers and then we added their pictures to make the cutest blooms ever!
In Circle time this week we began our discussions about growing things in spring. We read books and talked about what a seed is and how you use them to make things grow.
Tuesday was the April birthday blowout extravaganza! Cole, Spencer, Brady and Jordan all turned 4 this month and their parents came in for a birthday party. Jordan’s mom made the most adorable “Icy Polar bear” cake we’ve ever seen (check out weebly for a picture of it). After cake we put on our glow sticks and had a dance party. It was epic!

Wednesday we had a special treat when Arthur’s mom Rose came in to help us discuss Earth day and how we can help take care of our planet. She read us “The Lorax” which was a huge hit and then sent the children home with their own plant to care for along with a fantastic book about ways to take care of our planet. The kids had such a great time!

Friday we had one more treat. It was Gaby’s birthday (the only one in May). We celebrated with a Lion King theme. Gaby brought in the most adorable lion masks for all her friends that we put on and jammed out to music from the Lion King and ate cupcakes. It was the perfect end to a very exciting week!

Have a great weekend.
Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week of 4/15

4/18/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

Parent Teacher Conferences are Thursday April 25th and Friday April 26th

During the conferences the parent association is hosting a Book Fair up in Gym 2. Their will be lots of great books to buy and as we always say in Polar Room, “You can NEVER have too many books!” ☺

Save the Date: The Polar Bear Theater Week production of “Pete the Cat and his 4 groovy buttons” will be at 9am Friday May 17th

Theme: Spring

Letter of the week: M

Some books we read this week:

Plants in Spring, by Martha E. H. Rustad
The Earth Book, by Todd Parr
Flutter, Butterfly!, by Shelby Alinsky
Pete The Cat And His Four Groovy Buttons, by Eric Litwin

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “M” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “Monkey’s Miserable Monday”, by Valerie Garfield
This week we told the children that we would be putting on a show in May. We talked about what a theater production is and found out that many of our friends had seen shows like “Frozen”, “Fancy Nancy” and “The Paw Patrol” so they knew that the actors on stage act out a story for the audience.
We continued to learn about spring and in during circle time we made observations about what we noticed outside. We observed that many of the bushes and trees outside had little green leaves and that they were a light green not a dark green color. We also noticed that some trees have flowers on them and we talked about what kinds of trees (like apple, cherry, and dogwood) that grow flowers before they grow leaves.
In center time this week we divided into groups and worked on letter recognition and phonics. The children working on letter recognition saw a picture, such as a bear, that had a capital letter next to it. They had to identify the object and then name the letter. The groups working on phonics had to look at the object and then choose what letter they thought the word started with.
On Friday a representative from Vine Sanctuary came to visit us. Anna works at the farm and the children recognized her from on-line videos we see of her reading a different children’s book each month while surrounded by animals. Anna showed us some more pictures of the farm and told us about her day there, and what she does to take care of the animals. The children had lots of questions about how the animals eat and sleep and how they all get along with each other. It was such a pleasure to learn more!

Have a great holiday weekend.

Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week f 4/8

4/12/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

Scholastic Book orders for April are due this Monday April 15
Parent Teacher Conferences are Thursday April 25th and Friday April 26th
Save the Date: The Polar Bear Theater Week production of “Pete the Cat and his 4 groovy buttons” will be at 9 am Friday May 17th

Theme: Spring

Letter of the week: V

Some books we read this week:

Green, by Laura
It’s Spring, by Samantha Berger
Weather in Spring, by Martha E. H. Rustad
Plants in Spring, by Martha E. H. Rustad
Vegetable Garden, Douglas Florian

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “V” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “Vera Viper’s Valentine”, by Samantha Berger

Our person of the week was Aarin and we loved learning all about him and the weekend he spent with Icy. Icy loved spending his weekends getting to know all the kids and was so sad to learn that Aarin was his last visit of the year. Thanks for making the Person of the Week such a fun and special time for the kids!

This week we began playing a new movement game during calendar time. We have an ABC pattern on our calendar pieces– Beetles, Bee’s, and Butterflies so we decided to play a memory/movement game. Each insect was given a corresponding movement, decided each day by the kids. Then as we go through our calendar, April 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc, we name the corresponding insect and then do the movement. So for example, one day Beetles was jumping, Bee’s was clapping, and Butterflies was a jump with flapping our arms. The challenge is to listen to the teacher call out the insect and then remember the movement to do. It’s a lot harder to do than you might imagine!

In Gym we introduced a new game called “What time is it Mr. Fox?” It is another listening game. The children call out “what time is it Mr Fox and the Fox says a time, “It’s 3 o’clock!” Then the kids take three steps closer to the fox (whose back is turned and can’t see how close they are getting). The fox is tricky though, when he shouts out “It’s 12 o’clock!” he can turn around and chase the kids back to the wall. With any luck, he’s fast enough to catch his dinner ☺

The children were expressing an interest in the shells on the discovery box. They wanted to know if any sea creatures lived in the shells. We went to the computer and learned all about the small, snail and crab like creatures that make the shells their homes. We also read Eric Carle’s “ A home for hermit crab” which tells the story of a crab who lives and decorates a home he eventually outgrows.

