Welcome to the fifth edition of the Blue Room digest – every other week (we took a week off for conferences though) you can find pictures and updates on the latest happenings in Flexible Fox world! Here you will also find conversation starters, important “Housekeeping” tips, and upcoming dates.

Lately you may have noticed your child coming home adorned with more beads than usual… This is because we’ve opened up beading in the Blue Room. Not only is this an excellent fine motor task, but we also used these beads to make wishes for the rest of our time together in the Blue Room.

We introduced the Flexible Foxes to another surprise member of our classroom who had been hiding in plain sight all this time – The Wish Stick! This stick has been with us all year long and has been absorbing all the love and joy and learning that the Flexible Foxes have been experiencing. And this week, it was ready for our wishes. Each child (and teacher) made a strand of beads with their name and infused it with their wish. The wishes were spoken aloud to the stick and then we attached each strand to hang and remind us of our wishes and hard work. Here are some of the things that the Flexible Foxes wished for:

“a cooking pot”

“a spaceship”

“that everybody has a pet”

“a rocket ship”

“for everybody to have so much fun”

Speaking of rocket ships… The Flexible Foxes have collectively decided to turn our recently acquired large cardboard boxes into a rocket ship for dramatic play! Stay tuned next time as this breaking story develops.

Our literacy work in the Blue Room has totally taken flight – from finding beginning sounds in illustrations to building the letters in our names, the Foxes are so excited about the world of print around them! We have learned our first six letters and their sounds. They are S, T, A, P, M, and O.

Here’s a tip about vowels: when we teach vowels, we start by teaching the short vowel sound. For A that would sound like the beginning of apple and for O it would be like the beginning of the word “octopus”.

As we’ve continued to settle into our routines, The Flexible Foxes have been taking on more leadership roles in the classroom. One example of this is the “Mindful Moment Leader” in Morning Meeting.

Thank you to everyone who made the Gratitude Celebration possible! It was so meaningful for all the Flexible Foxes to engage in this partnership with the Bowery Mission and grapple with big ideas like justice, community care, wants vs. needs, gratitude, and generosity. Earlier this week we were visited by Evan Simpson from the Bowery Mission who helped explain more about what the Mission does and how they help people in the NYC community. We had many big and deep discussions together as a class and finally put those ideas into action on Thursday by packing up “Care Kits” for folks who need them.

Ask A Flexible Fox!

What letters have you learned so far? Which sound & motion is your favorite? (S, T, A, P, M, O)

What is something you are grateful for?

How did the Flexible Foxes help the Bowery Mission?

Tell me about the rocket ship!