Autumn is Finally Here!

The Invisible String - Tuesday, October 25

On Monday, Ms. Skerritt, dropped by our classroom to show us a new book that she got.  It is called "The Invisible String" and it is by Patrice Karst.  The book is about twins who are afraid and don't want to be away from their mom.  In the story, the mom teaches her twins about the invisible string, a magic string that keeps us connected to the people we love, even when we are not with them.

We thought that reading this book might make some of our friends feel a little less anxious about coming to school in the morning and saying goodbye to moms and dads.  If we all remember that we have an invisible string that connects us to each other, transitions and other scary events can be made a little easier.

The students LOVED the story, and now ask for it every day.  We have read it three times now, and will continue to read it as long as the students ask for it.  In the meantime, we recorded Mrs. Piquette reading the story to the children and wanted to post it here for you to enjoy at home.

It's Not a Stick

After our walk to the woods at the beginning of October, many students were eager to put their imaginations to use and come up with ideas for what a stick could be.  With our Learning Buddies from Mrs. Kelly-Miller's class, we put together a video showcasing our "Not a Stick" art work.  This same art work will be on display in the hall outside our classroom soon.

We also read "Not a Box" and began playing with boxes in our classroom.  We have made forts and ramps so far, and now the children are interested in making cars with larger boxes.  Stay tuned to see some amazing, imaginative projects inspired by "Not a Stick" and "Not a Box."

"Not a Stick" by Antoinette Portis

"Hey, be careful with that stick!"

"Look where you're going with that stick!"

"Watch where you point that stick!"

"Don't trip on that stick!"

How many of us have uttered these phrases when outside playing with our children?  As a parent, our fear of what may happen when our children play with sticks (they will get poked in the eye, hit someone, trip and fall, scrape their arm) often outweighs the possibilities that sticks bring to rich imaginative play.

Today we read a book that illustrated what sticks could become with just a little bit of imagination.  Have a look:



 We were so inspired by "Not a Stick" when we read it, that we decided to go look for sticks to add to our classroom and more importantly, our outdoor learning area.

We walked to the forest area behind St. Ignatius Catholic School to explore the woods and see what we could find.

Andrew's Scenic Acres

On Monday, October 3rd, we were so fortunate to be able to go to Andrew's Scenic Acres. We spent the day at the farm; picking berries, apples, corn, and pumpkins. There was a lot of fresh air, a lot of mud, and a lot of happy children.

We began our trip by introducing many of our JK students to the joys of riding a school bus. The excitement was palpable as we climbed the huge steps on to the bus and found a seat with our friends.
We arrived about 35 minutes later, and dropped our backpacks off at a tent. We then walked to the hay ride, and our adventures began! From the moment we started our hay ride, it was non-stop action.
We walked through a (gently) haunted forest, picked raspberries and blueberries left over from the season, chose an ear of decorative corn to bring home, picked apples, and ventured into the pumpkin patch in search of that perfect pie pumpkin.

Once our arms and tummies were full, we headed back to the tent to eat our lunches, and then played in the hay and the play structures. We visited the animals and took a picture with one of the many beautiful displays.

Enjoy this short video of our adventure!