Friday we had a big treat, Mira and Nikita’s parents came in to share with us the Hindu holiday of Holi. We read a book about the holiday, saw a video of Indian dancing, tried the dancing ourselves (and had a ball), and then as a treat got to eat some colorful cupcakes in honor of the holiday. Thanks so much to Ravi and Tanisha for coming in and sharing!

Have a great weekend!

Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week of 4/1

4/5/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

No School Friday April 19th for Good Friday
Parent-teacher conferences are Thursday April 25th and Friday April 26th
Save the Date: The Polar Bear Theater Week production of “Pete the Cat and his 4 groovy buttons” will be at 9am Friday May 17th. Details to follow

Theme: Spring

Letter of the week: A

Some books we read this week:

Everything Spring, by Jill Esbaum
Rain, by Marion Dane Bauer
People in Spring, by Martha E. H. Rustad
Animals in Spring, by Martha E. H. Rustad

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “A” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “The adventures of Abby alligator”, by Maria Fleming
This week we started to learn about Spring. We talked about the way weather is different in spring from winter and how that changes the behaviors of people and animals. We talked about how people wear different kinds of clothes and use umbrellas for all the rain, and how animals wake up from hibernating, take care of their newborn babies, and come out to play.
Our art project this week was for our new spring bulletin board. We made a mixed media rain scene including our own adorable little umbrellas.
In center time this week we practiced making mat man both with the teachers help and individually. After practicing making our straight lines and curves, we then practiced writing our names.
The weather was beautiful this week and clearly spring is in the air because for the first time since November we were able to play on the roof. Spring Fever has officially taken over the Polar Bear Room

Have a great weekend.

Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week of 3/11

3/15/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

There is no school Monday MARCH 16 – APRIL 1ST. School resumes on Monday April 1st.

Theme: 5 Senses- smelling and tasting

Letter of the week: K

Some books we read this week:

Rookie Read-About Science- Tasting Things, by Allan Fowler
The Five Senses- Smell, by Maria Rius
The Five Senses – Taste, by Maria Rius
K is for Kindness – Sesame Street

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “K” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “Kangaroo Kazoo”, by Wendy Lewison
This week continued learning about our 5 senses by focusing on tasting and smelling. On Monday we had a smelling station set up at our Discovery table. The children smelled 5 different scents that we placed in small containers with holes punched on top. The children then had to guess what they were smelling and match the smells with the corresponding pictures. We used cinnamon, vanilla, garlic, chocolate, and a piece of an orange.
Tuesday we also celebrated our March birthdays - Eddie Sargen, and Mira and Nikita’s parents came in with cupcakes to celebrate. After our treat we had a little dance party to finish off our celebration
In center time on Tuesday we played a flash card game with letters and numbers. First the children had to guess the letter or number on the flashcard. If they did we got to jump up and sing the letter. After a few rounds we added to the difficulty by asking the kids to tell us what things start with that letter. And of course… the jumping continued.
Wednesday we had a tasting experiment on the rug. We gave each child one cheerio and had them hold their noses tight so they couldn’t smell. Next we had them eat the Cheerio and tell us what it tasted of. Surprise! It had no taste! As soon as we let go of our noses we could taste the cheerio. We then tried the experiment with a piece of Chex cereal, a pretzel, and a raisin. We learned how important the sense of smell is to tasting..
Thursday we started the morning with assembly upstairs in Gym 2. The whole school came together to sing songs and enjoy the morning. After gym 3 and music, we came back for snack and a final experiment. We used cool whip to have a color mixing experiment. We used food dye to make secondary colors – orange, green, and purple. The kids loved mixing the colors and then of course, eating it up with strawberries.
In center time on Thursday we worked on learning to write the letter “K”. K is a particularly difficult letter to write so we used our etch-a-sketch and play-doh rolling cards from Handwriting without Tears to help us and give us an easier way to practice.

We hope you all have a wonderful spring break and we’ll see you all in April.

Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

Week of 3/4

3/8/2019

Dear Polar Bear Families,

Reminders:

Spring Break is almost here! We have no school the weeks of March 18-31. School resumes Monday, April 1st.

Theme: 5 Senses- seeing and hearing

Letter of the week: R

Some books we read this week:

You can’t smell a flower with your ear, by Joanna Cole
Have you seen my dinosaur? By Jon Surgal
Sounds all around, by Wendy Pfeffer

Classroom Activities

Our Letter of the Week was “R” and our Scholastic Letter Book this week was “Rosie Rabbit’s Radish”, by Wendy Levinson

This week continued learning about our 5 senses by focusing on seeing and hearing

During center time on Tuesday we played a listening game. We had a CD that contained everyday sounds (like water in a toilet, the sound of a car etc) and the sounds of musical instruments (like a piano or violin). The children had to sit quietly, listen to the sound, and then try to guess what it was.

We also did an activity to help us explore the sense of seeing. First, we read the book “Mouse Paint”, by Ellen Stoll Walsh and discussed how we see colors and how we can use the colors Red, Blue, and Yellow to make other colors. After the story we allowed the children to choose two paints and then use a salad spinner to mix the two colors. The circles the children created look great and we have placed them on the inside board for you to enjoy.

Throughout the week we also played “I spy with my little eye” to showcase how we see things. It’s a great game to play at home or when you are out and about because it is a good way to help the children strengthen their memory skills.

Charlotte Hilk was our person of the week and we loved learning more about her and enjoyed hearing all about her weekend with Icy.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Karen, Rebeccca, and Marvin

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