Welcome to your very first volume of White Room Peeks! We have had an amazing first week together, filled with excitement, eagerness, and new beginnings. As a teaching team, we entered the week holding the collective hopes you shared with us during the family visits. Each one alluded to the journey of this remarkable year that we feel so fortunate to be a part of.
And, we began to see inklings of all of this on our very first days. Even amidst tentative feelings, the children are beginning to settle into this new space, each in their own ways. They are observing and joining in alongside new peers and grownups, using them for inspiration as they learn about their personalities, preferences, and ways of working. They are eager and excited to experiment with materials. This week, this included playdough, Stabilo pencils, stickers, vehicles, baby dolls, cookware, and books.
After a week in our phase-in groups, we officially come together next week as a whole class! So, we wanted to share some resources that may be helpful in building the home-school connection.
White Room Community
To help children familiarize with the members of our classroom community, we also created a class book, Teachers, Teachers, Who Do You See?. Set to the tone of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, it includes names and photos of each individual.
White Room Songs
As you may have noticed this week, meetings are opportunities for us to gather together as a whole group. Generally, we will have two meetings each day. During Hello Meeting, we begin with a greeting song for each child and teacher. During Goodbye Meeting, we end the day with farewells for each child and teacher.
Below are some of the songs we have been singing:
Around and Around
Around and around is the name of the game,
Around and around and what’s your name?
“(Name)!”
(Name)’s here today, (name)’s here today,
Everybody shout, “Hurray!”
(Name)’s here today!
Icky Sticky Bubble Gum
Icky sticky, icky sticky bubble gum, bubble gum, bubble gum,
Icky sticky, icky sticky bubble gum,
There’s bubblegum on my (body part)!
So we pull, and we pull, and we pull, and POP!
(Repeat with different body parts)
I think we got it all!
Goodbye Song
Goodbye, see ya later, later alligators,
After a while, crocodiles, goodbye for now!
Goodbye (name), goodbye (name), goodbye (name),
we’ll see you at school next time!
(Repeat for everyone)
Ask Your Child
It is not uncommon for children to choose not to respond when you ask them about their day. This happens even when they are having the best time. Sometimes, they simply want to keep their happenings to themselves. After all, school quickly becomes their special place! In addition to the visuals/media above, we will share a few questions each post to help prompt conversation.
Did you cook in the kitchen? What foods did you make?
Did you play with the baby dolls or cars? Did you snuggle them in blankets or drive them really fast?
What song did you sing? Was there one about bubblegum?
