Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 28 Spring : New beginnings and Movement

Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 28

Spring: New beginnings and Movement 

Spring is the time of new beginnings and longing for increased movement.

During the chilly days until recently the Sakura blossoms were still dormant, just to open beautifully over night and color the world in pink.

And from one day to the other, the weather got warmer and it finally feels like spring, much to the delight of the children ( and teachers) who happily discard their coats and show even more energy as usual. 

Easter is celebrated in spring and the eggs are symbolic for new life. We visited the tulip field again where the tulips which the EY have planted are still taking their sweet time, but we admired the ones in bloom and observed many butterflies dancing in the sunshine.

One of Eric Carle‘s much beloved books, „The Very Hungry Caterpillar “ teaches us the life cycle of a butterfly and the Pre–Kindergarten children want to look at it again and again.

We read the book, watched the online version and reviewed the key vocabulary including the many food items.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Additionally and to get our bodies moving, the class danced to the Butterfly song, imitating the 4 stages of the Butterfly growth cycle. The children participated joyfully and everyone was flying in the end! 

Butterfly Song

Inspired, the children then used their fine motor skills and lots of Play dough to create eggs,  caterpillars and butterflies as well as pancakes , volcanoes and elephants. 

During the week we also revised a lot of the animal vocabulary while building zoos, role playing and using hand puppets.

It was amazing to see how much new vocabulary the children have acquired and how knowledgeable they have become, even about the eating habits of certain animals.

Their knowledge was put to good use when we read the book „From Head to Toe“, another Eric Carle book and a great one to combine vocabulary of animals with that of body parts. Moreover the story shows a lot of action, which is perfect for our current unit with the subjects of „ Body and Family“. 

All children happily thumped, stomped and went along with the movements.

To deepen the understanding of which animal movement is mirrored by which human, I made 2 pieces of magnetic cards for each page of the book which the children had to find and match with a partner. 

The children really loved this activity and wanted to do it again and again. It provided a good opportunity for me to assess the children‘s understanding as well as their observation and cooperation skills. 

Friday brought us lots of sunshine which enabled the Pre–Kindergarten class to play and move on the big yard, using their whole body for playing basketball, soccer, hopscotch and for climbing.

There was also quite a bit of drawing talent to be seen! 

What a wonderful week of movement and new beginnings for two little friends as the Pre–Kindergarten children were joined by Charlotte and YiYi. 

A heartfelt welcome to both children and the Wang / Tu family as well as the Wei / Shi family.

We are so happy to have you in our Pre–Kindergarten class and in the DSKI community.

Wishing you a sunny, blossom filled weekend ! 

With kind regards, 

Mit herzlichen Grüßen, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

Pre–Kindergarten homeroom teacher

Playgroup / EY German 

German Saturday School homeroom teacher