Hello!

I thought I would send out a letter to update you all on what is happening in the
classroom in the next few weeks and what your children will be learning. I like to keep the
parents and guardians in the loop so that you know what to expect, know what’s going on, and
even so you can feel prepared and confident in taking what we learn here at school and
supporting it by things you talk about or teach at your home.
I am really excited to share that the next topic we will be focusing on in the coming
weeks will be colors. In our classroom, we will be spending time participating in engaging
activities that help enrich the children’s learning and provide opportunities for exploration,
discussion, and observations about colors. I’ve taken some time and effort to thoughtfully plan
these activities so that they are intentional, but also fun and exciting for the children. It’s going
to be a really fun few weeks! I will break down some of the main color activities that your
children will be doing over the next few weeks and share some additional information I think
you should be aware of.
One of the activities we will be doing is exploring colors through mixing paint. I will be
setting out paints in the primary colors and the children will mix the primary colors to create
secondary colors. This activity will allow the children to play with color and discover what
happens when we mix blue and red or yellow and blue. After they have mixed their colors, the
children will create and paint art. I look forward to seeing what the children paint and they will
be given the option of painting multiple masterpieces and then taking their artwork home or
leaving it in the classroom to be displayed on the walls for a time. I would encourage you to
send your child in clothes that it would be alright for them to get paint on that day, and I will let
you know the exact date as it gets closer. A way to extend the learning beyond the classroom
would be to use food coloring to dye food such as waffle or pancake batter. It would be a great
discussion with your child to talk about what colors combine to make others.
Another activity that I’m really excited for is the science experiment that I have planned
for the children. We are going to make elephant toothpaste, which is essentially fluffy, colorful
foam that expands and looks like toothpaste. We will combine some basic household
ingredients to create the toothpaste, but as part of the experiment, the children will choose
colors of food coloring to change the color of the elephant toothpaste. I’ve done this
experiment with children before, and it is always a crowd pleaser. The children get so excited
and provides opportunities for us to have discussions about colors, especially about combining
primary colors to make secondary colors.
One of the last activities we will be doing as part of our color unit is our field trip to the
Ricks Gardens up on campus. We will be taking a short walk over to the gardens. The gardens
are beautiful and as we are entering spring, the plants, flowers, and trees will be blooming.
Field trips are a great opportunity to get the children out of the classroom. We will be able to
explore the gardens and talk about the colors we see in the flowers and plants. I will be
providing the children with bags or containers to collect things they find on our walk and want
to keep. I would recommend on the day of the walk, that you send your child in comfortable
walking shoes and a jacket (just in case it is chilly or breezy). A great way to continue what we
have learned and discussed from school to after your child goes home would be to sit with
them, encourage them, and discuss with them some patterns or pictures they can make with
the things they collected on our walk or flowers and plants they collect from your own backyard
or park. They can make colorful mandalas, shapes, or letters and talk about the colors they use.
These are just a few of the fun activities we will be doing while we explore colors over
the next few weeks, but the children will also be able to engage in some other activities that I’m
excited about. We will be playing with blocks, ramps, and balls. We will be making boats by
folding, crumpling, bending, and rolling pieces of tin foil. The children can float their boats in
the water of the water table. The children can practice their counting as they drop pennies onto
their boats to see how many pennies their boat can hold before it sinks. We will also have an
activity where the classroom is set up to look like a grocery store with pretend food made of
plastic, cardboard, or felt, baskets, a cash register, pretend money, and a table to act as a
“check-out stand”. The children will be able to play as shoppers, cashiers, and workers at the
grocery store. Not only will this activity provide for friendships to be encouraged in the
classroom, but the children can practice math and counting, identify colors, and discuss
likes/dislikes.
I am really looking forward to the next few weeks and the activities we have planned to
learn about colors, counting, blocks, and many other things. I enjoy having your children in the
class, they are wonderful! Thank you for your support and for all you do! Please let me know if
you have any questions or concerns.