4MA

ALPHABET HAPPENINGS- We have been having lots of fun with our letter activities—learning new words, science facts and experiments (water cycle, evaporation, volcanoes), and special days just-for-fun. Our letter “U” days were especially fun!  We had upside-down snack under the tables, walked upside-down, sang upside-down on our chairs, and watched a video upside-down. We ended the day carrying our backpacks—upside-down, of course! It was lots of fun.  For the letter “J”, we made our own jewelry—with patterns. And for the letters “J&Z” we  had our special  party with snacks in jars and Zip-lock bags. 4MA just loves food parties!

FUTURE ALPHABET HAPPENINGS—We are changing our letters on 4/21-25 to “T”, and 4/28-5/2 to “D”.  We have done this  in order to have our “T-Party” during the days the grand-
parents will visit. This was due to a change in the school calendar.  Our tea party will be on Tues. & Wed., 4/22 & 23. We
will have tea and toast for morning snack.  If anyone would like to bring some special tea cookies to share, that would be great!  Parents are invited too!  Our last letter is “F”, from 5/5-9, followed by a general review of all the letters.

SPECIAL DATES—4/21-23-Grandparents Days—(9:00-11:30)
4/21-25—Joke Week—see the flyer sent with the calendar.
4/28-5/2—Trike-a-thon Week-bring your own bike and helmet to school, or ride one of our bikes—lots of fun!!

SIGNS OF SPRING- we have been talking about Spring and the new  changes that occur.  One day was a very special  one for 4MA, when the Great Blue Heron returned!  It was one of those unique times that don’t happen very often.  We were so excited-
teachers, and one of our moms included, that it needed to be told to all.  So Mrs. Mokos wrote a story about it.  We hope you like it.  It’s called, “A Little Spring Miracle”.

 

A Little Spring Miracle

  On Tuesday, March 18, I read a new book that we had just gotten from the Book Fair.  We were working on the letter “E”,
and it was titled, “An Egg Is Quiet”.  As I read the book, we talked about different animals that come from eggs, how the egg helps the new animals to grow, and how different the eggs were.  Some were round, oval, thin, tiny, large, speckled, colored, etc.
The book showed various eggs and which animals came from them.  One of the largest eggs was from the great blue heron.  I told the children about the heron that comes to Camp Auxilium every year, how he migrates to warmer climates, and that he returns in the spring. We were looking forward to his return, and for many of the children to see this magnificent bird for the first time. 
   It was a cloudy, chilly day, but we needed to go out to play. Many of the children were quite restless this day.  It was right after St. Patrick’s Day, and a few days before Easter.  If you know young children well, they are very excited at this time--lots of fun things happening, and all kinds of surprises!  So we put on our jackets, ran a few laps around the playground to warm up, and then had great fun outside.  As we returned to our classroom, one of the children spotted something at the far end of the pond.  “Oh my Gosh!”---It was the great blue heron, standing in the water, as still as it could be!  It had picked this very day to return.  We started to walk towards the pond.  I told the children to hold hands in a line and to be very quiet, so as not to scare it away.  We took one step at a time, slowly and quietly, so it would not notice us getting closer.  We watched closely, waiting for it to move.  As we waited, I told the children how tall it was, and that it was waiting to catch a fish.  All of a sudden, the heron’s head began to move.  It was about to catch a fish, as we waited patiently.  Then his head quickly and accurately went under the water, and a large fish was in its mouth as he emerged.  The children were so excited as they watched the fish moving in the bird’s beak! The heron then proceeded to walk calmly out of the water. As we watched the bird struggle with its catch, I began describing how large the heron was and the enormous width of its wings.  He no sooner finished eating and spread his wings, as the children all echoed, “Wow!”  The heron then flew up and around the pond as we watched in wonder at the beauty of it.  As it passed over the school, the children all called out and waved goodbye to the beautiful sign of Spring we had just learned about in our class that morning. 
    I have always looked forward to the return of this great bird each year, wondering when or if it would return.  When it came this year, however, at this most appropriate time, it was like God was reminding me of the great miracle of nature and what a true gift we receive every year.  We often don’t take the time to  remember to be thankful for the wonder and beauty around us.  Many others are not as lucky to be surrounded with nature as we are here in Sussex County, and we need to remember that we are the caretakers of this gift.  God sent us a special miracle that day—one I hope the children will always remember—as I know I will.
                                                           Mary Anne Mokos